Lake County Sheriff's Office, Illinois, 2011
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Lake County Sheriff's Office employee salaries are public record under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Salaries
According to a database compiled by the Better Government Association, no employees of the Lake County Sheriff's Office earn more than $150,000.[1] Noted salaries are:
- Sheriff Mark Curran earns $149,110.
- Undersheriff Charles Fagan earns $140,965.63.
- Chief LC David Godlewski earns $126,464.
- Chief LC Wayne Hunter earns $126,464.
Benefits
Lake County offers multiple benefits to full-time employees.[2]
Lake County provided data on benefits in dollars provided to those county employees earning more than $150,000 following an Illinois Freedom of Information Act request.[3]
Salary records project
In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):
1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.
The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.
A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions.[4] The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.
The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701.[4] The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.[4]
Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Better Government Association, Payroll Database (dead link)
- ↑ Lake County, Employee Benefits
- ↑ Sunshine Review, Lake County, IL Benefits
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
