Posted on 10/30/2022 2:06:32 PM PDT by george76
The new ‘minimum wage’ for government work is now $100,000+...
So, just who is making all of this money?
Meet the Illinois government employee $100,000 Club. It's comprised of 132,188 public employees and retirees who earned a new ‘minimum wage’ of $100,000 or more.
While crime skyrockets in the neighborhoods, test scores plummet in the public schools, and inflation decimates private-sector paychecks, the Illinois public employee class is living the good life.
Our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found nearly 500 educators in the public schools with salaries between $200,000 and $439,000. In small towns, city managers made up to $341,300. Three doctors at the University of Illinois at Chicago earned incomes between $1 million and $2.1 million.
Barbers trimmed off $104,000 at State Corrections; janitors at the Chicago Transit Authority cleaned up $143,634; bus drivers in Chicago picked up $242,812; and suburban community college presidents made $418,677.
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Following The Money..
Public schools (43,500) – Last year, 26,904 educators earned six-figure salaries while 16,592 retirees pocketed $100,000+ pensions. However, test scores plummeted with only 31-percent of students reading at grade level.
Big salaries: Eighteen school superintendents made $300,000+, among them Edward Mansfield (Homewood Flossmoor D233— $434,323); Michael Lubelfeld (North Shore School D112— $392,952); Gregory Jackson (Ford Heights D169—$379,465); Kevin Nohelty (Dolton School D148—$373,626); and Blair Nuccio (Indian Springs D109—$355,154).
Big pensions: Eighteen retired school superintendents received $300,000+ in retirement pensions
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Chicago (28,000) – Why is crime out of control in Chicago? It’s a matter of political will— not pay. The Chicago police and fire departments paid 600 employees between $200,000 and $480,000 in cash compensation last year.
In Chicago, 41 ‘street light repair’ workers made between $100,000 and $196,123 and 61 city ‘sign painters’ made six-figures up to $145,341. The boss at the city auto pound reaped $124,783 while the janitors at the auto pound made six-figures too. ‘Sanitation laborers’ made up to $125,783.
In Chicago Public Schools (CPS), CEO, Janice K. Jackson made $361,762: $298,923 in salary with $62,839 in benefits. Jackson’s salary alone exceeded the pay of the U.S. Secretary of Education ($203,500) -- a cabinet-level position – by $95,423.
However, student scores plummeted. Just 26-percent of eleventh graders perform at grade level in math and seven in ten students could not read at grade level.
No matter, we found the average teacher in the Chicago Public Schools made $108,730 last year when including benefits. In addition, there were 1,823 employees across six departments – outside the classroom – now dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion efforts.
The Chicago Transit Authority, operator of trains and busses, paid rail service supervisors up to $294,609; ironworkers as much as $251,376; and line workers $240,835. A signal maintainer took home $302,075, a telephone line worker was paid $247,677 and a customer service representative made $207,202.
Incredibly, 378 CTA bus drivers took home $100,000+ and top earner Yolanda Harris picked up $242,812.
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Colleges & universities (18,000) – University of Illinois basketball coach Bradley Underwood earned $3.2 million last year. Fady Toufic Charbel ($2.029 million); Mark Gonzalez ($1.059 million); and Konstantin Slavin ($1.041 million) are million-dollar doctors at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Universities: Highly compensated employees included those that work for the University of Illinois Foundation—a private fundraising foundation for the university. A staggering 42 employees cleaned off nearly $7 million in cash compensation making between $100,000 and $294,700 each. The top-paid employee, Edward Wald ($294,700), out-earned the president at Northern Illinois University and every other state university (except Illinois State).
Retired professors have some of the biggest pensions: University of Illinois at Chicago professor Wolodymyr Minkowycz ($426,656), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign physics prof Gordon Baym ($285,669) and engineering prof Vernon Snoeyink ($274,664).
Junior colleges: The top paid presidents included Christine Jean Sobek (Waubonsee Community College — $418,677) and Thomas Ramage (Parkland College—$339,000). Top retirees included Zelema Harris (Parkland College—$253,297); John Swalec (Waubonsee Community College—$239,871); and Vernon Crawley (Moraine Valley Community College— $239,851).
State of Illinois (16,500) – Eight barbers at Corrections made between $102,300 and $104,000. Veterans, Human Services, and Corrections paid 484 nurses between $100,100 and $255,300.
The top paid sergeants at the State Police earned $309,600. We found more state police officers retired on six-figure pensions (1,555) than officers currently paid on six-figure salaries (1,540)!
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Cities & villages (14,500) – Small town managers collect high pay, along with perks and pension benefits. Top paid managers were Michael J. Ellis (Village of Grayslake –- $302,408); Reid Ottesen (Village of Palatine — $300,900); Richard Nahrstadt (Village of Northbrook – $280,516); and Stephanie Hannon (Village of Bannockburn – $252,360).
Most local six-figure employees are in the police and fire departments. The top-paid local police officer worked in Deerfield, John Sliozis ($226,241) although the next five officers making more than $200,000 worked for the Aurora department.
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Illinois may have already crossed the Rubicon. And now the public-sector unions are giving the state the last push off the cliff.
Note: all compensation amounts listed are cash compensation, or pensionable compensation and do not incorporate the cost of benefits, i.e. health insurance, etc., unless otherwise cited.
Let me see Democrat run cities and states negotiating with Public service employee Unions. Interesting.
Every heard of a Republican run public employees Union? Didn’t think so.
And worse than that, generous pensions that kick in early and can’t be terminated.
If you think Illinois has overpaid gov’t workers, search wages of bureaucrats in Washington DC.
Quarter million dollar salary - for a bus driver in Chicago. Yeah, yeah. It is the highest pay, not the starting pay.
When I was growing up, my folks insisted that working for the government was for dullard types who couldn’t excel or even compete in the private sector. Well, they weren’t wrong, but the pay levels even average gov’t employees sometimes earn is amazing, and the fact that they are inevitably pensioned and can’t be fired no matter how lousy their performance is is not a nothing.
When I was in high school you needed political connections to obtain a teaching job in Illinois. Prison guards as well and they had to make donations to keep the job.
The Illini are doing fine. They are First in The Big Ten West😉
I don't know, I'm a retired fed LEO GS-14/7 (which is about as much as any GS employee can make at retirement. I make about 85 K 'before' taxes in retirement. And I'm not complaining.
I realize I have it much better than almost anyone in the privet sector.
We have a retired public employee in my town that is getting $16,000 a month retirement. That’s some damn good public service.
State and local government in Rat Party states is just one giant scam.
A few years ago there was a story about an MBTA *bus driver* (the MBTA is the Greater Boston transit system) was,at the age of 55,getting a $90,000 a year pension.
Just gettin’ reparations from the man
Amen. DC is woefully corrupt.
It’s expensive to keep the RAT voter base expanding.
This is caused by the unions working with Democrats at the bargaining table. Except neither side is working for the taxpayers.
IIRC Michigan public employee pensions are similarly protected in the state constitution(!)
No worries! The vaccines will reduce underfunded liabilities!
My brother lives in Illinois. He has a friend who retired from the state highway department who says his pension is more than when he was working.
That’s part of it. Another quarter to two thirds corruption tax built in to any expenditure.
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