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Illinois state government salary

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Illinois state government salaries for public employees are made public online for many public workers on the Illinois Transparency and Accountability portal.^[1] Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill that requires the Department of Central Management Services to create a website with information regarding state expenditures, tax credits, state employee salaries and state contracts.^[2]

According to 2008 Census data, the state of Illinois and local governments in the state employed a total of 790,539 people.^[3] Of those employees, 566,872 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $2,491,829,151 per month and 233,667 were part-time employees paid $212,405,146 per month.^[3] Sixty percent of those employees, or 450,443 employees, were in education or higher education.^[3]

[edit] Elected officials salaries

As of 2009, the salary of Illinois' governor ranked 9th among U.S. governors' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. governors was $131,115.

[edit] Campaign funds

Prior to 1998, public officials who chose not to run were allowed to keep their campaign funds for personal use. Mayor Daley is eligible to keep $1.5 million, and 50 other aldermen are eligible to collect funds in 2010.^[6]

[edit] Legislators' salary

Illinois state legislators make $67,836/year per year.^[7] Legislators also receive a per diem of $139 per day plus mileage tied to federal rate.^[7]

[edit] Judicial salaries

As of 2010, the salary of Illinois' chief justice ranked 2nd among U.S. chief justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. chief justices was $157,220. The median salary earned by U.S. chief justices was $154,250.

As of 2010, the salary of Illinois' associate justices ranked 2nd among U.S. associate justices' salaries. The average salary earned by U.S. associate justices was $151,918. The median salary earned by U.S. associate justices wa $148,245.^[8]

[edit] Salary transparency

Illinois Governor Quinn signed a bill that will shed sunshine through “Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal,” a piece of transparency legislation that Americans for Prosperity and State Representative Michael Tryon (R – Crystal Lake) spearheaded. The bill, House Bill 35, which created the Illinois Accountability Portal as a law, requiring the Department of Central Management Services to create a transparent website with information regarding state expenditures, tax credits, state employee salaries and state contracts.^[9] The only high ranking state official listed on the site is Gov. Quinn; other state employees, including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Secretary of State Jesse White and legislators are not included.^[10] Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has launched a site listing all the lawmakers salaries.^[11]

[edit] Local government employees

Main article: Illinois local government salary

In 2011, Sunshine Review requested salary information from 19 local governments in the state.

[edit] Teacher Salaries

Illinois teacher salaries are funded through a combination of state funds and local property taxes.

Illinois teachers, with the exception of those who teach in Chicago, participate in the Teachers Retirement System. Currently, teachers pay about 9.4 percent of their salaries into the Teachers Retirement System, which the state matches, with districts paying less than 1 percent. Chicago teachers have a separate retirement plan. ^[13] Even though Illinois is putting $2.4 billion into the Teachers’ Retirement System this year, that system still accounts for more than half of the state’s estimated $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. ^[14]

[edit] Benefits

[edit] Paid Days Off

Holidays Employees of the State of Illinois receive 12 paid vacation days in 2010^[15]:

• New Years Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Lincoln's Birthday
• President's Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Election Day
• Veteran’s Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Vacation Leave

[edit] Insurance

Health Eligible employees choose to enroll in either an HMO or Open Access Plan.^[16] Health insurance includes prescription and behavioral health coverage ^[16] Dental Insurance Employees may opt for dental insurance.^[16]

[edit] Retirement

Main article: Illinois public pensions

The state legislature passed bills to scale back pension benefits expected to save $100 billion over several decades, according to legislators ^[17], who passed the bill in one day in March, 2010.^[18] Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill into law on April 13, 2010.^[18] Gov. Quinn estimated the state could reduce the amount of money owed in the new budget year by $400 million. The law addresses retirement costs for a wide variety of public employees, including teachers, lawmakers, and many public servants throughout state government, universities, cities, counties and park districts.^[18] Highlights include:

• increasing the general retirement age to 67 from 62 or lower in many cases
• new employees will have to work at least 10 years and wait until 67, though a smaller benefit will be available for those who choose to start taking pension checks at age 62
• limit the salary level on which pension benefits are based to no more than $106,800 a year
• prohibits new public employees from getting a pension from one government job while collecting a salary from another.

[edit] Other benefits

State employees also have the option of participating in the following programs utilizing pre-tax dollars^[19]:

• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Deferred Compensation
• Commuter Savings Program

[edit] Controversy

A Illinois State Trooper, Matt Mitchell, who pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and reckless driving when he killed two teenage girls while driving at 126 mph, e-mailing, and talking to his girlfriend, is trying to collect worker's comp. For two years after his resignation, he continued to earn his $68,000 salary, and is now qualified for disability insurance for injuring his legs during the crash.^[20]

[edit] Disclosure

The Chicago Sun Times offers this database of Cook County, Chicago and Illinois state employee salaries. It also offers a database of teacher salaries.

The Better Government Association offers this searchable database of selected public payrolls from 2007 and 2008. The BGA database includes salary lists from the City of Chicago, Cook County, State of Illinois, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Transit Authority, City Colleges of Chicago, the City of Aurora, the City of Berwyn, the City of Naperville, the City of Rockford, the City of Westmont, Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District as well as the states of Indiana and Missouri.

Champion News.net provides a look at the Top 100 Paid Teachers in 2007.

A list of the salaries of employees of the University of Illinois is posted here.

[edit] Additional reading

• See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard

[edit] External links

• School Administrators who made more than $250,000 in 2006
• Champion News's Teacher and Administrator salary database
• Salaries of teachers in Chicago's public schools, February 2009
• Illinois Transparency & Accountability Portal Employees page
• Chicago employees from March 2009
• Illinois executive branch employees from 2008
• How Teachers Total Compensation Dwarfs Other White Collar Workers
• Family Taxpayers Foundation, Teacher Salary Database

[edit] References

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	v • d • e State of Illinois Springfield (capital)
Transparency	Freedom of Information Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | Illinois school districts A - L | Illinois school districts M - Z | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |
Government	Illinois State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate |
Judiciary	Illinois Supreme Court | Circuit Court of Appeals | District Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations |
Ballot Measures	2008 ballot measures | School bond issues | Procedures for qualifying an initiative | Amending the constitution | History of direct democracy | Campaign finance requirements |