High Salary for U. of I. dean

Top pay in Illinois state government does not go to the top elected officials. As of December 31 the highest paid state employee was Phillip Forman, who earns $140,907.24 as dean of the School of Medicine and an interim vice chancellor at the University of Illinois' Chicago Campus.
Source: Office of the Comptroller

Median salary for medical school deans

The national median salary for a university medical school dean in 1987-1988 is $130,000.
Source: The Chronical of Higher Education

Highest salaried elected officials

Lodged in an eight-way tie for 59th place on the list of top state salaries are Gov. James R. Thompson and the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court. Each is paid $93,255.
Source: Office of the Comptroller

Highest salaried state administrators

Thirty-two state employees make more than $100,000 a year. All but three of them work in higher education. One of the three, state Supt. of Education Ted Sanders, earns $105,163.08. The only non-education officials earning six-figure salaries work for the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities: Lee Combrink-Graham, facility director at the Institute for Juvenile Research, and David Klass, medical director at the Elgin Mental Health Center. Each earn $105,000.
Source: Ibid.

High salaries in the private sector

Nationally, the "typical" chief executive officer is 46-years-old and has been with his firm 12 years. His base salary is $74,379 with $22,432 in perks. His "typical" company has 105 employees and annual revenues of $6.1 million.
Source: Inc., September 1987.

Highest salaried part-time help

The salary for new or reappointed members of the State Board of Elections is $19,750. The vice chairman receives $25,237 and the chairman $28,000. The board meets just once a month, but does hold special meetings, particularly in election years.
Source: Office of the Comptroller.

Full-time cooks at prisons

The starting salary for a head cook (officially a Food Service Supervisor) at one of the state's maximum security prisons is $20,006. Top salary is $26,039. Both new and old cooks will receive a 5 percent raise this July under an already negotiated contract.
Source: Department of Corrections.

Cooking for the governor

The Executive Mansion in Springfield employs two full-time chefs. The top chef at the mansion earns an annual salary of $16,692. The No. 2 chef makes $15,768.
Source: Office of the Comptroller.

Working in the rose garden

The governor's gardener makes more than his cooks. Thompson's budget for fiscal year 1989 proposes to increase the salary of the mansion's horticulturist by $1,450, to $30,456.
Source: Proposed Illinois State Budget Personnel Detail, FY 1989.

Low pay for those not working

Illinoisans out-of-work may qualify for unemployment insurance. The actual amount depends on previous salary, but the maximum a single person may receive is $9,672 a year. That grows to $10,660 with one dependent, and to $11,960 with more than one dependent.
Source: Department of Employment Security.

Lower pay for families with dependent kids

Illinoisans who draw Aid to Families with Dependent Children are not near the top of any salary listing. Eligible families receive monthly cash grants, food stamps and medical benefits from the Department of Public Aid. The cash grants and food stamps for a family of three come to $6,840 per year in northern Illinois, $6,708 in central Illinois and $6,528 in southern Illinois.
Source: Department of Public Aid.

High pay for the unemployed

Of course the easy way to make big bucks in Illinois without working is to simply win the state lottery. In fiscal year 1987 there were 127 millionaire winners receiving average annual payments of $126,842. These payments are made by the Comptroller's Office, but the winners do not appear on any list of highest paid state employees. Most lottery winners don't work for the state. Most lottery winners probably no longer work for anybody.
Source: Department of the Lottery.

General funds

The general funds end-of-month balance in February was $42 million. The average daily available balance was $143.5 million.
Source: Office of the Comptroller.

Employment drops in Illinois

February's national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.7 percent, down .1 percent from January. In Illinois the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent — from 6.7 percent in January.

There were 5.839 million people in the state's work force in February, but only 5.401 million of them were working.

Final December unemployment rates in the state's metro areas were:

Aurora-Elgin, 5.5 percent (up 1.1 from November).
Bloomington-Normal, 5.2 percent (up .6).
Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul, 4.4 percent (up .5).
Chicago, 6.2 percent (up .4).
Davenport, Rock Island, Moline (Illinois sector) 8.8 percent (up 1.6).
Joliet, 7.6 percent (up 1.2).
Kankakee, 10.0 percent (up 1.1).
Lake County, 4.5 percent (up .7).
Peoria, 7.2 percent (up .6).
Rockford, 8.2 percent (up .5).
Springfield, 5.8 percent (up .5). St. Louis (Illinois sector), 8.3 percent (up .8).

Brett D. Johnson

April 1988 | Illinois Issues | 27