Cook County Board gives themselves raise amid record inflation

[June 09, 2022]  By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Cook County Board has approved giving themselves a 10% pay increase as well as pay increases of 3% over the next coming years, all while inflation hurts taxpayers' pocketbooks.

Commissioners voted on May 24 to give its members a raise in December, followed by automatic annual pay increases up to 3% each year. The board voted 13-4 in support of funding the raises.

The lowest ranking member of the board makes $90,000 annually. The highest member brings home $170,000 annually. After the approval of the pay increases, those members will see their salaries jump over the next few years, with the highest rate reaching the $192,000 a year mark.

Adam Schuster of the Illinois Policy Institute said there is no other approval system for these pay raises.

"The board members, in this case, are directly voting to give themselves a 10% raise," Schuster said. "That is something that is public and it is something the taxpayer can see and something they can hold them accountable for around election time."

Chicago residents are currently facing record levels of inflation on gas and other items and deal with the second-highest property taxes in the nation.

Chicago, Illinois (Bonfire2k4 | Wikimedia via Creative Commons)

While many Chicago residents are still struggling post-pandemic, the wage increases for the already well-paid board members are a bad look, according to Schuster.

"The fact that we have the second-highest property taxes in the nation, and among the highest overall state and local taxes is a big part of the reason why the pain here was felt more than elsewhere," he said.

Sean Morrison, a Cook County board member, was one of the four members to vote against increases in pay. Morrison told the Chicago Tribune that right now is not the time.

“It’s not the type of situation that I think we need to be in,” Morrison said after the vote. “We have inflation that’s up. People are paying $5 for gasoline. … I do not believe this is the time for it.”

The pay increases will go into effect in January of next year, with increases continuing over the next three years.

Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south suburbs of Chicago.