132K government workers making $100K-plus cost taxpayers $17B

By Dylan Sharkey

10/31/2022

Government workers with six-figure salaries are already common in Illinois. Amendment 1 promises to boost membership in the $100K Club.

TAGS: Amendment 1, pensions

Illinois’ wealthiest bureaucrats want this bill dead

By Austin Berg

05/16/2019

There should be no compromise with those who are looking out for their own bottom line above the good of the state.

TAGS: municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, school district consolidation, school district efficiency, taxes

Waste Watch: Nearly $100M of waste in Illinois state and local government

By Adam Schuster, Alec Mena, Travis Nix

10/08/2018

Illinois taxpayers are fed up and overtaxed. Residents have little faith that their governments are spending their tax dollars well – and for good reason. The state’s most recent spending plan is out of balance by as much as $1.5 billion, and includes $54.2 million in wasteful spending and $27 million in pork-barrel spending. The...

Hundreds of local officials in DuPage have salaries over $100,000

By Vincent Caruso

02/10/2018

Residents of DuPage County pay some of the highest property taxes in the state - and the country. As taxpayers feel the pinch, compensation remains generous for many local officials - some have even enjoyed a boost.

TAGS: DuPage County, property taxes, salaries

Some Illinois village managers outearn every state governor

01/07/2018

The Mount Prospect village manager is set to receive a $214,000 salary in 2018, joining a long list of other Illinois municipal officials collecting similar and even larger paychecks.

TAGS: LGDF: Local Government Distributive Fund, mayor, property taxes

State lawmaker plans to introduce township consolidation bill

12/19/2017

State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, is working on the framework for a bill that would dramatically improve taxpayers’ ability to eliminate township governments, of which Illinois has about 1,400.

TAGS: consolidation, David McSweeney, local government consolidation, townships

Illinois has 63,000 government workers making over $100K

07/27/2017

High-priced government workers cost taxpayers in Illinois $10 billion a year, with municipal managers in areas surrounding Chicago reaping the most benefits.

TAGS: Chicago, DuPage County, Kane County, Lake County, LGDF: Local Government Distributive Fund, McHenry County, municipal government, Will County

Frank Mautino and the arrogance of Illinois’ political insiders

By Austin Berg

04/27/2017

State agencies have paid more than $270,000 to Mautino Distributing Company – most of it after Madigan brought Mautino into a leadership role in 2009.

TAGS: corruption, Frank Mautino, Illinois Auditor General, Jeanne Ives, Mike Madigan, patronage, Rich Miller

Illinois Corruption Watch, October 2014

By Brian Costin

11/01/2014

In October, we found 52 different stories of potential public corruption in Illinois, including a trio of stories related to the election. An Illinois Policy investigation into emails from a group of Kankakee County superintendents revealed potentially illegal activities to pass a countywide sales-tax hike for school facilities. Documents obtained suggest illegal actions by superintendents...

TAGS: good government, waste

$95 million in hidden spending revealed at College of DuPage

By Austin Berg

10/07/2014

Illinois’ second-largest college was revealed on Oct. 2 to have hidden more than $95 million in spending since 2009, according to data from American Transparency’s openthebooks.com. The waste therein has cost students and taxpayers dearly. Illegitimate spending at the College of DuPage, or COD, included $13,800 in membership dues to a private shooting club for...

OpenTheBooks

132K government workers making $100K-plus cost taxpayers $17B

Illinois’ wealthiest bureaucrats want this bill dead

Waste Watch: Nearly $100M of waste in Illinois state and local government

Hundreds of local officials in DuPage have salaries over $100,000

Some Illinois village managers outearn every state governor

State lawmaker plans to introduce township consolidation bill

Illinois has 63,000 government workers making over $100K

Frank Mautino and the arrogance of Illinois’ political insiders

Illinois Corruption Watch, October 2014

$95 million in hidden spending revealed at College of DuPage

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students