The current aldermanic salary is $98,125, though not all council members accept that much. Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th), for example, has chosen to forgo some past pay increases, and collects $82,000 a year. Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) accepts the full amount but donates about $7,000 of his salary annually to local charities.
I might suggest that increasing salaries by 20% in a period where anger at incumbents is high and there are multiple corruptions scandals going on is a bad idea.
It might be a bad idea, but the Alderman is right — his constituents will re-elect him even after this proposal.
…and just because something is a bad idea doesn’t mean Chicago City Council won’t vote yes.
Voters are unpredictable. You may know that Pennsylvania voters are up in arms this year because state legislators voted themselves a raise. Yeah yeah. Heard it before, never has much effect, right?
This year the voters meant it. They retired a state supreme court justice, as a first response, and in the primary just past defeated a number of incumbents including the two top leaders of the GOP-dominated state senate. 30 incumbent legislators retired, rather than face the enraged electorate.
I’d been worried that this anger will fade before November, but it may not. Voters are re-discovering a vote in 2001 in which the state legislature decided to increase pensions for state employees. They increased pensions for other state employees by a hefty 25%. But for themselves, they increased it 50%. One citizen legislator retiring this year will receive $97,000/year in pension from the taxpayers.
My prediction? Voters are gonna stay grumpy, this time.