Robbing Peter to Pay Paul 

May 26, 2009

Peter and Paul are both human resources managers in Illinois. They have similar skill sets and have been in the workplace for the same number of years. Yet Peter makes $55,885 a year, while Paul earns a salary of $62,592. Why the difference? Peter works for a company in the private sector, while Paul works for the state government.

At a time when Illinois faces a serious budget shortfall, all areas of government spending should be carefully reviewed for potential savings. A closer look at public employee pay in Illinois shows a significant gap between wages in the public and private sector. Government workers often enjoy generous compensations and benefits funded by taxpayers.

This report, authored by Kristina Rasmussen, suggests sensible reductions in public employee pay and encourages government "belt-tightening" measures during an economic downturn.

Download our full report here ( PDF).
Download a one-page summary of the report here ( PDF).

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