Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, 48 aldermen accept pay raises
Despite budget experts predicting a $538 million shortfall next year between Chicago’s spending and revenues, only two city leaders opted to forgo automatic pay raises provided to top public servants in September. The mayor and 48 aldermen took theirs.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and 48 of the city’s 50 aldermen are set to receive a 2.24% pay raise on Jan. 1, with just two City Council members refusing the automatic salary bump.
Records obtained by Block Club Chicago show Johnson has not rejected the pay raise, alongside most aldermen, the city clerk and the city treasurer, despite concerns over a $538 million city budget shortfall projected in the new fiscal year. They had until Sept. 15 to accept or reject the 2.24% increase.
After the wage increase tied to inflation takes effect Jan. 1, 2024, most City Council members, including the 12 new aldermen, will earn $145,974 next year. Some aldermen already accepted a 9.6% pay raise last year tied to inflation.
If Johnson ultimately decides to accept the raise, he is estimated to collect about $221,052 annually. He would also be the first Chicago mayor to accept a salary increase since 2006.
“Budget negotiations and decisions are an evolving process, and no aspect large or small, including the salaries of elected officials, are definitive until the entire budget is balanced and finalized,” read a statement released by Johnson’s office.
“Details on which elected officials accepted or rejected salary increases will be provided when the mayor releases his recommendations next month, and all elements of compensation will be codified when the City Council passes the final FY2024 appropriation ordinance,” it stated.
City leaders said they would not release a full list of the public official salaries yet, but Block Club reported four aldermen, the city treasurer and the city clerk had all confirmed accepting the raises as of Sept. 22.
The Chicago city clerk and city treasurer both received over 20% raises last year as part of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2023 budget. While the treasurer’s office declined comment, a spokesperson for the clerk said she accepted the 2024 salary bump to meet the “rising cost of living.”
City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin recently came under fire in an inspector general’s report stating she used city staff for personal errands, including planning her daughter’s birthday party. She denied allegations she did anything illegal or unethical.
Only two city leaders have turned down the salary increase this year, including Johnson allies Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Ald. Rossana Rodriquez-Sanchez.