17 pass with an increase of 9.6%

A Chicago alderman is up for re-election in five months, and with inflation high, two more aldermen are on the verge of a raise, which could have increased their salary by nearly 10%. .

Aldermen Edward Burke (14th) and Samantha Nugent (39th) declined pay raises, bringing the number of councilors to 17, and pay increases are automatically indexed to inflation. is 9.6%. .

As of September 2nd, 15 out of 50 councilors have already resigned 2023 salary increase: Daniel La Spata, No. 1. Brian Hopkins, 2nd. Nicole Lee, 11th. Marty Quinn, 13th. Raymond Lopez, 15th. Matt O’Shea, 19th. Silvana Tavares, 23rd. Felix Cardona, 31st. Carlos Ramirez Rosa, 35th. Gilbert Villegas, 36th. Anthony Napolitano, 41st. Brendan Riley, 42nd. Tom Tunney, 44th. Matt Martin, 47th. and Maria Hadden, 49th. A year before him, Quinn was a minimum-wage alderman. He accepted a raise for this year.

Tunney is one of several incumbent aldermen who have announced that they will not run for re-election next year. Lopez is also not seeking re-election, opting instead to run for mayor against incumbent Lori Lightfoot. Two of her other city councilors — Roderick Sawyer (6th) and Sophia King (4th) — are also on the mayor-or-nothing route, and have submitted re-election bids to remove Lightfoot. I’m holding back. They are not on the list of aldermen who will refuse a raise.

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At least one mayoral candidate has criticized city councilors for accepting pay increases. Willie Wilson, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist known for cash and gas rationing, said this week, “Receiving this money in the midst of a recession, when most Chicagoans have had their incomes slashed, is a big deal. Unacceptable and utterly wrong, put those increases back into the city budget!”

Aldermen’s top salaries are expected to increase by about $12,500 next year to reach $142,772. Not everyone on the council earns the same amount as they have given up some of their past pay increases.

Aldermans who do not run next year but accept a pay raise will receive new compensation until the end of their term in May. Thursday’s deadline isn’t hard, though. Council members can change their minds and decide to opt out of salary increases throughout the year.

Meanwhile, Burke’s salary remains at $120,408. The longest-serving alderman, Burke, 14, is awaiting trial to clear federal racketeering charges, and he has not announced whether he will run for re-election. he pleaded not guilty.

Burke has relied heavily on deep wells of campaign funding to pay his legal costs. he spent more than $2.7 million About a lawyer preparing a defense.

Far South Side Aldo. 34-year-old Carrie Austin’s salary rises to her $142,772. Austin faces federal bribery charges. Austin has pleaded not guilty and he is not seeking re-election next year, but that will be reflected in his salary from January to May, as well as his pension payments after he resigns from Congress.

City council salaries have been linked to inflation since 2006, when councilors voted to automatically increase them based on the consumer price index. It freed me from the politically unpopular task of regularly voting on compensation. Individual aldermen can be exempted from annual pay raises, but will get pay raises if they do nothing.

But since that policy change, US inflation has soared to levels not seen in 40 years.

last year only Five city councilors declined The 5.5% rise was the highest in more than a decade when inflation was beginning to set in. One big difference this year is that on his February 28th, 2023, all members of parliament will be up for election.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn’t get an automatic raise every year. In fact, the mayor’s salary of $216,210 has remained unchanged since his 2006 inauguration by Richard M. Daley.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/elections/ct-chicago-aldermen-pay-raises-20220915-qxditzl5sfblpesmlaaycae3c4-story.html#ed=rss_www.chicagotribune.com/arcio/rss/category/news/ 17 pass with an increase of 9.6%

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