July 2010 Archives

The state of Illinois hired 910 registered nurses in fiscal year 2008 for $62,742,469 in combined total wages. The average salary was $68,947 while the highest paid registered nurse made $188,009. The Bureau of Labor Statistics website shows the mean salary for a registered nurse in Illinois was $65,130.

Our IllinoisOpenGov.org website distinguishes between "Registered Nurse I" and "Registered Nurse II." According to the Illinois Department of Central Management Services website, those working under the title Registered Nurse I are "responsible for assigned nursing care activities in a patient, residential or health care unit, utilizing professional training and experience in the field of nursing" while a Registered Nurse II "utilizes professional training and expertise in the field of nursing to assure that other personnel assigned to patient residential or health care functions correctly carry out assigned duties."

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, click on "Payroll" and search "Registered Nurse I" and "Registered Nurse II" in the "Position" field.

The State of Illinois hired 22 receptionists in fiscal year 2008 for $657,353.22 in combined total wages. Of the 22, 14 were titled "receptionist," 4 were titled "clerk typist/receptionist," 2 were titled "office receptionist," and 1 was titled "receptionist-secretary." The highest paid receptionist made $49,972 while the average receptionist took home a $29,879 salary. Of the 22 receptionists, 4 were employed by the Governor's office. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the mean salary for "receptionists and information clerks" in Illinois was $25,440.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, click on "Payroll" and search "receptionist," "clerk typist/receptionist," "office receptionist," and "receptionist-secretary" in the "Position" field.

The State of Illinois paid 167 Day Care License Representatives $10,585,758 in total wages during fiscal year 2008. The average salary was $63,387.72, and the highest paid License Representative received $73,395. According to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services website, License Representatives determine "compliance with the Child Care Act of 1969 and standards set forth [in the law]."


To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov website, click on "Payroll" and search "Day Care" in the "Position" field.

The Illinois Department of State Police hired 8 polygraph examiners in fiscal year 2008 for a total of $667,324.10 in combined total wages. The average polygraph examiner made $83,415.50 while the highest paid polygraph examiner took home an $85,949 salary. 7 of the 8 polygraph examiners had an annual salary higher than $80,000. According to the Illinois Department of Central Management Services website, a polygraph examiner "regularly performs the most complex detection of deception work involving polygraph examinations and interrogations with multiple subjects, multiple issues, or high public exposure, confidential and sensitive external agency internal investigations, and examinations of major crime figures, position of public trust such as law enforcement personnel or other public figures."

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, click on "Payroll" and search "Polygraph Examiner" in the "Position" field.

The Illinois Department of Human services paid one tinsmith $87,045 in fiscal year 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the average wage for a tinsmith in the Illinois private sector is $59,670, 31% lower than the State's wage. Interestingly, tinsmiths in Illinois have the 3rd highest average wage in the nation, after Nevada and Alaska.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov website, click on "Payroll" and search "Tinsmith" in the "Position" field.

The Office of the State Appellate Defender hired six social historians in fiscal year 2008 for $278,278 in combined total wages. The average salary was $46,379.67 while the highest paid social historian made $57,569. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean salary for a historian in Illinois was $45,900. A description for the job of social historian could not be found on the Office of the State Appellate Defender's website.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to "Payroll" and search "Social Historian" in the "Position" field.

The State of Illinois paid 11 Library Specialists $694,395 in combined wages during fiscal year 2008. The average salary was $63,126, and the highest paid specialist received $67,724. According to the Illinois Secretary of State website, Library Specialists perform "professional librarian work in one of the professional library skill areas such as original cataloguing, patron reference work, library materials selection or other equivalent functions".

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov website, go to "Payroll" and search "Library Specialist" in the "Position" field.

The State of Illinois spent $6,795 on the "printing of pens" in fiscal year 2009 by Global Printing and Graphics. Between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, the State spent $9,294 on products and services from Global Printing and Graphics, including printing letterhead and printing of business cards. As we have blogged about before, the State of Illinois also paid over $5,000 to Jansco Inc to "Imprint -Pens."

To find this on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to "Checks to Businesses & People" and search "Global Printing and Graphics" in the "Vendor" field.

The State of Illinois hired 18 dental assistants in fiscal year 2008 for a total of $677,595 in combined total wages. The highest salary was $46,707 while the average salary was $37,644.17. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the mean salary for a dental assistant in Illinois was $33,170. Nine of the dental assistants hired by the state worked for the Department of Corrections, eight worked for the Department of Human Services, and one worked for the Department of Juvenile Justice.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, click on "Payroll" and search "Dental Assistant" in the "Position" field.

Over $11 million from the State of Illinois went to vendors located in Cincinnati, Ohio in fiscal years 2007 and 2008. Included in the $11,737,442 were $8,897,052 to First Transit Inc. for "Prof and Artistic Services," $34,055 to Crowe Horwath LLP for "Expert Testimony," and $29,479 to a Cincinnati Office Depot for multifold paper towels.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to "Checks to Businesses and People" and search "Cincinnati" in the "City" field.

The State of Illinois hired 9 nuclear safety inspectors in fiscal year 2008 for $635,997 in combined total wages. The average nuclear safety inspector took home an annual salary of $70,666.33 while the highest paid inspector made $73,403.

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org, go to "Payroll" and search "nuclear safety inspector" in the "Vendor" field.

The State of Illinois paid 12 Benefits Counselors $679,791 in combined total wages in fiscal year 2008. The average salary was $56,649.25, and the highest paid counselor received $79,446. According to the Illinois Teachers Retirement System website, Benefits Counselors "prepare benefit estimates showing your projected pension benefits in different retirement scenarios".

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to "Payroll" and search "Benefits Counselors" in the "Positions" field. 

The State of Illinois hired four breath alcohol analysis technicians for a total of $241,878 in combined total wages in fiscal year 2008. The highest paid breath alcohol analysis technician made $60,985 and the average wage was $60,469.50. The Illinois Department of Central Management Services website says the technicians perform "regular maintenance, major servicing, calibration and certification of the accuracy of the breath alcohol analysis instruments used by law enforcement officers to test for alcohol intoxication."

To find this information on our IllinoisOpenGov.org website, go to "Payroll" and search for "Breath Alcohol Analysis Tech" in the "Position" field.

The State of Illinois hired 43 chaplains in fiscal year 2008 for $2,417,084.46 in combined total wages. The average chaplain was paid $56,211 while the highest paid chaplain took home a salary of $78,341. The Illinois Department of Central Management Services website distinguishes between two different chaplains: "Chaplain I" and "Chaplain II." According to the CMS website, Chaplain I "conducts a program of religious activity at a state institution...and cooperates with representatives of faiths interested in ministering to members of their faith within the institution." Someone hired for Chaplain II "is responsible for the overall design and direction of a full-scale interfaith program at a state institution."

The State of Illinois hired two housekeepers in fiscal year 2008 for $56,309.31 in combined total wages. The average housekeeper salary was $28,154.66 with the highest being $31,488. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics website reports that the mean salary for a housekeeper in Illinois is $20,290.

The State of Illinois hired 5 inhalation therapists in fiscal year 2008 for a total of $170,935.86 in combined total wages for an average salary of $34,187. The highest salary for an inhalation therapist was $43,824. According to the Illinois Central Management Services website, inhalation therapists, "Under general supervision, administer specialized inhalation, therapeutic treatments prescribed by professional staff in a state institution; maintain constant watch over patients under treatment and takes precautionary steps at own initiative in case of adverse patient reactions.