Chicago’s City Council is up for reelection in February, and soon alderpersons could potentially see a pay raise without having to put the measure up for a floor vote.
Approximately 15 years ago, the City Council approved a measure that would give its members pay raises that would be tied to the rate of inflation. After receiving a 5.5% pay raise last year, they could potentially be in line for a nearly 10% increase in salary, according to officials.
Still, members of the City Council have the ability to reject the raise, and Ald. Ray Lopez, running for mayor, says that he will be one of them.
“Aldermen are leaders in the community and they should be setting an example by rejecting this pay raise,” he said.
Lopez also rejected a pay raise in 2021.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, who represents the city’s 36th ward, will also be turning down the increase in salary.
“10% is a big number,” he said.
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Under city ordinance, the only way to decline the pay hike is for a member of the City Council to opt out of the raise by Sept. 2. Alderpersons can do so by sending a letter to the city’s Budget Office.
“You have to willingly refuse a $12,000 pay raise,” Lopez said. “Otherwise, you automatically get it.”
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Salaries on the City Council vary, but the majority of members earn $130,000 per year. The new increase would bump that pay up to around $143,000.
“Most residents in my ward haven’t seen that type of compensation,” Villegas said.
Other members of the City Council informed NBC 5 that they will turn down the raise, including Alds. Brendan Reilly and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa.
Some others are undecided, including Ald. Michael Rodriguez, who says he will “probably” turn down the money, and Ald. Pat Dowell, who just completed an unsuccessful run to replace Rep. Bobby Rush in Congress.
Lopez says that he will propose new legislation that would reduce aldermanic pay to $120,000 per year, and that would cap the inflation raise to 3%. He also says he wants to change the law so that raises are only available at the start of each new term for council members.
“The optics just don’t look good,” Villegas said of the raise. “I think it’s more acceptable, more palatable. It’s reasonable, I would say, (to make) 3% the cap.”
Lopez is also pushing for legislation to prohibit alderpersons from holding second jobs, with approximately a dozen of the 50 members of the City Council currently holding outside employment.
