Mayor and Aldermen should tie their income to the economy, the local economy, not the Chicago economy.

This is in response to Mayor, aldermen may tie their raises to economy in the Illinois State Journal-Register:

Mayor and Aldermen should tie their income to the economy, the local economy, not the Chicago economy.

According to the Illinois Workforce Info Center, Sangamon County ranks at number 9 of the top ten highest average wages in the state of Illinois. The average weekly wage is $861.00 and the average annual salary is $44,772. T he mayor’s salary being nearly $120,000 places the position so high that reality is just a bad dream fading over coffee in the quiet morning light.

This business about tying wages to the consumer price index has nothing to do with the unemployment rate or average income based on current taxable income. If they are going to talk about adjusting their income based on the performance of the economy, they should start thinking of their income in terms of percentages of current tax revenue. They need an incentive to raise the standard of living for everyone so they can reward themselves with the increased tax revenue that results from the increase in everyone’s disposable income in the community.

So fix the ceiling of public employee salaries at the average annual salary or average weekly wage of everyone in the community, and get busy finding a way to raise that average, or find someone who can.