Rosemont Mayor Will Get A $90K Raise Next Year
The mayor's salary in northwest suburban Rosemont will skyrocket after the next municipal election next April to $260,000 a year.
Mayor Brad Stephens currently makes a base salary of $170,000 a year, WBBM's Bernie Tafoya reports. His most recent pay raise goes into effect next May, after the next municipal election.
"That certainly raises eyebrows but he has brought a lot of development to Rosemont and this is ultimately up to the voters," Better Government Association executive director Andy Shaw says.
According to Mayor Stephens' spokesman Gary Mack, the mayor wears many hats and that the salary increase is justified. Mack describes the village of Rosemont, with only 4,000 residents, as "a big operation." He says the village has tens of thousands of jobs, thousands of hotel rooms, one of the largest convention centers in the country and huge entertainment venues.
Mack also says Rosemont is a "lean operation." Mayor Stephens not only acts as mayor but as chief financial officer, economic development director and village manager, Mack added.
By comparison, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel makes $216,000 a year -- $44,000 less than what the new Rosemont mayor will be making.
Though according to Shaw, "If you're judging by the situation in the two venues, I would say, Rosemont with its development, and its tax base and its entertainment arenas, is doing pretty well and Chicago with it's crime problem and it's public schools and its fiscal meltdown is struggling mightily."
The Rosemont village board approved the pay increase Wednesday, Aug. 10.