Think Tank: Illinois Public Pay Scales Out Of Sync With Private Sector
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A conservative think tank is warning that public sector pay scales are out of balance with those in the private sector.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's John Cody reports, Ted Dabrowski, vice president of the free market think tank the Illinois Policy Institute, found Illinois state worker pay has jumped 18 percent from 1992 to 2008.
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But private sector pay scales dropped 2 percent in that time, he said.
"Public sector pay and benefits are high, and it's the private sector that has the tax increases that have to pay for them," he said. "So we need to get things back in line, because today, they're out of sync.
Dabrowski says the average State of Illinois state employee is paid $69,500, versus $56,500 for the equivalent job in the private sector.
Dabrowski says over a 40-year careers, the public sector worker will get 510 more days off than the private sector equivalent.
