Gov't health exec salaries top public official paychecks

Some of the biggest paychecks don't belong to governors or other public officials, as one might expect, but to executives in the medical field, according to a new study by research nonprofit Sunshine Review.

The report, which analyzed public sector employee salaries in 152 local governments spanning eight states, found that in some states, government health employees were the highest earners.

"Medical personnel earn more than most governors," the report states.

In Illinois, for example, health employees earned the most out of all professions, including city, county, police and superintendent roles, according to the data. The Cook County healthcare CEO earned $500,000 in 2011, while the president of Cook County earned $170,000, UPI reported. A county surgeon earned $444,239, the chairman of internal medicine earned $450,000, an attending physician earned $431,797, the chief financial officer of the bureau of health services earned $350,000, the medical division chairman earned $422,751 and the medical department associate chair-surgery earned $368,116, according to UPI.

With goals of public transparency in government, Sunshine Review recommends proactive disclosure of salary information and encourages employees to post compensation data online, including benefits, overtime and retirement pay.

For more information:
- check out the Sunshine Review data
- here's the report (.pdf)
- read the UPI article

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