When Mayor Tim Davlin released his proposed budget, he said the city’s money situation was so “catastrophic” that he saw no choice but to lay off police officers, fire fighters, and snowplow drivers. He acknowledged that such cuts seem “Draconian,” but said the early retirement program had failed to sufficiently reduce the number of city employees.
“We can only cut fat so far before it goes to muscle and bone,” the mayor said.
Yet the budget he handed City Council that night contained significant raises for certain employees. As Illinois Times reported last week, communications director Ernie Slottag will get a $15,000 raise under Davlin’s proposed budget. But he’s not the only one. LuAnn Johnson, executive director of Oak Ridge Cemetery, is also scheduled to get a hefty raise — just slightly less than $13,000.
Johnson, who is the mayor’s first cousin and the mother of corporation counsel Jenifer Johnson, currently gets $60,030 annually for her cemetery job. Davlin’s proposal would increase her salary to $72,885, a 21 percent raise.
Davlin was president of the cemetery’s board until he resigned the position to take office as mayor.
The raise isn’t LuAnn Johnson’s only perk. Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently appointed her to fill the final slot on the board that will oversee the development of the Springfield Medical District. One of unpaid board’s goals is to safeguard the neighborhoods affected by the district. Neighborhood association leaders had urged Blagojevich to appoint an actual resident of the Oak Ridge neighborhood to the board. Johnson lives on the West Side.
Slottag, too, received another bonus: Over the past weekend, he became the mayor’s next-door neighbor by moving into the spacious corner office previously occupied by Letitia Dewith-Anderson (chief of staff turned executive assistant turned former city employee). He also moved into her council chamber desk just behind corporation counsel and far removed from media row.
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For a schedule of remaining budget hearings, see Quick Takes.
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2004.
