Illinois county exceeds overtime budget
Cook County, Illinois, is grappling with major time and attendance pay overages, according to the Chicago News Cooperative.
Several county agencies exceeded their overtime budgets, including the Sheriff's Office. However, the majority of the overtime was attributed to the Health and Hospitals System, which exceeded its allotted funds by nearly twice the amount.
Kurt Summers, chief of staff for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, said that the cost of compensating extra employee attendance continues to be high due to staff shortages.
"The hospital system … continued to go the year without filling vacancies in areas that are obviously critical like nursing," he told the news source. "When you don't fill vacancies, it obviously leads to ... greater than expected overtime."
County commissioners also blame layoffs and furloughs for the overages - the latter of which have been criticized by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel for being ineffective and decreasing morale.
According to a recently released list of the state's top earners in 2010, a medical professional took home more than $160,000 in overtime compensation, the Illinois Statehouse News reports. When added to his $201,636 salary, this made William Wood, the assistant medical director and staff psychiatrist at Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford, the highest earning state employee.
Several county agencies exceeded their overtime budgets, including the Sheriff's Office. However, the majority of the overtime was attributed to the Health and Hospitals System, which exceeded its allotted funds by nearly twice the amount.
Kurt Summers, chief of staff for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, said that the cost of compensating extra employee attendance continues to be high due to staff shortages.
"The hospital system … continued to go the year without filling vacancies in areas that are obviously critical like nursing," he told the news source. "When you don't fill vacancies, it obviously leads to ... greater than expected overtime."
County commissioners also blame layoffs and furloughs for the overages - the latter of which have been criticized by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel for being ineffective and decreasing morale.
According to a recently released list of the state's top earners in 2010, a medical professional took home more than $160,000 in overtime compensation, the Illinois Statehouse News reports. When added to his $201,636 salary, this made William Wood, the assistant medical director and staff psychiatrist at Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford, the highest earning state employee.
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