By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
New Trier Township HS District 203’s Superintendent Paul Sally is set to retire next year and he can count on lifetime pension benefits of nearly $8 million. When he does retire, he’ll join the ranks of the Teachers Retirement System’s top pensioners.
We’ve written for years that Illinois’ pension systems are out-of-whack with what taxpayers can afford. It’s a two-class system where those in government get guaranteed lifetime pensions and other protected benefits while those in the private sector, who get no such guarantees and protections, are forced to pay for them.
But it’s the superintendent pensions that help bring attention to just how problematic public pensions are. Sally has done nothing wrong, of course. He’s simply benefitting from the system that’s been put in place by lawmakers. The true blame falls on the politicians who created the pension system, those who continuously sweetened benefits over the decades, and today’s lawmakers who refuse reforms.
With no reforms expected in the near term, all we can do is highlight the results of Illinois’ two-class system.
Paul Sally’s exact pension will be unknown until he officially retires, but based on FOIA data and his current pensionable salary of nearly $350,000, Wirepoints estimates his starting pension will be around $255,000 a year. If Sally lives to 82 – his approximate life expectancy according to Social Security actuarial tables – he’ll end up collecting about $8 million in total benefits. By then, his pension will have grown to $476,000 per year – thanks to the automatic 3% compounded cost-of-living increase he’ll automatically get each year.
And if he lives past 82, Sally can expect to collect over $8, $9, or even $10 million in total benefits.
Sally is already one of the highest paid superintendents in the state. His pensionable earnings are currently the state’s 9th-highest at $346,609.
Now, to be fair to New Trier, Paul Sally’s high salary is only a burden to the residents of the New Trier school district. 94% of the district’s operating costs are funded directly by the property taxes of New Trier residents.
But that’s not the case when it comes to pension costs. Teacher pensions are paid for by state income taxes, so when Paul Sally gets a multimillion lifetime pension, all Illinois taxpayers have to chip in, from Carbondale to Rockford and from Quincy to Danville.
Sally’s big pension isn’t just a one-off. There are many superintendents across the state retiring in their 50’s and collecting six-figure sums each year. The state’s top TRS pensioners, meanwhile, can all expect to collect more than $9 million in benefits.
Some of the “retired” superintendents on the list above have gone on to work other big-paying jobs out of state, all the while drawing an Illinois pension. Yet others figure out how to double dip right here in Illinois, working interim superintendent jobs while still getting their full pensions.
The sad reality is that superintendent pensions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Illinois’ pension problems. There are more than 1 million government workers and retirees who benefit from pensions, and the costs are simply too much to bear for ordinary Illinoisans.
For those looking to do a deep dive into just how extreme Illinois’ pension situation is, go to:
- Wirepoints’ Pension Solutions
- Illinois state pensions: Overpromised, not underfunded
- New 2023 data: Inflation can’t save Illinois from its worst-in-nation pension crisis
- Illinoisans burdened with $207 billion in official state & local pension debts, $41,000 per household
- Johnson’s next headache. Chicago’s pension funds are running out of money
- Pension reform, Illinois style: Legislation to ‘fix’ the Tier 2 problem
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Any way you look at this situation…it is wrong and never going to be fixed. These folks will work the system and make $255K in retirement. It is obscene. We are the dopes paying and paying for this crap to continue. T-minus 24 months and counting…
Here is a list of some of the largest pensions in 2014 now add 3% compounding for 10 years and these figures are much larger,
https://taxpayersunitedofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/Top200Grids-2014.pdf
https://news.wttw.com/2017/12/21/retired-illinois-educators-taking-home-millions-pensions
There are enough people on the pension system to ensure Democratic hegemony in Cook, the surrounding counties, and therefore the State of Illinois. The rest of us, which is by far the majority of citizens, need to take control. We need serious structural reform. I concerned that it will get a lot worse before it gets better, and there will be unnecessary pain to ordinary folks while our elites and our political class emerge virtually unscathed.
Plus, are Madigan or Burke ever going to see jail time? If there’s no accountability, where is the impetus to be on the square?
How does Mr Sally’s salary compare to average superintendent salary in Illinois insane number (852?) of school districts could? Or, what are school superintendent making in other states, Indiana for example?
Also:
What does Illinois spend on superintendent/ administrative salaries & benefits compared to other states in total or as a % of $ spent per student? I believe WP and others have done studies and the figures are in $outerspace$ as usual.Does states (CTBA) Evidence Based School Funding Formula include funding for supposed less affluent school districts (CPS for example) to match Mr Sally’s in $outerspace$ superintendent salary & benefit deal and other administrator/ administrative costs?!?!?!-EQUITY-!?!?!
A follow up story on states that get the pensions right, balanced between what the public servant was promised, without the confiscatory taxation of the true employers of these public servants, would be helpful. The people need to see the alternative to the Illinois system in action.
WP has done this comparative analysis in detail over the years. In short order, any of IL’s neighboring states is a better example of fiscal responsibility. Obviously most of America outside of the Democrat run hellholes (CA, IL, NY, etc) is also better run than IL.
I do not agree in whole that the issue has been created by the politicians and instead feel it is a problem caused by the people that elected these politicians. On the other hand perhaps the situation is not a problem as it is, after all, the apparent will of people on election day. Obviously the people want these high salaries and pensions for their school leaders despite the low performance of Illinois schools.
Yes RB. The people of Illinois want more spending and higher taxes. Look at the budget that was just passed. More money for migrants and more taxes to be raised. Elected leaders clearly aren’t afraid of raising taxes as compared to cutting spending. Maybe one day that will change but the current Illinois voters seem quite happy.
People in Illinois apparently just love spending money is what I gather out of all of this and, based upon the latest budget, Illinoisans must love spending money on immigrants, legal or not, as well. This spending will eventually force into place the tax hikes that the Governor et al are currently clamoring for. Naturally however the tax hikes will be disguised as an effort to make everyone pay their so called “fair share” as tax hikes seemingly are these days. In view of this I can only summarize that people in Illinois must be in heaven because where else… Read more »
So true
Pritzker has personally been responsible for the most voter disenfranchisement of any IL Gov of the last 25 years, e.g. obscene gerrymandering, and SB2412. The elections in IL are rigged by Democrats. Pritzker wishes to appoint our ‘representatives’ it seems and make elections meaningless. So it’s definitely not the voters asking for this continued tax and spend in IL.
Yet they voted for Pritzker in a statewide election twice where gerrymandering has zero impact. If Republicans were winning statewide elections but losing the GA because of gerrymandering, you would have a point. Instead Republicans can’t even win in these statewide races because the majority of the people in Illinois are happy with their representation or at least are happier than the alternative.
The pols chose the voters by political maps drawn to make sure their candidate gets the most votes so if you happen to live within the boundaries and are the other party you are out of luck getting your candidate into office (if there is one).
It’s not a problem because it is the will of the people. Obviously that makes it right. That’s what Venezuelans thought too, as they enthusiastically voted for Chavez and Maduro.
…and they got what they voted for.
Yes, of course. Reality always wins. Your comment indicated that it is not a problem because it is, after all, the apparent will of the people. It is the will of some people to impose the consequences of their bad choices on all of us.
The school districts should be responsible for the majority of their pension costs, not the state taxpayers. There is the real disconnect – total lack of fiscal accountability. And oh yes, no one is forcing Mr Sally to grab all he can get – complete lack of concern and integrity there. I’m certain he is a good Democrat.
I personally believe all school districts should be responsible for 100% of pension costs which would then make those school districts be more financially responsible in the running of their district.
Agree, municipal pensions are the responsibility of the municipality I believe.
The problem is that the local taxpayers will be on the hook for not only the pension contributions but the pension itself but they are negotiated behind closed doors so we don’t know the details until ratification of the contract. Then we get socked with the bill.
CPS will open the details of the demands to the public which is rare or a first in Illinois.
“local taxpayers will be on the hook for not only the pension contributions but the pension itself” From the article above. “But that’s not the case when it comes to pension costs. Teacher pensions are paid for by state income taxes, so when Paul Sally gets a multimillion lifetime pension, all Illinois taxpayers have to chip in, from Carbondale to Rockford and from Quincy to Danville.” The article makes the point the local distric is responsible for the salary and I’m sure contribution costs associated with the salary but they also point out that teacher pensions are paid by state income… Read more »
I know that but was responding to “your dime” in the comment the local municipal pensions should be the responsibility of the municipality. The deals are made on the local level but the pension itself is shifted to the state so all taxpayers contribute. But what about returns and contributions of the funds? The markets have been doing very well and even the cash on hand should be getting 4-5% returns. Is the cash being invested getting higher returns? One of the problems was that for at least a decade interest rates were just above 0% at 0.01% returns due… Read more »
Illinois TRS fund has been earning on average over 9 percent for the last 40 years. Investment returns are not the problem so not sure what your point is regarding this matter.
Fred, low to 0% interest rates for a decade is why gold is $2300 – $2400 per troy ounce today. The market has a way of correcting imbalances including over paid public school district superintendents.
Retiring in your 50’s is not a long work history by private sector workers standards.
Educators do not do it for the money. Just lucky they get so much.
All of this paid for by the future generation of taxpayers.
Largest generational theft in history.
Congrats to Paul Sally. After a career in education and finishing his career in a position of leadership for a top notch school district, he will have the opportunity to live out his retirement with a great pension. Well deserved and earned. Enjoy your retirement Paul.
Perhaps Mr Sally can regale us with tales of the fine steaks and wine he will be enjoying in his retirement, paid for by the taxpayers of Illinois- where the median family income is $78,000 and 65 out of 100 children cannot read at grade level.
Yale class of 1985. Let’s assume he started teaching in 1990 after graduate studies shown in his CV. Worked for 34 years to get pension of $255K/year [untaxed] plus COLA plus health care. Present lump sum value about $4.2 million. Presumably will not collect social security. I can’t say that’s unreasonable in comparison to a private sector executive with management skills even though Paul got longer vacations. No stock options or company plane. Certainly enough to excite envy in an English teacher, however. And Paul could take a hell of a haircut if (when) the system runs out of money.… Read more »
An only worked 8 months a year!
I agree PT. His retirement and earnings are hardly unreasonable compared to the private sector. Doubt Paul will be taking any haircut but you never know. Maybe at age 81 when his pension is close to 500k per year? Of course he would have already collected 8 million and that small percentage cut will be off the new larger half million dollar pension. He’s probably not too worried about it.
New Trier is an outstanding public high school where academics have long been prized. Perhaps it’s community wealth or committed parents or motivated teachers. Who knows? A better slice of the gene pool? Urban schools: “teaching” in disrupted classrooms to the lowest common denominator. How to fix Chicago and its Dem hacks on a trajectory toward Gaza and Hamas? A demoralized population seems to give rise to loathsome leaders. Germany during the Great Depression, for example. A choice between Biden and Trump, for God’s sake! History seems to teach that things will get much worse before they get better. Perhaps… Read more »
My guess is it is the demographics. Here is the breakdown of the student body.
https://www.niche.com/k12/new-trier-township-high-school-winnetka-il/students/
It’s not really rocket science here that’s so hard to ponder. Which young people are generally going to do better academically—those who are inclined to be non-participants and even disruptive in school or those who are active participants and dedicated to good school performance? Take a wild guess there, and also take a wild guess as to the general description of the parents in each case. There are other factors, of course, but what’s offered for your thoughts here probably are of greater importance in most such discussions.
History teaches that men learn nothing from history.
They study communism and all its horrors and then proclaim “real communism has never been tried!”
I once heard the argument that the Germans, for goodness sakes, the Germans who are good at everything, tried communism in East Germany for several decades and it was a complete disaster and fell apart after 50 years. if the Germans can’t pull off communism, then there’s no chance communism will work anywhere else.
Here’s a P.S. from a publication that you’re not likely to be reading:
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/05/why-teachers-are-fleeing-public-schools
PPF, I love how you compose this comment, knowing it will provoke a negative response from other WP commentors.
They all need to be paid in Illinois scrip, that can only be redeemed in the state of Illinois. Everyone that fails to leave the state has only themselves to blame.
All state pensions paid to non Illinois residents need a 10% handling fee!
First, its illegal under current IL law. Secondly, why not take, say, 90% as the handling fee? Where does selective taxation end and criminal confiscation begin for your consideration here?
It’s also illegal under federal law, public law 104-95. It prohibits a state from taxing pensions of its former residents.
Criminal confiscation would begin the moment 1 penny is taken from pensioners. However, as we often hear, criminals don’t care about the law. So much for the law and order crowd.
Nahhh. Illinois pensions will be paid in US dollars and sent to whatever bank that the pensioner chooses. No handling fee and no fake currency. Plenty of money to pay pensions. Look at the budget that was just passed and the new taxes just raised. Barely a yawn from the average illinois voter.
PPF – a significant number of those tax increases are regressive. This cannot be sustained. Is crushing the middle class the price to pay to carry pension costs? Apparently so. Plus the pension epicenter is the City of Chicago. That is the most urgent source of trouble.
Well, the voters don’t want a progressive income tax and let all of us know at the polls. So we will continue to raise taxes where allowable until the voters would prefer to cut spending. It’s up to the voters at this point.
Yes, but you do recognize that the legislators pushing these regressive taxes appear not to care about people with lesser means? Very similar to the student loan programs where all that matters is that the progressive academic industrial class gets paid. The problem is low information voters – not unique to Illinois.
“… he will have the opportunity to live out his retirement with a great pension.” The sentence is incomplete – it should end with “on the backs of Illinois taxpayers who had zero input in his salary and did not reap the benefits of his leadership”. The North Shore leadership and self-proclaimed leaders of the DEI movement should be advocating for the pension obligation to return to the employer, the school district that is making the salary to pay decisions, if they sincerely want diversity, equity, and inclusion. The North Shores’ ability to make the decision to pay the salaries… Read more »
Did you see number 2 on the list, Dolton? Current pensionable salary of 486k per year. It’s not just happening on the north shore. Kevin will be collecting a pension of over 1 million per year if he makes it to age 80. The taxpayers of the state have had plenty of input. They have elected leaders that support the current pension system, they approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that pensions couldn’t be reduced and most recently approved an amendment guaranteeing the right to collectively bargain. They elected leaders that refused to properly fund pensions that have caused the overall… Read more »
I know it’s not just happening on the north shore. The point I was trying to make by referring to the north shore is that while they are one of the biggest advocates of DEI they are at the same time burdening the state with very large pension obligations through the salaries they pay … where’s the equity in that? I have not heard of any school district advocating for a policy change, shift the pension obligation to the district, on the north shore but have heard time and time again the need to be equitable … in other words,… Read more »
“There are no victims”
There can be no victims in a Democracy is like saying the wolves voted to eat the sheep for dinner.
Nothing requires the sheep to stay for dinner. People that have voted for this or stay for it have made a decision. They are not victims. They are actively choosing their life. Stop being a victim Debbie.