If Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed five percent salary raise is approved, she will earn more than $216,000 annually. Despite the current crime rate in Chicago, Illinois. While Lightfoot’s supporters believe she deserves a pay raise, her critics say she is taking the city down a dark path as crime rates rise. Crime has increased by more than 37% compared to this time last year.

If Lightfoot gets the raise she is proposing, her take-home pay would increase to $216,210 starting on May 22, 2023. She believes that the five percent rate increase matches a fair inflation rate for Americans after President Trump’s term in office.

If the city ordinance passes into law, Lightfoot would not be the only Chicago official to see a pay raise; though, if she feels the money could be better spent elsewhere, the mayor does have the option to opt out of her own pay increase. If the measure passes, other city officials who see an increase in their take-home pay would include the city clerk and treasurer. The process for them would mirror that of the aldermen who are already eligible for a pay raise this time in Chicago.

“To be clear, the ordinance that was introduced today would put the mayor, the city treasurer, and the clerk in line with all the other elected officials regarding a cost of living increase,” Mayor Lightfoot stated. “It’s not a salary increase, I want to make sure that’s clear, and it puts us in line with the aldermen. It would not go into effect until 2024 at that point, and each member, the mayor, the clerk, and the treasurer would have the ability to opt in or opt-out.”

Despite Lightfoot being capable of earning a higher salary as Chicago’s mayor, her critics argue that she deserves less. Violent crime has surged more than thirty-seven percent compared to last year’s numbers, proving that the mayor still has much to do if she wants to maintain law and order in her city.

Lightfoot’s proposed rate increase An announcement by Lightfoot of a planned rate increase resulted in nine murders and thirty-one gunshot wound victims over the weekend. Included among these was an innocent fourteen-year-old boy who received a bullet scrape while playing at a playground in Chicago’s West Wilcox neighborhood.

Should the mayor of Chicago get a pay raise? Some people think that elected officials’ salaries should be based on results in the community. What do you think?