The salaries of Chicago’s aldermen rise — or even fall — with the city’s cost of living under a 2006 ordinance. But City Council members can forgo the raises and opt out of the cuts in any given year. As a result of those individual choices, aldermanic salaries now vary by as much as $11,000.
How this played out: 19 aldermen who took all the increases on the table and also decided against taking a pay cut in 2010 are being paid $114,913 this year. The three aldermen who declined all the raises have a salary of $104,101. The rest fall somewhere between.
And there's a pension at the end, too.