Sun-Times Teachers' Salaries Report: Put on a Happy Face

This past Tuesday the Chicago Sun-Times devoted two of its paltry 54 pages to its annual "expose" of bloated teachers' salaries.

The front page headline tittilated with mention of $100,000 salaries. And the lead teased with the fact that 55% of the Highland Park/Deerfield High School teachers pull down 6 figure salaries.

But the actual article was little more than a shameless apologia for the unionized teachers pillage of the public treasury.

Of Ros Rossi and Art Golab's 39 paragraph story, 12 paragraphs could be considered straightforward reportage -- salary facts and figures, relative district salary ratings etc.

2 paragraphs contained opinions (from a single source) critical of the bloated teachers salaries.

And 25 paragraphs were devoted to quoting sources from the education cartel telling us that the big teachers salaries were really a very, very good thing.

The Sun-Times apprised us of the astounding fact that the largely minority, Dolton Distict 149 had the 8th highest teachers' salaries in the state despite only 64% of its students meeting base state academic standards.

It then devoted the next 13 paragraphs to blatantly self-justifying quotes from the Dolton school superintendent and the head of the Dolton Teachers Union.

One bit of the union honcho's balderdash even made it onto the headline on page 15: "I don't believe people should be comfortable having their children taught by low-paid teachers."

Crack Sun-Times Reporter/stenographer
 Ros Rossi (r)

But there was nary a discouraging word or peep of protest from the parents or taxpayers of Dolton. Apparently Rossi and Golab couldn't find one -- or more likely -- didn't bother to look.

In reporting on the outrageous Highland Park/Deerfield Twp. SD 113, #1 in the state with 55% of its teachers hauling down $100k or more for their 9 month jobs, the Sun-Times report was almost as badly biased.

It managed to devote 2 paragraphs to a taxpayer who complained of the impact the salaries had on property taxes. He said he had trouble selling his home because of the astronomical property taxes in Highland Park. But the Sun-Times devoted the next 6 paragraphs to self-serving goo and mush from the fatcat teachers.

Typical was that of $92,299 a year (the CST didn't report his salary) Deerfield science teacher Bill Stafford who gushed, "I wish I could take some of the classes my colleagues teach, because they do it masterfully."

Give that clown the Dist. 113 "suck-up Teacher of the year award."

Most disturbing was the fact that Rossi and Golab made no attempt to compare the bloated teachers' salaries to anything in the private sector.

No mention of the private school teachers who perform the same work for 35% to 50% less than their government union colleagues and usually with better result.

No comparison of the $147k drivers ed teachers or $123k dancing teachers with private sector counterparts at Sears driving school or Arthur Murray dance.

And astonishingly, the Sun Times blithely reported that some of the salaries represented "pre-retirement extra pay bumps," without accompanying comment.

Those pre-retirement bumps are an egregious con-game worked by the union to secure astronomical lifetime pensions for their members, as the pension is based on the bloated "pay bumps" of the last, highest paid salaries.

Beginning this past fall, the Chicago Lampoon began publishing, in alphabetical order the complete names of teachers along with their bloated salaries in select districts.

You can link to those lists from the "Teachers' Salaries"  sidebar on the right side of this page.

There you will find just the facts. And unlike the Chicago Sun-Times teachers' salary report -- no apologies.