Daily Illini Staff

The University’s budget includes $___ billion spent on employees’ salaries.

And in the wake of a state budget crisis, transparency is more important than ever. As costs-saving measures are taken into account, it is important to examine the University’s budget, which salaries make up ____ percent of the University’s operating budget.

We believe that it’s important to know how much those who teach our classes, lead our University and manage our athletic teams are being paid. Because tuition-paying students and Illinois taxpayers contribute to the budget, we believe that it should be clear how the money is being spent.

The Daily Illini Salary Guide online search database makes it easy to see where the University is spending this part of the budget and how much money employees in every department, college and campus are being paid.

Our database includes salaries from the Academic Administrative Appointments book, or Gray Book, which is approved annually by the Board of Trustees. The database also includes salaries from the non-Gray Book, which includes employees who are civil service staff and academic professional staff and additional faculty who do not appear in the Gray Book.

Employees will not be in the Gray Book if they are classified as civil service, alternate source of position funding or non-standard appointment calendars.

Data included in the non-Gray Book excludes employees or jobs that are classified as extra help, graduate assistant, pre-doctoral fellow, academic or grad hourly, summer appointment, medical resident, student, retiree or unpaid.

It also does not include jobs classified as cellphone stipend, deferred pay, lump sum, one time pay, sabbatical supplement, temporary assignments or vacation payouts.

The salaries may be affected by events throughout the year, including mid-year promotions or unpaid leaves, and do not include all compensation, such as overtime and benefits. Factors such as experience, education and specialized training can all influence how much employees are paid.

Anyone can find the information we’ve included in our Salary Guide. State employees’ salaries are public record that we obtained through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The Gray Book can be found at http://www.bot.uillinois.edu/gray-book.

By publishing these salaries, we want the University to be held accountable for this part of the budget. We hope this provides the University of Illinois community with an easier way to see the salaries of all University employees.

This year, the print edition includes information on how the top campus salaries have been impacted by the resignation of former Chancellor Phyllis Wise and Provost Illesanmi Adesida, the firing of head football coach Tim Beckman and the retirement of former president Robert Easter.

Additionally, the guide looks at the costs behind two investigations into the athletics department.

To find the full list of salaries online in our database, visit SalaryGuide.DailyIllini.com.