Top Chicago fire department administrators made $400,000 in 2021

(The Center Square) – The five top administrators in the Chicago Fire Department made more than $200,000 in overtime, which pushed some of their gross pay above $400,000 in 2021.

The five deputy chiefs made between $214,297 and $239,465 in overtime. Their base salaries ranged from $175,464 to $188,124. The top paid deputy chief would have made about $415,000 in 2021.

A Chicago police communications operator with a base salary of $94,368 made $143,920 in overtime in 2021. 

The city spent $2.37 billion on public safety in 2021, or 51% of all general fund expenditures.

The number of budgeted positions in the fire department has remained stable from 2015 to 2021. There were 5,172 full-time positions in 2015 and that dropped to 5,124 in 2021, according to city documents.

The median household income in Chicago was $62,097 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census.

The mayor's office didn't respond to emails seeking comment. The fire department didn't respond to an email seeking comment.