Employees at one park district are making more than six figures

In the county with some of the state’s highest property taxes, more than one-third of employees at one park district are making more than six figures. Out of 51 employees listed in compensation documents provided by the Park District of Highland Park, 18 earn more than $100,000 in total compensation. Chris Visconti, the park district’s head tennis pro, makes a base salary of just over $99,000. When looking at total compensation, he takes home more than $126,000, park district records show. However, Visconti isn’t the only tennis pro with a hefty salary. Jennifer LaGuidice, who serves as an assistant head tennis pro, receives less than Visconti, only receiving a base salary of $78,540. However, when counting benefits, her total compensation climbs up to more than $114,000. Highland Park’s highest paid park district employee is Executive Director Liza McElroy, who makes an annual base salary of more than $198,100. McElroy also enjoys a car allowance worth $7,200, 25 vacation days and 12 sick days. All told, McElroy takes in more than $227,500 in total compensation for her work at the Park District of Highland Park. Deputy Director of Operations Kathleen Donahue earns a similar vehicle benefit, though not as much as McElroy, worth $5,100. She earns a base salary of nearly $149,500, and total compensation just under $174,400. Park districts get the bulk of their funding from local property taxes. And the Park District of Highland Park is no exception, with more than 57 percent of its funding coming from local tax dollars. The park district isn’t the largest line item on Highland Park residents’ property tax bills, accounting for 6.5 percent of a typical Highland Park property tax bill in 2016 (for a property owner residing in North Shore School District 112). This was only slightly less than the city of Highland Park, which took 6.7 percent of that same bill. While not taking up a large portion of residents’ bills, the generous compensation of so many park district employees might not be an encouraging sign for taxpayers seeking relief.

Brendan Bakala