Each year, taxpayer dollars contribute to employing thousands of state workers in Missouri and Illinois.
Some of these workers, especially those in high-profile or leadership positions, earn annual salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Missouri Accountability Portal and Illinois Comptroller’s Office maintain online databases to track salaries of state employees, with the top earners making over $300,000.
Curious about who these top earners are and what they do? Here’s what FOX 2 uncovered, inspired by a report from the Illinois State Journal-Register:
Missouri
Before we dive into the specifics, it is worth mentioning that according to the Missouri Accountability Portal, the top ten highest-paid state workers in Missouri in the previous year were all employed by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
1) Manisha M. Lele
2023 Salary: $483,704
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Psychiatrist
2) Sekhar Vangala
2023 Salary: $447,817
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Psychiatrist
3) Naveen K. Yarasi
2023 Salary: $434,234
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Psychiatrist
4) Amala Kumar D. Augustine
2023 Salary: $415,532
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Consulting Physician
5) Mohammad Yousuf
2023 Salary: $394,271
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Psychiatrist
6) Angeline Stanislaus
2023 Salary: $389,558
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Medical Administrator
7) Nezar A. El-Ruwie
2023 Salary: $382,071
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Psychiatrist
8) Robert B. Sexe
2023 Salary: $365,036
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Physician
9) Jamal A. Zereik
2023 Salary: $356,997
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Staff Physician
10) Ming Bruce Chi
2023 Salary: $334,468
Agency: Missouri Department of Mental Health
Role: Staff Physician
Outside of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, other top earners in the state, as per the Missouri Accountability Portal, included:
- Patrick McKenna with the Missouri Department of Transportation ($281,653)
- Robert Todd Richardson with the Department of Social Services ($269,228)
- Margaret Vandeven with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ($229,246)
Illinois
As per the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, the top ten highest-paid state workers in Illinois represent various state departments.
1) Rita Pavate
2023 Salary: $382,500
Agency: Illinois Department of Human Services
Role: Physician Specialist
2) Tommie King
2023 Salary: $368,400
Agency: Illinois State Police
Role: Sergeant
3) Hubert Fernandes
2023 Salary: $345,200
Agency: Illinois Department of Human Services
Role: Physician Specialist
4) Kevin Kelliher
2023 Salary: $340,100
Agency: Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
Role: Sergeant
5) Tanveer Shan
2023 Salary: $338,200
Agency: Illinois Department of Human Services
Role: Physician Specialist
6) Johara Farhadieh
2023 Salary: $336,300
Agency: Illinois State Board of Investments
Role: Director
7) Steven Bowman
2023 Salary: $328,500
Agency: Illinois Department of Corrections
Role: Medical Administrator
8) Ali Minhas
2023 Salary: $327,400
Agency: Illinois Department of Human Services
Role: Physician Specialist
9) Abdul Saboor
2023 Salary: $327,200
Agency: Illinois Department of Human Services
Role: Physician Specialist
10) Jermaine McGee
2023 Salary: $325,500
Agency: Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
Role: Master Trooper
Physician specialist emerged as a common top-paying job in Illinois. Apart from those within the Illinois Department of Human Services, other notable earners according to the Illinois Comptroller’s Office included:
- Christopher Wilkes with the Illinois Department of State Police ($323,000)
- John Gac with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ($322,900)
- Brendan Gibson with the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice ($315,700)
