Open Illinois.org

Using our transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, in 2008, there were 548 court reporters on the state payroll and the state paid them a total of $33,336,359.80 in wages. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission employed 27 court reporters, while the other 521 court reporters had “Court Reporters” listed as their agency. According to Central Management Services documents, a court reporter “records, at a high rate of speed, verbatim testimony given in judicial or quasi-judicial hearings, court proceedings or administrative review functions; prepares and certifies transcriptions of testimony for inclusion in the records; furnishes copies of transcriptions to contestant parties upon request; reports proceedings of special boards, committees and commissions as assigned.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that court reporters in Illinois received average annual wages of $39,470, while court reporters on the state payroll received average annual wages of $60,832. Of the 548 total state court reporters, 484 received annual wages higher than the state average. The highest paid state court reporter received $98,250.59 in wages in 2008.

To find this data on IllinoisOpenGov.org, go to “Payroll” and search for “Court Reporter” and “Official Court Reporter” in the “Position” field. To download the data, click on the Excel or CSV icon below the search results.