your posted numbers were garbage;  mine weren&#x27;t:  (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ccsd59.org&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2014&#x2F;07&#x2F;Administrator-and-Teacher-Salary-and-Benefit-Report-2014.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ccsd59.org&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2014&#x2F;07&#x2F;Administrat...</a>).<p>chicago isn&#x27;t an outlier;  it&#x27;s a big city with a higher cost of living.<p>real costs are hidden behind &#x27;salaries&#x27;, a term managed by the public unions to understate real comp.  8 months a year &#x2F; health &#x2F; sick &#x2F; retirement age (55 typical) &#x2F; pension.  emotional appeals like your&#x27;s are what have allowed the public unions to rape the average family (both in the classrooms where they fail, and in the pocketbook where public school teachers are doing their finest work).