SPRINGFIELD, IL – Each year, Sangamon County spends hundreds of millions of dollars for services within the county, but it also pays people to administer those services.
To improve transparency and better inform residents on how tax dollars are spent each year, The State Journal-Register is reporting on the salaries of public employees in government bodies across the region.
The sheriff’s office is broken up between five divisions: administration, corrections, investigations, operations, and support services, according to online records as of February of this year.
In total, those divisions are made of 180 people, and salaries that add up to $12,901,413.28.
Here are the highest incomes across the sheriff’s office divisions, according to the pay rate report.
Sheriff Paula M. Crouch, $175,460.42 (administration)
Crouch was nominated and then approved by Sangamon County board in September 2024. She was nominated to fill the vacancy as former Sheriff Jack Campbell retired in the wake of the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey. Crouch is the county’s first female sheriff. She is a nearly 25-year veteran of the Springfield Police Department. Crouch, a Republican, is running against Democratic candidate Marc Bell in the November election.
Chief Deputy John R. Hayes, $143,188.03 (administration)
The chief deputy has been designated by the sheriff to act in her/his stead in the sheriff’s absence, according to the sheriff’s office website. Hayes is entrusted with the responsibilities as second in command of the entire Sheriff’s Office, and therefore in charge of the day to day operations of the Administration Division.
All of the following positions report directly to Hayes: division captains, the jail superintendent, the support services director, the comptroller, the fleet manager, and professional standards.
Captain John D. Osmer II, 136,582.99 (administration)
Osmer is Captain of Operations. He’s been with the sheriff’s office since 2008. The Operations Division consists of several smaller divisions and units, including the Auxiliary Unit, Court Security, the Crisis Negotiation Unit, the Honor Guard, the K-9 Unit, Patrol, and the Tactical Response Unit.
Jail Superintendent, Larry L. Beck Jr., $136,370 (corrections)
Beck has served as the Sangamon County Jail Superintendent for more than 10 years. Prior to working for Sangamon County, Beck worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections for 31 years.
The Sangamon County Jail was opened in October 1991 and is capable of housing of 314 inmates.
Captain Audie Joseph Prange, $136,370 (investigations)
Captain Prange has been with the department as a deputy in 2003, according to his LinkedIn page.
The Investigations Division consists of 13 detectives and two deputies assigned to the DCFS Child Protection Division. Detectives investigate the following types of crimes: property, crimes against persons/children, financial, cyber, sexual offenses, narcotics, and more.
Here are the next highest paid employees in the sheriff’s office.
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Here are the highest earners at the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office
Reporting by Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
