The boss makes how much? Illinois companies reveal CEO-to-worker pay ratio
Public companies for the first time this year must disclose how much more they pay their chief executive than their median employee, a rule born in the wake of the financial crisis and amid a social backlash against rising income inequality.
Many of Illinois' largest companies debuted their CEO-to-worker pay ratios in recent regulatory filings, and the gaps, clearly, are massive.
What's less clear is what to make of the new information.
At Northbrook-based Allstate, CEO Tom Wilson's $18.76 million compensation last year was 230 times higher than the $81,573 earned by the insurance company's median employee.
At Deerfield-based Mondelez, former CEO Irene Rosenfeld, who stepped down in November, earned 402 times more than the snack-maker's median worker - $17.11 million versus $42,893.
And at McDonald's, CEO Steve Easterbrook's $21.76 million pay package was 3,101 times the $7,017 paid to the fast-food giant's median employee, which the company defines as a part-time hourly restaurant crew member in Poland.
The leeway companies were given by the Securities and Exchange Commission to compute their ratios makes it difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions, critics say, and huge CEO pay packages - which include salary, bonus,
