An extraordinary number of public school teachers in the Chicago region earned $100,000 or more in 2009, straining school budgets and taxpayer wallets and fueling the debate over what teachers are worth and how they get raises.
In the affluent enclaves of Highland Park and Deerfield, almost half the teachers in Township High School District 113 took home six-figure salaries — the highest percentage in the state.
In Park Ridge and Hinsdale, about 43 percent of high school district teachers earned $100,000 or more, according to a Chicago Tribune salary analysis.
Six-figure teacher salaries of that magnitude are rare elsewhere in Illinois and in most parts of the country.