$43,000 In Raises, Promotions For Joliet's New Deputy City Clerk Since 2021 Hiring

JOLIET, IL — As Joliet residents continue to pay more money in fuel taxes and property taxes, the salaries for Joliet City Hall officials remain on the rise. A recent Joliet Patch Freedom of Information Act request revealed that Nicole Hughes was promoted in August within City Clerk Laura O'Hara's office to become her new deputy city clerk.

Hughes' promotion came after a job transfer within City Hall. Pauline Ames, the long-time deputy city clerk under O'Hara's predecessor, Christa Desiderio, was moved into the human resources office and given the position of human resources coordinator.

According to Joliet's salary data, Hughes is now making an annual salary of $105,000 — which is $15,750 higher than what Ames was making after several years on the job as Joliet's deputy city clerk.

As for Ames, her reassignment to human resources did not initially come with a pay raise. However, after 90 days on the job, Ames' salary was increased on July 11 from $89,250 to $92,151, a salary increase of roughly $2,900.

Joliet Patch's recent FOIA request revealed that Hughes was hired at the city of Joliet shortly after local attorney Jim Capparelli was hired by Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and the Joliet City Council as the new city manager. After working as a legal secretary at the downtown Joliet law offices of Tomczak Law Group, Hughes was hired at a starting salary of $62,000 in 2021 as the office manager at the city manager's inside City Hall.

In February 2022, Hughes was moved into the city clerk's office and made a records management specialist, and the promotion came with an $8,000 salary increase to $70,000. After three months on the job, in May 2022, Hughes was given a salary increase of $2,828.

In her new city clerk's office role as records management specialist, Hughes received another salary increase of $1,821 starting in January 2023 and three months later, prior to Capparelli's eventual resignation as city manager, Hughes received another salary increase of $5,351, bringing her salary to $80,000.

That May, Terry D'Arcy took over as the new mayor of Joliet, and Capparelli submitted his resignation as city manager in June. Beth Beatty was hired from Chicago as the new permanent city manager in December 2023, at an annual salary of $230,000.

The following month, January 2024, marked a pay increase of $1,600 for Hughes.

Then, less than four months later, Hughes received her second pay increase of 2024, this time a $2,400 raise, bringing her pay to $84,000.

As for Hughes, this past July, she received a pay increase of $2,730 and then the following month, in August, her salary was increased by an additional $18,270 when Beatty made her the new deputy city clerk, bringing her salary to $105,000.

Joliet's deputy city clerk position had been vacant since April, when Ames was moved into the human resources office as HR coordinator. Although Ames did not receive a pay raise at the time of her job change, on July 11, after three months in her new job, Ames' salary was increased to $92,151, a raise of $2,901 from her final salary as deputy city clerk, which was $89,250.

During the past five years, Ames' salary with Joliet has increased by $20,751 as a result of seven pay increases during that period, an average raise of $4,150 per year. In 2021, as deputy city clerk, Ames made $71,400.

As for Hughes, her pay with Joliet has increased $43,000 as the result of eight pay increases and two job promotions since she joined City Hall in 2021 at a starting salary of $62,000.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Joliet's Administrative Salary Hikes: $361,000 Impact Upon City Hall's 2025 Budget

Another 5-Plus Months On Payroll For Joliet's 'Retired' Planning Director

Joliet HR Director Who Had Several Huge Pay Raises Announces Her Upcoming Departure

Salary For Joliet's New City Manager From Chicago Revealed

Desiderio Becomes Joliet's New Deputy City Manager, Salary Revealed