Cook County, Illinois / Medical Examiner

Agency file

Medical Examiner

Source file: Cook County, Illinois — Employee Payroll / ingested Jun 19, 2026

The Medical Examiner oversees public health and medical services — disease prevention, clinics and hospitals, and health licensing and regulation.

In 2018, this agency had 109 employees with median total compensation of $14,955; the highest distinct record was $80,769.

Year: 2018
Total payroll: $2.2M
Employees: 109
Median total: $14,955
Highest record: $80,769

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$967$61,413+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2018 total compensation is spread across the 109 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($14,955) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $20,438 (100%)
Overtime — $0 (0%)
Other — $0 (0%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$11,151

$13,044

$14,955

$19,799

$54,280

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $54,280 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $11,151. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Investigator I

13 · $14,337

Autopsy Technician II

13 · $14,205

Morgue Attendant I

11 · $13,372

Assistant Medical Examiner II E8

9 · $59,028

Investigator III

5 · $20,661

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2016	$2.5M —	143 —	$13,841 —
2017	$2.4M ▼ 4.1%	134 ▼ 6.3%	$14,321 ▲ 3.5%
2018	$2.2M ▼ 7.0%	109 ▼ 18.7%	$14,955 ▲ 4.4%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Dcpc District of Columbia41% match
State Board of Veterinary Medical Examin Texas40% match
Civilian Complaint Review Bd New York City37% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Pamela Alexander

Morgue Attendant I/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$8,076

Base pay: $8,076
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $8,076
Hire date: 2018-03-18
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: d934d46c-d16d-4e94-9066-8a02c5dca028
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 1894
Office: 1259
Position Id: 800149

Pamela Alexander works as a Morgue Attendant I for Medical Examiner. Hired in 2018, they have under a year of service. Pamela earned $8,076 in 2018.

Matthew Fox

Assistant Medical Examiner II E8/Medical Examiner

2017 total comp

$7,754

Base pay: $7,754
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $7,754
Hire date: 2015-07-01
Middle name: F

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: acaf599c-8d5f-47e2-a47b-6e3e213acb2d
Fiscal Period: 2017Q4
Fiscal Quarter: 4
Job Code: 5921
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511164

At Medical Examiner, Matthew Fox serves as a Assistant Medical Examiner II E8. They have served since 2015 (about 2 years). Their 2017 pay totaled $7,754.

Isaura Almanza Fonseca

X-Ray Technician I/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$7,669

Base pay: $7,669
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $7,669
Hire date: 2018-02-05
Middle name: E

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: d5bfb614-1596-4e8f-a175-87098ac3ccf2
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 1912
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9930709

At Medical Examiner, Isaura Almanza Fonseca serves as a X-Ray Technician I. Hired in 2018, they have under a year of service. Their 2018 pay totaled $7,669.

Christopher Kalka

Investigator V/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$7,287

Base pay: $7,287
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $7,287
Hire date: 2015-03-30
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 596a7f29-ac7b-47c6-9bfc-140df47d6729
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 642
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511204

At Medical Examiner, Christopher Kalka serves as a Investigator V. Hired in 2015, they have about 3 years of service. Their 2018 pay totaled $7,287.

Brian Jones

Laboratory Assistant I/Medical Examiner

2017 total comp

$6,957

Base pay: $6,957
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,957
Hire date: 2015-12-28
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: f7ddea52-10c8-4505-ad58-38ca0c79360f
Fiscal Period: 2017Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 1891
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511179

Brian Jones is a Laboratory Assistant I at Medical Examiner. Their tenure dates to 2015, about 2 years. 2017 total compensation came to $6,957.

Monique Carr

Administrative Assistant I/Medical Examiner

2016 total comp

$6,790

Base pay: $6,790
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,790
Hire date: 2015-08-03
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 2fd17572-413f-416c-b267-8f71ad7a91fa
Fiscal Period: 2016Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 46
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511129

At Medical Examiner, Monique Carr serves as a Administrative Assistant I. Hired in 2015, they have about a year of service. Their 2016 pay totaled $6,790.

Katherine Quinn

Photo Technician III/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$6,363

Base pay: $6,363
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,363
Hire date: 2016-04-27

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: ea466524-1e31-49ab-9d6d-f973a33972d5
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 4874
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511189

Katherine Quinn works as a Photo Technician III for Medical Examiner. Hired in 2016, they have about 2 years of service. Katherine earned $6,363 in 2018.

Pamela Smith

Administrative Assistant III/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$6,346

Base pay: $6,346
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,346
Hire date: 1984-05-16
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 13b2dd3e-55b2-43a4-add5-0132e6f5310d
Fiscal Period: 2018Q1
Fiscal Quarter: 1
Job Code: 48
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511146

Pamela Smith is a Administrative Assistant III at Medical Examiner. They have served since 1984 (about 34 years). 2018 total compensation came to $6,346.

David Kreutz

Photo Technician III/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$6,212

Base pay: $6,212
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,212
Hire date: 2017-05-15
Middle name: T

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: baf5ee94-10ac-409f-8269-223332103ef8
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 4874
Office: 1259
Position Id: 1400486

David Kreutz works as a Photo Technician III for Medical Examiner. They have served since 2017 (about a year). David earned $6,212 in 2018.

Jack Hines

Investigator I/Medical Examiner

2016 total comp

$6,208

Base pay: $6,208
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,208
Hire date: 2006-07-24
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 5f4eb707-78a7-4fdd-bd86-7c4737e87b28
Fiscal Period: 2016Q4
Fiscal Quarter: 4
Job Code: 638
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9511222

At Medical Examiner, Jack Hines serves as a Investigator I. Their tenure dates to 2006, about 10 years. Their 2016 pay totaled $6,208.

Jennifer Beese

X-Ray Technician I/Medical Examiner

2018 total comp

$6,093

Base pay: $6,093
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $6,093
Hire date: 2017-10-02

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 50d8f15d-2d93-497b-b1aa-40f7008f9250
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 1912
Office: 1259
Position Id: 9930710

Jennifer Beese works as a X-Ray Technician I for Medical Examiner. Their tenure dates to 2017, about a year. Jennifer earned $6,093 in 2018.