Agency file

Public Guardian

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

The Public Guardian is a government agency that delivers public services and programs within its jurisdiction.

In 2018, this agency had 206 employees with median total compensation of $21,000; the highest distinct record was $36,914.

Year: 2018
Total payroll: $4.4M
Employees: 206
Median total: $21,000
Highest record: $36,914

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

$2,673$34,615+

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

How 2018 total compensation is spread across the 206 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($21,000) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $21,388 (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

$14,360

$16,933

$21,000

$25,528

$30,487

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $30,487 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $14,360. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Guardian Ad Litem II

55 · $23,105

Guardian Ad Litem III

26 · $30,474

Caseworker III Public Grdian

21 · $21,328

Guardian Ad Litem I

17 · $16,743

Administrative Assistant II

10 · $16,210

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	$4.6M —	229 —	$19,448 —
2017	$4.5M ▼ 2.1%	217 ▼ 5.2%	$20,655 ▲ 6.2%
2018	$4.4M ▼ 2.9%	206 ▼ 5.1%	$21,000 ▲ 1.7%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Daniel Belko

Guardian Ad Litem IV/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$36,914

Base pay: $36,914
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $36,914
Hire date: 1998-05-26
Middle name: X

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 15b3b70a-3f5a-4d69-a608-35538a212013
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 643
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513391

Daniel Belko is a Guardian Ad Litem IV at Public Guardian. Hired in 1998, they have about 20 years of service. 2018 total compensation came to $36,914.

Charles Golbert

Deputy Public Guardian/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$36,292

Base pay: $36,292
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $36,292
Hire date: 1991-08-19
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 99e8ebf2-9830-4333-aec0-037acae35047
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 559
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513303

Charles Golbert works as a Deputy Public Guardian for Public Guardian. Hired in 1991, they have about 27 years of service. Charles earned $36,292 in 2018.

Yvonne Zehr

Deputy Public Guardian/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$35,927

Base pay: $35,927
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $35,927
Hire date: 1988-05-02
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 3224b72a-850a-459d-8e9b-e7a723ab53d3
Fiscal Period: 2018Q1
Fiscal Quarter: 1
Job Code: 559
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513302

Yvonne Zehr is a Deputy Public Guardian at Public Guardian. They have served since 1988 (about 30 years). 2018 total compensation came to $35,927.

Alpa Patel

Attorney - Public Guardian/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$35,012

Base pay: $35,012
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $35,012
Hire date: 1994-11-14
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 1cf1330f-b176-4bbe-be15-e9e5fd2ff608
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 633
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513323

Alpa Patel works as a Attorney - Public Guardian for Public Guardian. Their tenure dates to 1994, about 24 years. Alpa earned $35,012 in 2018.

Brian Finley

Guardian Ad Litem III/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$34,615

Base pay: $34,615
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $34,615
Hire date: 1997-08-11
Middle name: A

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 3a5fadf0-9c3d-40e1-a152-6c340e06fb89
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 636
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513401

Brian Finley holds the role of Guardian Ad Litem III at Public Guardian. Hired in 1997, they have about 21 years of service. In 2018, their total compensation was $34,615.

Danielle Gomez

Guardian Ad Litem IV/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$34,427

Base pay: $34,427
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $34,427
Hire date: 1997-01-13
Middle name: R

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 119be830-acc3-433f-ad25-f50e27f59009
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 643
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513389

Danielle Gomez is a Guardian Ad Litem IV at Public Guardian. Their tenure dates to 1997, about 21 years. 2018 total compensation came to $34,427.

Sarah Hawkins

Guardian Ad Litem III/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$33,963

Base pay: $33,963
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $33,963
Hire date: 1996-08-22
Middle name: L

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: 9aba035a-5813-47f9-affe-0fcb14c646dd
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 636
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513406

Sarah Hawkins works as a Guardian Ad Litem III for Public Guardian. Their tenure dates to 1996, about 22 years. Sarah earned $33,963 in 2018.

Kelley Thornton

Attorney - Public Guardian/Public Guardian

2018 total comp

$33,908

Base pay: $33,908
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $33,908
Hire date: 1996-04-22
Middle name: R

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier: bbe635c8-1a36-42af-a927-d80c1d8ac2e5
Fiscal Period: 2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter: 2
Job Code: 633
Office: 1305
Position Id: 9513322

At Public Guardian, Kelley Thornton serves as a Attorney - Public Guardian. They have served since 1996 (about 22 years). Their 2018 pay totaled $33,908.