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Cook County, Illinois / States Attorney / Project Director

Job-title file

Project Director

Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.

2 employees hold this title in States Attorney. Median total compensation for the role is $31,763, above the department median of $19,386.

Employees
2
Total payroll
$63.5K
Role median
$31,763
Agency median
$19,386
Comparison
Above

Compared with the local labor market

Project Director pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area

Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Managers, All Other — about 26,170 people — is $145,370. States Attorney pays a median base salary of $31,763 for this role, 78% below that figurebelow the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where States Attorney sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$83,320
$109,590
$145,370
$189,350
$239,340
States Attorney median · $31,763

The bar is the range of annual wages for Managers, All Other across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows States Attorney’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Managers, All Other — about 622,190 people — is $141,900. States Attorney’s median base salary is 78% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$74,300
$102,880
$141,900
$186,300
$238,270
States Attorney median · $31,763

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at States Attorney is $31,763, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare departments

This role across Cook County, Illinois

Project Director is held in 3 Cook County, Illinois departments. In States Attorney, the median of $31,763 ranks #1 of 3.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Median total compensation for the Project Director role in other Cook County, Illinoisdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Project Director beyond Cook County, Illinois

This role is reported in 7 jurisdictions. In Cook County, Illinois, the median of $24,146 ranks #7 of 7. See Project Director across all of Cook County, Illinois

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

California
$145,287 · 142
Tennessee
$138,649 · 8
Missouri
$117,987 · 19
Vermont
$94,276 · 8

Median total compensation for comparable Project Directorroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.

Record list

Employees with this title

Page 1

Ivette Cervantes

Project Director/States Attorney

2018 total comp
$31,763
Base pay
$31,763
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$0
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$31,763
Hire date
1993-09-13

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier
4163da27-bc97-43de-ae90-34eb4cb1fd89
Fiscal Period
2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter
2
Job Code
56
Office
1250
Position Id
9910498

Ivette Cervantes holds the role of Project Director at States Attorney. Hired in 1993, they have about 25 years of service. In 2018, their total compensation was $31,763.

Cathy Zelazo

Project Director/States Attorney

2018 total comp
$31,763
Base pay
$31,763
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$0
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$31,763
Hire date
1993-05-03
Middle name
S

Source-specific fields

Employee Identifier
5bf13e6f-5dfe-4543-8676-26a1ebf9f64e
Fiscal Period
2018Q2
Fiscal Quarter
2
Job Code
56
Office
1250
Position Id
9510924

Cathy Zelazo holds the role of Project Director at States Attorney. Hired in 1993, they have about 25 years of service. In 2018, their total compensation was $31,763.