chicago.fyi
Sign inSign up

All 39 departments / City of Chicago

Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Headcount, pay, and awarded contracts for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, computed live from the City of Chicago's open data. Salaried and hourly employees are reported separately, because the city records only one of the two pay fields for each person.

68

People on the payroll

Salaried and hourly combined

$102,588

Median salaried pay

Across 64 salaried staff

$115,825

Average salaried pay

Excludes hourly employees

$7,412,796

Total salaried payroll

Annual, before benefits

Hourly staff

4

Hourly employees

$17.05

Median hourly rate

$17.05

Average hourly rate

Hourly rates are not annualized here. Actual annual earnings depend on hours worked and overtime, neither of which the payroll extract publishes.

Most common job titles in the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

  1. Cultural Affairs Coord II19
  2. Program Dir - Cultural Affairs11
  3. Deputy Commissioner5
  4. Student Intern4
  5. Projects Administrator4
  6. Policy Analyst3
  7. Program Director Special Events2
  8. Program Coord - Special Events2
  9. Sponsorship Coordinator2
  10. Exec Administrative Asst II2

Contracts awarded

The city's contracts dataset records 2,864 contract actions naming the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, with award amounts totaling $260,716,594. Award amounts can be negative when a contract is revised downward or funds are de-obligated, so the total is a net figure rather than a spending total. Departments are named slightly differently in the contracts and payroll datasets, so this covers contracts filed under the exact name "DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL EVENTS".

  1. Marquee Event Group Inc$22,032,608
    1220136: Rental of Tents for Various Festivals and EventsApproved Apr 28, 2023
  2. Mb Real Estate Services Inc$20,813,866
    PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AND EVENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR MILLENNIUM PARK AND VARIOUS DCASE PROPERTIESApproved Dec 22, 2022
  3. Service Sanitation Inc.$11,251,262
    1303484: Rental and Maintenance of Portable Chemical Toilets, Sinks, Waste Water Barrels, Portable Waterless Hand Sanitizer Dispensers, Fresh Water Trailer and …Approved Jun 30, 2026
  4. World Business Chicago|Cleaned-Up$10,500,000
    023 - TOURISM - 01Approved Aug 10, 2022
  5. World Business Chicago|Cleaned-Up$10,500,000
    023 - TOURISM - 01Approved Oct 21, 2022

Sources

Pay figures are base pay only — no overtime, benefits, or pension costs. Medians are the middle record of the ordered list, computed over employees with that pay field filled in.

Related pages

Department of EnvironmentOffice of Budget & ManagementCity Treasurer's OfficeMayors Office for People with DisabilitiesDepartment of Administrative HearingCommunity Commission for Public Safety and AccountabilityAll City of Chicago salariesSearch every employee by name or titleCity job titlesPay ranges for each titleCity vendorsWho the city buys from

Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events FAQ

How many people work for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events?
The City of Chicago's payroll extract lists 68 employees in the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events — 64 paid an annual salary and 4 paid an hourly rate. The city republishes the extract periodically, so the figure moves as people are hired and leave.
What does the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events pay?
Median pay for salaried employees in the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is $102,588 a year, and the average is $115,825. Hourly employees are reported separately, at a median rate of $17.05 an hour. These are base pay figures — they do not include overtime, benefits, or pension costs.
What jobs does the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events employ?
The most common job titles in the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events are Cultural Affairs Coord II, Program Dir - Cultural Affairs, Deputy Commissioner, Student Intern, Projects Administrator. The full list of titles in the department, with headcount for each, is ranked on this page.
How much has the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events awarded in contracts?
The city's contracts dataset records 2,864 contract actions naming the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, totaling $260,716,594 in award amounts. That total is a net figure: revisions and de-obligations are recorded as negative award amounts, so it is not the same as total spending.