Retired chancellor of Chicago's community college system to get $500,000 in unused sick pay

From The Chicago News Cooperative: Many public and private employers have a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy toward sick time, but Wayne Watson will be paid for most of the 500 unused sick days he accrued before retiring as chancellor of Chicago’s community colleges – a payout of $500,000, the Better Government Association says. Watson already has received about $300,000 of that sum since he stepped down in 2009, and he is due to get two more annual payments of $100,000. In November, the City Colleges board, at the urging of new Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, voted to eliminate pay for unused sick days for non-union employees hired after Jan. 1. Watson, who now is president of Chicago State University, worked for the City Colleges for 31 years, including the last 11 as chancellor, with an annual salary of $300,000 when he retired. Under the system’s policy at the time, departing non-union employees who met certain requirements were able to convert 80 percent of their unused sick time to cash.