La Grange's Tiny Neighbor Has Massive Payroll; Mayor 'No F–ing Coward'

McCOOK, IL – You probably won't find a town government quite like McCook's.

The last census counted 249 people in the largely industrial village east of La Grange, making it Cook County's smallest town.

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According to last year's payroll report, the village employed 37 full-timers and nine part-timers, not including elected officials. Fifteen employees make more than $100,000.

The total payroll was $3.8 million, which works out to $15,500 for every resident.

Compare that to La Grange, population 16,321, which is 65 times larger than McCook.

La Grange's total payroll is $9.4 million, according to the state comptroller's office. That amounts to $575 per resident.

McCook's massive payroll is made possible by the quarries and other industrial businesses. Their high property values give McCook a much larger tax base per capita than other towns.

The top elected official is Terrance Carr, the mayor since 2020.

He makes $49,000 a year, more than La Grange's village president, who makes $3,600. The presidents of Western Springs and Hinsdale make nothing.

"I am in there day in, day out. I sign every check," Carr said in an interview. "I do the job."

In 2025, Carr, chairman of the Cook County Republican Party, was also elected Lyons Township highway commissioner, a $56,000 job.

'Should not be punished'

McCook's second-highest paid employee is Police Chief Jeremy Carr, the mayor's brother, who pulls in $147,000.

In 2023, the Village Board unanimously promoted Jeremy Carr to the post.

"He should not be punished because he has the same last name as me," Carr told the Des Plaines Valley News at the time. "He can do the job. He's capable."

Jeremy Carr was with the police department before his brother took the helm.

The top public works employee is Superintendent Steven Perrin, brother of Trustee Thomas Perrin, with a $93,500 salary.

"Steven Perrin has worked there since he was 18, long before his brother became a trustee," Carr told Patch.

In 2025, Terrance Carr's predecessor as mayor, Jeffrey Tobolski, who was also a Cook County Board member, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for corruption, according to the Chicago Tribune. He died two months before he was to report to prison.

Unlike its counterparts

The village's elected trustees make $12,000 or $14,000 a year, depending on when their latest terms started. Trustees in other towns typically make nothing or a few thousand dollars.

Elmhurst's population is more than 180 times larger than McCook's. Its aldermen make $2,400 a year.

Patch looked at four towns with populations similar to McCook's. One had a single full-time employee; the others had none. Their payrolls averaged $33,000, which is less than a hundredth of McCook's.

The Cook County town with the next highest population is wealthy Golf, with a population double McCook's. It has one full-time and 22 part-time employees, with a total payroll of $350,000.

'No f–ing coward'

Terrance Carr told Patch that the village has a "pretty good government."

"We must be doing something right," he said. "We have a budget surplus every year. We lower the taxes every year. We mow the grass of residents. We give them free water."

The mowing program is for residents 50 or older.

During the interview, Carr said he was always willing to take questions.

"I'm no f–ing coward," he said.