Nursing Wages in Chicago Area

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I'm relocating from Idaho state to the Chicago-area and interested in knowing what a RN with 3 years of experience can expect to make as an hourly wage. Any ideas?:confused:

I'm making 20.22/hour here, but the rent, etc, is so much higher over there. Would it be too much to expect at least 32.50/hour?

Would appreciate any comments.

Specializes in Behavioral Health.

It took me about 4 weeks get my IL license. I paid the extra $ for a temporary license, but I didn't feel as though it was worth it because my offical license came a few days after I received my temporary!!!:rolleyes:

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

USA987.......thanks for the information! :) I also love the quote at the bottom of your post. Right on! :)

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The farther from the city you go, the less you can expect to make.

I left an Advocate hospital (located in Park Ridge if that helps:) a year ago and was making around $27 base, $3 shift diff. I worked 12 hr noc shift in the SICU and had 8 yrs experience as an RN. When I started there (the previous year) I think the starting base salary was around $25, but they did a market adjustment right after I started.

When I interviewed at some of the hospitals out in the burbs (Alexian Bros & St. Alexius) they were offering in the low $20s/hr for the base pay.

Hope that helps!

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Jadednurse, hmmm, I worked in that very unit as an NCT a couple of times; perhaps we knew each other? I worked in the float pool while I was finishing school, and graduated last May, took the job on the "Hotel California" floor in March, started in July and quit (twice actually) 6 months after I started.

Tonite is my last night on the 11th floor -- we got your vented step-downs.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be leaving :roll If you want to relive some of the highs and lows please PM me. I actually resigned without a job -- any insight into my next step and I'd be delighted.

Cheers -- Sharon

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Where is Parkridge? I can't remember. My DH worked at the U of C and was treated as a nurse with 2 years experience, but was hired as a new nurse with no experience in ICU. So he made $21 base rate. But that was downtown, and we lived in Aurora/Naperville. We left, and he's really thinking of going back in another year, but i will only go back if he can get a job where his commute from a decent suburbu will be less than 1/2 hour. KWIM? But he LOVED the U of C!!!! Absolutely loved it and they were also union.

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SnowymtnRN

Park Ridge is near O'Hare airport. I used to live in Naperville, still have lots of friends there and my brother's in Plainfield. (Small world!)

there are a few options for you: Edwards Hospital in Naperville (there is a website w/job postings) and two hospitals in Joliet -- Silver Cross and St. Joseph's. But Edward's Hospital will pay better, i'm betting. Edward's has all kinds of ambulatory care centers all over the place too.

Also, for Advocate Hospitals, there' s Good Samaritan in Downer's Grove, not a horrible drive for you.

In Hinsdale you can look at the Adventist system of hospitals too --- Hinsdale Hospital, La Grange Hospital, Glenbridge (I think).

Closer to Wheaton/winfield (north side of Naperville) is Central DuPage Hospital. good for NICU.

Feel free to PM me if there's anything else I can do for you.

cheers! And welcome back!

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Thanks Sharon! I honesly hope we go back, but like i said it'll have to be the right job, right commute, etc....i love the mountains here but there's NOT a lot of hospitals in the state of WY ya know?

Funny you mention Edwards, he applied there (and has an impeccable resume with wonderful references) and they never called!:confused: But maybe it was because he didn't have the magic year of ICU experience or something, who knows ya know? But i'm passing on the info to him! Downer's Grove wouldn't be bad, neither would Wheaton. I liked Aurora/Naperville (lived by the mall) but i just can't see him doing that commute downtown anymore. IF he were to go back to the U of C, where would you recommend us looking suburb wise to live? We have 2 boys with another on the way, so we want a relatively nice, safe place that won't cost an arm and a leg ya know? Just curious. Another friend of mine thought the South burbs would be a better place to commute there, less than 1/2 an hour but i'm not familiar with any of those areas down there. THanks so much!! I'm sure i'll be asking you questions later!!:chuckle

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Snowymtn RN.

How long has it been since your hubby left UofC? They have had a lot of labor problems, and most of the people I know would no longer consider working there. It's a shame, considering their past reputation for excellence. I'd definitely have him check it out very thoroughly before moving! Has he kept in touch with anyone who still works there?

I live in the Joliet area and have serious reservations about one of the hospitals here. It is no longer "independent", having become part of a larger healthcare system in which I have no faith at all. I've had 2 awful experiences with the ER there, and received a bill which I believe was fraudulent. Funny, when I mentioned that to the billing official on the phone, the bill suddenly disappeared. I notified my insurance company just to be on the safe side.

Naperville has grown into a city in its own right. Edward Hospital has a good reputation, as does Rush-Copley on the East side of Aurora. Central DuPage is another facility worth checking out. I did a clinical there as a student, and was very impressed. I would have liked to work there, but didn't live within a reasonable driving distance.

You've mentioned Oak Lawn as a possibility for housing. It is a nice area, mostly older homes, as there is limited space for new growth there. You might also want to check out

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Originally posted by Jolie

Snowymtn RN.

How long has it been since your hubby left UofC? They have had a lot of labor problems, and most of the people I know would no longer consider working there. It's a shame, considering their past reputation for excellence. I'd definitely have him check it out very thoroughly before moving! Has he kept in touch with anyone who still works there?

I live in the Joliet area and have serious reservations about one of the hospitals here. It is no longer "independent", having become part of a larger healthcare system in which I have no faith at all. I've had 2 awful experiences with the ER there, and received a bill which I believe was fraudulent. Funny, when I mentioned that to the billing official on the phone, the bill suddenly disappeared. I notified my insurance company just to be on the safe side.

Naperville has grown into a city in its own right. Edward Hospital has a good reputation, as does Rush-Copley on the East side of Aurora. Central DuPage is another facility worth checking out. I did a clinical there as a student, and was very impressed. I would have liked to work there, but didn't live within a reasonable driving distance.

You've mentioned Oak Lawn as a possibility for housing. It is a nice area, mostly older homes, as there is limited space for new growth there. You might also want to check out

He left this past summer, and funny you should mention the labor problems. Their contract was just ending for the nurses and they were in the middle of some pretty intense heated negotiations. I'll have to ask him what he's heard since leaving tho. he knew it was going to come to a head tho. Sad, isn't it? you are right they have a great rep, but even he will tell you that the nurses on the m/s floors and non-specialty units were being MAJORLY dumped on. MAJORLY. So i hope they get what they are asking for in the negotiations. He has kept in touch with a few people, but i don't know what they've been saying. He was saying a few days ago he needed to call some old buddies and see what's up with everything.

I've heard some weary things of Joliet as well (are you speaking of Provena Mercy?) He staffed at the one in Aurora and they were having HUGE staff problems. I'll have to check out CDH, seems like i'm always hearing good things about them. Edwards never called and he was so disappointed cuz it was SO close, like less than 15 minutes away in bad traffic! I went to Rush Copley ER for a tooth abcess and was pretty impressed by what i saw. Those are good options too i think.

I think he just LOVED working at the U of C because of their ICU. It was such a high intensity ICU, he learned SO much, but with the commute, the low wage, etc...it just became too hard. Then the hospital here offered to move us, etc..so we decided to come back. Now he's SO bored with this ICU and doesn't know really what to do about it yet. Ya know?? There's not many hospitals in this state. Its a hard decision....go back to a wonderful city, but have city life, etc...or tough it out and stay in the mountains and raise our kids here fishing, hunting, etc.... what to do...what to do.....

Thanks for your input! I'm keeping notes on everything so if we do go back (which i have a sneaky feeling we will) then we can make the best choice for us.

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Sorry for the interruption! You might want to check out the Glenwood and Homewood-Flossmoor areas.

Tinley and Orland are nice (newer) areas, but lack easy access to I-57 or the Dan Ryan Expy, which I assume is how your hubby would get to the UofC. Growth has outpaced road development there, and the traffic is terrible, even though on the map it doesn't look like a bad commute.

Good luck to you!

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This thread is quite interesting as a student that will be looking for work in the Chicagoland area after graduation this summer. My mom works at the Advocate hospital in Park Ridge and she is quite happy (although it doesn't seem that many that work there are). That is quite a drive for me though. I'm near Joliet (Channahon actually) so it's interesting to see some info on St. Joe's and SilverCross.

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Originally posted by Jolie

Sorry for the interruption! You might want to check out the Glenwood and Homewood-Flossmoor areas.

Tinley and Orland are nice (newer) areas, but lack easy access to I-57 or the Dan Ryan Expy, which I assume is how your hubby would get to the UofC. Growth has outpaced road development there, and the traffic is terrible, even though on the map it doesn't look like a bad commute.

Good luck to you!

That's ok! I'll check those areas out too. Yes he would take the Dan Ryan....its amazing how bad the traffic is there. BUt if he had a commuter car (which he didn't before) it would make a world of difference too. THanks for the input!!

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