Interim CFO to be paid $36,000 a month

An independent board appointed to oversee Cook County's troubled health system is drawing fire for hiring a temporary chief financial officer who will be paid $36,000 a month.

Pitt Calkin will be working for six months under a contract the Cook County board signed with MedAssets Net Revenue Systems of Georgia. The company has a three-year, $18 million deal to help retool the health system's finances.

County Board Commissioner Forrest Claypool says the independent board's action doesn't appear to be a responsible use of the taxpayers' dollars.

Warren Batts, chairman of the health board, called Calkin's new contract "a hired gun, will-travel kind of situation." He said managers who specialize in working during transitions of major institutions command higher salaries than their permanent counterparts.