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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Opera Festival Of Chicago

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 842527440
IL · NTEE A6A
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tim Corpus, Executive Director / CEO ($9,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 27 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Tim Corpus — reported title “TREASURER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

27 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 27 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,987 total compensation of comparable organizations → $140,547 $9,500
$24,41410th
$45,29025th
$55,926Median
$68,90175th
$71,56490th
$9,500This org · 4th
p10$24,414
p25$45,290
p50$55,926
p75$68,901
p90$71,564
$9,500

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to IL cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Washington National Opera DC$450,793 General Director $50,907 $44,135 2024
Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre IA$450,651 Ex Officio B $66,090 $69,652 2025
Pella Opera House Commission IA$466,464 Executive Director $62,500 $69,609 2023
Charleston Opera Theater Inc SC$424,145 Executive Artistic Directo $8,950 $8,987 2025
Amarillo Opera Inc TX$492,252 General & Artist Director $69,000 $68,192 2024
Baltimore Concert Opera Inc MD$413,560 Artistic And General Director $60,547 $55,926 2024
Wichita Grand Opera Inc KS$407,537 General Director $65,743 $72,244 2023
Finger Lakes Opera Inc NY$508,935 Executive Director $51,000 $45,532 2024
Teatro Grattacielo Inc NY$406,756 General And Artisticc Director $60,000 $53,567 2024
Opera Louisiane Inc LA$397,792 General Director & Ceo $54,856 $59,678 2024
Tacoma Opera Association Professional Services WA$520,849 General Director $56,500 $49,977 2024
Pocket Opera Inc CA$391,868 General Director $50,400 $44,268 2023
American Opera Projects Inc NY$524,289 Board Member $22,000 $19,641 2024
Opera Roanoke VA$380,673 General Dire $63,614 $62,477 2023
Livermore Valley Opera CA$542,305 Director $15,500 $13,614 2023
Lancaster New York Opera House Inc NY$550,899 Executive Di $60,303 $55,427 2023
Claremont Opera House Inc NH$557,679 Executive Director $70,735 $64,530 2024
Opera On The James VA$349,600 General Director $72,000 $70,713 2023
The Opera Company Inc TX$568,126 Executive Director $51,371 $52,269 2023
Nova Center For The Performing Arts MT$335,164 Executive Director $43,417 $45,047 2025
Opera On Tap NY$584,918 Asst. Secretary, Executive & Artistic Director $99,248 $88,606 2024
Landmark Community Theatre Inc CT$591,088 Executive Di $74,561 $71,110 2023
Opera Company Of Middlebury VT$317,657 Administrative Director Eff 11/2023 End 3/2024 $27,750 $27,596 2024
Opera Maine ME$649,947 Executive Director $63,624 $62,945 2024
Opera North NH$659,599 General Dire $50,000 $46,961 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to IL cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted7th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted4th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Tim Corpus) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 27 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $9,500 is reasonable (approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.