There are a number of ways to figure out what the appropriate salary range could be for an IT client.  Many of these methods must be taken with a grain of salt, but relative accuracy can be achieved with enough research.

The first place to look is the IT Job-Driven NEG/DWG Burning Glass page, which features a comprehensive slide deck entitled “Opportunities for Chicago’s IT Landscape”.  This slide deck is the result of in-depth market research from Burning Glass, and includes typical salary ranges for multiple IT positions with varying degrees of experience.

Following that, websites such as Salary.com and Glassdoor.com provide many company-specific salary ranges provided by current and previous employees.  This can give IT job seekers with fairly accurate predictions on what they could potentially make at any given company, position, and tier.  Both sites also provide feedback from those previous employees in regard to their experiences working for the company.