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Chicago FOP’s new contract includes more money, looser disciplinary rules

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Illinois

The BGA analysis found costs totaling at least $76.8 million above the budgeted position costs for 2024 passed by City Council in November, including:

• $27.7 million from the change from a 2.5% raise to a 5% raise
• $10.6 million from salary step changes
• Potentially $11 million or more from stipends paid to officers with medical, crisis intervention, or bicycle officer training certifications, depending on the number of officers who opt for training and fulfill the stipend eligibility requirements.
• $27.5 million for one-time retention bonuses paid to every FOP-represented officer

[…] As announced previously by the administration and analyzed by the BGA, the contract includes 5% pay raises for FOP-represented officers in 2024 and 2025, up from the 2.5% and 2% raises in those years previously contained in the union’s bargaining agreement with the Lightfoot administration. […]

In addition to the across-the-board raises, the contract contains new language increasing the salary grade of multiple CPD titles. […]

The contract includes new stipends of $1,000 annually for officers with emergency medical, crisis intervention or bike officer training certificates. […]

Referred to in the summary sheet presented to city council as a “signing bonus,” the contract language includes a one-time, non-pensionable bonus of $2,500 for all FOP-represented officers. At the 2024 budgeted headcount of 11,013 FOP-represented officers, this would cost the city $27.5 million, the BGA analysis estimates.

* So, did the city’s progressive mayor promise to spend money the city clearly doesn’t have to leverage stronger disciplinary procedures in order to prevent those multi-million-dollar settlements and weed out the bad apples? According to the BGA, nope…

In addition to its financial impacts, the contract adds significant new protections for officers facing discipline for misconduct, including time limits on how long internal investigations can take before invalidating any potential discipline, expedited and off-the-record arbitration for suspensions of thirty days or less, and new restrictions on when and where body worn cameras can be active and whether body worn camera footage can be used in disciplinary proceedings. […]

A separate amendment allows officers who have been fired to cash out all their unused compensatory time in the same manner as officers who resigned, retired or died. Previously, fired officers had only been entitled to comp time accumulated as a result of earned overtime for hours worked in excess of 171 per 28 day period. […]

One of the most significant disciplinary changes in the new contract is a stipulation that if an investigation takes more than 18 months to conclude, measured from the date on which the investigation was opened, the union can request arbitration to determine whether there is a reasonable basis for the investigation to take more than 18 months.

In such cases, the Police Department would bear the burden of demonstrating reasonable cause for delay. If the arbitrator deems reasonable cause does not exist, the hearing on the merits of the discipline cannot proceed.

* The contract does include this, however…

New language adds requirements that the department … provide officers with “appropriate training” on use-of-force rules that are consistent with department policy.

FOP President John Catanzara told me last year that he didn’t believe his members were receiving enough and proper training. He’s right.

Man, if Johnson does this with the FOP, just imagine what he’s gonna do with the CTU.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 12:40 pm

Comments

Gotta love even less accountability for cops.

They are already laughably light…

It’s time to end Qualified Immunity, and require an equivalent to malpractice insurance on the officer or union’s dime. The city shouldn’t have to be the sole payer when officers break the law.

Comment by That Guy Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 12:48 pm
The city has been struggling to keep officers from retiring or moving to the suburbs, so increased pay and bonuses makes sense. But like Rich said, to not get any more accountability or disciplinary measures is just ridiculous. Especially since the consent decree is not being adhered to at all.

Comment by ElTacoBandito Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 12:49 pm
Brandon Johnson can afford to give the remaining CPD officers raises because of the thousands that resigned en masse the day he took office.

Comment by Roadrager Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 12:49 pm
Great job FOP. Rank and file CPD officers face a dangerous job - glad to see the retention bonus

“Referred to in the summary sheet presented to city council as a “signing bonus,” the contract language includes a one-time, non-pensionable bonus of $2,500 for all FOP-represented officers.

Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 12:59 pm
==It’s time to end Qualified Immunity==

I think this would be extremely agreeable, as long as absolute immunity is also abolished for all judges and prosecutors. People need to be responsible for their actions.

Comment by Garfield Ridge Guy Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 1:09 pm
==It’s time to end Qualified Immunity, and require an equivalent to malpractice insurance on the officer or union’s dime.==

How much is the city willing to pay for both?

Qualified immunity and workplace insurance both fall under The Workers Rights Amendment. You can’t bypass the collective bargaining process on anything considered a condition of employment or could have a detrimental impact on workplace safety.

Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 1:17 pm
== because of the thousands that resigned en masse the day he took office.==

Hoping this is sarcasm

Comment by Incandenza Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 1:36 pm
CPD has some of the worst clearance rates of any large city police force in the country, despite having one of the highest numbers of officers per capita of large city police forces in the country.

Of course the only possible solution is to throw more money at them while making it harder to discipline them.

Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 1:44 pm
It’s time to end Qualified Immunity….learn how qualified immunity is applied before you spout off…

Comment by Red headed step child Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 2:27 pm
Here’s the trick to qualified immunity.

“Does qualified immunity apply when Police intentionally violate the law?”

Yes.

Qualified immunity applies even when officials intentionally or recklessly violate the law. The primary consideration in a qualified immunity analysis is whether there is an earlier court case specifically stating that the (particular) actions of an official are unconstitutional.

So, for example, the Ninth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals held that police accused of stealing $225,000 while executing a search warrant were entitled to qualified immunity because that court had “never addressed whether the theft of property covered by the terms of a search warrant…violates the Fourth Amendment.”

It did not matter “that virtually every human society teaches that theft generally is morally wrong.”

Comment by Dotnonymous x Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 2:28 pm
Nobody disputes that this is a difficult job. But the CPD has been consistently and demonstrably bad at it. From horrible clearance rates to consent decrees through the hundreds of millions paid out in settlements. All of this flies in the face of looser disciplinary rules.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 2:42 pm
As the name suggests, Uptown resident- where is the Angela Clay I was told would defund the police and let riots run in the street?

Comment by UptownRes Wednesday, Dec 13, 23 @ 3:29 pm