Pension Board Asks State's Attorney To Investigate Police Officer's Disability Pay

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 17, 2012 10:00PM

The Sun-Times has a follow-up on its wonderful July series of articles about police officers and firefighters who have seemingly taken advantage of disability duty pay. According to the Bright One the Chicago Police Pension Board has asked the Cook County State's Attorney's office to investigate the case of Charles T. Siedlecki, who has collected disability pay for nearly 20 years while he's earned a law degree and become something of a big game hunter.

Siedlecki fell on his left shoulder chasing some youths in Beverly and has collected over $715,000 disability duty pay since—all of it tax-free. A doctor claimed that Siedlecki cannot safely discharge a firearm, despite the Sun-Times running photos of a shit-eating grin-wearing Siedlecki posing with shotguns in front of game he bagged on African safaris. Siedlecki told the Sun-Times he plans to collect disability pay until he turns 63, at which point he qualifies for a pension based on the years he spent on disability leave

Nice work if you can get it, as the saying goes.

The Police Pension Board sent its request to State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's office July 31 and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, through his communications director Sarah Hamilton, applauded the decision. The State's Attorney's office would not comment on if there was an investigation into Siedlecki's disability payments.

Siedlecki is one of 347 police officers collecting disability pay, which costs the police pension fund $18 million annually. The Sun-Times reported 390 firefighters are on disability duty, costing the firefighters' pension fund $27 million a year. There's very little incentive for police and firefighters collecting the pay to return work; many like Siedlecki have gone on to new careers and second jobs while still collecting disability pay.