Chicago Police Union Wants $3,000 Stipend To Live Inside Chicago In New Contract

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 7, 2013 8:00PM

Negotiations on a new contract between the city and Chicago Police have begun and let’s just say we can’t blame cops for aiming high.

The Fraternal Order of Police are seeking a 12 percent pay raise over two years, “minimum staffing levels” established by Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy that would be reported to the union on a quarterly basis, a 50 percent reduction in merit-based promotions and changing the language of those promotions so they lose their "political" connotations, and a $3,000 stipend paid out to police for living within the city limits.

Let’s ponder that last one, shall we? A $3,000 stipend could cover the property tax bill of a Chicago cop who’s already living in a raised ranch in Park Ridge while maintaining a cover address in Jefferson Park. The residency issue has long been a point of contention for police, firefighters and other city workers ever since Richard J. Daley implemented it. Gerry Chico said he would drop the residency requirement for city workers during his 2011 mayoral campaign; he wound up earning the endorsement of the FOP and Chicago Firefighters Union.

The timing of the FOP’s wish list couldn’t have been worse, with Chicago in the midst of an over yearlong spike in the city’s murder rate. We understand being a cop is a stressful job, the department is understaffed and the homicide rate has increased ever since McCarthy became superintendent. But there will undoubtedly be people out there who will yell “How about you clear some of these unsolved shootings before you ask for a raise?”

The FOP, which has been without a contract since last June, has a no-strike clause. Understaffed as they are, we also see the merits in a pay raise, although they likely won’t receive 12 percent. (An arbitrator awarded police a 10 percent pay raise over five years in the previous contract.) We also wonder if the FOP will have to make some concessions in sick leave (their current sick leave policy is one of the most generous we’ve seen for a public sector union) and, although another stipulation offered is a reduction in their contributions to their health insurance plans, police officers are offering an incentive plan to help the city reduce what it pays for their plans. It would also help to see the FOP make some concessions in how police disability pay, which costs taxpayers $18 million a year, is meted out, and see the stream of money to some of the goldbricking police officers abusing the disability pay system shut off.