Daley Proposes More Police Contributions for Pension

 

Today's announcement is yet another reason why the pension is our biggest issue. The story on the Tribune's Clout Street blog only underscores the urgency of this situation.

Clearly, it has to be front and center in everyone's mind, whether you are retired, or retirement is 25 years away. Promises were made, and we need to fight to make sure they are kept!

Police, firefighters would pay more pension costs under Daley administration proposal
Share | Posted by John Byrne at 2:18 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley's administration today unveiled a plan for police and fire pension reform that would increase employee contributions as part of a package it hopes would save Chicago property taxpayers $240 million per year compared to a bill Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law earlier this month.

Gene Saffold, the city's chief financial officer, said the Daley administration has not spoken to state lawmakers or labor leaders about supporting the city's alternate plan. But Saffold hopes the new General Assembly will address Daley's concerns that the new pension reform law will place an onerous burden on taxpayers with a $550 million property-tax hike beginning in 2015.

The administration's proposal would raise police officers' contribution to their pension plan from 9 percent to 12 percent between 2015 and 2018, and raise firefighters' share from 9.1 percent to 12.1 percent.

The measure the General Assembly recently approved includes no bump in employee contributions, a fact Daley railed against to no avail as the bill advanced in Springfield late last year. The city's proposal also would require that the public safety pension systems be funded only to 80 percent rather than 90 percent of their total obligations, and extend the timeline to reach that benchmark from 30 years to 50 years.

With those changes, Saffold said the property tax increase in Chicago in 2015 still would be $310 million. Lawmakers, however, say the city can cover the increased pensions costs with other revenue sources than a property-tax increase.

"This proposed legislation does not comprehensively address our pension issues, but it does significantly reduce the extreme burden on taxpayers caused by the recent changes to the public safety pension law by the 96th General Assembly and Governor Quinn," Saffold said at a City Hall news conference.

With Daley departing office in mid-May, it's likely pension relief would fall to his successor.

Statement on the Burge Decision/Burge Article from the Sun-Times

Fellow Officers and Retirees,

At yesterday’s pension board meeting, the Jon Burge case was heard.  Our duty was not to determine his innocence or retry the facts in this case.  We were not charged with deciding if he was right or wrong. This hearing was simply about Illinois Pension Code and Pension Case Law.

As trustees of the Pension Board, my fellow officers and I had to set aside the volatile name ‘Jon Burge’ from this case and decide this matter based on the facts before us.  At the time of these interrogatories, Mr. Burge did not have any law enforcement duties when he committed the alleged perjury.  His relationship to the Chicago Police Department was severed upon his termination. This incident occurred ten years after he was no longer a police officer.

Additionally, Jon Burge was convicted of providing false allegations on a CIVIL litigation action during interrogatories, as the burden of proof of his other charges was not met. Four trustees, including myself, felt this wasn’t strong enough to merit stripping Jon Burge of his pension. Again, our role was to follow the law, and we did.

Additionally, my goal in this in this vote was to ensure that the Board did not set a precedent of stripping officers well into their retirement. The majority of officers testify in civil matters.  I want to make sure that an officer’s pension is safeguarded against such unlawful measures to strip officers of their pension as we witnessed today.

The motion made by Trustee Neely to terminate Jon Burge’s pension was tied in a 4-4 vote (FOR-----Neely, Saffold, Lux Conway----AGAINST Shields, Maloney, Hauser, Lazarro).

Michael K. Shields

Here is a Sun-Times article on the Burge pension case:

Burge can keep his cop pension
BY NATASHA KORECKI

Staff Reporter/nkorecki@suntimes.com

Last Modified: Jan 28, 2011 04:51AM

He was convicted of lying and obstructing justice, and a special prosecutor said he tortured suspects.
But as Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge begins serving a 4½-year prison term this spring, he still will draw his police pension check, the police pension board decided Thursday.

A tied 4-4 vote by the board means Burge will continue to draw the $3,039-a-month pension that he began receiving in 1997 — four years after the department fired him for misconduct involving a murder suspect.

Burge, 63, was sentenced last week to 41/2 years in prison after convictions last summer on perjury and obstruction of justice related to the way he gave answers in a lawsuit that claimed he and underlings tortured murder suspects who were in police custody. He is scheduled to report to prison in March.

Thomas Pleines, who represented Burge at the hearing, said he called Burge, who was in Florida undergoing a medical procedure, to break the news.
“He’s very relieved. He was happy, and he was glad to get some good news for once,” Pleines said.
Critics called the decision “outrageous,’’ but board member Michael Shields, a member of the Police Department who voted against terminating Burge’s pension, said it boiled down to the “Illinois pension code and case law.”

“Jon Burge had no law enforcement duties at the time he was alleged to have committed his crimes of perjury on an interrogatory in a civil deposition,” Shields said.
Burge answered questions in the interrogatory in 2003, 10 years after he was booted from his job over his treatment of a suspect. Pleines said the pension board had the burden of proof in showing that Burge should no longer receive a pension. He said the ruling is final.

Flint Taylor, an attorney who has represented those who say Burge tortured them, said he has long called on the city to end the pension — which he said Burge has received for about a dozen years — and to stop paying the legal fees of lawyers who represented Burge in civil suits.
He called Thursday’s decision “completely outrageous and mind-boggling after all that’s gone on in court, the jury’s verdict and the judge’s findings in sentencing him,” Taylor said. “I think it’s a complete slap in the face to all the citizens in the City of Chicago.”

Taylor said that when Burge was convicted of lying and obstructing justice, it was in a civil lawsuit concerning his actions while an officer. At the time, the city paid the legal fees of attorneys representing Burge because he was being questioned about conduct while he was a police officer, Taylor said.

“To turn around and say he wasn’t acting as a police officer is just an outrageous decision,” Taylor said of the board’s reasoning in allowing Burge to keep his pension.
Mark A. Clements, a national organizer for the Jail Jon Burge Coalition, said the ruling “is a prime example of how the City of Chicago protects misconduct by some of its officials.’’
The decision was applauded by Burge’s attorneys, who said the pension didn’t amount to much income. “It’s paltry. It’s a little more than Social Security,” said Burge lawyer Marc Martin.

“They keep acting like he’s drawing millions from the city, and he draws about $30,000 a year,” another lawyer, William Gamboney said. “Im glad to see he still has minimal means of support.”
Half of the police pension board is made up of members of the Police Department elected by police to oversee the fund. Shields, Michael Lazarro, Kenneth Hauser and James Maloney all vote against revoking Burge’s pension.

The other four board members, who all work in the financial sector and were appointed by Mayor Daley, voted in favor of terminating his pension. They were Stephanie Neely, Gene Saffold, Michael Conway and Steven Lux.

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Copyright © 2011 — Sun-Times Media, LLC

City Wide Team Resorts to Lies

The Citywide Team is spinning the facts: the Shields Team has made it clear in our carefully thought-out platform what will happen when an officer is involved in a shooting. We will send out one of three experienced violent crimes detectives – Danny Gorman A1 V/C, Saul Del Rivero Cold Case, or Tim Murphy A2 V/C – to each and every shooting. Their role will be to properly protect the officer involved from the OCIC and IPRA and safeguard their rights during the conduct of their investigation.

Acting not only as a fellow officer who has first-hand knowledge of a similar stressful experience, they will serve as an FOP rep to ensure the proper procedures are followed and to prevent the City and IPRA from changing rules from day to day. These detectives running on the Shields Team are there to protect your future and livelihood at the scene of a shooting. Why not have those that investigate police shootings as their daily jobs in the detective division?

While discussing our platform at role calls around the City, it has been pointed out to us that the City Wide has engaged in outright lies at our expense, spreading stories that we will only send the officers that are lawyers to take statements. That could not be further than the truth. Again, we choose to send one of three experienced detectives to walk officers through the process.

We suggest the City Wide Team stick to the facts, and maybe, just maybe, come up with a concrete, consistent plan that is bigger than ordering pizzas for officers involved.
 

What is the FOP Thinking?

The current FOP has asked Edwin Benn to monitor the upcoming FOP elections. This is the same person that decided AGAINST the CPD in the recent contract arbitration process.

When asked "Why?" at a recent FOP election committee meeting, the answer from the committee was "Because he was available."

We question the judgement of the FOP on this issue and wonder why they are rewarding him with a job - one that according to his resume posted on the National Mediation Board's website pays $1,300 per day. 

Benefit for the Shields Team Scheduled for Jan 27!

Please join the Shields Team on Thursday, January 27 at Market, 1113 W. Randolph in Chicago from 8:00-10:30pm for a fundraiser for our campaign to be elected to FOP.

Tickets, available at the door, are $30 dollars and include food, beer, wine and hard liquor. Those working 3rd watch are invited to join us after 10:30pm, as the celebration is expected to continue late into the night.

The Shields Team does NOT take money from anyone doing business with the FOP, including attorneys, preferring a policy of honesty, integrity, and transparency. We hope you can come out and support us as we fight to restore dignity and pride to your FOP.

Who is the Shields Team?

As trustee on the pension board, I have always fought hard against City Hall for the needs of my fellow FOP members, while the current union has fallen asleep at the wheel. Please take a look at my website and this blog. The bios of the other candidates on my team are listed to the right, take a moment to read about their accomplishments and our platform.

We Have a Pension Battle on Our Hands - Rahm Emanuel Tips His Hand

Rahm Emanuel made the following comments about City pensions while he was being interviewed by leaders of the Chicago Federation of Labor, according to a January 11th New York Times article.

Emanuel Says He Favors Reduced Pensions for Current Workers and New Hires

By DAN MIHALOPOULOS

Published: January 8, 2011

In contrast to his main rivals in the mayor’s race, Rahm Emanuel has told labor leaders that he favors reducing pension benefits for the city’s existing work force and not just for new hires.

Although Mr. Emanuel has not yet publicly detailed his plan to confront the city’s perennial budget deficits and the severely underfinanced employee pension funds, he told union officials in a private meeting on Dec. 15 that he thought it could be necessary to cut the pensions of all employees, said people who attended the meeting.

Mr. Emanuel made the comments while he was being interviewed by leaders of the Chicago Federation of Labor. That umbrella group for 300 unions has not yet endorsed any of the candidates who will be running in the Feb. 22 election to succeed Mayor Richard M. Daley, who is retiring.
“The sticking issue for all of us is the pension issue,” said a labor activist who attended the meeting with Mr. Emanuel. “I can’t tell my members we are going to support a guy who is going to cut your pensions.”

The labor leader and others who attended the meeting said they did not want to be identified for fear that Mr. Emanuel would retaliate if he were elected.

Mr. Emanuel plans to disclose his position on city finances in a speech sometime in February, said Ben LaBolt, his spokesman. Told of the union officials’ accounts of the endorsement session, Mr. LaBolt said, “Rahm told the truth about the financial conditions of the pension system and the crisis that it faces.”

In a statement, Mr. LaBolt added that Mr. Emanuel believed “fundamental reform” was necessary to ensure that workers would receive pension benefits when they retire.
“Rahm knows — and Chicagoans understand — that the pension system as currently constructed is not an honest system,” Mr. LaBolt said. “It’s not fair for taxpayers, and it’s not fair for city workers.”
Public employees’ retirement funds have been hit hard not only by the weak economy but also by early-retirement offers, wage increases and the Chicago Public Schools’ partial “pension holiday,” which has allowed the district to reduce its pension contributions.
A new state law will require Chicago and other cities in Illinois to contribute more money toward pensions for police officers and firefighters. Mr. Daley strenuously objected to that change, warning that it would result in the biggest property tax increase in Chicago’s history.
State lawmakers also approved changes last year that limit pension benefits and raise the retirement age for new public employees, but that legislation did not affect workers already on the payroll.
The mayoral candidates Miguel del Valle, Carol Moseley Braun and Gery Chico have said they favor a two-tier pension system with reduced benefits only for new hires.

“I just don’t think it’s right for current employees contracted under certain terms to be told, ‘No, that’s not going to happen,’ ” said Mr. del Valle, the city clerk, adding that he believes doing so would violate the State Constitution.

dmihalopoulos@chicagonewscoop.org

 

The Shields Team for FOP - Our Platform

Pension Funding
Many officers consider the pension to be the most important issue we face today. The FOP has fallen asleep at the wheel on this issue as our funding ratio has plummeted to alarming levels. Sadly, the current FOP has played a role in the underfunding of the pension by forgiving the City for $23 million in pension contributions. Mike Shields is the only candidate that knows exactly what the challenges are to maintain the solvency of our pension fund. As Mayor Daley threatens to take these funds into bankruptcy court, so-called 'civic watchdog' groups propose draconian measures under the guise of reform, Mike stands prepared to defend against these threats. One major effort will be to push for a pension obligation bond to relieve the burden from the property tax levy.
Mike Shields knows exactly what the challenges are to maintain the solvency of our pension fund. He has worked tirelessly as a trustee and will continue at the FOP. Only Mike has spoken out on behalf of all officers-active and retired-regarding the financial well-being of our most valuable retirement asset - the pension fund. Mike helped educate reporters from major Chicago newspapers on the issues facing our fund and changed the tone of the debate from an anti-public employee viewpoint, to a realization that the problems plaguing our pension funds results directly from the City’s mismanagement.
As a trustee on your pension fund, Mike Shields has been an advocate against the City Hall-controlled investments. He has publicly challenged the pay-to-play type investment deals that previously went unchecked. Shields voted to comply with the Inspector General’s subpoena investigating fraud and corruption in the management of the City’s pension funds. He was the only trustee on ANY pension fund in the City of Chicago to do so. Mike has been persistent in his attempts to expose a pay-to-play pattern with Mayor Daley and City Treasurer Neely with such investment managers as Mayor Daley’s nephew. After City Treasurer Stephanie Neely threatened him with a libel lawsuit, Mike Shields did not back down. The entire Shields Team will continue to stand firm to ensure our hard-earned retirement benefits are undiminished, today and in the future.
The Shields Team will be a vigilant watchdog over our pension fund. The pension fund is one issue that affects all FOP members, therefore Mike Shields will maintain his position as Trustee on the fund. The pension is the primary benefit of our job. It is essential that the FOP administration have a deep understanding of the complexity of pension issues. The Shields Team vows against any pension reductions-ever.  There is no compromise on this issue.

Retirees Healthcare Renegotiation - 2013 Korshak Settlement
In 2013, we'll see a fight to maintain the current insurance rates for our retirees. The City is going to push for an increase in retirees' premiums and lessen the amount paid by the pension funds. The FOP leadership must be prepared to push back. Having four attorneys elected to go against the City of Chicago is pivotal to the safety and security of retirement healthcare. Jim McCarthy, Megan Whelehan Curry, Damon Stewart and Terry Collins are well prepared to assist our litigators.

Public Perception of the FOP
The FOP should function as the public voice of the officer on the street. Currently, there is no one speaking on our behalf. Whenever the Mayor or Superintendent speaks out against the police, there is simply no reaction from the FOP. When there is a matter of vital importance to the membership being debated in the media, the response from the FOP is typically silence or a poorly-worded letter to the editor—three days after the fact. In this era of mass-media and a 24-hour news cycle, there needs to be a prompt, professional, and multi-faceted response from the FOP on matters of importance to the Department and the membership. Mike Shields has excellent media-relations skills and a proven track-record of working with the media on stories benefiting the rank-and-file police.  Mike has proven himself to be a professional and articulate voice for our pension, we need him to be a voice for our FOP as well.

The Shields Team has come to a negotiated agreement with Pat Camden to be the spokesman for the FOP for shootings and other matters. As the Police Department’s former spokesman, Mr. Camden brings respect among the media and police alike. He also brings his vast media network and skills. Pat Camden excelled in demonstrating to the public in the wake of police-involved shootings that the officer was in fear of his life, often times staging the media at crime scenes where clear footage of the offender’s weapon was visible.

Mike Shields and Pat Camden will both work diligently to bring public opinion into our favor. Public opinion is crucial for any collective bargaining unit. The current FOP has lost this battle.  Their silence is deafening. Our union cannot strike or take job actions, however, we can change or garner support from the general public and influence the public’s perception of police officers.

Police Involved Shootings- A Need for Experienced Detectives at Your Shooting
There needs to be a clear, defined agreement between IPRA, FOP and the City regarding a 'cooling-off' time-period before any statement is given. Currently, there are inconsistencies. FOP reps are having some officers give statements while others are being sent to the hospital.  While an officer’s physical, psychological and emotional well-being are of paramount importance, the tactic of sending officers to the hospital for the sole purpose of  delaying or avoiding giving a statement can have catastrophic results in future depositions or court proceedings.

The OCIC (exempt in charge) is the main authority on when an officer can give a statement. The FOP reps who respond to the scene of officer-involved shootings should be experienced detectives who will properly direct the OCIC and IPRA and safeguard your rights during the conduct of their investigation. The FOP rep must stop the City and IPRA from changing rules from day to day. The FOP’s task at shootings is more than just ordering the pizza for the officers. It is to protect your future and your livelihood on the scene of a shooting. The Shields Team will send out one of three experienced violent crimes detectives – Danny Gorman A1 V/C, Saul Del Rivero Cold Case or Tim Murphy A2 V/C. The Shields Team will continue the use of legal counsel on scene when appropriate.

Contract
Our membership cannot afford another dismal contract.  The Shields Team will work tirelessly to gain improvements for our members.  A two-tiered pension system has been created requiring members hired after 2011 to average their pension calculation over eight years versus the current four years. The Shields Team will advocate a wage-compression system that applies the final step after 21 years. This will benefit the current member, the future member, and provide more funding to the pension fund for retirement.

The Shields Team will advocate for acceptable pay raises without lowering our insurance benefits anymore.  We are also dedicated to remedying the conflict of having to burn an additional half-hour each time an officer uses a baby furlough day or burn extra time to complete your furlough segment.  We invite the membership’s input as to those issues that are of greatest importance to you, and promise to make your priorities our priorities.

Manpower
The dangerously-low manpower levels have caused safety issues in each and every district.  Officers on afternoons and midnights have been more prone to work alone than ever before.  This has become a standard operating procedure for the department that has gone unchecked, all at the expense of officer safety. Last year, nearly 500 officers retired, the same can be expected in 2011. The Shields Team will advocate that a minimum of 400 officers be hired per year over a three-year timeline.  On the street, we are the only ones looking out for each other.  With less officers out there, the dangers we already face are even greater.  Officer safety must no longer be compromised due to our depleted ranks.  From a bargaining standpoint, as our active membership decreases, so do our union dues, so does our influence and so does our ability to affect positive change for our membership.  There truly is strength in numbers.

Communication with the Membership
The current FOP has a serious communication problem. This is the year 2011! There are far too many complaints regarding lack of response from the current FOP officers’ e-mail system. FOP needs to use alternate sources of media rather than relying on the archaic newsletter. The newsletter delivers too little news, too late and too costly. The newsletter should be quarterly with more of FOP’s focus on e-mail alerts that actually inform the membership. Text message alerts can very easily be added to the website—a site that can withstand heavy viewing and is actually updated with announcements immediately. We need to be a union delivering accurate information to the membership instead of the lip-service we currently see.

In addition to the mode of communication, the current FOP’s communication problems extend to the message itself.  The Shields Team will guarantee one promise - THE TRUTH. There is far too much spin from the FOP. We are all coppers and can see right through this. FOP members need to be told accurate information from their union pertaining to legislation, the contract and others pivotal matters.
The Shields Team will provide quicker and more professional responses to officers regarding their inquiries.  We will also encourage more communication and suggestion from our membership. This is your union. The Shields Team wants to restore dignity to the FOP and make you proud to be a member of this great fraternal organization.

Discipline
The department currently has two rulebooks, one for the chosen and one for the other 99% percent of the department.  The inconsistencies in discipline need to be corrected.  The department needs to stop changing the rules in the middle of the game.  Cases that make the news shall have no greater “rush to discipline” than ones that don’t.
The Shields Team will also fight against such employee tracking programs as the Behavioral Intervention System.  Currently, Sid Davis “represents” the officer in front of an assigned Sergeant during a BIS interview. We will send one of our FOP elected lawyers that is qualified to protect the officer’s best interests. The Shields Team will also challenge the qualifications of entry into such programs. Several years ago, nearly 600 officers were wrongly entered into the program. No action was then taken by the FOP.

Membership Education of the Contract and Grievance Process
Our team consists of highly-qualified, knowledgeable professionals.  They understand the particulars of the contract and can navigate through the grievance process.  Several of our team members are attorneys and have created power point presentations to conduct seminars for officers, to keep them well-informed on these issues.  Officers will be given a thorough explanation of both the contract and the grievance process.  We will also invite the number one violators of our contract - the Watch Commanders.  Presentations will be announced and conducted at various areas throughout the City.  The Shields Team wants the membership to know and more importantly, to exercise your rights.

FOP Liaison in the Superintendent’s Office
As management changes in our department, new policies are implemented without any input from FOP. Many times, these new policies violate the current contract causing the City to have to change back to their old policy. The Shields Team would like someone from the department appointed by the Superintendent as a liaison between the department and the union-outside of Management and Labor Affairs. This is a win-win for both the Department and the FOP. This position will foster the mutual cooperation between the Superintendent’s Office and the FOP to better serve the membership and the City.

FOP Needs To Become More Politically Active
The FOP will create a separate political action committee, with funds outside of the membership dues. This separate entity will avoid interfering with our not-for-profit status.  Both the FOP and the membership need to get involved.

In Cook County, very few judges have ever lost a retention vote.  One particular case is thanks to the FOP in 1986 when Judge Passarella was dumped due to the FOP’s action.  The FOP placed this message on television, radio, and the newspaper. The FOP sent the membership all over the County placing pamphlets on parked cars everywhere.  The FOP has lost that fervor. The Shields Team, if elected will spend every reasonable resource to have anti-police judges removed from the bench when theyare up for retention.  While we won’t be able to claim political victory on every issue, we must be able to flex our political muscle and ensure our voice is heard.  Politicians need to know that we are force to be reckoned with.

The State and Chicago Local Fire Unions sends out hundreds of their firemen to become active with those politicians that help their cause.  The Chicago FOP sends out no one. The Fire Unions historically have won benefits two years prior to the FOP.  We need to be more generous with our time and our pocketbook in politics.

Residency
Policemen are often treated under the law as second-class citizens. The Illinois State Statute creating a residency restriction for municipalities greater than 500,000 is a law that we should be challenging through the legislative branch.  There is no greater time to push for the residency ban to be lifted than right now. The Shields Team will push to have the City to agree to have the Illinois State Legislature lift this residency restriction. Otherwise, we will send our lobbyists to tackle this issue in Springfield.  If the City or the Legislature will not concede, we must negotiate at the bargaining table to be compensated for living in the City of Chicago.

Transparency
The current FOP leadership claims to have transparency. There are questionable actions for which no one in the FOP office will answer. The current FOP treasurer has been removed from the FOP office by President Donahue, yet he is still handling our money! No one at the FOP will address the issue of why. An attorney was fired by the FOP shortly after requesting a maternity leave. A subsequent lawsuit resulted in an undisclosed settlement, yet even the elected FOP board trustees aren’t privileged with this information. Also, why has the FOP removed allof the arbitration information from their website during this election? Finally, the trustees are not even allowed to have a copy of the FOP office’s budget. Immediately after a vote on the budget, the trustees must hand back the redacted copy of the budget after approval. We elect these board members as trustees, yet the inside FOP officers will not entrust their own trustees with such information.

These shady practices must end. The Shields team will practice true transparency. We vow to always keep the board and the broader membership appraised of our actions and decisions so that we may be held accountable for those actions and decisions.