Chicago Police Sergeants' Association
Alerts & Notices
Lieutenant’s Lawsuit Update!
Our attorneys were in Federal Court on 31 Aug, 2010 to file the TRO for the upcoming promotions to Lieutenant. The city filed an answer and has promised Judge Dow that the city wants the class to start on 07 Sep 2010, but that no Lieutenant will be sworn in prior to 01 Oct, 2010. The Judge will hear the city’s witness on 10 Sep and indicated he will conduct a status hearing on the Association’s request for the TRO on 15 Sep 2010. Depositions that should have been completed by now will begin shortly. As more information becomes available it will be posted.
Lt’s Promotion Exam: UPDATE 4 August 2010
The Association fully understands the concerns of the Sergeants that are close to making Lieutenants regarding upcoming promotions. We also share your concerns. But please understand that the lawsuit is based on the totality of our entire membersgip and the fact that the administration of this last exam was so flawed. Our position is to protect the interest of all Sergeants, not just a few. We hope our actions force the city to actually give fair exams to allow all of our members a fair shot at being promoted.
We believe that the City will soon announce another round of promotions off the lieutenant list. The PB CPSA Board has instructed our lawyers to seek a temporary restraining order in Federal Court.
A number of Sergeants who feel they will be in the next group of promotions are objecting to the TRO. They feel the union is actually working against their best interest by taking this action. This is not the case.
This lawsuit was started two years ago because of the unfair manner in which the City conducted the last lieutenant test. At that time, there were no objections from the membership.
Since the suit was filed the City has repeatedly filed and lost motioned to dismiss it. During that time, two groups of Sergeants were promoted. We did not file a TRO then because we were hoping for an early resolution of the case. It is apparent to us now that the City is purposely dragging this out in order to get around the possible adverse judgment against them.
In any action taken by a union, some members will be favorably impacted and others will not. This union is always seeking to improve conditions for all our members. So when the City acted as it did in the last lieutenant test, members (and not only the 660 who took the first test) were outraged and wanted action. However, the law prohibits us from negotiating any issue regarding promotions. Therefore our only recourse was to file suit.
Our hope is that if the TRO is granted the City will need to sit down and resolve our case or the Judge will set an early trial date. If not, the City will continue to treat us as they wish affecting not only our current membership but future members also. This will not be limited to testing on promotions but everything else that we have worked for and obtained. If anyone believes the City would treat us individually better than they must collectively, you are either very young or very naive.
Retroactive Paychecks
Retroactive paychecks will be out on 09 August, 2010. ATTENTION RETIRED MEMBERS! Any retired member who is due a retro-active pay check can pick their check up in preson. If you are a retired member and wish to pick up your retro-active pay check you can do so. The retirees' retroactive paychecks will be in the lobby of Police Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. on Tuesday, 10 Augugst, 2010, through Thursday 12 August from 0900-1400 hours. Retirees who do not wish to pick up their retro checks will have them mailed out to the last address they provided to the department after 13 August, 2010.
There is some confusion regarding an article in the Pension Advisor Newsletter. Sergeants who wish to retire in 2011 and take advantage of the age 55 paid health care need to inform the city of their deisre to retire NO LATER THAN 01 October, 2011. Sergeaqnts then retire between 01 November-31 December, 2011. Sergeants DO NOT have to notify the city of their intent to retire by this October as printed in the newsletter
Lt’s Promotion Exam: UPDATE 21 June 2010
Our Association’s attorney has informed us that the city’s latest effort to have the Lieutenants lawsuit thrown out of court has failed. Our attorneys are making arrangements for several members to give their depositions. This will take place over the next few months. We will keep you updated as soon as more information becomes available. This issue has been dragging on for a long time but it is still proceeding, just very slowly.
Election News
783 Sergeants voted in a special election for the person they believed should be the next President of the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association. The results were as follows:
Sgt Robert Kirchner garnered 325 votes or 41.5% of the total vote.
Sgt Michael Burke garnered 263 votes or 33.5% of the total vote.
Sgt Raimondo Brown garnered 195 votes or 24.9% of the total vote.
With thte above totals in mind, Sgt Michael Burke has decided to withdraw his candidacy from the runoff election. Sgt Burke has made this decision with the best interest of the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association in mind. Sgt Burke believes that the 783 Sergeants who have voted have spoken and that Sgt Robert Kirchner should be declared the winner with the 41.5% of the vote. Sgt Burke further believes that enough time, energy and money has already been spent on this election, and that the election is over. It is also Sgt Burke’s belief that we should start moving forward and concentrate on the pending contract negotiations and other issues that now face the Association. Sgt Burke has informed the election committee of his decision and believes that it is in the best interest of the Association. Sgt Burke wishes to thank his many supporters and hopes they understand that his decision was made with the best interest of the Association in mind.
Election News Update
The Election Committee has been notified that Sgt Michael Burke is withdrawing from the run-off election with Sgt Robert Kirchner. Sgt Burke has tendered a letter of withdrawal believing it is in the best interest of the Association.
The Election Committee is reviewing the aspects of this action with our attorneys to ensure that the decisions made by the Committee are proper and according to the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association’s By-Laws.
We apologize for this delay and will notify the membership of the final decision of the Election Committee as soon as possible.
The Election Committee
Election Results
05 April 2010
These are the results of the vote count for the special election for the office of president of the Chicago Police Sergeants Association.
Sgt. Robert Kirchner—325 Votes
Sgt. Michael Burke—263 Votes
Sgt. Raimondo Brown—195 Votes
Spoiled—6
Total Votes--789
According to the Sergeants Association By-Laws (Art. VIII Sect.20) the winner must have the majority of votes cast. This is interpreted to mean 50% plus one vote, which did not happen. This was verified by both of the Sergeant’s Association Attorneys.
Therefore, there will be a run off election between Sgt. Robert Kirchner and Sgt. Burke. Additional information will be posted.
The Election Committee
Lt’s Promotion Exam: UPDATE 23 March 2010
The city is stonewalling the Association in regards to our lawsuit over the Lieutenant’s test. They have failed to provide their answers to the Federal Judge and there is another court date set for 29 March, 2010. Our attorneys are going to court this week to seek an injunction to prevent the city from making any additional Lieutenants from this list until the city complies with the Federal Judge’s order. We will keep you updated.
Lt’s Promotion Exam: UPDATE 15 January 2010
Our Association's attorney has informed us that the city's latest attempts to have the lawsuit dismissed have failed. Depositions from several Sergeants should be taken shortly. No other information is available at this time, as the Federal Court System moves at its own pace.
15 January 2010
John Pallohusky, the former President of our Association, was indicted on 15 January, 2010, on charges of theft, official misconduct, and money laundering. We are both disappointed and angered by these charges. The 1,281 members of the Association are all victims in this fraud case. The Board has been fully cooperating with the Office of the State’s Attorney in this investigation. An arraignment date has been set for 04 Feb 2010.
The Board has also implemented several measures to insure that the Association’s funds are safeguarded from any future misappropriation. Now that the indictment has been handed down, we can recover our records and examine where the Association’s funds were directed to. Legal action to recover any losses has been initiated, along with the hiring of an outside auditing firm to discover the extent of the loss. We fully intend to recover any and all monies that may have been misappropriated.
As more information becomes available we will disclose it to the members of this Association.
As for information regarding our contract, the negotiating team met with our State PB&PA General Counsel and has informed the city’s attorney’s that mediation is being demanded. This is the step prior to full arbitration.
The notice of the special election for the office of President has been mailed out to the members. This notice contains all of the pertinent the information regarding the special election.
We are having some technical problems with e-mail addresses posted on the Sergeant’s Association website. If you wish to contact any member please address it to their title at chicagosergeants.org. For example, my address is:
. We hope to have this problem rectified soon.
I want to thank the membership for their patience and support during this time of turmoil.
Robert Kirchner
President
18 December 2009
Let me take this opportunity to thank all of the members who attended the Special Membership meeting on 17 Dec 09. A total of 122 members came out to the informational meeting. Everyone who showed up was able to ask any question they may have had regarding the current state of affairs after the arrest of the former President. There were many good questions that were asked, and I hope we were able to answer everyone’s questions fully. As usual, some came not to ask questions, but to push their own political agenda. Matters that had nothing to do with the issues facing the Board were expressed much to the dismay of many in attendance.
Since the allegations came to light your Board has been very busy ensuring that this organization continues to operate on a daily basis. The bills are still being paid and the needs of our members are continuing to be served.
The next General Membership meeting is scheduled to take place on 21 Jan 09 at the Association’s building. Items to be discussed will be the 4 and 2 work schedule, contract negotiations, and Lt’s examination lawsuit and of course, any further information we learn about the allegations against John Pallohusky.
The next scheduled court date for Sgt Pallohusky’s case has been set for 15 Jan 09. No courtroom information was available at the time of this writing.
Those members who expressed an interest to be on the election committee will be contacted right after the New Year.
I want to extend our wishes for a Happy Holiday Season to all of our members and their families
Robert Kirchner
President
01 December 2009
We are currently in the process of selecting a location for our special membership meeting on December 17th. We will post the location as soon as we have confirmed a location.
Soon we will have a "member only" section on our website which will include a forum which will be available to active sergeants; this site will also be available to retirees in the future. The "members only" section will be an area where information can be posted by the board to keep the members informed without airing our laundry to the general public. There will also be a forum for members to discuss "hot" topics or any other topics without using the Department E-mail system. We expect to have this available within the next few days.
We are cooperating fully with the ASA's Office and we will post additional information in the "members only" section of our website as information is provided to us. Thank you for being patient as we are aggressively working to gather accurate information regarding the incident which occurred on 20 November 2009.
Robert Kirchner
President
22 November 2009
On 22 November, 2009, the Board of Directors of the Chicago Police Sergeant’s Association held a special meeting to discuss recent events effecting the organization. At the meeting the board took the following action:
- The Board accepted the resignation of John Pallohusky effective immediately.
- The Board accepted the resignation of Mary O’Toole effective immediately.
- Vice President Robert Kirchner has assumed the office of President immediately.
- Sgt John Stahl from the Inspection Division, who worked as an accountant before joining the Police Department, was appointed as Treasurer.
The Board also wants to inform its members that the association is well funded, including the legal defense and PAC fund.
Contract negotiations between the organization and the city are continuing, and the union offices are open and continuing to operate.
The Board has an annual financial Report prepared but in addition has decided to have an independent audit conducted of the organization’s accounts. However, at this time, all of our financial records have been turned over to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
As further information becomes available, the Board will share this information with the members.
John Pallohusky has retained his own attorney to represent him in this matter. Attorneys who work for the organization are not defending John Pallohusky.
The Board has announced that there will be a special general membership meeting held on 17 December, 2009, at 1800 hours to review these matters.
Robert Kirchner
President