[CPRB] Springfield Police Review Commission

[Ricky Baldwin]

Thanks, Jen-

These articles are very good to have, as is any future
communication with the City Atty.  Unfortunately they
don't resolve the issue of whether the CPRB itself
would be a mandatory subject.  (Obviously, I think,
disciplinary power would be, if we were asking for
that.)  And, perhaps not surprisingly, the Illinois
Public Labor Relations Act itself doesn't  give us an
answer either -- though it looks like you could read
it that way.  If we were in New York, where I
bargained contracts in the public sector, I could tell
you with some confidence that it isn't.  But we
aren't, so I can't.

But here's a thought I've been mulling over:  (1)
Whatever the City Attorney comes up with, it's
management's perspective.  It may not be the position
we want to take.  (2) And even if a CPRB without
disciplnary authority isn't a mandatory subject, I'd
bet it's a permissible subject.  Again, we're in
Illinois not New York, or I'd lay money on it.  (3) I
think we are all aware that cooperation of police
officers is vital to effectiveness.  (Besides the fact
that I think union rights are basic rights we don't
want to roll over in an effort to protect a different
set of rights.)

So what about our group taking the position that, even
if the City doesn't have to bargain, it should?  I
think that's a conversation we should probably have
off line and in person, as with any bargaining.  But I
think the suggestion itself is harmless enough.

Call me if you want to discuss it before the next
meeting.  I'm all ears.
Ricky
328-3037 

--- "Walling, Jennifer" <jwalling at law.uiuc.edu> wrote:

> Hey everyone,
> 
> The Urbana City Attorney pointed me to some articles
> on Tuesday about the
> city of Springfield and their efforts for a police
> review commission.  I
> knew that some effort was going on there a few years
> ago, but I thought it
> had died. Apparently, the council there just
> approved a police review board,
> but it's being held up by the Illinois Labor
> Relations Board?  I think?  I'm
> going to look more into the issue.
> 
> Apparently, there is some sort of 1983 agreement in
> Springfield that the
> Police Union signed with the mayor that gave the
> mayor discipline authority
> over the Springfield PD.  The Council thinks that
> the Police Review
> Commission should just go ahead and the Police Union
> thinks it violates
> their Collective Bargaining Agreement.  This may or
> may not be an issue in
> Urbana, depending on the CBA.
> 
> I've copied below the article where it passed in
> February and links to the
> others.
> 
> April 21
>
http://www.illinoistimes.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A4167
> 
> Feb. 3, 2005
>
http://www.illinoistimes.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A3941
> 
> January 20
>
http://www.illinoistimes.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A3901
> 
> 
> 
> Three strikes
> 
> BY DUSTY RHODES
> 
> mail this article Mail Article
> print-friendly formatPrint Article
> 
> 
> Mayor Tim Davlin, during a happier time
> ALSO IN NEWS
> Judy raises the bar
> Achievement examination
> Staying focused
> More (368)...
> 
> ALSO IN NEWS
> Quicktakes (Oct. 20, 2005)
> Quicktakes (Oct. 13, 2005)
> Karyn's killers?
> More (162)...
> 
> This week's meeting of Springfield City Council had
> the air of a lopsided
> baseball game. Aldermen threw a series of breaking
> curve balls, and the
> mayor went down swinging on a 3-0 count.
> 
> First, the 4.5 percent rate hike requested by City
> Water, Light and Power
> failed 4-6. That request - the first of several
> planned to fund the
> construction of a new power plant - is likely to
> resurface at the council's
> February 15 meeting.
> 
> Next, the council refused to approve the annual
> budget appropriation,
> instead taking a voice vote to send the ordinance
> back to committee for
> further amendments. Mayor Tim Davlin called the move
> "disrespectful,"
> chastising council members for not submitting
> amendments sooner. Council
> coordinator Joe Davis spoke up in defense of the
> aldermen, saying
> last-minute amendments are a council tradition.
> 
> Later, Ward 3 Alderman Frank Kunz called the mayor's
> complaint disingenuous.
> "We've been yelling at each other for over a month
> about what's going to
> come out of this budget and what wasn't," Kunz said.
> The mayor, he added,
> "knew what most of us were going to do, whether it
> was written down or not."
> 
> Toward the end of the evening, the council approved
> a historic ordinance
> creating for the first time in Springfield a citizen
> review board to examine
> complaints against police. But that vote, too,
> marked a defeat for Davlin.
> Even though the mayor supports the creation of the
> panel, he pleaded with
> council members to send the ordinance back to
> committee to allow the city
> time to negotiate with the police union.
> 
> The Police Benevolent and Protective Association
> Unit No. 5 considers
> creation of a review board to be a mandatory topic
> of collective bargaining.
> 
> 
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> 



		
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