Chicago City Wire

Jerry Morrison, the politically well-connected and outspoken head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the state’s largest public sector unions, is scheduled to appear on a misdemeanor battery charge in Chicago next month.

Morrison is expected to appear Oct. 2 in Cook County Circuit Court's Misdemeanor Section on a single charge of battery. Under Illinois law, he could face up to one year in prison if convicted.

The charges stem from an altercation Morrison, 53, had with a 49-year-old male at 2 p.m. June 26 in the 100 block of North LaSalle Street, according to a Chicago Police Department report.

Morrison yelled obscenities at the man, who was not identified, and then struck the victim in the arm with an umbrella, which a CPD spokesperson referred to as a “dangerous weapon.” The victim told police he would seek medical attention for his injuries.

On Aug. 7, Morrison reported to CPD’s first district headquarters where he was photographed and charged.

With Morrison as its executive director, SEIU has made millions in campaign donations to progressive candidates supporting higher taxes and public spending, and he has been outspoken in defense of those policies.