Chicago City Wire

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s bid to isolate and squash an arbitration provision from a tentative police contract faces a tough legal road.

Independent arbitrator Edwin Benn, who negotiated the contract giving officers the option to pursue arbitration in more serious disciplinary cases (the same right as other public sector union members) cited Section 8 of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, covering grievance procedures: “The collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the employer and exclusive representative shall contain a grievance resolution procedure which shall apply to all employees in the bargaining unit and shall provide for final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning the administration or interpretation of the agreement unless mutually agreed otherwise.”

Chicago Police Department

Johnson is asking City Council to vote on arbitration separate from the rest of the proposed contract, which includes a 20 percent raise, arguing that approval of it would end transparency in disciplinary cases now afforded by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), that investigates disciplinary cases, and the Chicago Police Board, that sets the punishment, if warranted. The arbitration option would hold for police grievances covering disciplinary suspensions that are longer than a year, and for firings.

Arbitration would have a significant impact on the workload of the Board. Max Caproni, the Board’s executive director, told the Chicago Tribune: “Our expectation would be that very few, if any, of those cases would come to the Police Board if this change takes effect. Bottom line, I think about 90% of our docket, we would lose that, if this change took effect.”

The police have long sought arbitration, contending that cops can't get an unbiased determination from COPA and the Board.

For an earlier story on the contract, former FOP Second Vice President Martin Preib, who spearheaded the move to bring in an independent arbitrator for more serious disciplinary cases, told Chicago City Wire that COPA and the Police Board have in too many instances employed leaks to the media to come down hard on police officers for minor infractions. They then follow-up with the excessive punishments, he said.

“Of all the things I worked on at the FOP, I am most proud of winning this right of arbitration for the members,” Preib said. “It was a long and difficult battle. Hopefully, this will go a long way in undermining the too-cozy relationship between the city's oversight agencies and the media in Chicago.”

In one recent example, the head of COPA recommended the dismissal of a police officer, Patrick Bunyon, who fired at two suspects after he and his partner were shot at in the Far West Side in 2018. The recommendation was condemned by law enforcement; no one was hurt in the incident, and a suspect tripped during a foot chase and a gun was found nearby.

In an earlier case, the Police Board voted in 2019 to fire Officer Robert Rialmo over a 2015 shooting incident even though the Cook County State’s Attorney’ Office concluded that Rialmo operated within the boundaries of State of Illinois police conduct.