The Chicago Sun-Times has an article which describes Chicago Police and Fire union responses to proposals by the Chicago inspector general:
Police and fire unions on Thursday torched a $1.2 billion roadmap from the city’s inspector general that calls for reducing staffing levels on fire apparatus, converting 20 percent of all engines and trucks to ambulances, staffing the Fire Prevention Bureau with civilians and eliminating “non-salary compensation” for firefighters and police officers.
Tom Ryan, president of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, said Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s “far-fetched” suggestions would “most certainly endanger the lives” of Chicago residents, employees and visitors as well as his own members.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends that a minimum of five firefighters staff each piece of fire apparatus in high-target areas, which includes Chicago, a densely-populated city with “high-rise buildings, special needs facilities, industrial and manufacturing districts and numerous hazardous materials-producing institutions,” Ryan said.
Fraternal Order of Police President Mike Shields was equally incensed by the $144.4 million proposal to eliminate “non-salary compensation” and by Ferguson’s proposal to hire civilians for the Chicago Police Department’s Forensic and Administrative Services Bureaus ($6.7 million).
The entire article can be found HERE.
