July 26, 2021

The City of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 Announce Tentative Contract Agreement

Tentative deal includes historic accountability reforms, mental health and wellness support, and backpay

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

CHICAGO – The City of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 have reached a tentative contract agreement, subject to ratification by FOP membership and assuming that, City Council approval.  This tentative agreement is in alignment with the Consent Decree, that includes historic accountability reforms, more support for officer wellness including a new ombudsman to support mental health for officers, and back pay for officers. 

“This proposed contract acknowledges the valuable contributions that Chicago police officers make to neighborhoods all across the City. It includes crucial new accountability and transparency reforms needed to create trust between police and communities and provides economically responsible yet fair compensation for officers.”  Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said. “The agreement also recognizes the tremendous stress of the job and resulting trauma and provides additional health and wellness supports for officers.  We are hopeful that the FOP membership will grant this proposal due consideration and vote to ratify it swiftly.” 

The agreement expands on the same historic accountability reforms that were achieved in the three Policemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (PBPA) units contract. All of the items that the City was required to utilize its “best efforts” to win under the Consent Decree were achieved. 

These reforms include: 

  • An end to the 40-year ban on the investigation of anonymous complaints about police misconduct; 
  • The elimination of the requirement to destroy disciplinary records older than five years, in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling; 
  • Allowing the City to broaden its use of police disciplinary records in cases involving police misconduct, including verbal abuse, mirroring the PBPA agreement; 
  • An end to allowing officers to change their testimony after viewing video;  
 In addition, the tentative agreement includes the following enhancements: 
  • The elimination of affidavits and an expedited process (“override”) for anonymous complaints where the complainant doesn’t want to be identified; 
  • Recognition in the CBA that officers who report potential misconduct are acting in the highest traditions of public service, and a removal of the previous “ban” on rewarding/recognizing officers who report misconduct; 
  • Investigatory agencies must advise every individual being interviewed that they need to be truthful. 
This proposal represents an average annual increase of 2.5%. It offers the same economic package that Firefighters Local 2 and the PBPA units received, plus 0.5%. 
The tentative deal includes the same increases in duty availability pay that the PBPA agreed to, but with a 6-month delayed implementation. Under the tentative agreement, officers will now be eligible for duty availability pay after 18 months of service. 
Under the tentative agreement, the City agreed to increase funding of FOP health fairs, which are geared toward improving the health and wellness of our officers. The tentative agreement also ensures the creation of a dedicated Mental Health Ombudsman, an FOP member focused on the mental health of officers, which is a top priority for the Lightfoot administration. 
The agreements reached are an interim package that would go into effect following ratification by the FOP membership, and passage by City Council. The City and the FOP will, however, continue to negotiate over additional accountability and operational proposals, and if agreement cannot be reached may proceed to interest arbitration to resolve such outstanding items. The City expects that FOP leadership will present the tentative agreement to its membership for ratification in the coming weeks.  

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