Chicago Sun-Times: Police, Streets & Sanitation targeted for nearly half of City's 1,080 layoffs

[marmar]

City cuts hit two key areas: Police, Streets & Sanitation
LABOR LEADER RIPS PLANS | Police, Streets & Sanitation targeted for nearly half of City Hall's 1,080 layoffs


October 5, 2008

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter [e-mail]


Nearly half of the 1,080 city of Chicago employees being targeted for layoffs would come from two key departments, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned -- the police and the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

A labor leader said that's likely to translate to fewer cops on the streets, as the jobs of police civilians are cut.

CITY JOBS HIT LIST
The numbers of city of Chicago jobs being targeted under Mayor Daley's planned layoffs, by department:
376 -- Streets and Sanitation
133 -- Chicago Police Department civilian workers
75 -- General Services
69 -- Water Management
67 -- Aviation
28 -- Transportation
10 -- Health
5 -- Chicago Public Library

Even as homicides and other violent crimes are on the rise, Mayor Daley's decision to lay off 133 police civilians for budgetary reasons is likely to strain a Chicago Police Department that's expected to be hard hit by the elimination of 329 sworn vacancies and 424 civilian openings.

"Are you telling me that, with all the work they do, day in and day out, nobody is gonna do their jobs?" Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon said in an interview. "They may not be losing guys with guns and badges on, but they're gonna have to take police officers off the street to do the work (civilians) were doing."

The 1,080 layoffs are projected by the Daley administration to save $98 million. They represent the biggest purge in Daley's nearly 20-year tenure as mayor.

Of the targeted employees, 317 are middle managers. That's a sore point with Gannon, who wants what he called the "layers and layers of supervisors" at City Hall to take a bigger hit.

Gannon said minorities will bear the brunt of the 300 laborer firings -- and the Laborers Union has "mapped out where they live" so aldermen in the affected wards can see the impact. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/1202941,CST-NWS-cuts05.article