Page 20 - August 2018

The proverbial cat has been let out of the bag
On July 27, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan conducted
an hour-long press conference in which
the parties released the first draft of the infamous consent decree. Pundits will
have many weeks to comment, offer praise,
chide its shortcomings and pretend to be experts in an area that is really a case of first impression. Remember, no state attorney general
across the country has ever filed a Section 1983 lawsuit in fed- eral court seeking to assume the role of the federal Department of Justice. Chicago Lodge 7 is of the opinion that the attorney general cannot because she does not have standing (more on that later). Notwithstanding that crucial fact, the news media, community groups and citizens will throw out assertions and opinions, oftentimes with very little knowledge of the underly- ing facts and relevant law. Sadly, Police Officers are accustomed to being labeled “the problem,” but this consent decree has the potential of changing how law enforcement will be conducted for years to come.
Not surprisingly, many of the “action” items contained in the 225-page document seek to change various provisions found in the Lodge’s collective bargaining agreement – provisions which the Lodge has fought long and hard to maintain and which pro- vide the protections needed for our men and women to effec-
tivelyandsafelyperformtheirdutiesasswornlawenforcement officers.
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Labor Report
Perhaps the best takeaway from the past several days, however, can be attributed to Lodge President Gra- ham’s statement in his open letter to the membership, written shortly after obtaining a copy of the consent
decree: “NOTHING WILL CHANGE AT THIS TIME.” President Graham is correct. Most importantly, the Lodge will continue to ensure that nothing in the collec- tive bargaining agreement will change – at least not without the Lodge’s consent. The City and the Lodge started negotia- tions over a successor collective bargaining agreement several months ago; some of the most crucial items contained in the 775-paragraph manifesto that impact the Lodge’s members
must be negotiated between the City and the Lodge.
As many of you know, on June 6 the Lodge filed both a mo- tion to intervene in the litigation and a motion to dismiss the underlying lawsuit. It is interesting how the federal district court can even entertain such a consent decree when it must first determine whether the federal judge assigned to the case has jurisdiction to hear what is known as a Section 1983 case. When any federal lawsuit is filed, the judge must initially deter- mine whether the court has “subject matter jurisdiction.” One of the main issues raised by the Lodge in its motion to dismiss is that Attorney General Madigan lacks statutory standing to bring this type of lawsuit as a plaintiff. The current case law in
20 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2018