The maximum age for a starting Chicago police officer or firefighter would rise from 40 to 55 under a controversial proposal to bolster hiring that was dismissed by union leaders as impractical.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), chair of the City’s Council’s Committee on Economic and Capital Development, acknowledged that policing and firefighting are, for the most part, a young person’s game.
But in pushing the proposal, he argues there are still plenty of jobs, particularly in policing, that could be performed by rookies in their 50s.
“When you talk about Lollapalooza, you’re not dealing with gangbangers and drug dealers,” Villegas said. “There’ll be occasional fights that break out, but it’s not like you’re going into a gang-infested area or trying to break up a drug deal.”
“Crowds go there to have fun. Alcohol can be the fuel that starts something,” Villegas added. “But controlling rowdy crowds is something definitely a senior police officer could handle. That would allow younger police officers to get into these busy districts where crime is occurring and handle those.”
Villegas said he introduced the ordinance at Thursday’s City Council meeting to “force a discussion” about creative ways to attract more candidates to a job that has lost its luster.
“We’re finding it harder to fill this position. It forces the discussion to figure out how we are going to deal with the lack of interest from younger” applicants, he said.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara dismissed the proposal as unrealistic.
“There aren’t many 55-year-olds who are going to be able to complete the academy. They wouldn’t be able to get through it without lowering the standards even more than they already have been,” he said.
Catanzara said a better idea to attract more candidates is to bring back the police rehiring program.
“There are still former Chicago police officers who left for various reasons who want to come back but no longer can because [Police Superintendent Larry] Snelling terminated the rehire program. They don’t have a lateral program anymore, either, where people who were never CPD can come over,” Catanzara said. “Why don’t we explore actually bringing over already-trained officers instead of trying to train new people? That seems like a simpler starting point.”
Pat Cleary, president of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, said the job would be “too physical” for most people in their 50s, adding that a 55-year-old firefighter would not be able to carry heavy hoses and other firefighting equipment.
A 55-year-old rookie would also be able to serve no more than eight years on the job before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 63.
“They’ll abuse the system. They’ll feign injuries and then get a duty disability. It’ll bankrupt the pension,” Cleary said. “Usually, guys who are in their 50s are promoted. So, they’re an officer. They’re not doing the heavy carrying. The firemen do all that. But if you come on as a fireman, you’re going to be doing all the leg work. That’s crazy.”
When Local 2 members were asked whether they would support raising the retirement age to 63, they voted it down for the same reason, Cleary said.
“The cops raised their retirement age to 65. We did not,” Cleary said. “Why would you want older people coming on the job? I would want younger people.”
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said the proposal to raise the maximum age for a starting Chicago police officer is not crazy at all — it’s a “sign of the times.”
Big city police departments across the country are “having to rethink traditional hiring — whether it’s hiring civilians or hiring older individuals who can perform some functions in the police department that are needed,” Wexler said.
“The old model isn’t working. …The demand for qualified applicants exceeds the supply,” Wexler said.
“Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle — all of these departments are having hiring challenges. In Washington, D.C., where I am, they’re offering a $25,000 hiring bonus. In Seattle, it’s $30,000. San Francisco, Los Angeles — they’re all incentivizing it.”
Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) has served the city as both a police officer and a firefighter. He represents a Far Northwest Side ward that used to be known as “Cop Land,” but not anymore.
“I knew I was going to be a cop. My brother knew he was going to be a cop. Everyone I knew, knew they were going to be a cop,” Napolitano said. “People don’t talk like that in the neighborhood anymore. The position has been so demonized, that’s not somebody’s career path much anymore.”