Cook County Public Defenders Blog

We have updated our website with a new tool that allows us to upload pictures for the website.  If members have pictures they would like to have posted. they can submit them as an attachment to an email sent to the board.  Enjoy this new section and thanks to Cindy Brown, Amy Thompson,  Julie Harmon and George Grzeca  for making the Annual Golf Outing an annual success.

The arbitration over the County’s failure to maintain the 1% wage increase that was implemented in June of 2008 and taken back a few months later had been scheduled for December 12th, 2008  but has now been rescheduled due to a conflict in the schedule of the  Assistant  Cook County State’s Attorney handling the case for the Employer.   The arbitration is now scheduled for February 27th, 2009.  We will update you with any developments on this issue.

Governer Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris were arrested by the FBI this morning, December 9, 2008.  Your AFSCME People committee decided to not endorse Blagojevich when he ran for re-election in 2006.  Read the 76 page complaint filed in federal court by clicking this link.

 The budget hearing schedule can be found by clicking this link.  Or click this for a link to the actual budget proposal in pdf form.

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

With the onset of the Holiday Season, allow me to update you on a few items of interest.

Holiday Party

The local will be holding it’s annual holiday party on December 12th at Moretti’s on West Jackson.  The deadline for RSVP is December 4, 2008.  You can bring one guest and law clerks are welcome.  One catch:  you must RSVP by email to unionparty08@gmail.com.  You must identify not only yourself but your guest as well.  Please respect the process and send the email.  This is the only way the local can know how many people to have food and drink for. 

Negotiations

Since September, local board members have been participating in bargaining with the County in order to obtain a new collective bargaining agreement for Local 3315.  As in past years, the County and AFSCME have been unable to negotiate a new contract before the current one expired.  While the contract has a self renewal clause, but for that provision, it expired on November 30th, 2008.  The issues currently on the table are non-economic and concern such things as the use of personal days and military leave.  Many other non-ecomomic issues are currently on both the universal table and local table.

The County will only engage in a discussion of economic issues (i.e. wages and health care) once the non-economic issues have been resolved.  Forthcoming is the usual report from some consulting firm the County hires (at conderable expense) to describe the health plan we currently enjoy and how the County just can’t afford such benefits.   The process, at this time, is painfully slow and we anticipate the necessity for job actions to pressure the County in moving the negotiations along.  Stay tuned and please cooperate with job actions requested by your executive board.

The 1% Issue

The arbitration concerning the 1%issue will be held on December 12th, 2008.  As soon as there is a decision from the arbitrator, we will inform the membership. ( The decision will probably not be available till the early months of 2009.)

Union Dues

As of January 1, 2009, your dues will increase 69 cents per pay period.  The increase was mandated by the International and while we regret an increase, it insures that the local maintains the level of services and benefits offered to our members.

ARDC Dues

Please don’t forget to pay your ARDC dues because our contract requires that all assistants be “listed on the Master Roll of attorneys licensed to practice in the State of Illinois and shall remain so listed during the term of employment.”  Management is verifying compliance online so please comply promptly.  Incidentally, we are proposing, in local negotiations, that the County pay our dues in the next contract.

Happy Holidays!

K. S. Galhotra

President, Local 3315

Patrick Ryan, a third year law student at John Marshall law school, won the winter/spring 2009 Jack Carey Scholarship last week.  The award, which was recently increased from $2000 to $2500, was awarded to Ryanw who was selected from a field of many qualified and respected candidates.  Ryan has been working for months as a clerk in the Traffic Division of the Law Office of the Public Defender with assistant public defenders Theresa Nelson, Melissa Myer, Jerry Byerly and Mychal Luther.  He is known for the tremendous hours he has been putting in at the office, sometimes four days a week while still enrolled in law school full time.  Ryan’s future goals are to pursue a career as an assistant public defender.  The next scholarship will be for the summer of 2009 and the deadline is 4/1/09. 

Here is a link to a recent story in the Chicago Sun Times concerning a mailing sent by the pension board to participants.  Click this. 

The annual, local sponsored Holiday Party, is scheduled for 12/12/08, Friday night, at Moretti’s on Jackson.   There will be four hours of open bar, food and music.  Our D.J. for the evening is Tom Pazen who has spun at many clubs throughout Chicago including SmartBar and Crobar.   You must RSVP by 12/4/08 in order to attend.  Unlike previous years, you will only be allowed to bring one guest to the party.  You will not be allowed to bring more than one guest as you were able to in past years for a charge.  And, you must attend the party with your guest; if your guest comes alone, they must wait for you to arrive before we will allow entry.To RSVP, send an email with your name, your guest’s name (if you have one) and work location to unionparty08@gmail.com .  Do it now or you will be sorry.For additional information, consult event chair, Kim Mines at 26th Street. 

The New York Times has a story about public defender offices in some jurisdictions refusing appointment on new cases due to their enormous caseloads.  The Local has a proposal in local negotiations regarding this exact issue. To read the story from the New York Times, click this.

I am happy to report that the County has hired five attorneys to fill five entry level positions at the Civil bureau. The names of the attorneys (who have all become full members) are:

TINA LEWIS

MEGHAN KENNEDY

DYLAN BARETT

ANDREW ABALE, and

LAUREN THREATTE.

Please join me in extending a very warm welcome to our new brothers and sisters.

K. S. Galhotra

President