Cook County Public Defenders Blog

Sisters and Brothers:

A number of you have contacted various local officers asking about election results.  Please be patient, our diligent and meticulous election chair, Christa Petty,  is conscientiously attempting to gather and tabulate the results from the various work sites.  As soon as we have the information, it will be made available to all.

Thank you for voting and also for your continued patience.

In Solidarity,

K.S. Galhotra

President, Local 3315

Dear Members:

Please note the following information regarding the upcoming Local Election to be held on 5/5/09.

Nominations for local union executive board positions were held on April 2nd.  The following members, upon receiving the only nomination for the position, were automatically elected to that position:

President (2-year term) – Bob Galhotra

Vice President (2-year term) – Brendan Max

Recording Secretary (2-year term) – Amy Thompson

Treasurer (2-year term) – Tim Leeming

A secret ballot election will be held for the three Executive Board Member positions and the three Trustee positions on May 5th.  The nominees for these positions are:

Executive Board Member Nominees:

Tom Stovall

Monique Patterson

Richard Porter

Bruce Mosbacher

Joe Gump

Trustee Nominees:

Paul Bellendir

Arleen Floren

Kevin Ochalla

Beatriz Santiago

Robyn Haynes

On April 1, 2009, retired Judge Abishi C. Cunningham, was sworn in by the Presiding Judge of the Sixth Municipal District, Marjorie Laws, as the Public Defender of Cook County.   Judge Cunningham brings with him a commitment to uphold the Bill of Rights for the indigent citizenry of Cook County.  A brief biography is available online.

Judge Cunningham’s predecessor, Edwin Burnette will leave an important legacy, that of two recent cases that bear his name:  Burnette v. Terrell and Burnette v. Stroger.   These two cases, which came down within the last few weeks and are reported under the Hot Legal Topics tab of this website, gave meaning to the statute that made the public defender an independant office, not under the jurisdiction of the Chief Judge.  The two cases establish the autonomy of the Public Defender and make clear that it is the Public Defender who controls his office, not the President of the Cook County Board.  As Ed Burnette’s attorney, Victor Henderson was quoted as saying, “[b]ut for his courage in standing up to Todd Stroger, it is likely that he would have been appointed for another six-year term.  There is a price to pay for justice and this case that price was Ed’s job.”  Well said Victor,  and best of luck to Ed Burnette.  At least he was able to complete his term with his head held up high.

I have had several conversations with Judge Cunningham and believe that he has the best interests of the office in mind.  He obviously comes with a substantial amount of experience from the bench, a first for the Public Defender, and therefore is sure to garner respect from the judges we appear before.  He has stated that he wants to work with us on many issues that our office faces.  Moreover, he wants to be more hands on and visit job sites and talk to the assistants in the courtroom and even pick up a file and try a case.  On behalf of the local and membership, I extend a warm welcome to Judge Cunningham, the Public Defender of Cook County.

In Solidarity,

K. S. Galhotra

President, Local 3315

I want to update the membership on a few topics. 

The Cook County Jail  Correctional Officers are having elections on MARCH 17 and MARCH 19 to decide which labor union will be representing them.  If they vote for AFSCME, they will help keep AFSCME the largest union representing  Cook County workers.  That strength in numbers (3000 additional members) can pay big dividents at the bargaining table. So it is in our interests to encourage them to vote AFSCME.  When heading to the jail for visits, don your sticker that says “VOTE AFSCME” – it should be available next to the jail sheets next week.  Need one? See me.

Speaking of bargaining table, most of you should have now signed a postcard that we will send to President Stroger to remind him we want a fair contract at the table.  So far, the County has only been talking about takebacks and have  presented no wage increase.  This is a job action folks.  The union wants complete participation.  It’s even easier than wearing a button or sticker to court -  and a lot easier than walking a line while holding a picket.  So please make sure you sign one and if you need one, call union local secretary, Amy Thompson at 26th street (869-6989).

The 1% arbitration went well on February 27th.  We were represented well by Catherine Struzsinsky of AFSCME.  The union called two witnesses, Mike Newman and Peter Schmaltz, who both handled the negotiations at the table during the last contract bargaining.  The County was represented by ASA Greg Vaci and he called one witness, Jonathon Rothstein, who was a special labor counsel to John Stroger at the time.  Due to time constraints, I cannot abstract the hearing here in this post.   But a decison from the arbitrartor is expeceted shortly and I am very optimistic about the outcome and  very satisfied with the testimony heard at the arbitration.

Our local elections are coming up on May 7th, 2009.  But first, there will be a nomination meeting at 3:30 pm on Thursday, April 2, 2009 at the cafeteria on the second floor of the Cook County Criminal Courts Administrations Building located at 2650 S. California.  Come and nominate a candidate of your choosing to run for union office.  You must be present to nominate someone.  The constitution is available on our website as a link under the Stewards and Grievances tab and notices were sent out by U.S. Mail to the address the local has on file.  The notices went out the week of 2/16; if you didn’t get it,  it’s probably an old address we have,  so please update your address in writing with the local.

And yes, it looks like A.C. Cunningham will be Ed Burnette’s successor.  I will have more to say about Judge Cunningham, in a future posting.

In Solidarity,

K.S. Galhotra

At a meeting this morning, the Local learned that there will be no layoffs in the Office of the Cook County Public Defender.   While there will be cuts to the budget that will affect you in the upcoming year, we are glad that none of the cuts will translate into layoffs.  Stay tuned for more news shortly regarding where the cuts will be made. 

Thanks again to the strong support shown by our attorneys at the Special meeting of the County Board this last Friday.

In Solidarity,

K. S. Galhotra

Local 3315 President

There is good news and bad news to report to the membership following an afternoon at the County Board Building.   

Many members who would be affected by layoffs (and several others) attended the County Board meeting today and most spoke to some of the Commissioners and/or their staff about the impact the cuts would have on the office and their jobs.  The Board voted, however, to adopt the budget with the 4% cuts.  That’s the bad news.

But at the same meeting, questions were raised by Commissioner Suffredin about whether adopting the budget would lead to the layoff of Assistant Public Defenders.  The head of the Bureau of Administration, Mark Killgallon,  addressed the Commissioners and told them that he would be working with the Public Defenders office to prevent the layoff of front-line attorneys.  Continued questioning on this issue was not had due to a motion by Commissioner Periaca who argued that further discussion was not appropriate and out of order since the Finance Committee had already addressed these issues and voted for across-the-board cuts in previous sessions.  So the assurance from Killgallon that he would work with the office to make sure there were no layoffs is the “good news.”

On Monday, February 23rd, the union will be meeting with the Public Defender to discuss the budget and find other areas to implement budget cuts.  In addition, talks are ongoing with the Board President’s office to determine if money not utilized by other departments  may also be used to prevent the layoffs of front-line attorneys.

So while there is reason to be nervous, it’s not  yet time to panic. As soon as  I have more information, I will update the membership.

In Solidarity,

K. S. Galhotra, President

Local 3315

Sisters and Brothers:
 
Within the last few hours, the local was made aware of the amount the County Board has “targeted” for our office.  You will recall that last week the finance committee resolved to cut most Bureau of Administration Departments by 4% and Health Care Departments by 2%.  Ed Burnette had reportedly filed an impact statement with the County Board that predicted the shut down of various divisions like Civil and Traffic among others.  Apparently, none of the Commissioners read or understood the impact statement.  Evidently, they thought the cuts would only result in eliminating vacant positions.
 
There is, obviously, a possibility that front-line newly hired and recently recalled attorneys will be laid off.  The number that has been thrown around is 35.  According to the County and Management, the budget hole that needs to be filled by layoffs, furloughs, cuts in supplies, training, etc must total a little over $1.37 million. 
 
You should know that the local is continually working on reducing or eliminating the number that is being thrown around.  Notwithstanding, we believe that there is money in the County to maintain the levels that we were cut down to over the last few years.  We can’t take anymore cuts to our attorney staffing levels!
 
I URGE ALL RECENTLY HIRED ATTORNEYS (SINCE 2005) TO COME TO THE COUNTY BUILDING TOMORROW, FRIDAY (2/20/09) AND MEET WITH COMMISSIONERS.  THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO VOTE ON OUR REDUCED BUDGET AT 2PM.  TELL THEM OF THE SACRIFICES YOU MADE, THE JOBS YOU LEFT TO BECOME APDS.  TELL THEM OF YOUR STUDENT LOAN OBLIGATIONS.  TELL THEM OF YOUR ENORMOUS CASE LOAD. TELL THEM HOW YOU COULDN’T FIND A JOB THE LAST TIME YOU WERE LAID OFF.
 
See you at the County Building- 118 N. Clark Street, 5th Floor.
 
In Solidarity,
 
K. S. Galhotra, President
Local 3315

Sisters and Brothers,

These are truly remarkable times that we are living in:  an African American man from the South Side gets inaugurated as the 44th president of these United States; a North Side son of Serbian immigrants who climbed the political ladder gets impeached after being arrested by the Government for trying to sell a Senate seat that he fills with a former attorney general; a young hispanic woman who grew up in the shadows of the 26th St. courthouse becomes the State’s Attorney of Cook County; a global economy sinks into a recession not seen since the Great Depression; hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs due to the economy; and just as many have lose their homes to foreclosure.  So with all this going on, what are we supposed to do?

As our nation’s leader so eloquently said during his inaugural speech:

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

And as president of this local, I can tell you that it is our duty and responsibility to take responsibility.  It’s our turn to take a turn.  It’s time to ask ourselves not, “What are they doing?”  but  ”What are we doing?”  In the months ahead, our local is going to face difficult budget related economic issues that are plaguing many other governmental units throughout the nation.  In addition, the President of the County Board gets to reappoint the Public Defender this April to another six year term – or appoint another individual whom we do not know.   Rumor, innuendo and speculation plague our worksites with respect to this issue.

In order to allay some of these rumors, the Executive Board met on January 26, 2009 with Edwin Burnette and were assured by him that he is very intrested in being reappointed as the Public Defender of Cook County and he hopes that is what the President of the County Board chooses to do.   Mr. Burnette also maintains that he will not withdraw his lawsuit against them  which is currently on an expedited briefing schedule before the First District Appellate Court.  At issue, as you will recall, is the interpretation of the Public Defender statute and whether final authority over the budget appropriated and passed by the County Board rests with the Public Defender or rather with the President of the County Board.  A decision is anticipated this spring.  As always, the Board is closely watching both issues: leadership of the office and the interpretation of the statute.

In contract negotiations this week, the county trotted out Mercer Consulting and had them hit the enter button 40 times paging through  their  PowerPoint presentation to the AFSCME bargaining committee on the county’s health care plans.  Basically, they showed us how we have pretty good healthcare benefits and pay less than many others.  They didn’t need to tell us that we have good insurance.   But that all led to them giving us a proposal which essentially amounts to a cut in pay. You see, they just came in and asked us to pay more for our insurance without  even bothering to present us with a wage proposal.  You will remember that the county budget bill must be passed by the end of February and to be sure, there is still plenty of disagreement about how much money the county has and how much it still needs to borrow.  What is actually in the budget, of course, is anybody’s guess since it’s full of errors.  So what can we do about this?  We know that to get the county to move on anything, we have to get out there and take part in job actions.  That is the tried and true way that we get heard during contract bargaining.  Our responsibility and duty is to participate in the job actions because as we demonstrated on election day, “we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

So two things are coming up that we need to take part in since it is our responsibility and duty as good union members.  First, the Chicago Federation of Labor , AFSCME and AFL-CIO of Illinois are sponsoring a Rally on February 17, Tuesday at 5:30 pm at Plumbers’ Hall.  The rally is in support of EFCA – the Employee Free Choice Act.  Because while we have card check on the State level in Illinois in the public sector, no such mechanism exists in private sector.  Passing the EFCA ensures the rebuilding of the middle-class.  Without EFCA, people are being fired merely for trying to organize workers at their worksites.  All I can tell you that it is well documented that the standard of living and pay for assistant public defenders in Cook County has steadily increased since the union came in over 20 years ago.  Our responsibility and duty to other Americans is to show up for this rally and help others get the right to bargain as we have – for a better life.

The second thing we need to do is participate in Solidarity day, Wednesday, February 18, 2009.  The union will have a button for all of its members to wear to show the County that we are standing together to get a fair contract.  More information will be forthcoming but please get 2/18/09 on your calender for Solidarity day.

I want to mention that although she was not present at our annual holiday party, Arlene Floren, from the Civil Division was named AFSCME LOCAL 3315′s Steward of the Year.  And the shy and humble Kim Mines (26th) didn’t want to interrupt the party to be recognized for her efforts as Chair of the Annual Holiday Party.  In many ways, the party is like putting on a wedding for 350 guests.  It’s a big production and requires a lot of time, organization and patience- all qualities that Kim has in abundance.  Thanks again to Kim for an excellent job and congratulations again to Arlene.

Lastly,  I want to thank Emily Eisner, who recently retired from our office, for reviewing and discussing the Vermont v. Brillon case with the Executive Board.   The Board considered very seriously whether we, as a union local, should file an amicus brief before the Supreme court.  In the end, we decided not to.

In Solidarity,

K.S. Galhotra
Local 3315 President.

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