Community Corner
Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Police Merger Scrapped: Year in Review
A negotiations stalemate plagued the ambitious police-consolidation plan.
Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Patch is looking back at the top stories of 2013 with a Year in Review series. Click the links below to view Patch's original coverage.
One of the top stories of 2012 continued, and eventually concluded, in 2013.
The proposed Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police department consolidation fell through in March after months of negotiation between the villages and their patrol officers.
Were you disappointed when the police merger fell through? Tell us why or why not in the comments!
The sticking point that eventually doomed the negotiations was Social Security benefits currently received by Clarendon Hills officers that, under a consolidated department, could no longer be made available.
The police merger, according to village projections, would have eliminated via attrition five officer positions between the two villages and saved a combined $700,000 to $800,000 per year.
Hinsdale police chief Brad Bloom told Patch after negotiations fell through that he was disappointed the merger wouldn't be happening.
Clarendon Hills chief Ted Jenkins said he hadn't expected the Social Security benefit to be a deal-breaker, but understood why his officers wanted to keep the non-negotiable benefits that the department opted to offer in 1983.
More Year in Review coverage:
One of the top stories of 2012 continued, and eventually concluded, in 2013.
The proposed Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police department consolidation fell through in March after months of negotiation between the villages and their patrol officers.
Were you disappointed when the police merger fell through? Tell us why or why not in the comments!
The sticking point that eventually doomed the negotiations was Social Security benefits currently received by Clarendon Hills officers that, under a consolidated department, could no longer be made available.
The police merger, according to village projections, would have eliminated via attrition five officer positions between the two villages and saved a combined $700,000 to $800,000 per year.
Hinsdale police chief Brad Bloom told Patch after negotiations fell through that he was disappointed the merger wouldn't be happening.
Clarendon Hills chief Ted Jenkins said he hadn't expected the Social Security benefit to be a deal-breaker, but understood why his officers wanted to keep the non-negotiable benefits that the department opted to offer in 1983.
What do you think was the top story of 2013 in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills? Tell us in the comments!
More Year in Review coverage:
- D86 Board Shaken Up After April Election: Year in Review
- Abbey Bott's Death, Fatal BNSF Collisions Among 2013's Most-Read Stories: Year in Review
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