Police Merger: Development in FOP Negotiations Expected Soon

Residents of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills will likely get an update in the coming days on the state of police-merger negotiations between the villages and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Social Security hurdle that has held up an agreement, Clarendon Hills village manager Randy Recklaus said.

"I think this issue is going to resolve itself quickly," Recklaus said at Monday night's Clarendon Hills Village Board meeting. "By quickly, I think we’re talking days.

"I would be surprised if there wasn’t some resolution, one way or another on this issue, in advance of the next board meeting [on Feb. 19]."

Officials from both towns have said the hang-up in negotiations between the villages and the union that represents the departments' patrol officers has been the Social Security benefit that only Clarendon Hills officers receive, and how the loss of that benefit would be offset in a consolidated department.

READ: Police Merger: Social Security Benefits 'Big Hurdle' in FOP Negotiations

Recklaus said Monday that the villages have had correspondence recently with the U.S. Social Security Administration in Baltimore and the State Retirement System of Illinois on the Social Security issue. 

Despite the expectation for a resolution soon, Recklaus said that as of Monday night, the overall status of the negotiations has not changed since the last negotiation session on Jan. 22.

After the Jan. 22 session, the villages said they were aiming to have another meeting with the FOP in early February, but Recklaus did not say Tuesday if that meeting had taken place or is planned for a future date.

Recklaus has said that it's important to have the FOP on board with the merger if the necessary state legislation clearing the way for an intergovernmental agreement between Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills is to be passed in Springfield.

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See also:

• Police Merger: Hinsdale Board Pulls Referendum After Clarendon Hills Vote
• Police Merger: Social Security Benefits 'Big Hurdle' in FOP Negotiations
• Police Merger: Patti Bellock Says Referendum Idea Came From Residents
• Police Merger: Clarendon Hills Board Says No to April Referendum