Thursday, March 14, 2013
Clarendon Hills Police Chief Ted Jenkins said the non-negotiable nature of the Social Security benefit makes it attractive to his patrol officers.
Clarendon Hills Police Chief Ted Jenkins said he didn’t imagine his patrol officers’ Social Security benefits would be what killed talks of a Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police-department merger. “I don’t think anybody thought that was going to be a deal-breaker from the beginning, but it turned out to be a major problem,” Jenkins said. The Clarendon Hills Police Department was among a minority of agencies that in 1983, when given a chance to opt out, decided to have its officers continue paying into Social Security and retiring with Social Security benefits on top of their standard, locally funded police pension, Clarendon Hills village manager Randy Recklaus said in January. Hinsdale Police Department officers are among the majority of …
Hinsdale Police Chief Brad Bloom and Clarendon Hills Police Chief Ted Jenkins both said police-department consolidation will likely become common in Illinois in the future.
After the villages of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills announced police department merger talks were dead last week, Hinsdale Police Chief Brad Bloom said a chance to responsibly and thoughtfully consolidate was lost. “I am disappointed,” Bloom said. “I think we had a great opportunity given the fact that we weren’t facing a huge budgetary shortfall.” Both Bloom and Clarendon Hills Police Chief Ted Jenkins said they think police consolidation, though currently unprecedented in Illinois, will become a common occurrence. “I think in the future you’re going to see police departments consolidating in Illinois to save money,” Jenkins said. After going public with a consolidation plan in October 2011, the villages of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Patch looks back at five of the most read stories from the week of March 4 to March 8.
1. Male Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by BNSF Metra Train in Westmont: Trains resumed slowly through the area Thursday evening as police continued their investigation. 2. Police Merger Plan Scrapped After Negotiations Fail: The Village of Clarendon Hills and its police officers were not able to reach an agreement regarding Social Security benefits under a consolidated Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills model. 3. Darien Man Charged With Robbing Juvenile Near Clarendon Hills: Leverenzel Booth and two other men were charged with felony robbery Thursday after an incident near Clarendon Hills, the DuPage County Sheriff's Office says. 4. Vacant Buildings 'Blight' on Area, Demolition OK'd: The three buildings at 227-231 Burlington Avenue in Clarendon …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The Village of Clarendon Hills and its police officers were not able to reach an agreement regarding Social Security benefits under a consolidated Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills model.
The villages of Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale have called off further discussion of a police-department merger after an "impasse" was reached in negotiations with Clarendon Hills patrol officers, according to a joint release from the villages sent out Wednesday. It was made clear earlier this year that the stickiest point in negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) was the loss of the Social Security benefit for Clarendon Hills officers under a consolidated model and how that benefit would be replaced. READ: Social Security Benefits 'Big Hurdle' in FOP Negotiations The Clarendon Hills Police Department is among a minority of the state's police agencies that has its officers pay into Social Security and retire with Social …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Clarendon Hills village manager Randy Recklaus said he expects the villages of Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale to have an update for the communities on the state of negotiations with the FOP in a matter of days.
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' …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Other stories that were among our most read for January detailed a burglary Hinsdale, a profile of Vintage Confections in Clarendon Hills, and a police blotter that included charges for two Hinsdale Middle School students.
We're moving on from January to February, but we certainly won't forget some of the big stories from the last 31 days. In reverse order, here are the top 10 most-read stories from January on Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Patch: 10. Patch Roundup: Multiple Bank Robberies, Body Found Likely Drowned 9. Owner of The Hills Cafe & Pizza Hopes New Diner Will Fill Niche 8. Hinsdale Garage Fire Does $70,000 in Damage 7. Hinsdale Home Burglarized While Owners on Vacation: Police Blotter 6. Internationally Known Lollipop Makers Open in Clarendon Hills 5. Patch Roundup: Sex Offender Blames Justin Bieber, Man Allegedly Sells Pot-Laced Candy 4. Villa Taj Mansion in Burr Ridge Finally Sold for $3.1 Million 3. 2 Middle-Schoolers Charged with Pot Possession: …
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Clarendon Hills village trustee Ed Reid voiced opposition to the proposed Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police merger at Monday night's Clarendon Hills Village Board meeting.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Clarendon Hills village trustee Ed Reid voiced opposition to the proposed Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police merger at Monday night's Clarendon Hills Village Board meeting.
While several Clarendon Hills trustees seemed open to the fact the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police merger may not happen, only one voiced clear opposition to further exploring the idea. Trustee Ed Reid made a motion Monday night to cease all work on the merger after he said its potential financial benefits are not worthwhile, its potential structure is a source of stress for officers, and its support in Springfield is waning. Reid’s motion was defeated, 5-1. “I can see outsourcing a finance department, maybe a public works department, even,” Reid said prior to his motion. “I think when you outsource a police department, it seems odd. “I don’t consider it out of the ordinary for me to say I’d like to continue to have my own police …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The referendum would have sought to gauge resident support for the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police department merger on the April 9 municipal election ballot.
One night after the Clarendon Hills Village Board voted down the same item, the Hinsdale Board of Trustees pulled from its Tuesday night a vote on placing an advisory referendum on the April 9 ballot regarding the proposed Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills police department merger. "The idea of a referendum first came form residents of Clarendon Hills," Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley said. "Our thinking was that if the Clarendon Hills board voted in favor, we should do likewise to stay in lockstep with them." But since the Clarendon Hills board did not pass placement of the referendum after lots of discussion Monday night, Cauley said it's best that the Hinsdale board not act on the item. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There are plenty of …
Clarendon Hills officers currently pay into Social Security and receive Social Security benefits when they retire, a practice that would have to change if consolidation happens.
Determining retirement benefits for officers serving a proposed Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills consolidated police department, and particularly how they would differ from those currently received by Clarendon Hills officers, is the biggest challenge in merger negotiations that resumed Tuesday between the two villages and the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), officials from both villages say. The Clarendon Hills Police Department was among a minority of agencies that in 1983, when given a chance to opt out, decided to have its officers continue paying into Social Security and retiring with Social Security benefits on top of their standard, locally funded police pension, Clarendon Hills village manager Randy Recklaus said, and Clarendon …
Kerry Comstock
7:47 am on Friday, January 25, 2013
I do not know the right answer to this, but to Ed's point, it seems very odd to not have a police station in Clarendon Hills.. part of feeling like a small town is having a connection to your police department. I never liked moving it to the outer limits of Clarendon Hills. Maybe we are not Mayberry after all..but that was certainlly was one of the reasons we decided to move here 20 years ago. … more ›