Pending lawsuit over police overtime pay could worsen Chicago budget debt crisis

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago's budget crisis may be worse than many had thought.

A still-pending lawsuit over police overtime pay could put the city on the hook for $200 million. It's a liability Chicago City Council members recently learned about as the city heads into budget season.

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The mission of the Chicago Police Department is protect and serve, a job that often involves overtime. However, a federal lawsuit alleges the city grossly under-calculated how much the officers should have been paid.

The overtime mainly stems from officers work as part of the violence reduction initiative dating back to at least 2012, where police flooded the streets in high-crime areas, mostly on the West and South Sides.

"So when it first started, there really wasn't any guidelines. It was the Wild West, so to speak," Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John Catanzara said. "If you want to work, work as much as you possibly could."

In 2015, several police officers filed suit in what is now a class action case against the city, alleging officers were not property paid for the overtime they worked.

"It's pretty basic, and it's almost unbelievable that it happened, so the city used two systems to track an officer's time," said Will Aitchison, an attorney for the officers. "One for overtime from extended shifts, and another for when cops worked special details, and the systems were not integrated... In a court filing a year ago, the plaintiffs estimated the overtime backpay due the officers exceeded $200 million, a figure the city disputed in the filing."

Right now, there are no settlement talks underway and none are planned. The officers' attorney says if that doesn't change, this case could drag on for another three years.

"Interest accrues at the rate of 5% per month," Aitchison said.

READ MORE | Chicago facing $982M budget shortfall for 2025, forecast shows

"Pay the officers the money they're owed," Catanzara said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson was unaware of the lawsuit and the potential liability until Tuesday's city council meeting, when the police union president brought it up. His office declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation.

City council members were also blindsided and frustrated.

"We need our cops to be able to serve and protect us on the street, and we don't want them to feel as if though they're not going to be compensated for it," 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts.

Now, as the mayor prepares to release his proposed budget, he's got one more problem to consider.

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