Cook County Public Defenders Association

The link below will take you to a memo from an AFSCME staffer who was assigned to cover Ed Burnette’s testimony before the County Finance Committee.

cook_county_bureau_of_administration_budget_hearing.doc

What follows is the text of a memo sent from AFSCME COUNCIL 31 to local readers:

Our battle to overturn Todd Stroger’s proposed budget cuts is gaining
steam daily.  AFSCME’s efforts helped to build great turnout at the two
public hearings held in Markham and Skokie.  Those hearings featured
powerful testimony from Council 31 staff, as well as from AFSCME local
leaders and activists.  There was widespread press coverage of both
events.  Hopefully, you saw all of the AFSCME signs–and Local 1111
president Herdastine Williams–featured in the Channel 9 report last
night.

Now we have to focus all of our efforts on turnout for the main public
hearing at the County Building on Monday, January 29.  We’ll gather
outside at 10 AM for a spirited march and rally.  It is critical that
you do everything possible to bring out your members to this event.

We are joining with the Chicago Federation of Labor, NNOC and concerned
community organizations in organizing this event in order to
demonstrate
the broadest possible opposition to Stroger’s budget-cutting plan.  

In addition to presenting testimony and packing the public hearings,
AFSCME has been working on many other fronts to combat these cuts:
     *We have met directly with Todd Stroger, along with the leaders of
the Chicago Federation of Labor, to register the strong objections of
the entire Chicago labor movement to his proposed cuts.
     *I have met personally with most members of the County Board to
urge them to oppose the cuts.  In addition, Council 31
intergovernmental
affairs director, Ray Harris, participated in a CFL delegation that met
with most of the commissioners to push them to publicly come out
against
the cuts.
     *We have been reaching out to community groups, churches and other
advocacy organizations to bring them into this fight.  Every local
union
needs to be involved in this effort.  It is critical that you reach out
to any potential allies–in members’ churches, community organizations,
professional associations, etc.  Be sure to let Peter Schmalz know of
any contacts that you make.
     *Council 31 has printed up AFSCME buttons and signs highlighting
our union’s opposition to the cuts.  Stop by the Council office or
check
with your Staff Representative if you need more buttons or signs.
     *Council 31 staff have been working with local union leaders to
document the negative impact that the cuts would have on vital public
services, like health care, the court system, and public safety.  We
have been using this information in reaching out to the media, in
preparing testimony for hearings, and in lobbying commissioners.
     *Council 31 is monitoring the Finance Committee’s hearings on each
county division’s budget and identifying key issues that emerge in
questioning by commissioners.
     *Despite continuing pressure, Council 31 has made clear to all
elected officials that our union has no intention of reopening its
contract to take furlough days or make any other concessions.  At a
meeting convened by the Chicago Federation of Labor, other county
unions
agreed with our position.
     *Council 31 is continuing our work with the Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability to develop a comprehensive revenue-raising plan
that represents a viable alternative to budget cutting.
     *We are fighting to prevent any layoffs of AFSCME members.
However, if the County does initiate layoffs at any point during this
battle, you can be assured that Council 31 will ensure that the
contract
is followed and members’ rights are fully protected.

We’ve made tremendous progress in this battle.  Stroger and his allies
are on the defensive and most definitely feeling the heat.  But we’ve
still got a ways to go to beat back these cut in any final budget that
is adopted.  We’ve got to make sure that County Board members are ready
and willing to stand up to Stroger and support alternative
revenue-raising measures.  It is critical that we keep the pressure
on–NON-STOP.  Be sure to keep those calls going in to Commissioners’
offices. Every one of your members should call his/her County Board
member.

There was a huge union turnout for the Public Hearing in Markham last night (January 23, 2007). Union members filled the meeting hall, and overflowed outside the hall. This is the type of turnout we need at all of the upcoming public hearings. AFSCME was able to obtain the first slot at the Markham hearing for the opening comments, and AFSCME’s lead negotiator Mike Newman used this time to criticize 17% cuts and layoffs. Public Defender Union President Tom Stoval also testified on behalf of assistant public defenders.

AFSCME reps will appear at every public hearing to get the message out. In the meantime, AFSCME reps continue to meet with County Commissioners and other elected officials to try to turn political support away from indiscriminate 17% cuts. AFSCME officials also continue to coordinate with all of our locals, and other supportive organizations, to gather a huge turnout for Monday’s (January 29) rally at the County Building. It is important for as many assistant public defenders as possible to show up for this rally and support our cause.

In addition, assistant public defenders should download the attached Petition. Petition We ask that you gather as many signatures as possible in support of our cause. Please do this soon, and get your completed petitions to Brendan Max or Bob Galhotra.

Finally, as we continue to fight layoffs in our office, and as we continue to strive to keep you informed of the budget battle, feel free to become more involved in this communication process. If there is information you would like to see on the website, let us know. If there are questions that you want answered on the site for all to see, ask us. We hope that all assistant public defenders have access to as much information as possible.

The County Board has set four public hearings on the proposed budget.

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 6:30 p.m.
Markham Courthouse
16501 S. Kedzie, Courtroom 098

Thursday, Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m.
Skokie Courthouse
5600 Old Orchard Rd., Courtroom 201

Monday, Jan. 29, 10 a.m.
County building
118 N. Clark St. Board, Room 569

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 6:30 p.m.
Maywood Courthouse
1500 S. Maywood Dr., Courtroom 106

Proviso East H.S.

807 S. 1st Avenue, Maywood, IL

All members are urged to attend as many hearings as possible but especially the one on Monday the 29th.  The 29th will be the most important of the four hearing dates because we will be Rallying with thousands of other AFSCME members.  Yes you will need to take off time to attend so please start making arrangements immediatly with your supervisor and partners.  The Local is planning on sharing busses with other AFSCME locals who are similarly going through layoff and furlough issues.  Although there may not be enough room in the Board room to accommodate all members, we are planning on rallying outside the County building and getting our message out to the public:  don’t balance your budget on our backs.

By the way, if you cannot take a personal, vacation or floating holiday, then make plans to attend one of the three hearings in the Suburbs– since they are scheduled in the evening at 6:30 pm.  Whatever you do, get out there!

For those who did not hear, your Public Defender Executive Board issued a press release on January 17, and conducted a press conference in the lobby of the Main Criminal Courthouse.  This was part of our plan to get the message out about the great work we do, and the threadbare budget for our office which should not be cut any further.  Our message was carried by the following news outlets:  Channel 2 News, Channel 7 News, WBEZ 91.5 radio, WBBM 780 radio, The Chicago Tribune Online, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, and the Northwest Indiana Times.

If you haven’t read our press release, you can download it from the current President’s Message.  We should all use this release to get our message out to as many areas of the County as possible.

A defendant’s right to a fair trial was violated when a juror appeared to sleep during almost the entire trial. People v. Jones, 2006 Ill.App.Lexis 1204 (1st Dist., 12/26/06). In the case, the defendant was charged with burglary and was tried before a jury. During a sidebar, the judge informed the attorneys that he noticed that one of the jurors was “half-asleep during almost the entire proceeding.” The attorneys and the court took no further action, and the defendant was convicted. On appeal, the First District reversed the defendant’s conviction. The Jones court noted that a juror who is inattentive for a substantial portion of the trial is unqualified to remain on the jury.

Public Defender Union Press Release.

Todd Stroger has presented his budget proposal to the County Commissioners. His plans for our Office, prepared by Public Defender Edwin Burnette, call for the elimination of all 32 Grade I positions, and the elimination of 7 Grade II positions. Not surprisingly, Burnette and Stroger did not see fit during this time of alleged budget tightening to address the real waste in our Office: bloated upper management appointees filling redundant positions.

However, we were surprised to learn from Stroger’s budget proposal that while Edwin Burnette was devising his proposal of layoffs and wage givebacks for assistant public defenders, he managed to obtain a hefty pay raise for himself: $149,632 to $161,506. At a time when politicians are attempting to cut our Office budget to the bone and hinder our services to the poor and working poor of Cook County, Burnette’s substantial pay raise is inexcusable.

These budget numbers clearly show that if anyone is going to stand up for this Office and the work we do for the poor and working poor in Cook County, it has to be us.
Therefore, we held a press conference at the Courthouse today, January 17th, to get our message out about the great work we do in this office, on a budget that is already cut to the bone.  You can download our press release here.  Feel free to forward our message to any people of importance who may support us in our fight to maintain adequate legal services to the poor and working poor in Cook County.  Stay tuned for more news on the budget process.

A link to the PDF version of the local’s seniority list can be found at the Stewards and Grievances section on this website. Just click on the link and make sure your computer can download PDF files. If you think there is a mistake, please send a memo to personnel and copy the memo to the local. There have been some problems with the dates of some of our more senior members that we are working on correcting. In addition, a memo is anticipated from personnel outlining the reasons why this problem occurred (short answer: change in management information systems).

The first stage of our fight for our jobs and benefits in underway. Your Executive Board conducted site meetings last week at all locations, spreading the word that we must all get involved in this fight. Many assistant public defenders showed up, heeded the call, and contacted County Commissioners to express dissatisfaction with Todd Stroger’s misguided budget plan. Now, our representatives at AFSCME are meeting with Commissioners to try to get our message out and change the direction of the harmful budget cuts proposed by Public Defender Edwin Burnette.

One request we heard loud and clear during these site meetings is that people want us to get out a good message to the public, a message that explains all the hard work we do and explains the value we are to the taxpayers of Cook County. We listened, and we are working hard on putting the finishing touches on a public message that will dispel any notion that the attorney-ranks of our office is filled with patronage hires and slackers. The plan for rolling out this message is still in the works, so stay tuned.

If there are newer attorneys who feel that their jobs are on the line, and you want to do something more, you can. We are looking for a couple newer attorneys who can become the public face of proposed layoffs. This would involve the possible appearance at a media function, and some discussion of how a layoff would affect you. If you have any interest, please call Brendan Max or Bob Galhotra.

Your Executive Board met Monday with an AFSCME representative to discuss further action in this budget process. As you may know, Todd Stroger is scheduled to present his budget proposal to the County Board next week. In advance of this, AFSCME lobbyists are busy this week meeting with Commissioners and trying to help shape the budget process. We have been assured by AFSCME representatives that they will unveil a union alternative budget proposal by next week. This proposal will include cost-saving measures that don’t reach into the pockets of assistant public defenders and other hard-working union members.

One other message came from our meeting on Monday- AFSCME does not have many allies in this fight, and we face a real battle during this budget process to hold onto our hard-earned wages and prevent any layoffs. A major rally will be a necessity in the future. By our best estimation, our participation in the phone calls last week was good but not great. When it comes time to rally, we need everyone. When AFSCME makes the call, we must all be prepared to take the time to rally in a show of union strength.

As of Friday, 12/22/06, ED Burnette was walking around telling all the lawyers in the office that up to 210 attorneys should start looking for other work due to his proposal to cut the office budget by 17 percent.  Other department heads told the County Board President that the 17 percent cuts were unrealistic and unreasonable. Well today, Burnette announced his new and revised plan calling his original plan unimaginative.

The new plan, as it affects this local, calls for the layoffs of possibly 50 attorneys, the imposition of two weeks of furlough  and the creation of a four day work week for select employees.  The new plan, needless to say, was arrived at with no input or consultation with the Local or AFSCME Council 31- the exclusive bargaining agent for all assistant public defenders in Cook County.

In June, when we ratified our current contract,with its modest wage increase, we did it after nearly two years of negotiatiion and hard work.  We also negotiated it in good faith.  We assume the County did too.  The County could not have created the budget shortfall of 500 milliion dolllars over this summer.  This was a financial position that was years in the making and the Union did its best to work with the County in negotiating a fair contract. 

Now we will make sure the County lives up to its contractual obligations.  To that end, Local leadership will be meeting with Council 31 directors to plan a response to Burnette’s latest proposal. We’ll make sure the budget isn’t being balanced on the backs of our members.