Proposed Legislation Would Curb CPD's 'Canceled Day-Off Policy'

CHICAGO – State Sen. Bill Cunningham (18th District) Rep. Fran Hurley (35th District), who represent one of Chicago’s most populous neighborhoods of police officers, introduced legislation that could provide officers with some much-needed rest and relief.

The proposal is designed to end the city’s practice of routinely canceling officers’ regularly scheduled days off to make up for chronic staffing shortages.

“The Chicago Police Department has approximately 1,500 fewer officers than it is budgeted for,” Hurley said in a news release. “The way to fix this problem is to hire more officers, not cancel scheduled days off for existing officers and force them to work 12 or 13 days in a row without relief.”

Cunningham said canceling days off has become a routine staffing police for CPD and “part of a misguided crime-fighting strategy.”

“Canceling days off might make sense on a temporary basis during an emergency situation …” Cunningham continued. “It is not only grossly unfair to officers and their families, it produces a fatigued and burned out police force that is less effective at fighting crime.”

The proposed legislation, House Bill 5768 and Senate Bill 4218, amends the state’s existing “One Day Rest in Seven Act,” which requires employers to provide at least one period of 24 hours rest each calendar week. The act does not currently apply to law enforcement, but will if either bill becomes law.

“Both the state and city of Chicago have enacted laws in recent years to extend worker rights by cracking down on employers who unfairly take advantage of their work force,” Hurley said. “There’s no reason why the city should be exempt from those laws.”

Cunningham and Hurley claim the new legislation builds on their previous work to address mental health concerns often faced by police officers, including the establishment of the Illinois First Responders Suicide Prevention Task Force.