Raises Given To Western Springs Cops

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs police officers are getting pay raises under a new union contract with the village.

This week, the Village Board unanimously approved the agreement with the Metropolitan Alliance of Police Chapter 360.

The contract covers 15 patrol officers. It gives them 3 percent raises for 2022, 2023 and 2024, meaning some of the increases are retroactive.

The agreement also allows new officers with at least two years of law enforcement experience elsewhere to start at higher pay.

Many departments are also hiking salaries for such officers, a way to counter recruiting challenges.

The officers had been without a contract since last March. The sergeants union has gone without an agreement for nearly two years.

The department is down five officers, with an authorized force of 21 positions.

A Patch story earlier this month documented the turbulence in leadership at the department over the last year.