Prosecutors press county for pay raise

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

July 10, 2007

By Pat Milhizer

Scores of Cook County prosecutors, fed up with what they call unfair salaries compared to public defenders, took time off work Tuesday and packed a County Board meeting to ask for a raise.

Since county commissioners approved a budget in February, 52 prosecutors are said to have left their jobs. The turnover figure is double the typical loss rate, said Kim L. Ward, an assistant state's attorney who helped organize the rally and spoke to a reporter before the meeting.

And state's attorney officials have previously said that office morale was low because lawyers in the public defender's office had received raises, while prosecutors haven't received a cost-of-living adjustment since 2004.

The lawyers want a 12.75 percent raise, a $500 bonus and another check that would be retroactive to 2004 to match the pay increases given to assistant public defenders last year. The public defender deal applies to paychecks from 2004 to 2008.

"You have a bunch of assistant state's attorneys who have six years of experience who have one foot out the door," Ward said. "You're going to be left with people representing victims in the city and county who don't have the experience. That just sends the message by [County Board President] Todd Stroger that `We just feel victims of crime don't matter and they're not worth it.' "

County commissioners debated the matter, and some talked about raising taxes and cutting waste, but no action was taken Tuesday morning.

Commissioner John Daley, chairman of the Finance Committee, said during the meeting that it was unfair that prosecutors have not received a cost-of-living adjustment in the past few years.

"I'm willing to support you in any way whatsoever," Daley said, adding that raises haven't been issued to prosecutors because the County Board hasn't supported a new revenue stream to cover them.

Stroger didn't directly address the prosecutors' concerns during the meeting. But he said that if board members want to talk about cutting waste, "somebody's got to put a list out. You know someone who's not doing his job? Put him on a list and let me know."

"Everyone talks about waste and patronage, but they're not pointing out, `This guy over there is not doing anything.' We eliminated a lot of positions in that last budget.... We have to look at this like it's a true business and run it like it and try to stay out of the papers just talking about it. And do some real serious business," Stroger said.

Prosecutors said they believed that they would receive a raise after the budget was approved earlier this year. Outside the boardroom, Commissioner Michael B. Quigley told reporters that the only reason the budget passed was because Stroger promised cost-of-living increases for prosecutors.

"That promise was made to me, and that promise was made to the state's attorney in front of me, and the president has broken that promise," Quigley said.

Last December, Quigley proposed selling county property in Oak Forest to fund the raises, he said. So far, the county has only worked on getting an appraisal for the land, Quigley said.

"If the president's office had not dragged its feet, that money would have been available now, and the COLAs would have been paid, and his promise would have been kept," Quigley told reporters.

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Copyright 2007, Law Bulletin Publishing Company

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