Dispatchers
The $118,104-a-year director of police communications at Chicago's 911 center has been fired amid allegations that he falsified performance evaluations to give a handful of insiders a leg up over outside applicants for supervisory jobs.
Sources said the firing of Russell Simmons -- and the apparent reassignment of an underling accused of assisting him -- is part of a broader investigation of alleged hiring and contract irregularities at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The wide-ranging investigation by Inspector General David Hoffman helps to explain why Tony Ruiz, the $162,912-a-year executive director of OEMC, was kicked upstairs on March 28 after only nine months on the job.
Simmons is a political protege of Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th), chairman of the City Council's Police and Fire Committee.
Labels: city politics, corruption
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
37 Comments:
Isn't this fun Jody?
Damn that fuckin Russell Simmons is everywhere. He hosts that comedy show on HBO, he owns a clothing line and record label and he runs OEMC. That dude really works.
DISPATCHERS ARE IDIOTS!!!! They use to be Chicago Cops back in the day.Now fat disgruntaled people who can see waths going on but want to tell you how to do your job.
Used to dispatch and worked with one of his girls. She had 2 10-1's going on at one time, got up and said "i can't take this!" and walked away. I had to step in. This is allegedly one of his girls that were promoted. i say good riddance
Just to be really, really, really clear here, Simmons left the CPD as a lieutenant in the 90s. Those from 007 or 008 in those days may recognize the name if you ignore the "Russell" part, and just think "R. Simmons".
Indeed, he was brought in because the CPD insisted on police bosses when it opened the building. Some of them were/are very good bosses, but a few were quite indefensible.
All others mentioned are civilians.
The supervisor in question KB was hired as in the 90s after the building opened. She may have initially been hired as a calltaker, but found herself quickly promoted after being in Simmons' office for a few years. There may be a link to the south side reverends there, but not one that I am capable of detailing.
JA (acting exec. director) is a bit of a mystery. He was one of the original civilian dispatchers, and was brought in because of his experience in Kentucky or somewhere like that. They put him into a technical position very soon after hiring him, and he has sort of run with it from there.
Ruiz, as far as I can tell, has never spent 1 minute dealing with a public emergency before they put him in charge and, then, kicked him upstairs.
There are people at the OEMC who know where bodies are buried, and thats why they are hidden there. But Simmons was always a weird case, as from the beginning he was reportedly one of the buried bodies.
Tony Ruiz forget where he came from. Now he'll have more time to remember.
What goes around, comes around Tony - Always remember that!
HOPEFULLY DA MARE WILL SEE WHAT A DIRT BAG TONY RUIZ REALLY IS.
ITS AMAZING HE IS STILL PART OF HIS CABINET MAKING A 160K A YEAR.
simmons was and will always be an asshat. don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
signed,
ex-dispatcher - now p.o. over 10 years
What about the call takers? What's wrong with them? Why is it that we can get every little description about a car for a parker (when it's legally parked) but on shots fired calls or other priority 1 type calls we get nothing. How many times have we passed the offenders as they flee only to put out a flash too late because the call takers do not know what kind of questions to ask and they do not pass along all of the important information to the dispatchers.
Anonymous said...
Just to be really, really, really clear here, Simmons left the CPD as a lieutenant in the 90s. Those from 007 or 008 in those days may recognize the name if you ignore the "Russell" part, and just think "R. Simmons".
5/21/2008 06:09:00 AM
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I am not exactly disputing this, but wasn't the Lt. Simmons from 7, Ron Simmons? If so, he has been at OEC a long time, since somewhere around 1995.
And GED (not even a bachelor degree) Dana Starks makes 124G a year as Director of Dept. of Human Relations. The City that Works (Clout only need to apply). Go Figure.
It's Ronald, not Russell. Retired as a Lieutenant. Hater with a big chip. He's incompetent, and stupid, as evidenced by his latest, and hopefully last, boo-boo.
And, he wasn't a supervisor, he was the equivalent of a sworn commander as far as rank at oec, but not as far as money. He made a little less.
Just what is it about this mess that should surprise anyone?
Crooked promotions.
Crooked bosses.
Mayor Daley.
Aldermen.
Honesty & Decency
Which of the above does not belong on the list?
is this the same russell simmons host of the deaf, dumb and blind comedy jam?
Mr Simmons is a no-good racist asshole that had no business working as a watch manager!!! Good riddance MF'r!!!!
Re 5:12-You could never do their job. You suck at your own job too. You should have been fired your first day on the street. Bitch.
I'll admit, I couldn't remember what you said to me just 3 seconds ago, but these dispatchers do have good recall.. I'm a PO on zone 12 and I give it to them cuz those young guys on that zone can be real fucking jagg-offs and don't respect the female dispatchers! But agree that intake could take better info and descriptions on high priority calls.
FYI to you ZONE 12 dispatchers, keep hitting those guys with the hospital runs, they hate it... especially if it's a female.
Well, as an ordinary citizen, I find this very reassuring. I mean, who needs job experience or knowledge when you have important friends?
One has to wonder if this will lead to scrutiny of the millions of dollars squandered that came in through DHS.
Anyone remember the scathing interoperable communications grade? That was the tip of the iceberg for where those funds have been spent compared to what they were requested for.
Anonymous said...
Re 5:12-You could never do their job. You suck at your own job too. You should have been fired your first day on the street. Bitch.
5/21/2008 01:08:00 PM
Truth hurts? ouch. There are some good dispatchers and some dispatchers that should be on the zone for the deaf. I'm talking about the dispather that talks like mush mouth. I'm not hating i'm just stating he should be maybe on cw3 instead of the general zones trying to give a flash and no one can understand him.
It doesnt have to be us against them. We know there are crappy dispatchers, and there are crappy cops.
But for gods sake, when someone's 10-1, everybody else shut the f-up. Common sense people.
5/21/2008 05:12:00 AM
DISPATCHERS ARE IDIOTS!!!! They use to be Chicago Cops back in the day.Now fat disgruntaled people who can see waths going on but want to tell you how to do your job.
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Let's not paint them all with that brush. Like anywhere (and especially here in CPD), there are good ones and bad ones. I would much rather have any of the "civilians" on CW2 on mids than the PO that works down there.
5/21/2008 06:09:00 AM
I LOVE this board!
Hey Now !!
Don't lump all dispatchers/ calltakers in 1 category. I, for one, do not fall into the fat category, nor am I an idiot .... thank U very much.
Disgruntled on occasion, maybe, from dealing day in day out, with the uneducated,ignorant, non-criminal, soon to be GED certified, on the way to being a doctor, or superstar rapper, or some other glorified version of they momma's delusions of the future her baby aspired to be,(whew) .... that runs rampant in the streets. It's gonna be a loooong summer baby.
Need a job at OEMC? You better go worship and tithe at the "Bishop" Brazier's palace at 63rd and Dorchester. And don't be holding back on the tithing...that's 10% mofo, show your W-2 at the door, just so there's no funny business. I remember when the good Arthur brazier was just a Reverend...I think he got a merit to Bishop.
Funnily enough...Cortez Trotter is a big man in his flock. And the "Bishop" can get a lot of votes out.
Coincidence? Surely not !!!
When can the idiot call takers actually be required to assist a citizen? Such as: Citizen, "There is a car w/no city sticker at blah.", Dispatcher, "1 moment sir, the plate from that veh registers outside the city sir, they are not required to have a city sticker, thanks for the call, goodnight."
Common sense!!!!
How about Dog barking calls???
Dispatch animal control, not us!!!
How about the run away deEr in portage park?
WHAT DO YOU HONESTLY WANT US TO DO??? EASY IF I WAS IN THE WOODS DURING HUNTING SEASON, BUT IN A CITY PARK??? YEP THERE IS THE DEER!
3RD LARGEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY:
NO TRANQUILIZERS FOR A VIRTUALLY NON EXISTANT ANIMAL CONTROL!
CANT GET A TOW TRUCK TO RELOCATE A VEHICLE IN A ACCIDENT! DOESN'T GENERATE REVENUE FOR THE CITY. HEY COME UP WITH A RELO FEE! BILL THE REGISTERED/INSURED OWNER.
POLICE CARS W/NO COMPUTERS/ MALFUNCTIONING CAMERAS/ RADIO BATTERIES THAT DIE IN 6 HOURS!
STREETS AND SANITATION RESPONDS TO A POLICE EMERGENCY MON-FRI 7-3 ONLY! NO EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT.
WE DON'T HAVE CONES, FLARES, BARICADES, HEAVY WEAPONS, OR ANYTHING THAT IS REALLY NEEDED.
1 WAGON PER DISTRICT ON A GOOD DAY???? HAHAHHAHAHAH
OLYMPICS???HAHHAHAHAH
WE ARE TOTALLY SCREWED!!!
Supt. Weiss should overhall the entire dispatch policy of CPD and CFD! Why is CPD assisting fire on almost every call??? The trucks didn't ask for the help it is the idiot FIRE DISPATCHERS!!!@!wHY DOES FIRE NEED POLICE ON A 80 YR OLD FEMALE MENTAL WITH ALZHEIMERS???
YOU SHOULD RE-ASSIGN CFD AMBULANCES TO CPD, WE SEE THEM MORE THAN CFD DOES!!!
HIGHEST RESPECT TO OUR CFD PARAMEDICS!!! FROM CPD YOU GUY'S AND GAL'S ARE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!!!!
It's ALL about the kickbacks.....
Where the hell is the Shakman monitor?
Huberman connection??? A post on Let's Talk ChiTown 911 says that the Motorola payment impropriety happened when Ron Huberman and his sidekick Adrienne Heigl (now pulling down $140K+ at the CTA) were at OEMC. Any truth to that?
"Which of the above does not belong on the list?
5/21/2008 12:08:00 PM"
Is this gonna be one of the questions on the next test?
It's a trick question, right?
Huberman connection??? A post on Let's Talk ChiTown 911 says that the Motorola payment impropriety happened when Ron Huberman and his sidekick Adrienne Heigl (now pulling down $140K+ at the CTA) were at OEMC. Any truth to that?
5/21/2008 10:35:00 PM
The post on Lets talk chitown 911 did not mention his/her last name. How do you know it is Heigl? Probably is, and she's an east coast liberal cop-hater to the core.
Leave DA LUBE alone. He has enough drama at the CTA.
To poster 09:49 re: the fire dispatcher comment ....
Let me enlighten you, moron, it's not the fire dispatchers requesting cpd ride on an 80y/o mental w/alzheimers, it's most likely the inept cpd calltaker who sends 'EVERYTHING' to the zone. I lost count of how many times the zone calls to ask if I requested police to ride, which of course I did not.
Certain criteria requires cfd to req cpd to ride along, okaaay!! So unless you know for a fact what we, on fire dispatch, do or say to get cpd on the scene, maybe you should shut yer fuk'n pie hole.
Where the hell is the Shakman monitor?
............................
Paying out FREE MONEY!!
Didn't you get yours?
I got $12,500.00 for just typing out a 1 page complaint because I said the current merit process SUCKS and I should have made sergeant a year earlier!!!
Thanks again!!
Don't forget about about Starks pension on top of the 124k.. Where is the taxpayers outcry?
you gotta love how the calltakers always leave out the most important remarks/descriptions, but when there's a BS anon call they get it right. cpd zones are chaotic during 10-1s, everyone's tripping over each other's dicks trying to talk. don't complain about z12 dispatchers, george is the best there is
They gave Starks that kind of money to just shut up and go away.
So far, I think it's money well spent.
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