The County Axe Starts Trimming
Preckwinkle versus Alvarez, and so far, Preckwinkle appears to be winning:
Just a day after State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez told the Cook County Board that budget cuts would severely impact her office, she issued pink slips to more than 100 office staff members.
Most of the 101 workers were called throughout the day Wednesday. The remainder will be called by Thursday, Daly said.
Seven court reporters were told they were being laid off last week, for a total of 108 job losses so far, Daly said.
- Fifty-eight assistant state’s attorneys and 20 investigator positions could also be eliminated to meet the 8 percent reduction Alvarez is willing to cut in her budget, Daly said. But Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has demanded a 10 percent cut.
So what will be the effect on court operations? Fifty-eight ASA's probably means no "third chair" in anything but the big trials. Twenty investigators means a whole bunch of witnesses and summonses don't get delivered. The savings in gas and vehicles might be substantial, but the always inefficient court operations may grind to near immovability in short order, and a system that can't even convict murderers in 66% of its cases may see that number climb even higher in other categories.
Labels: county
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
75 Comments:
MAY BE 1 DAY WATCH COMMANDERS COULD APPROVE FELONY CHARGES!
SINCE THEY ARE THE CREAM OF THE CROP AND KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVIDENCE, PROBABLE CAUSE, AND ALL THINGS FELONY.
NAW FORGET THAT!
THEY R SO SCARED TO MAKE ANY BIG CALLS NOW A DAYS ALL THEY SEE IS DEPUTY CHIEF IN THEIR FUTURES.
Crime is down in the city. So you dont need that many ASA's or investigators. Less crime, less offenders, less work. Sorry to say that. And the ones that are left will have to hustle to makeup for the work the others were doing, or get the ax. That's called the Chicago way.
Damn Preckwinkle, had I known this is how you were going to be, I would have voted for you! Keep it up.
But the taste of chicago will always be free.
No third chair in the courtroom? thats gonna take a huge toll on the states attorneys. that means a couple more dozen cases for each ASA in that room. You thought it was hard to get felony approval now ha!!! wait and see now. Nothing is going to get approved. Less felonies will lead to less people in county which will then lead to the need to shut down a building here and there thus prekwinkle can lay off guards at the jail... trust me, toni sees that this could have a domino effect for saving money to make her administration look good. less people in jail equal less guards, less money to keep inmates in, less in food, hospital care for prisoners, laundry etc....
They could probably cut 20% and still be fine. The only people probably getting pink slips are the ones without clout. Investigators? Every single one is a hack. Less police officers and less crime should most definitely mean less states attorneys.
Sorry Anita that you'll have less people to collect and give for your campaign fund.
My heart bleeds for those poor ASA's. For every time they tried to stick it to a cop, this is what they get. I've met some really good ones, but those were few and far between.
I'm sure it's the same thing they say about us. Keep the cuts coming, Toni.
We have a system where we can't convict 66% of the murderers? Sounds like good odds if you got a list of assholes that need planting in the ground. I gotta list that gets longer every day. Fortunately for the assholes, I'm on medication.
Who cares they like to witch hunt coppers they deserve it.I stopped making quality pinches as soon as j-fled pulled that shit on cozzi.I guess alvarez can blame jody too for lack of arrests and work for her hack asa's.
"So what will be the effect on court operations?"
******************
You can god damn well bet Alvarez is telling her people to cause as many problems as they can with this restructuring.
Likely she's already told them to not call back for ASA felony approval for at least 30 mins now, second call may take hours while they watch TV and piss and moan how there aren't more of them sitting around watching TV and getting paid to do nothing.
Alvarez is gonna deliberately cause problems with this in order to get her minions back working again. Bet on it.
ASA may ( and I say may) have to work close to 8 hrs.
If anything, the cuts may just make Alvarez do something her predecessor could not: Make the
ASA's office much more efficient.
Well maybe now they have to work twice as much like the rest of us in the private sector.
that just makes it easier for the shitbirds to do as they want with no fear of going to prison.... maybe if eveyone was carrying a weapon, these shitbirds would have something to fear and maybe, just maybe they would think twice about robbing someone or rape or any type of crime.... maybe some of these shitbirds would finally get what they have comming to them... a trip to the daisy field or morgue!!
About time. You've got to get Tom Dart to cut down on the number of sheriffs, jail guards, court baliffs, and various other badge holders he's got.
How about fire everybody and only hire those that are qualified and without political connections??
C'mon, two ASA's per courtroom is plenty. The first chair can come out of retirement and handle something other than "Heaters".
ITK
OOh, a flurry today.
J-FLED in his 15th press release this week says complaints against police are down because he put the fear of God into the Department. NOT, he says, because officers are afraid to do any work less they be sued by some unscrupulous lawyer with no backing by the Administration.
States Attorneys are laid off because they are not needed because the stats say that crime is down.
A new unit in the Department says it can predict where crime will occur better than the POs we no longer have on the street. The POD cameras watch and keep us safe.
The citizens sleep contently in their beds knowing this all to be true because the politicians and the Media would never lie to them.
Lets get something straight ladies and gentlemen. The public defenders budget wasn't cut at all. The girl I didn't vote for (Toni) is a militant piece of crap!!!! The unionized PDs who don't do shit but run for the door at quitting time (have a higher salary than the ASA's) are kept status quo. The ASA's handle all the cases in their courtroom. The PDs have far less caseload.
The other girl I didn't vote for (Anita you police hating piece of shit!!) could have cut a big chunk of her patronage staff. She didn't, she cut people who actually do the job they are paid to do.
Remember this is all a game. The county has loads and loads of do nothings and no show jobs on the payroll. Those jobs weren't eliminated!!! They never are. The beat goes on and the taxpayer is screwed!!!
As a republican voter I applaud Ms. Perrywinkle. Run this county like a busniess, period.
does this mean some judges will be required to work a full 8 hour day
hire private security as bailiffs and front door security check points
it works well at administrative hearings building and will save millions of dollars
Abolish Felony Refuse. In all of Illinois, only Cook county and Rockford have that system. The CPD operated for 100 years without it and did just fine.
investigators was the biggest waste of money anyway. Some KMA ass clown that didnt do shit with CPD now trying to snag a second pension at the county's expense??? Good riddance! Dont worry, SCC...Im sure the summons and witnesses as you say will get delivered but rather than pay some ass hole $50 an hour they can use this thing called registered mail for about $3 a pop! Great move and a long time coming!
Anita, Why don't you start with Hiram Grau and all the rest of the people in your office collect "nice" double dipping pensions? Political ploy to say we're going to have to lay off attorneys. Attorneys should be able to find work, so don't feel sorry for them; but what about the unskilled, political hack working in the office?
I suggest they call it the,
"Crook County Carey Cuts."
I have (er,had) enough time on to recall when 'Felony Revue' was first initiated.
It was under then States Attorney Bernard Carey. Carey was very concerned about his re-election campaign so he wanted to hang his hat upon his office's 'conviction rate,' so HE started Felony Revue.
We all know that Felony Revue basically 'tries the case over the phone' before they even send someone out to later reject the non-slam-dunks in the station/Area.
Not too many other jurisdictions need this pre-approval as the law is the law and the police agencies 'charge' as per the statues.
But then again... "Welcome to Crook County"
Felony Review needs to go! get rid of the lazy crabby lawyers that come out and can't make a decision without calling their politically and physically heavy bosses.
Easily cut ten percent by cutting out Felony Review. We are the only department with this idiotic review system, which was created by an idiot himself.
Let the Commander make the call. Get rid of Felony Review.
Day watch commander approving felony charges? Are you crazy most are in the kma club. But they need to start cutting felony review. What a fucking joke.
Privatize the jail!
Crime is down in the city. So you dont need that many ASA's or investigators. Less crime, less offenders, less work. Sorry to say that. And the ones that are left will have to hustle to makeup for the work the others were doing, or get the ax. That's called the Chicago way.
2/10/2011 12:34:00 AM
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Crime is NOT down in the city. Reports of crime are down. Reports.
People are tired of waiting for police response, so they don't make reports. They're tired of inept people at 311 and the long wait for a call back. A contractor I know has had his truck vandalized twice and he didn't make reports either time. His comment was 'what are the police gonna do about it' and he felt it wasn't worth his time and aggravation to make the report.
...NAW FORGET THAT!
THEY R SO SCARED TO MAKE ANY BIG CALLS NOW A DAYS ALL THEY SEE IS DEPUTY CHIEF IN THEIR FUTURES.
2/10/2011 12:09:00 AM
All except a certain 3rd watch Capt, who wants felony charges for everything! And I do mean everything!
SCC said, "a system that can't even convict murderers in 66% of it's cases...". Huh? I've been a homicide detective for 18 years and know for a fact that statement is totally wrong. Murder cases get convicted I'd say over 90% of the time, easily. I'm basing this on my own experiences and from what I know about my coworkers experiences. I am no fan of felony review, but once a murder cases gets to 26th Street, I must admit the ASA's get it done right.
Why is it that the cuts have to come from the bottom? I bet a couple of janitors probably got the axe too. I'm sure there are a few six figure hacks that could be cut and not even noticed, and that'd get Anita's budget down real quick! But this is Crook County, so that will never happen.
The Cook County States Attorney's Office Should Have Career ASA's.
They Should Be Well Trained Professionals. They Should Receive Salary's and Benefits, That Keep Them For Life.
Problem is everyone with clout,becomes a ASA for a year or two then splits.
They don't even get a chance to get good training in trail presentation.
Many PO's and Court Personnel, who have spent a lot of time in courts, could present a case better than a lot of ASA's.
It's Not Entirely Their Fault. The Job Just Does Not Have Enough Benefits To Make Staying Around Worth It.
The problem will be that the workers axed were the less-clouted ones who actually knew the job and did most of the work. Just like the CAPS purge.
Now that the Cook County State Attorney’s Office said they will cut prosecutors which parallels the Chicago Police Department and every Police Department in Cook County if not the State of Illinois. The politicians that have wasted and stolen tax money over the years have them now calling for more police as in the mayoral election. But where does this money come from. When your car is stolen, when you are robbed or burglarized, when you are cheated out of money who is going to make the arrest? If an Officer. when one is found, does make an arrest who will prosecute the offender? Is there competent Officers to put a case together for court? Is there competent prosecutors on staff to persecute a criminal case? This Mayor doesn’t care, he has a dozen bodyguards with him all of the time besides if he feel insecure he can take all of his heavily armed bodyguards to his getaway in Michigan. Will he and his Family send postcards to the citizens or should I say victims back in the City of Chicago? Jody Weis says crime is down. Why aren’t the citizens doing back flips in the streets if this is true. Ask the last guy who had his head split open in a robbery if crime is down, ask the last girl who was beaten and raped if crime is down. Weis is using the same statistical juggling that has been used for years.
There is one answer maybe not the final answer but a start. The Constitution, which does overrule that Mayor, was written for citizens of the United States of America and to tell the Government how to treat its citizens. Furthermore the Second Amendment was written to help U.S. citizens defend ourselves first of all from an out of control government or maybe out of control citizens like we find in cities and towns everywhere. I know citizens are not going out and stock up on guns and ammo like just after the most recent Presidential election. Some will be satisfied with hiding in a dark corner of their basement chewing on their shivering fingernails and wait for the non-existing police to respond to our calls for help. This is not what was meant by living the American Dream. If City of Chicago, County of Cook and State of Illinois are not and cannot afford to protect us then they are worthless when we come under attack and are in fear of our lives of bodily harm. Citizens of Chicago learn to take aim, control your breathing and squeeze.
Cook County investigators? Are you kidding. Most of them could be done away with. A clout job, many non police in the office, take home car and most of them do little work and have very short work days. There is plenty of waste in this office.
10% less for the same terrible results. No one cares, no one is listening. Can you hear it now? That grinding sound is our society (used in the loosest sense) in its death spiral.
Do away with felony review. We didn't have felony review until an ex-FBI agent named Bernard Carey was elected somewhere between 1974 and 1976. Before that all you needed was a Det to process the paper ie. felony complaints, 101s and reducers (misdemeanor complaints) and put his name on the paper. Man the old days!
Bluesnake 72
".....but the always inefficient court operations may grind to near immovability in short order, and a system that can't even convict murderers in 66% of its cases may see that number climb even higher in other categories."
people will never learn.
Chalkie
Just get rid of felony review. They are useless anyways.
Just remember, those who r laid off, i am sorry. But remeber you voted for this
So many useless ASA's, how does she choose?
No big loss, the shitbirds wind up walking anyway so why pay all those extra salaries??
Hey Commis. Preckwinkle, get rid of Alvarez while you're at it. She's useless. And obviously biased against Men, and Caucasians.
ASA's waste a lot of time up in the Areas, attempting to try the entire case hypothetically before charging an offender with a Felony. This is un-necessary. Examine the facts of the case, if it fits the peramiters of a Felony, Charge the case and let the Court try it. They are not there to examine every single little detail of an arrest, and drive Detectives crazy with their off the wall demands, before charging. Learn how to make a decision, College Kid ASA's...
I'm with anonymous, get rid of felony review (like the rest of the country) and you can lop off 20-25 positions right there.
Combine or reduce the "special" units like Arson and you can chop more off.
The office is bloated. You can get rid of all wing commanders without any noticeable difference in operations.
They'll piss and moan, but it's pretty easy to streamline that office.
Why not impose court costs, incarceration costs and misc other penalties on those shitbirds found guilty? The County and State could work this out, and an example is when some free loading welfare sponge came into the station complaining someone stolt' his social security number, the IRS put a stop to his SSI and sought to recover said taxes from the Soc Sec Adm via his monthly stipend.
Don't ever think a government agency cant garnish monies from another agency. It can and has been done, but only to real taxpayers, not the Democrats who depend on the likes of Alvarez, Strogers, Daley, Quinn, Madigan, etc,etc,etc.
Good for preckwinkle. I had my doubts, but it's high time cuts are made.
Yes, I do recall the days before felony review. Does that make me old? Then it went to just telephone consultations and then to having the attorney come out to the station and then to his/.her interviewing all of the witnesses and not taking the detectives word for shit. It is out of control. The whole office is out of control and is a patronage hiding place as is the public defender's office. Alveraz is a hack. I really do not know how it could be reformed. We certainly do not need sheriffs deputies in every courtroom and every hallway. Hire security guards. Train those deputies to be police officers and put them on the street. Stop crying Dart and Alveraz.No one believes you.
Look forward to a lot, and I mean a lot more "no probable cause" at the felony branch. And good luck trying to get those felony upgrades. What a joke.
did maria pappa lose her $54,000 cleaning lady and $94,000 driver
This is like one of those situations where, in a blizzard or some other natural or manmade calamity, the powers that be instruct all "non-essential" personnel to stay home.
Which has always raised the question for me: if they're non-essential, why the fuck are they even employed in a government position in the first place?
There is no need for Cook County Felony Review!
These idiots put you on hold so that they could look up the law!! What da fuck!
Some "snot nosed punk" right out of law school to approve felony cases is just plain stoopid!
Maybe I should quit and be a crook. Nobody is watching or prosecuting shit outside of the police membership.
85 percent of these comments have clearly been left by alot of blindly bitter individuals who have absolutely no idea how hard so many asa's work in cook county. Just because some of you may have sat in a courtroom waiting to be prepped for a bench, motion or jury, does not mean that you are in any position to comment on how states attorneys can improve running a court call, working up case files, questioning a witness or arguing the law. Similarly, just because I've been on a few ride alongs does not mean I can tell you how to be police officers.
And regardless of what I do for a living I certainly would never take joy in any massive bloodletting of employees anywhere. The fact that so many of the second city cop bloggers choose to do so really does a diservice to the integrity of this blog, especially because it's extreme and ignorant comments are not representative of the officers I have worked with in my unit.
The officers we work closely with know how hard we work and how much we appreciate their work. And in these past few days of so many firings the majority of officers we have worked with are aware of the firings, concerned about the firings and have even been offering apologies for how crappy it must be to go to work each day without knowing if we will be here past February.
I can tell that most of these comments are from patrolman. Detectives have more day to day contact with various ASAs. I am sure many of my fellow detectives will back me up on this. We are all on the same page. The States Attorneys office has their share of screw ball but by the same token so do we.
Most ASAs I know bust their ass and receive little appreciation. My heart goes out to anyone who will lose their job because politicians were irreponsible.
Hang ob to your hats because we will feel similar pain soon. I'm not talking lay-offs but pension change and medial change.
The time is coming. Live within your means and don't get stuck working for the man. Stay out of debt and expect the worse.
Stay safe...
The "I hate felony review" comments are getting old and overplayed. Other counties have felony review units, so its not just a Cook County creation. Besides we all know what types of crap is sent the State's Attorneys' ways that aren't reviewed by way of misdemeanors. Most cops can't even figure out what an assault is. Call in a good solid case and you'll get a felony approval. And by the way, felony review attorneys are 5+ years out of law school and in the SAO office. Stop the hating on ASAs. Its ridiculous.
10:01
Well said. CPD Ret.
Felony review and 3 clouted chairs per courtroom are here to say, unfortunately. According to the Sun-Times, Alvarez cut a deal with Preckwinkle today and will lay off only 25 ASAs, mostly from the civil department.
The PD's office laid of 68 attorneys.
I have been with CPD almost 25 years, the last 8 years as a homicide detective. Most cops who continually bash the ASAs are the same cops who cannot put a decent felony case together, or bother to take the time to learn what it takes to convict some one in court. Regardless of what some of you think there are many ASAs who appreciate what we do as police officers. Sure there are some assholes, but we have our fair share of assholes too. If I had a dollar for every time one of the "real police" messed up a homicide investigation I would be a millionaire. Truth is the vast majority of problems in a felony case are caused by cops who simply don't know what the hell they're doing, don't know how to testify, and don't understand probable cause or search and seizure. Like the very first poster said, we have Watch Commanders who know nothing about investigations, arrest situations, etc. I can't tell you how many times I have arrived on a murder scene and observed half a dozen or more cops trampling all over the place, while two sergeants are just standing there with there thumbs up their asses as the cops contaminate scene. We are our own worst enemy.
PDs have NOT laid off any attorneys and also struck a deal with Preckwinkle and it looks like they won't be laying off any attorneys.
Murder cases get convicted I'd say over 90% of the time, easily. I'm basing this on my own experiences and from what I know about my coworkers experiences. I am no fan of felony review, but once a murder cases gets to 26th Street, I must admit the ASA's get it done right.
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Well that says it all, doesn't it.
If they only approve slam dunk cases, then why would they lose any at trial.
People forget that rejections in homicide cases used to be almost unheard of. Today, homicide charges are more often rejected than approved and the nonsensical reasons for these rejections would shock the public.
The amount of ignorance on this blog about how the ASAs and the court system work are truly shocking.
Do you know that most ASAs make significantly less money than you?
Do you know that felony review works a 12 hour shift with no overtime?
Do you know that during a homicide investigation, ASAs will stay long past their shift with no overtime pay?
Do you know that the short time you spend testifying at a trial is just a tiny part of the overall prosecution such as grand jury testimony, indictment, motions, psych reviews, depositions of defense witnesses, subpoenas for state
witnesses, finding expert witnesses, jury selection, arguments, and, of course, the one area you never hear about, appeals?
The lack of any knowledge about court is either an indication that most coppers here have never been to court or have never given even the slightest thought to what the hell is going on while they're sitting in front of an enormous court file bullshitting about how hard their job is because they sometimes actually have to show up.
Stop the hating on ASAs. Its ridiculous.
2/10/2011 10:47:00 PM
Are you fucking kidding? Not nearly as ridiculous as trying to pretend that felony review ASA's base decisions on anything related to probable cause or elements of a crime.
Jeezus, come on. I was told by an ASA repeatedly that his standard for approval is "beyond a reasonable doubt". LOL. Why bother with court then? Not to even begin on the ridiculous hoops, roadblocks and administrative nonsense of varying degrees that is required on a whim.
I'm with anonymous, get rid of felony review (like the rest of the country) and you can lop off 20-25 positions right there.
Combine or reduce the "special" units like Arson and you can chop more off.
The office is bloated. You can get rid of all wing commanders without any noticeable difference in operations.
They'll piss and moan, but it's pretty easy to streamline that office.
2/10/2011 04:41:00 PM
Always a lot easier to clean someone else's house. Be careful for what you ask for. Fewer prosecutors means fewer people to try cases and to plead out cases, and will lead to more blown terms and dismissals
2/10/2011 10:01:00 PM
thicken up the bark there, buddy, or the Flathead Borers will get you.
Maybe I should quit and be a crook. Nobody is watching or prosecuting shit outside of the police membership.
2/10/2011 08:41:00 PM
just join the Democratic Party of Cook County.
Which has always raised the question for me: if they're non-essential, why the fuck are they even employed in a government position in the first place?
2/10/2011 08:18:00 PM
Shirley you jest.
Agreed with comment that too many police officers do not know how to lawfully build a case that will stand solid in a trial, so it is understandable why some ASAs reject charges.
Sadly one only gains that knowledge through experience, and the CPD as a whole does not possess that kind of experience to hand down.
It all goes back to the unfair merit and promotional process that created inept and condescending supervisors.
Agreed with comment that too many police officers do not know how to lawfully build a case that will stand solid in a trial, so it is understandable why some ASAs reject charges.
Sadly one only gains that knowledge through experience, and the CPD as a whole does not possess that kind of experience to hand down.
It all goes back to the unfair merit and promotional process that created inept and condescending supervisors.
This comment is bullshit. One there are more than enough experienced officers in every district to ask for advise from. The problem is that the young officers always seem to know it all and never ask for the advise and/or the experienced officers are not lending their help, or a combination of both. Why don't you look in the mirror and find out which one you are.
"Jeezus, come on. I was told by an ASA repeatedly that his standard for approval is "beyond a reasonable doubt". LOL. Why bother with court then? Not to even begin on the ridiculous hoops, roadblocks and administrative nonsense of varying degrees that is required on a whim."
What standard would you prefer? "The officer wants him charged?" That won't fly.
It has to be "beyond a reasonable doubt." If the ASA can't believe the evidence is BARD--if you've spent any time in Cook County Criminal Court at all-- you'd know--there's no way a judge will. Believe it or not, the ASA's idea of BARD is much lower than a judge's. ASAs have a duty to only charge cases which they honestly believe can be proved in court. Sorry, but that's the truth.
What standard would you prefer? "The officer wants him charged?" That won't fly.
It has to be "beyond a reasonable doubt."
______________________________
No wonder the ASAs are on the shit-list. The standard is a "reasonable probability of conviction." This is way lower than beyond a reasonable doubt.
A 20+ year ASA.
"People forget that rejections in homicide cases used to be almost unheard of. Today, homicide charges are more often rejected than approved and the nonsensical reasons for these rejections would shock the public."
For example...? Do Tell.
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