Corruption a "Work Rule"
Padding mileage expenses was so entrenched and condoned in Chicago’s Fire Prevention Bureau, it was “almost a work rule,” an arbitrator ruled Thursday, overturning the city’s firing of four firefighters and reducing lengthy suspensions for 44 others.
Independent arbitrator Edwin H. Benn said there is “no real dispute” that all of the accused Chicago firefighters “knowingly submitted inaccurate mileage reimbursement reports and obtained compensation for mileage — ranging in some cases into the thousands of dollars — that they did not actually incur.”
But, Benn noted that the alleged mileage padding was a “decades-long practice” that was taught, “condoned and encouraged by supervisors.” In fact, Benn noted that many of the inspectors were “assured by their supervisors that the accuracy of their mileage totals would not be challenged.”
So since everybody knew about it and everybody did it, it's okay? Isn't that kind of the "endemic corruption" that Chicago is famous for? And isn't that kind of what's wrong with government in general?
Labels: fire fighters
posted by SCC at 12:09 AM
69 Comments:
"Independent arbitrator Edwin H. Benn said there is “no real dispute” . . "
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Old Edwin Benn sure has gotten fat on our behalf.
I can see it now. Politicians and cops can just use the excuse hey everyone else is stealing so i did also. And it will be a legitimate defense. Every one of these fireman committed felony theft by falsifying their records. And nothing happened to any of them gotta love Chicago,.
It was just my imagination, running away with me.
Benn again! Ruled against us (police) but ruled for "padding", the Chicago way
The most corrupt city, within the most corrupt county, within the most corrupt state, in the United States!
What else would you expect!
We see politicians all over this state stealing, lying, and pissing on the very folks who elect them to office. Any wonder government workers do the same stealing tax dollars just like they do. Problem is a lot more indians than chiefs get punished. It will never change.
typical patrol officer thinking.
every other part of government is corrupt yet we wear a blue shirt and we can do no wrong.
dont be so quick to judge.
doesnt matter if u print it because u have to read it.
That is absurd. I have never felt this hopeless. Can't we even fire the retards we catch red-handed. They will probably end up getting promoted with all lost wages returned with interest. Think they will get to claim the mileage to and from the proceedings??? And Benn is our "go to" arbiter for our contract disputes...LOL!!!! Got to love this town.
It was assumed and "taught" years ago that the wagons took deceased persons to funerals homes and were "compensated". Common practice. Everybody knew. Seems similar, but different. Times have changed.
Can't help but think that arbitrator Benn might possibly have family on the Fire Dept.
This is the same arbitrator that FOP used on the last two of our contracts if memory serves...
And if I recall correctly he sided with the City on Most issues! Correct me if I'm wrong?
Fuck those cfd guys that were involved. They all are a bunch of thieves. They should be charged criminally.
...and you have to wonder how many of them whine about welfare and food stamp handouts while touting the hard work ethic to "earn" your own living without looking for handouts.
FYI:
http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/nypd-vs-cpd-how-police-deal-with-press-and-protesters-36918686/#1
http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/faces-of-the-nato-protests-36841686/
the bottom line is that these guys were well aware that they were stealing--- the arbitrator saying that it was an accepted practice makes you wonder who he answers to--- maybe benn is sleeping with the enemy, suprise suprise....
So, if we all take money from dope dealers its ok?
And that same arbitrator (Benn) is used quite a bit for our contract rulings?
Makes you wonder if anything is legit anymore?
Nah, how could I even think anything in this city is legit!
Remember if it was Police Officers they would have been sent to Prison. Hence the double standard. So you can stick the blue brotherhood bullcrap where the Sun don't shine.
Of course its a 'work rule'.
This city is (and has always been) a cesspool of this type of 'municipal employee corruption'.
For fuck sake, look in our own ranks. Look at how many do-nothings and 'light duty' cases we have on full pay, not to mention the pathetic dogs who proudly boast about how they don't do any work on their tour.
Think departments like Streets and San are any better? You know how many do-nothings are 'hidden' there? It's not as bad as the old days, but it's still immeasurably worse than any given municipality that actually maintains a degree of operational integrity.
Part of the reason our last two governors are in Federal prison is because of the Pirate Ship culture of "gimme mine" that exists in this abysmal shithole of a city (and state)
You'd find a higher degree integrity and ethics in a fucking prison among long term inmate shitbags we arrest than you would from a random sampling of folks enjoying city pay and benefits.
I hate this dump and everyone in it.
Glass houses my friend
Off topic but an very interesting story from Phoenix where a M/1 shoots and kills an unarmed M/4 walking his dog. Shooter in his car, victim on foot. I was waiting for the part where Jesse, Al, Meeks, and the black population were outraged by the racism and the injustice. But nothing. Didnt' even make national news. Interesting, well read the article.
http://www.policeone.com/news_internal.asp?view=5679913
But daddy, everyone else was doing it.
Dose that mean we can start taking money again? If everybody knows about it then it's alright?
The "everybody is doing it defence" will rank right up there with the "Twinkie" defence.
Chicago still ain't ready for reform. Disgusting.
do the right thing,it's as simple has that!
Can't blame the arbitrator for calling it like it was...especially when it was condoned by their supervisors. No, it didn't make it right, it's just the Chicago Way.
So by that mentality should we all start ripping people off on traffic stops and it will be all good? WTF????
That guy fucked us on our last contract too.
Love how this pops back up in the media, now they are in negotiations.....
So why did coppers stop taking money on traffic stops if it too, 'was a decades old, entrenched, taught, condoned practice,' whatever???? Can we supplement our soon to be reduced incomes with THAT decades-old practice???
....but the statement that the practice was "almost a work rule" seems way out of place here.
Gee, I wonder who's son, daughter, nephew, etc. got caught up in this? It would be hard to believe that the arbitrator could have BENN influenced.
Politics as usual!
Is anything wrong/unethical anymore?
Great! good for those guys, i'm glad to hear it.
Anonymous said...
Fuck those cfd guys that were involved. They all are a bunch of thieves. They should be charged criminally.
6/01/2012 01:03:00 AM
Never added a little extra to your yellow slip, huh? Never had a slip held? Never gave your Sgt a blank slip for him to pad for you? Hypocrite. What's good for the goose...
He is also the arbitrator the CPS is going to have. Good Luck!
So was fixing cases before Greylord decided that that work rule could be challenged.
We no longer teach what it is to be American in our schools. The Constitution is trampled by politicians and no one stands up to them because we stopped teaching the Constitution. Liberty, morality, right from wrong, these are all subjects that the left fears so they ridiculed these ideas and banned them from the classroom. No school prayer, no Pledge of Allegiance, no mention of God. Is it any wonder there is no fear of breaking the law?
How many people know that the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution are the Bill of Rights, let alone what they mean?
When we don't educate our kids to the rule of law, when our politicians throw aside the Constitution for their own gain, why should we expect our neighbors to do the right thing.
Stop electing these assholes, stop listening to these liberal crybaby's, get back to a strong work ethic and leave our kids a better place to raise theirs.
Rant over, back to reality.
Wow, the Tribune could have fun with this!
There was a pretty distinct 'pattern' in the players of this beef which had a lot to do with the outcome.
coppers would have been indicted
"Independent arbitrator Edwin H. Benn said there is “no real dispute
Benn rears his ugly head again! Some one know what college his kids got into right after screwing us? Or what board his wife sits on now? I doubt he f ed us over for free..
@ 6/01/2012 12:16:00 AM...
"Old Edwin Benn sure has gotten fat on our behalf."
..........? O_o ?..........
You do mean at our expense. Right?
We can't recall who but someone exposed Benn's less than six degrees of separation to the Daley administration a few years ago here on SCC...
Daley was always happy to go to arbitration...
Stunk to high heaven why we can never get the "vigorish" err... "juice" errr... INTEREST accrued on OUR MONEY as it sat in those vaunted "interest bearing accounts" ("we got yer money, we just don't wanna give it to ya just yet") while Benn jagged us off for two or more years on orders of the stuttering prick...
Regular people can make do or die decisions affecting their households in far less time... The overall implications of consequences & rewards ARE similar but to hold people "hostage" for the sake of the politics of posturing is fucking craven.
"Arbitration" is nothing but an artifice to allow the city a process to steal money from the people it is due.
Out Benn's clout again...
Remember... Corruption IS a work rule.
Especially for the dirty dogs who conjure up the rules in the first place and seeing as how they gamed & compromised every safeguard, bypassed every fail-safe and brought us to the sad and sorry state of affairs of today...
THEY broke it... Not US...
THEY get to run away from the wreckage and point the finger (hi rahm!) at US.
"Hooray for me... Fuck you." *
*...As shouted from the City Council chambers...
How the fuck did this end up being "arbitrated" anyway?
Wasn't a crime alleged to have been committed?
Independent arbitrator up a monkey's ass...
If a Copper rolls his eyes there'll be no shortage of ginned up media and political outrage along with lofty pronouncements from flaming tutu, mcdrunk and every alderfool, rev'run, community activist and every swinging dick and prolapsed chooch with an opinion.
Thank goodness we live in "enlightened" times else the eye rolling Copper would be dancing at the end of a rope in front of his burning house as the crowd of the above listed characters cheer...
Heh... It's Chicago, ain't it?
With "friends" like Benn and others, being The Police in this town is an errand of the damned.
Shit... Shoulda been a Fireman...
Less grief and aggravation.
The guys from SOS were encouraged to break the law Their actions were widely accepted condoned or they looked the other way CPD are criminals CFD are victims
"Padding mileage expenses was so entrenched and condoned in Chicago’s Fire Prevention Bureau, it was 'almost a work rule,'"
Corruption in all forms is so entrenched in Chicago. It stems from the top and goes all the way to the bottom. It's a way of life here.
It's the Daley (Sr., fine-tuned by Jr.) Legacy!
The investigators are part of the clout class. Benn is a pawn of the machine. Watch how he screws the little guy...again come contract time.
You would think cfd supervisors that failed to verify mileage would be suspended.
The Arbritrators name ought to be Ed Benn-Dovah.
Sticking it to the Chicago Taxpayer - again.
-not a cop
Most importantly what say the Cook County States Attorney's office? No charges because it's a decade or more practice for Pete's sake it's criminal!!
Off topic but an very interesting story from Phoenix where a M/1 shoots and kills an unarmed M/4 walking his dog. Shooter in his car, victim on foot. I was waiting for the part where Jesse, Al, Meeks, and the black population were outraged by the racism and the injustice. But nothing. Didnt' even make national news. Interesting, well read the article.
http://www.policeone.com/news_internal.asp?view=5679913
6/01/2012 02:48:00 AM
That was dumb of you. Usually it is the "victimized" group that is responsible for being outraged and demanding justice. You do realize that right?
You guys are lying through your pieholes. If you came on and from day one were told to fudge reports and docs by your sups and co-workers you woulda did it. Flat out. C'mon, everyday we're on here talking about downgrading serious charges and now all of a sudden everyone would be the joe to stand up and say this aint right...to the tune of more money in your pockets. Youse guys are lyin!
I'm not racist but could it have to do with 95% of the fire prevention bereau being black? You thunk the same punishment would hold up if they were white boys?
What seems strange is that this is the same arbitrator that ruled against the city in the firehouse scandal years back and yet that let him hear the case. Almost like they wanted that ruling and it is a clout unit of the CFD. The city could have eliminated Benn when they choose the arbitrator
I dunno- I take it as the arbiter assigning ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE SUPERVISORS- in essence saying- you are so corrupt as an institution I cannot punish the little guy for what you taught him and allowed him to do.
Don't get me wrong, they are thrives, but it sounds like the arbiter has had enough of the whole system. You created it, you deal with it lol
The reason cfd got away with it is because the majority of the accused and of "minority" origin plain and simple. If this was cpd, youll be on your way to the big house.
The FOP should consider Benn unacceptable for any new contract arbitration.
The stealing went on so long that it became an accepted practice. Unfuckingbelievable.
Not to defend the jerkoff, but Blago gets 14 years for talking about taking money for jobs. These assholes actually get caught redhanded, on GPS, records on paper, stolen money checks cashed, and they get their jobs back with pay, no criminal prosecution.
Do they at least have to give back the stolen money?
Man, will the national media have a field day with this. Once again, Chicago and Illinois look like the corrupt entities that the world believes they are. And that they REALLY are.
This is embarrassing.
Interesting Article:
Click on this link and then the link within that to a pdf file about Penny Pritzker and her family and their failure to properly pay property taxes on all the properties they own in Chicago.
http://www.unitehere.org/detail.php?ID=3532
Once again the mindset seems to be it's ok unless you get caught. Seems like every time I lock up a juvenile, the guardian is more pissed that the kid got caught than for what he/she did and I'm a jag for inconveniencing them.
What a society we live in.
Remember if it was Police Officers they would have been sent to Prison. Hence the double standard. So you can stick the blue brotherhood bullcrap where the Sun don't shine
+1
Did Fire IAD send the case to the State's Attorney's Office for prosecution? Doubt it. Sometimes, the guilty are given an incredible break by the incompetent and/or the corrupt.
If it were a CPD case, our IAD would have hand-carried it over there and Anita would have jumped on it.
The guys from SOS were encouraged to break the law Their actions were widely accepted condoned or they looked the other way CPD are criminals CFD are victims
Put this BS on the fire blogs and keep it off this; it doesn't belong here. Since you aren't CPD you have no idea what they were told. All you know about it is hearsay.
You guys a missing the point. I read most of the award. They all did get suspended. They were just reduced. They were too excessive because the city allowed it & actually taught them how to do it. He didnt let them totally off them hook.
I am a member of the CFD and think that they should of been charged legally. What they did was wrong. They broke the law & the CCSAO should be investigating it.
Never added a little extra to your yellow slip, huh? Never had a slip held? Never gave your Sgt a blank slip for him to pad for you? Hypocrite. What's good for the goose...
6/01/2012 08:27:00 AM
Believe it or not, there are honest people in this world. Apparently, not in your world. Hope you don't have kids.
"Corruption in all forms is so entrenched in Chicago. It stems from the top and goes all the way to the bottom. It's a way of life here.
It's the Daley (Sr., fine-tuned by Jr.) Legacy!"
It would take a direct nuke strike on Chicago to kill this corruption, and that might not even do it; cockroaches can supposedly survive nuclear radiation.
Hooray for the Daley Legacy!
Don't read this.
http://www.iaff-local2.org/items/FPBAward053112mileage.pdf
Anonymous said...
The FOP should consider Benn unacceptable for any new contract arbitration.
6/01/2012 01:48:00 PM
Benn was blackllisted the minute Shields was elected. He is the City's favorite arbitrator, for a reason.
Do any of you "Einsteins" wonder why they only went after the CFD employees from the year 2009??
Why not go back a few more years??
This was a calculated attack against N.R. by a few disgruntled white guys in charge.
Why don't they go back and get the mileage from the "all white " public education section?? (too any clout babies)
Why dont they to back to 1999-2008 (too many big-wigs collected mileage and never left the office )
You are all guilty of buying into the one-sided media spin on this -
Hoff, the hero- this is your mess!!!
The guys from SOS were encouraged to break the law Their actions were widely accepted condoned or they looked the other way CPD are criminals CFD are victims
Put this BS on the fire blogs and keep it off this; it doesn't belong here. Since you aren't CPD you have no idea what they were told. All you know about it is hearsay.
6/01/2012 05:36:00 PM
________________
Oh but I do know
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