U.S. Oversight of Fire Dept. Hiring Ends in Chicago
A federal judge has returned control of firefighter hiring to the city after 21 years of court supervision resulting from a racial discrimination lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge James Alesia cleared the way in a ruling Monday for the city’s first firefighter entrance exam in 10 years. More than half of the 34,000 applicants who have signed up to take the test today and Thursday are black or Latino, city officials said.
City officials said they would wait to see the racial breakdown of the top scorers before deciding whether to hire in order by score or to conduct a lottery from a larger pool of qualified candidates.
The U.S. Justice Department accused the city in 1974 of discrimination. Consent decrees in 1974 and 1979 required the city to submit proposed changes in its hiring practices to the court and the Justice Department to ensure adequate minority representation.
Of the city’s 4,000 firefighters, 71% are white, 21% are black and 8% are Latino. According to the 1990 census, Chicago’s population is 39% black and 20% Latino.
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