May 16,1998

By Andrew Martin

(Ed. note: Scandals in which firemen and a paramedic are drunk on duty will be used to justify random testing to see if a fireman has used marijuana with the last six weeks. The move for this is pushed by ridiculous and venomous rhetoric, and, of course, a call for "zero tolerance." This is a violation of individual rights and a further degradation of the public discourse. We are destroying our ability to think.)

ALDERMEN SEEK RANDOM DRUG TESTING FOR FIREFIGHTERS

On the heels of several embarrassing and highly publicized drinking scandals in the Chicago Fire Department, two aldermen on Friday said they plan to introduce legislation that would require random drug and alcohol testing for firefighters and paramedics.

Aldermen William Beavers (7^th) and Virginia Rugai (19^th) said their proposed ordinance would include a "zero-tolerance" policy toward drugs. It would scrap the fire department’s second-chance policy, which affords firefighters and paramedics a year’s probation when they are caught using alcohol and drugs on the job.

"It’s time because they’ve been going too long and they’ve been getting away with too much," Beavers said. "We have a real serious problem with drugs and alcohol in the fire department."

The push by the two aldermen comes as the fire department has been battered by criticism that it is insular and racist and as Mayor Richard Daley has demonstrated an appetite for change in the department.

For one thing, Daley believes that the city’s 4,200 firefighters don’t have enough to do because the number of fires has been declining for years. Earlier this year, his administration announced it would hire a consulting firm to analyze the department’s management structure, a report that many believe will become a blueprint for a shakeup.

Daley’s concerns about the department have been exacerbated by scandals that have come to light in the last six months. Last November, a 7-year-old videotape from a firehouse retirement party surfaced that showed firefighters drinking beer, exposing themselves and singing racial slurs.

Earlier this week, the Tribune reported that a paramedic was drunk when he crashed an ambulance into a school bus filled with children on the South Side but that he is eligible for a second chance under department policies.

Although the scandals have embarrassed the mayor, they may give him added leverage going into contract negotiations with the Chicago Fire Fighters Union. The current contract expires June 30, 1999.

The proposed ordinance is expected to be introduced at next week’s City Council meeting.

On Friday, a spokesman for the mayor said Daley supports random drug and alcohol testing in the fire department and has already instructed his negotiating team to push for it in the next contract. Fire Commissioner Edward Altman, through a spokesman, said he, too, supports random testing.

Rugai said the idea for the proposed ordinance came from firefighters in her Southwest Side ward, home to about 1,000 firefighters and paramedics. "These are very important positions, and I think we have to make sure that the firefighters, paramedics or police officers that are going out on our behalf are in fact sober, straight and not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol," Rugai said.

Beavers added that drug and alcohol use "affects the good firefighters."

"You go into a fire with a drughead, he doesn’t know whether it’s a fire or not, so he can’t protect himself and he can’t protect you," Beavers said. "It’s the same thing with a person under the influence of alcohol."

Even if the ordinance passes, its effect will be questionable because any changes in the fire department’s drug and alcohol policy will have to be negotiated with the firefighters union, which opposes the idea. The proposed ordinance was derided as grandstanding by Robert S. Sugarman, an attorney for the union.

"I don’t think it is appropriate for the (Daley) administration or the council to overreact every time the media makes a big issue of something," said Sugarman.

He said he didn’t see a need for random testing because he believes that the department’s existing policies are adequate and that drug and alcohol problems had significantly decreased over the years.

Sugarman also contended that random drug and alcohol testing intruded on privacy rights and would cost taxpayers too much money. "Those things are not cheap," he said.

Firefighters then are given one more random test at the end of their one-year probationary period, he said.

Once the probationary period is completed, firefighters and paramedics can be tested for drugs and alcohol for the following reasons: if they are found unfit for duty by two chiefs; if they crash or are in an accident in a department vehicle and there are injuries or significant damage; if they are on leave for 30 days or more; or if they are promoted. The Chicago Police Department, by comparison, conducts random drug tests on its officers and orders sobriety tests on them if there is probable cause to do so, officials said.

Beavers said the fire department’s existing drug and alcohol tests are inadequate, and he described the second-chance policy as "ridiculous."