Some Forest Park Police Department officers will see a 3% to 4% yearly wage increase following the unanimous approval of a new collective bargaining agreement at a village council meeting Oct. 28.
The agreement between Forest Park and its patrol officers and sergeants represented by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council has a few changes from the last one, which expired at the end of April.
The collective bargaining agreement approved last month increases the wages of Forest Park patrol officers and sergeants. They got a 4% wage increase in May. Next May, they’ll get another 3.25% increase, with an additional 3% increase in May 2026.
Patrol officers and sergeants also received a 20% increase in specialty pay, or a stipend police get if the chief of police appoints them to a specialty position, such as field training officer, evidence technician, or bicycle patrol.
The new contract also gives patrol officers and sergeants a minimum educational reimbursement of $17,000 for each fiscal year.
In previous years, there was no maximum or minimum amount for an educational reimbursement, making it difficult to budget for. In the past, the mayor approved education reimbursements, often without knowing the total amount allocated yearly. Now, the chief of police and village administrator will authorize requests.
According to the new collective bargaining agreement, police represented by the Illinois FOP will now observe Juneteenth as an official holiday.
The newest collective bargaining agreement also contains a waiver of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. The act was waived because the village is now providing bargaining-unit members with paid sick leave, vacation days, personal and bereavement leave.
Finally, the newest agreement cleaned up language regarding the accrual and renewal of benefits, along with gender neutrality.
Contract negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement were unfolding when Village Administrator Entler attended a professional development conference in September. Entler said she learned about negotiating and reviewing contracts, plus mediation techniques.
“I was actually in the middle of FOP negotiations when I did this,” Entler said about the conference. “I learned a couple things about packaging items together, and how you can do that when you’re negotiating back and forth with the union.”
During the conference, attendees were split into groups representing unions and management, Entler said. She represented a union.
“It’s a different perspective when you’re sitting on the other side of it,” she said. “It was kind of fun to see what their motivations behind contract negotiations could be.”
The recently passed collective bargaining agreement will expire April 30, 2027.