Federal court dissolves decades-old minority hiring decree in Chicago Fire Department, cites big ethnic gains

CHICAGO — A federal judge recently agreed to dissolve a 42-year-old court mandate on minority hiring within the Chicago Fire Department, finding that minority representation had increased substantially since its implementation in early 1980.

While federal officials looked at the increase in “minority” employees, some current and retired black firefighters cried foul, saying their manpower numbers continued to dwindle due to slow hiring of Black recruits and high black retirement among its commanding officers.

Last Thursday, Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved a joint request between federal prosecutors overseeing the long-running Albrecht decree and city attorneys ending the March 1980 decree named for former commissioner Richard Albrecht.

“This Court finds that minority representation