Around Monday, November 17, 2025 to Monday, December 1, 2025 when the consent agenda (defined) was approved unanimously by Village Board members, the Village of Arlington Heights passed an Ordinance which stripped the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (BOFPC) of its authority to promote through the promotional process and granted sole authority for such promotions to the appointment authority of the Village Manager Randall Recklaus.
On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, village officials (Village of Arlington Heights, defendant) were served with a summons of a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that the ordinance was passed for the express purpose of ensuring that Police Sergeants are “per se” Supervisors within the meaning of the Act, without the ability to organize for labor rights, and that the ordinance violates Article I, Section 25 of the Illinois Constitution concerned with actions that interfere with, negate, or diminish the rights of certain employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.
The Plaintiffs filing the legal action against the Village of Arlington Heights are the Metropolitan Alliance of Police; local chapter President and Arlington Heights Patrol Officer Daniel Bell, Arlington Heights Police Sergeant Brandi Romag, and Arlington Heights Police Detective Christopher Tatman. The lawsuit is Complaint for Declaratory Judgment filed by attorneys Asher, Gittler & D’Alba Ltd.
When Illinois Senate Bill 1701 was passed, the bill modified the traditional police supervisory test by creating new per se categories of supervisory and non-supervisory personnel. One per se supervisory category will be something called a “permanent rank.” Specifically, if an officer is appointed to a “permanent rank” (which is defined as a rank that is “not subject to promotional testing pursuant to Division 1 or Division 2.1 of the Illinois Municipal Code”), that officer will be considered a “supervisor” pursuant to Section 3(r) of the IPLRA. Home rule municipalities, such as the Village of Arlington Heights, are attempting to use the permanent rank classification to keep police sergeants out of labor relations actions by transferring the promotional authority of civil service commissions and boards of fire and police commissioners to individual management officials, such as Village Managers, City Managers, or Police Chiefs. According to the lawsuit, the ordinance maneuver allegedly violates Article I, Section 25 of the Illinois Constitution because the updated village ordinance (Chapters 4 and 6 of the Municipal Code of Arlington Heights) interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of certain of its employees (police sergeants) to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.
Senate Bill 1701 (Public Labor-Police Supervisor) Summary:
Reinserts the provisions of Senate Amendment No. 1 with the following changes. In the definition of “supervisor”, provides that, with respect to a police officer, other than a police officer employed by the Illinois State Police, for municipal police officers, “in a permanent rank” shall mean those not subject to promotional testing under certain provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code (rather than, with respect to a police officer, other than a police officer employed by the Illinois State Police, any officer in a permanent rank for which the police officer is appointed, which for municipal police officers shall mean those not subject to promotional testing under certain provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code). In exclusions from the definition of “supervisor”, provides that “supervisor” does not include a police officer who is in a rank for which the police officer must complete a certain written test (rather than must test).
Both State Rep. Mary Beth Canty (Illinois 54th District) and State Rep. Nicolle Grasse (Illinois 53rd District) voted to pass Senate Bill 1701. In Illinois police departments, a “permanent rank” refers to a position that isn’t subject to the same ongoing promotional testing as other roles of municipal police officers with new rules set to start July 1, 2026, impacting mid-level ranks and testing.
Following the passage of SB1701, the Village:
Eliminated the written, merit-based promotional testing process previously required under the Municipal Code.
Transferred promotional authority from the independent Board of Fire & Police Commissioners to the Village Manager.
Did so for an explicit purpose: to block sergeants from being classified as non-supervisory employees eligible to organize and collectively bargain.
ADDITIONS TO CHAPTERS 4 AND 6 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF ARLINGTON HEIGHTS NOV. 17, 2025, PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY VILLAGE BOARD DEC 1, 2025 IN CONSENT AGENDA
“Section 4-108 Office of Police Sergeant Created.
There is hereby created the office of Police Sergeant. Effective January 1, 2026, Police Sergeants shall be appointed by the Village Manager. The appointment to Police Sergeant shall be filled by a current member of the Arlington Heights Police Department, from the rank of Patrol Officer only. Compensation for the Police
Sergeants shall be determined in accordance with the current Village pay plan. Nothing in this Section is intended to modify or otherwise remove the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners’ disciplinary authority over Police Sergeants.Section 4-111 Appointment and Compensation of Members.
Effective January 1, 2026, all regular members of the Police Department except the Chief, Deputy Chiefs, Police Commanders, and Police Sergeants shall be appointed by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.Section 6-205 BOFPC.
Effective January 1, 2026, the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners shall appoint all officers and members of the Fire and Police Department of the Village, except the ranks above Patrol Officer and Fire Lieutenant.
In a November 5, 2025, memo, Arlington Heights Chief of Police Nick Pecora recommended “transferring promotional authority from the BOFPC to the Village Manager” for the sole purpose of “eliminating the new provision in which a Sergeant could be considered a ‘nonsupervisory rank’” that would have the ability to organize. The November 5, 2025, memo refers explicitly to the impact of Senate Bill 1701, as to why the Village of Arlington Heights was considering a “shift of promotional authority from the BOFPC to the Village Manager.”
Effective January 1, 2026, the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners shall appoint all officers and members of the Fire and Police Department of the Village, except the ranks above Patrol Officer (Sergeants and up) and Fire Lieutenant (Battalion Chiefs and up).
The Lawsuit alleges that by removing the written test component from the sergeant promotional process that was part of the BOFPC awarded promotional points, and by giving sole appointment authority to the Village Manager for promotion to the rank of Sergeant, the Village has interfered with, negated, and diminished the Police Sergeants’ fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively, which is in direct violation of Article 1, Section 25 of the Illinois Constitution.
On November 18th 2025, Plaintiff MAP filed a Majority Interest Representation/Certification Petition with the Illinois Labor Relations Board seeking to organize all sworn full-time peace officers in the rank of sergeant employed by the Village of Arlington Heights. That Petition (S-RC-26-047) is presently pending before the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
On December 8th 2025, the Village of Arlington Heights filed a Position Statement with the Illinois Labor Relations Board objecting to MAP’s Petition to organize full-time peace officers in the rank of
sergeant in the Village of Arlington Heights while holding their stance on the new ordinance. The position statement of the Village of Arlington Heights, for example, explains that sergeants who conduct formal investigations of patrol officers consult with fellow command staff about the anticipated level of discipline that the Police Chief elects to impose on bargaining unit employees. Sergeants also play a significant role in the Village’s strategy for defending against anticipated disciplinary grievances.
The Position Statement reveals a shift of the power center whereby the Village of Arlington Heights desires to squeeze the sergeant into a human resources-like supervisor figure that is expected to take sides with whims of the command staff and the political whims of the Village Manager (and possible proxy for the Village Board), rather than serve as a team member out in the field with patrol officers. The Arlington Heights Position Statement to the Illinois Labor Relations Board (the way it is written) doesn’t declare any role of the sergeant that would support patrol officers. Rather, the Position Statement indicates that the Village of Arlington Heights wants the police sergeant to be the first line of defense to oppose the patrol officers that are permitted to be part of the labor “bargaining unit.”
“Manipulating the promotion system to strip officers of their constitutional rights is both unlawful and unacceptable. Arlington Heights calculated maneuver was never about efficiency, fairness, or public safety; rather, it was a blatant union busting tactic designed to silence the voices of those entrusted with protecting our community. Through this lawsuit, we intend to make clear that no municipality has the authority to undermine the constitution or retaliate against officers who choose to organize.”
— Keith George, MAP President
The complaint, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, asserts that following the passage of SB1701, the Village of Arlington Heights deliberately rewrote its merit-based promotion system to evade the requirements of state law and to prevent sergeants from forming or joining a union.
Among other provisions, SB1701 stipulates that a “police officer who is in a rank for which the police officer must complete a written test” is not classified as a supervisor. Sergeants in Arlington Heights were historically promoted through a longstanding merit-based process that included written testing and appointment by the independent Board of Fire & Police Commissioners. Since this process now made sergeants in Arlington Heights eligible to form a union and since sergeants in Arlington Heights were in the process of pursuing their union rights under SB1701, Arlington Heights eliminated the merit-based promotion process, including written testing, entirely.
The Village did so in direct violation of Article I, Section 25 of the Illinois Constitution, the Workers’ Rights Amendment, which guarantees that “Employees shall have the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively… No law shall be passed that interferes with, negates, or diminishes” those rights, according to MAP.
Additionally, the Village of Arlington Heights passed the November 17, 2025 ordinance hindering sergeants’ ability to pursue union rights within a year of conducting an in-house survey among police personnel that discovered …
65% percent of police officers gave a “Poor” rating for the Village of Arlington Heights regarding “communicating information that helps employees understand the problems and issue (sic) facing the Village”.
60% percent of police officers gave a “Poor” rating regarding the Village of Arlington Heights “Providing a clear vision for our organization”.
57% percent gave a “Poor” rating regarding “Openness to new ideas and initiatives” in the police department.
55% of police officers were “Not confident” in “Police Department Senior Leadership” and 43% indicated they were “Not confident” in “Village Leadership”.
53% of police officers in Arlington Heights indicated the “Connection between compensation and performance” was rated poor.
Only 7% of police officers indicated they were “Very confident” in “Police Department Senior Leadership”
Only 6% indicated they were “Very confident” in “Village Leadership”.
When CARDINAL NEWS submitted a FOIA request to acquire the police survey results, the Village of Arlington Heights responded with a copy of the original blank survey. No results, and no explanation regarding why the results were not included.
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