Springfield IL Firefighters Elect 19-Year Veteran as Union Head

Ryan Sabo, a 19-year veteran of the Springfield Fire Department, was elected by his fellow firefighters Saturday to a two-year term as president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 37.

Sabo, a captain with an with annual base salary of $86,602.86, will be sworn in early next month, succeeding Battalion Chief Gary Self, who has been the Springfield firefighters' union president for the past four years.

Sabo defeated his only opponent, Capt. Bill Beaty, a 22-year veteran of the department. The union declined to disclose the final vote tally.

Sabo said he's "looking forward to the challenge," but will not seek to make any major changes, looking to pick up where Self left off.

"Really, I just thought it was the right time for me to run. I don't really have any big plans or big changes I'd like to make, but I just thought I have about six or seven years left in my career. ... I'm on my downhill side, so I just want to try and set it up for the young guys to take over," Sabo said.

The election of a new union president comes just a couple weeks after a majority of Springfield's more than 200 firefighters voted in favor of ratifying a new, five-year contract negotiated between the union and the city administration. While passing, Self said characterized the vote as close.

Sabo said he supported the contract and hopes it will be approved by the Springfield City Council, which could vote on it as early as Feb. 5.

"Do you like everything in the contract? Obviously not," Sabo said. "But I think it was a fair contract, and I supported it."

A major sticking point in negotiations was whether firefighters would be required to live within city limits. Mayor Jim Langfelder campaigned on having the city workforce live within city limits, and with the exception of the police union contract, all contracts between the city and municipal employee unions now have a residency requirement.

The residency requirement in the firefighter contract would apply to those hired this year and after. Those new hires would have six months upon completing their probationary period to move into Springfield. Unlike most of the other contracts the city has negotiated, firefighters would only have to live in Springfield for 15 years. After that, they could move outside Springfield but continue to work for the city.

Sabo, who lives just outside Springfield city limits, said he sees valid arguments on both sides. He said residency was required when he was first hired in 2000, but it was never an issue given his excitement for being hired.

"It's something that the mayor wanted," Sabo said. "A lot of guys don't want it, and they've got valid reasons as to why they are against it. And there's valid reasons why the mayor wants it. ... It was a big sticking point for a long time. But I think we've got it in place where it's not forever."

Sabo was mum on who he planned to support in the upcoming mayoral election — Langfelder or former fire chief and alderman Frank Edwards — but said that one of his first priorities will be getting the union's political action committee up and running in the coming weeks. He said the candidates would likely be invited to meet with the PAC, which would then decide if they want to back anyone. In 2015, the Local 37 PAC supported Langfelder.

Sabo said he's excited to work with the man Langfelder appointed to run the department, Fire Chief Allen Reyne, who he's known for a long time.

"I think everybody likes him as a chief," Sabo said. "I think that the relationship with the staff is in a good spot."

Self, the outgoing union president, said Local 37 is in good hands with Sabo.

"I've known Ryan for almost 19 years," Self said. "... I know him to be a very good firefighter, he's a wonderful paramedic and I know he's a great captain. And he will take the reigns of the local and do a wonderful job."

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