IL Department Sheds FFs over Low Morale, Job Insecurity

PEORIA, IL—Low morale and job insecurity are causing members of the Peoria Fire and Police departments to leave, officials there told members of the City Council on Monday.

And the pandemic's economic devastation has led to large numbers of minorities either retiring or quitting those two departments, causing a decrease in the fire department of Black people from 2019 to 2021. The police department saw its numbers rise from 2019 to 2020, then saw a drop from 24% to 22% in 2021.

These revelations came during a report on minority hiring efforts within those two departments, given periodically to the council.

Both Assistant Fire Chief James Bachman and Interim Police Chief Doug Theobald said recent budgetary woes have led to a demoralization of staff in those departments.

Bachman said new hires at the fire department are often worried about their jobs and feel underappreciated. In response to a question from At-Large Councilwoman Rita Ali, Bachman said morale was an 8 — with 10 being the worst and one being the best.

The fire department hasn't hired anyone since 2018 and in its classes of 2017 and 2016, it hired three Black men. As of Tuesday, Bachman said, all three had resigned for other jobs.

Of the 19 firefighters in 2018, seven of them were from a protected class such as Black, Hispanic or female, according to Bachman's presentation.

Theobald said the police department had several minorities apply through human resources department to be a police officer, but many didn't show up when it came time to take the first written test. He was at a loss for why, he told the council.

Both men said the applicant pool is far less than what it was when they started more than 20 years ago. For police, the Civic Center used to be filled with applicants. The fire department used to have several hundred people interested in the job.

No longer, the two men said.

Both departments set up "cadet" programs which would find eligible people and train them in-house to get them ready for employment. The fire department lost its program in 2018 due to budget cuts. The police department still has one, from which most of its minority hires come.

But even then, there are issues.

"The PPD had 129 minorities apply to be an officer in 2020, comprising 39% of all applicants. Of those 129, 75% did not submit required documents or did not show to take the written exam. Of the 25% who submitted the required documents and took the written test, 72% passed the written exam, physical fitness test, and were placed into the hiring pool," according to a memo introducing the presentation.

There were some bright spots. Seven of the police department's 11 new hires in 2021 are minorities. It'll be months before they can take the streets, but that will increase the total number of minorities within the department. That level is now 22%, according to city records.

About 13% of the fire department's 177 employees are of a protected class.

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