Strike Seems Likely for Judicial Center Security Guards

A strike was averted in early February, but it looks more and more like the security guards at the Kane County Judicial Center will go to the picket line, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

The court security officers presented the county last with a five-day notice to strike back in the early days of February. But the negotiators met and felt they were making enough progress to postpone a walkout, according to an article in the Daily Herald.

The security personnel have been working without a contract since 2008.

Last week, the Policemen’s Benevolent Labor Committee rejected the "last, best" offer of Kane County put forward by Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez and the negotiating team.

There are 32 security officers in the union, and it is difficult to say how the courthouse in Geneva or the judicial center and branch courts in St. Charles would function without them. The gaurds also handle security at courts in Elgin, Aurora and Carpentersville,

Attorney Tim O'Neil, who represents the union, told the Daily Herald that starting salaries for security personnel are in the $25,000 range and pay tops out at $34,000.

O'Neil told the Chronicle that if he were a betting man, he'd say a strike would be coming soon.

Perez told the Chronicle that the last offer wasn't the last, and he hoped cooler heads would prevail.