By Fran Spielman
Chicago Sun Times
Copyright 2006 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Chicago is endangering firefighters and the public by allowing an 83 percent passage rate on a “ninth-grade level” entrance exam to determine the next firefighters hiring list, a union leader said Tuesday.
“It’s a joke. It’s written on a ninth-grade level. Eighty-three percent passed. I’ve never seen a pass rate that high. . . . It’s no different than buying a lottery ticket. It’s not designed to get the best-qualified firefighters,” said John Chwarzynski, president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2.
“This is a job that deals with saving lives and property, and they’re looking to pick and choose [to achieve diversity]. That exposes firefighters to danger because they’ll be working alongside less-qualified individuals. It potentially puts citizens at risk because you’re not getting the best. We don’t care what color, ethnic origin or religion you are. When you’re crawling down a hallway, you want the best person beside you.”
The Sun-Times reported earlier this week that more than 83 percent of the 20,400 people who took Chicago’s first firefighters entrance exam in more than a decade passed -- and 44 percent of them are minorities.
FIGHT ONGOING FROM ’95 EXAM
Of the 17,000 applicants who got 70 percent or better on the May exam, 54 percent are white, 21 percent are black, 20 percent are Hispanic and 3 percent are Asian.
On Tuesday, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford denied that the decision to pass 83 percent of test-takers, lump them into a pool and assign them a random ranking based on an algorithm that uses their Social Security numbers would endanger public safety. “The test that was given is not the test to be a firefighter. It’s only to establish a pool to pick from,” Langford said.
“When people come out of the Chicago Fire Academy, they are qualified firefighters. Those who are not qualified when they go in don’t pass the [six-month] course. That’s where the real test comes in -- medical, physical and firefighting ability, which includes classroom and practical instruction.”
Chwarzynski attacked the pass-fail system, as plaintiffs in the disputed 1995 entrance exam declared their intention to block hiring off the new list until their job demands are met. “We’re asking for 132 African Americans to be hired off the pre-existing list,” said attorney Matt Piers.
City Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said a trial that began Sept. 13 will determine the “damages” that must be paid to black would-be firefighters bypassed as a result of the city’s handling of the disputed 1995 fire exam.