Crossing guards make their case to remain in Police Department

Vicky Sanchez has been a Chicago Police Department crossing guard for 19 years. She wears the badge and uniform proudly and believes it commands respect from the children and at least some level of concern from the criminals, even though she is not armed.

Now, Sanchez and her roughly 900 colleagues are facing a change that, she fears, will destroy the relationship she has built with the children she protects.

Starting next month, crossing guards are scheduled to be transferred to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

They will wear different uniforms, carry a different badge and be cross-trained as traffic control aides and other job titles, possibly with lower pay, reduced benefits, variable shifts, lesser job protections. Crossing guards get $19-an-hour for part-time work.

On Tuesday, Sanchez was among a handful of crossing guards to plead their case to remain in the Chicago Police Department, reversing a consolidation tied to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s tax-laden, 2016 budget.

They were joined by their City Council champion, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), who introduced a resolution last month that seeks to reverse the cost-cutting move.

“I just want to keep our title for the . . . safety of the children, the authority, less gang fights, respect. The parents love us so they tell the children to run up to us if there’s any problem. The crossing guard will take care of it. We notice vans that circle the corner more than once. We alert the schools. We call the police,” said Sanchez, who is posted at 55th and Union.

Sanchez didn’t hesitate when asked what difference a badge and shirt color makes.

“The people look at our title and get scared. That keeps the bad people away. That’s keeping the gangs away. It says Chicago Police,” she said.

“We don’t have a gun. . . . But, if something’s gonna happen, they’ll let it happen a few blocks away. . . . When there’s a crossing guard, they stay away from us. I don’t know what it is that God does, but we stay safe and I think it’s because of our title. Somebody has gone around and said, ‘Get out of here. There are crossing guards here.’”

Karen Kuffel, a 22-year veteran crossing guard assigned to the 12th District, said her “first and only priority” is the safety of the children she serves and maintaining their trust.

“Children recognize who we are as Chicago Police guards. . . . If your child comes to me and says, ‘There’s a man over there bothering me,’ they know it’s gonna be taken care of. If you have someone from OEMC do our crossing, they ain’t gonna listen. They’re gonna do whatever they want,” Kuffel said.

“I have a grandson that recognizes crossing guards. If someone else is in a uniform that is not this uniform, he’s not gonna respond to them. We have those Safe Passage people that stand on corners and my grandson looks at ’em like, ‘Who are they? What are they doing?’”

Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), powerful chairman of the City Council’s Budget Committee, said she sympathizes with the crossing guards’ argument and plans to champion their cause to remain in the Chicago Police Department.

“Vehicular traffic has, I believe, a greater amount of respect for the crossing guards because they see their uniform and their patches. That gives them a more authoritative presence. I understand that. Even when it’s the children, they understand or see that guard has on a police uniform so they’re gonna obey more as opposed to obeying someone who’s just in a blue suit,” Austin said.

What if it costs more money to keep the $19-an-hour crossing guards in the Police Department?

“In their case, I wouldn’t care less because they are really part time,” the chairman said.

But if she feels so strongly about the authority behind the police badge and uniform, Austin was asked, why did she vote for a city budget that included the consolidation?

“I thought it would be better for them because, when a guard was off, they had to be replaced with a police officer,” Austin said.

“They could still utilize OEMC to have somebody to replace them if they’re on vacation or someone gets sick.”

Molly Poppe, a spokesperson for the city’s Office of Budget and Management, said the crossing-guard transfer was part of Emanuel’s plan to shift 319 Chicago Police officers from behind desks to street duty.

“This particular transition of the crossing guards frees up 22 CPD supervisors and moves them back to the beat. It eliminates them supervising the crossing guards. It also prevents some of the back-filling that was occurring for when crossing guards weren’t there,” Poppe said.

“Oemc has filled 112 vacancies in crossing guards already with this transition. If you reverse it, those 22 officers who were going to return to the streets . . . will have to return to supervising these guys.”