Nine-year tab for Chicago Fire Dept. bias claims: $92 million
Discrimination lawsuits involving the Chicago Fire Department's hiring and promotions have cost taxpayers nearly $92 million over the past nine years — easily outpacing all other major cities except New York.
Chicago police misconduct cases have been in the spotlight over the past few years, but an array of discrimination lawsuits aimed at the fire department — with a reputation for a macho culture that has long resisted diversity — is also rapidly burning through city cash, a Better Government Association analysis of city data shows.
Chicago's fire department long had few African-American firefighters, and its first women didn't join the force until 1986. And change even after that has come only in fits and starts that has contributed mightily to a mounting legal bill for the city.