Larson wins backing of Schaumburg police, firefighters

Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson picked up endorsements from the village’s fire and police unions Tuesday, even though the police union didn’t meet or talk with challenger Brian Costin.

It’s the first time either group has publicly supported a candidate, not that the chance comes up often. Larson has been Schaumburg’s mayor since 1987 and Costin is his first challenger in 16 years.

“Larson’s commitment to public service makes him the clear choice to lead the village of Schaumburg,” said Paul Christensen, president of Schaumburg’s Police Command Officers Association.

The other unions backing Larson are the Schaumburg Patrol Officers Association, the International Association of Firefighters and the Fire Command Association. Altogether the groups represent between 250 and 300 Schaumburg public safety workers.

The unions also back incumbent trustees Hank Curcio, George Dunham and Mark Madej.

Costin called the endorsements “curious.”

“I don’t really understand the motivation,” said Costin, a government watchdog making his first foray into elected politics. “They can endorse whoever they want, but I don’t understand why they would endorse a group that over the past five or six years has cut more than 40 people from the police department and 17 from the fire department.”

Most of those positions were cut through attrition, said Village Manager Ken Fritz.

Costin calls himself “union neutral,” but not “anti-union.”

“I believe in the right to work,” he said. “I don’t think unions should have exclusive rights to bargain with the village. Everyone should be able to compete for the jobs.”

Costin said he never was contacted by the police union, but did meet with representatives of the fire union. Anthony Laurie, president of the firefighters union, said his group met with Costin for two hours before reaching their decision to support Larson.

“It was a good meeting and we were able to see where both sides were coming from,” Laurie said. “We did have some concerns about (Costin’s) radical pension changes and concerns about his privatization of some police, fire and EMS services.”

Meanwhile, Larson thanked the groups for “making Schaumburg a safe town.”

“When my kids were little they were afraid of monsters,” Larson said. “I told them there are no monsters in Schaumburg. I told them we passed an ordinance and if any monsters tried to come into Schaumburg, the police would arrest them. So thanks guys for keeping the monsters out of Schaumburg.”

Larson is seeking his seventh term as mayor in the April 5 election. He and his wife, Nancy, have lived in Schaumburg since 1969.

Costin, director of outreach for the Illinois Policy Institute, said he has received endorsements from National Taxpayers United of Illinois, 2010 Republican primary gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski and the For the Good of Illinois PAC.