County of Cook v. Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council

This appeal concerns the application of section 14(k) of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act (Act) (5 ILCS 315/14(k) (West 2002)) to an arbitration award that became part of a collective-bargaining agreement between the petitioners, County of Cook and sheriff of Cook County (collectively County), and the respondent, Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council (Union). See 5 ILCS 315/14(n) (West 2002). For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court in part and reverse it in part.

I. Background

The County employs approximately 120 deputy sheriff sergeants who…