Federal Court Orders Chicago To Hire 111 Black Firefighters, Pay Damages

CHICAGO (AP) -- A spokeswoman for Chicago's law department says a federal court's decision that forces the hiring of 111 African-American firefighters and orders the city to pay millions of dollars in damages was a "partial victory" for the city.

Jenny Hoyle says Friday's ruling by the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will likely cost the city about $30 million in damages paid to about 6,000 blacks who took and passed the 1995 firefighters entrance exam, but were not hired.

She says the amount is based on the pay and benefits that 111 firefighters would have earned in the last 16 years. She says the amount would have been higher had the court ruled, as the plaintiffs wanted, to hire 132 firefighters and pay damages based on what those firefighters would have earned in 16 years.

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