Overview
- Harvey furloughed 69 employees, about 40% of its staff, including 24 police workers and roughly 20 firefighters.
- One firehouse is closed and two are operating with limited crews, with shifts recently covered by only four to five firefighters after 17 of 37 were furloughed.
- City leaders are pursuing financially distressed status and asking lawmakers to approve a $30 million transfer to cover operations, with no clear timeline for relief.
- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has deployed additional patrols to support reduced police staffing, and neighboring fire departments are handling calls through mutual aid.
- Residents packed the first council meeting since the cuts to demand transparency and accountability, as unions meet with the mayor and a firefighter GoFundMe tops $45,000.