Shakman Decrees

The Shakman decrees are a series of federal court orders regarding government employment in Chicago, which were issued in 1972, 1979, and 1983, in response to a lawsuit filed by civic reformer Michael Shakman. The decrees bar the practice of political patronage, under which government jobs are given to supporters of a politician or party, and government employees may be fired for not supporting a favored candidate or party.[1][2][3]

Shakman filed his initial lawsuit in 1969 and continued the legal battle through 1983. The decrees are compromises, but are considered a victory for Shakman, as political patronage was largely abolished in Chicago.[1][2][3]

In 2022, after more than fifty years of litigation, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the consent decree as to one of the defendants, the governor of Illinois, citing significant progress towards the elimination of political patronage.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b "Shakman Decrees". Encyclopedia of Chicago.
  2. ^ a b "The Shakman Decrees". Cook FP Shakman. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26.
  3. ^ a b "SHAKMAN v. DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION OF COOK CTY". Leagle.
  4. ^ "Shakman v. Pritzker: Seventh Circuit Holds Governor Satisfied Requirements of Fifty-Year-Old Consent Decree". Harvard Law Review.
  5. ^ "Shakman v. Pritzker, No. 21-1739 (7th Cir. 2022)" – via Justia.com.