Jailed Chicago cop still getting pension

CHICAGO, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- An 80-year-old former Chicago police chief of detectives is still earning a pension even though he is sitting behind bars, court documents indicate.

William Hanhardt, the highest-ranking Chicago police official ever to be jailed for corruption, was convicted of stealing more than $5 million from jewelry salesmen while in league with organized criminals. But because he began his career on the force prior to 1955, he's still getting an annual $68,088 pension, The Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday.

That was the year an Illinois state law took effect stripping public pensions from government employees convicted of felonies performed while on duty. Hanhardt's first year in the Chicago Police Department was 1953, the newspaper said.

He is reportedly serving a 12-year stretch in a federal prison in Colorado for racketeering conspiracy.

Since 1955, other public employees convicted of serious crimes, such as former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, have lost their pensions after being sent to jail, the Sun-Times said.