CHICAGO—Chicago police officers on August 13 voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new eight-year contract with the city at an approval rate of 79 percent, paving way for the city council to vote on the contract in September. The new contract proposes an incremental pay raise totaling 20 percent over eight years, including a 10.5 percent retroactive pay raise from July 2017 to December 2021, and another 9.5 percent raise from 2022 to 2025, according to data provided by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). For example, within the rank of patrol police officers, for those who have been on the job for more than a year, annual pay increases to $76,124 in 2021; for those who have been on the job for over 25 years, annual pay increases to $106,571 in 2021. Chicago patrol officers, numbering about 9,000, are the backbone of the police department. The retroactive pay raise through the …