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enough to show the residents in these neighborhoods that the police are on their side and there for them. So the op- portunity at work that Lodge 7 President John Catanzara offered when he spoke to more than 1,000 church leaders in April and pledged the union’s walking the walk proved to be more than evident on this early Saturday morning.
“Psychologically, people think, ‘Well, if you allow your neighborhood to look like this, then you’ll allow crime to also take place,’” reasoned Lodge 7 Trust- ee Tim Fitzpatrick, who joined the 20- plus members on the cleanup detail. “It breaks your heart for a second. But then we were like, ‘Let’s make this disappear.’ And away we went with the garbage bags and the rakes and the brooms.”
Those who submit that the city of Chicago is too far gone to give peace a chance should have observed what transpired around the South Shore Com- munity Church. One of the resonating experiences occurred when passersby witnessed Lodge 7 Sergeant-at-Arms Nenad Markovich directing his sons, Aaron, 15, and Jacob, 11, to help with the cleanup.
Aaron and Jacob are adopted. They are African American. They learned a valuable lesson that hopefully rippled through the neighborhood.
“They had some questions about how this street was not as clean as ours. I ex- plained to them that some people here didn’t have the same benefits as they did,” Markovich detailed. “And I tell you, they were running up and down with gar- bage bags and rakes. It was awesome.”
But that was only the beginning of forging a lasting impression.
“At one point, Jacob gave me a kiss on the cheek, and somebody came up and said, ‘Can I ask you who these kids are,’” he continued. “So I told them the story and I think that was an inroad to have a conversation.”
Representatives from community groups also participated in the cleanup. The opportunity to converse with resi- dents and exchange perspectives is an- other objective of the Lodge’s coalition with the clergy.
Attempts to build partnerships with the stakeholders went even further than anybody could have imagined on this first date. (FYI, Catanzara hopes to do one of these a month, so members should keep an eye out for emails and texts announcing them and mark their calendars.)
FOP Trustee Brock Merck had a lengthy conversation with one of the
38 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2021
Residents enjoyed a barbecue that Lodge 7 hosted after the cleanup.
Lodge 7 Sergeant-at-Arms Nenad Markovich brought his sons Aaron, left, and Jacob to help with the cleanup
group members about police reform. And it was eye-opening to say the least.
“By the end of our conversation we had differences, but his exact statement is that he never had a conversation about race with a white person in his life,” Merck noted. “So we’re trying.”
Merck also related how a young per- son, perhaps homeless, noticed what was taking place, especially the post-cleanup barbecue the Lodge hosted. Judging by his slim appearance, Merck suspected he had not been eating regularly. That, and the fact that Catanzara served him a cou- ple of hamburgers and three hot dogs.
“Did he help clean up? He had no de- sire to clean up,” Merck related. “But at least we had an interaction with him because I pointed out to the kid, ‘You’re now being served a hot dog by the pres- ident of the Fraternal Order of Police.’ And he was shocked that he was able to
interact with John. Now, will that person potentially not pull the trigger on an of- ficer? Maybe we moved the needle with that positive interaction.”
Spending a little of their own time re- lating with the residents provided some unexpected rewards. While they were out cleaning up, a group of students who had just graduated from eighth grade walked by.
Lodge 7 members stopped to talk with the students and congratulate them on the huge accomplishment. That little moment to share in their happiness re- minded Lodge 7 Trustee David DiSanti about why they were there.
“I think part of the mission is reach- ing out to the community not just to be enforcers of laws but to be a human that can help another human when they are in a bad situation,” he explained. “We wanted to show that we’re not an invad-