Page 6 - October 2021

CATANZARA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
The Jumbotron at Guaranteed Rate Field shows the video of Lodge 7 Presi- With the new Lodge 7 trailer and a New York City firefighter at the 20th an- dent John Catanzara presenting a valor award to Carlos Yanez Jr. niversary of 9/11.
President’s Report Shorts
Contract High
Phase One is a done deal now that the City Council has rati- fied it. I had the utmost confidence it was going to pass, espe- cially since the council’s workforce committee passed it unan- imously, even with the couple of progressive, crazy socialists who are in there.
The fact that some of those aldermen decided to vote no: All they did was give us – I hate to use the word “target” because people misinterpret it – but they certainly give us some alder- matic seats to focus on. Let’s put it that way.
I am absolutely determined to have this Lodge finally stand up and make a statement about the elected officials who con- tinue to work against us. We are no longer kissing Madigan’s ass
and going wherever he directs us to go. We are our own entity. We are going to make our own statement, and we’re going to make some noise.
We will start with the 2022 elections, working with the state powers that be to address some of the state races in Chicago that we feel the need to have a price paid for House Bill 3653 and that ridiculousness. It will be an exhausting year politically next year, but 2022 is going to start the most crucial 15 months that Lodge 7 has ever had politically between the state elections and then the city municipal elections in March 2023. That 15-month stretch is going to be extremely different than ever before.
Until I drove down and picked up the new trailer on Labor Day, we weren’t sure we were going to make it to New York for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. But we made it there, and you can read all about it beginning on page 42.
Aside from hitting a deer somewhere in New Jersey, every- thing went really well. Thanks to Lodge 7 trustees David DiSan- ti, Steve Olsen and Monica Ortiz for making the trip, along with Second Vice President Dan Gorman and Jim Jakstavich. And Marikay O’Brien, as well.
The NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association took care of us, helping us to set up about a block and a half east of the 9/11 Memorial, where we cooked up some of Chicago’s finest fare for the many officers working that day.
Then, we took the trailer back to the spot they had us secured at by the 33rd Precinct, where Trump ended up showing up. Un- fortunately, we missed that visit. But we parked the trailer there, went back to the hotel, got changed, and then New York’s Finest took us on a tour of the harbor on their police boats, past the
Statue of Liberty, past the Brooklyn Bridge during the sunset. That was pretty badass. Then we went up in the Freedom Tower after that. It was a great time all the way around.
One of the unique experiences we had was being at the NYFD Ladder 10 firehouse, the one that lost all its members on 9/11. The flag-raising ceremony they had for fallen first responders included raising a flag for Ella.
I thought it was appropriate that the memorial includes a re- flecting pool, because it does make you really reflect on life and how fragile it can be sometimes. There are so many ways to look at 9/11, from the poor souls in the tower who went to work that day just like every other day thinking no big deal and then were trapped and helpless, to the police officers and firefighters and their families whose lives were changed in the blink of an eye.
It makes you reassess what you’re doing in life. Some of the petty crap that you think really matters, you kind of just let it go when you experience moments like that.
We made it there for the 9/11 anniversary
Last Words
An observation from the CPD-CFD baseball game...
There was a message that I want our members and even the fire- fighters, supporters and families in general to know: that we are going to be the two organizations that save this city. We need to stay united and keep fighting together no matter what. We can turn this city around and bring it back to its former glory.
About the Military Buddy Check Day...
Rob [Noceda] and the whole military committee knocked it out of the park. I look forward to that event growing going forward. Listening to the Medal of Honor recipient’s speech, and what an amazing human being that guy is, was humbling. Here is a guy who sacrificed so much, and for him to tell me he respects what I do leading this organization, coming from everything he’s done in his life—that is powerful.
6 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ OCTOBER 2021