Page 13 - Demo

Tuesday night supper club
Every Tuesday night at Catholic Charities, they have an event called Tuesday Night Supper Club. At 4 p.m., volunteers serve 120 hungry people without any means to feed themselves. There is usually an overflow of folks, so there are brown
termines if there is a contract violation or not. This com- mittee meets monthly, and is made up of active Police Officers who have exceptional knowledge of the col-
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bag lunches made for the people they R
lective bargaining agreement. Managing standard grievances and ensuring proper communication with the unit and watch representatives takes up the majority of the allotted time here at the Lodge, which leaves very little time to do actual financial work besides signing all checks duly authorized by
the President.
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a “shout out” to the outstanding members of the Grievance Committee who have been amazing during this current administration. A special Lodge 7 thanks to Dean Angelo, Jr., Matt Augle, Joe Gentile, Dan Gorman, Marlon Harvey, Keith Carter, Ray Casiano, Jim Jakstavich, Andrew Cantore, Alfie Pat- terson, Les Fligelman, Glen Popiela, Kathy McCall and Brad Tucker. You have gone above and beyond your du- ties at Lodge 7 and I sincerely thank you for your dedica- tion and commitment. d
could not accommodate to ensure
those people are properly fed. After
the excessive amount of Christmas gifts my chil-
dren received, I decided to bring my boys, Nicky and Charlie, to help out and hopefully teach them a thing or two about humility.
Over the course of the evening, we served dinner to many good people who did not have the financial means to help themselves. As I wore my Fraternal Order of Po- lice jacket during the dinner serving, no one there said, “F*** the police,” or blamed my profession for all their problems. All they did say was, “Thank you.”
I think we all need to remember that most of the peo- ple out there do appreciate the work we do. The silent majority of citizens of Chicago aren’t worried about po- lice accountability; they are worried about where they are going to get their next meal or how are they going to feed their kids. Until most law makers and media outlets embrace this concept and start reporting the narrative of these people, this city will continue on its downward spi- ral to oblivion.
Binding summary opinions: A year in review
We have concluded our first complete year of doing Binding Summary Opinions. The proof is in the pudding as, out of 10 months this year (we have not received the results of the other two yet), we were able to get discipline lowered on 82 out of 100 cases. Now, remembering the fact that we eliminated attorneys and had the field reps represent the affected officers, this program has saved the Lodge and the members approximately $600,000 this year, if you conservatively include arbitration costs for 100 cases, as well as the legal fees attached to each case. With the recent onslaught of bogus cases brought on by the new administration at IPRA in an attempt to bankrupt our legal defense fund here at FOP, this savings could not have come at a better time. Binding Summary Opinion is definitely a resounding win for the Lodge and, more importantly, for the membership.
Grievance Committee
There is a common misconception as to what the du- ties are of the Financial Secretary are here at Lodge 7. Historically, the primary responsibility of the Financial Secretary is as the Grievance Chair. This position over- sees the committee that reviews all grievances and de-
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2017 13