Page 22 - May 2018 FOP Magazine

Keeping an eye on SB 3547
Hello, my fellow fraternal brothers and sisters. May is a month of changes, as spring is in full bloom and summer is on the horizon.
The Illinois Senate and House are also moving quickly prior to their summer recess. Mark Donahue informed me of Senate Bill (SB)
3547 as it pertains to Reserve and National
Guard service members. The bill consoli- dates several statutes into one.
59-0 vote. If you would like to read the bill, visit www.ilga.gov/ legislation. On the left side of the page, type in SB3547 and then click on Senate Floor Amendment No. 2. Your Military Commit-
tee will maintain eyes on this bill. Thanks to President Gra- ham, Donahue and Dave Sullivan for your support.
In a prior issue, I wrote about the Veterans Identifica- tion Card (VIC) that the Veterans Administration (VA) issues to veterans. This card maybe used as proof of service instead of using a Department of Defense Form
JERRY CRUZ
The bill’s first few pages sound worthy of our endorsement. But when your Military Commit-
tee dissected the rest of the bill, we discovered that it di- minishes many of the rights and privileges gained in the cur- rent statutes. We notified Donahue and President Graham of our conclusions. Together we worked with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office of Military Affairs and the Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge Labor Council to make changes prior to the bill passing the Senate Military Committee. Bottom-line chang- es were made to the utmost destructive portions of the bill, in particular dealing with pay differential, annual training and health insurance. A positive in the bill directs the Illinois At- torney General to investigate complaints dealing with employ- ers and employees with issues regarding Reserve and National Guard service members. This gives service members a place to file complaints.
The bill passed through committee and the full Senate with a
MILITARY
Recording Secretary
COMMITTEE REPORT
Report
22 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2018
214, Record of Discharge, to obtain discounts at many retailers. I received numerous calls that the phone num- ber for the VA that I provided has outrageous wait times. So I contacted the VA. I was told that eligible veterans can also go to va.gov or to www.vets.gov/?next=%2Fveteran-id-card%2F. You will need to create an ID.me account, and then you’ll be able to
apply for the VIC.
Memorial Day is a day of picnics, barbeque and parades. I
will also partake in these activities, but I have always taken a moment to reflect on those who did not return home. George S. Patton summed it up for me when he said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” So I ask all of my fraternal brothers and sisters to take a moment to reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and thank them for answering the call. d