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Kevin W. Graham
ed of you by holding that chair,” Angelo articulated. “You don’t have an appreciation of what it entails until you are actually do- ing it. I don’t think I would change a thing that I did. I might have done some things a little bit differently, but with the same outcome, with the same purpose or the intended purpose at the end. I had a gas.”
Taking it personal
With such a job description, why would anybody want the job? It’s probably because of a passion for what the union does, something Dineen got from his mother who was a union stew- ard in a factory during World War II and his father who was a union member while working in a book bindery.
“I just felt that the union provides for the working men and women,” he specified. “That’s why I got involved. It’s not for the individual, the person or the president. It’s for the 12,000 mem-
bers and their families. And if they all get something out of it, then we’ve done a good job.”
Nolan indicated that each president shares a quality that en- abled them to do the job.
“Loyalty, it’s all loyalty,” he said. “Just to give the police offi- cers a fair shake. That’s the big thing.”
So they did it because they cared about the members, the City, the people who live there, the police officers and their fam- ilies. There is a propensity to make it better for everybody and the vicarious enjoyment from doing so that has motivated each of these men.
Clearly, however, it was a matter of taking the job personally.
“With what you deal with, who you deal with on a daily basis, you never seem to forget that,” Donahue shared. “You’re there for the people that need you to be there. As long as you keep that in mind, you’ll have no problems. You’ll have no regrets.”
And it’s not for the accolades or the awards.
“You don’t have to get recognized for the work that you did. You don’t have to get an award,” Angelo stipulated. “I mean, these things are nice, but that’s not why you do it. You do it be- cause there’s a need.”
To a man, each president has brought a humility that it takes to sustain the long hours and countless demands.
“Knowing that our members need our help, that’s what we signed up for,” Graham added. “What we signed up for is a commitment to make the lives of our members better. And it’s a commitment to try and get better law enforcement and have our members protected in their rights. So the things that we do really pale in comparison to what our members are doing every single day and night.”
Trial attorneys Andy Hale and Brian Monico have teamed up to form the new law firm
The firm has now added these new practice areas: Injury Claims, Medical Malpractice, and Wrongful Death
Monadnock Building 53 W. Jackson, Suite 330 Chicago, IL 60604
Andy Hale
(312) 870-6926 amh@halemonico.com
Brian Monico
(312) 320-6085 btm@halemonico.com
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