Page 11 - JULY 2016 Newsletter

Dealing with April fools
April Fool’s Day has always been a favorite in the Kilmer household, and when you have two mischievous boys under one roof, you can imagine the pranks that are pulled on this pseudo-holiday. April Fool’s Day was also the day of the infamous Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) “Day of Protest,” during which one of its esteemed educators yelled, “F**K the po- lice and FOP.” I am writing this article on June
23 and still waiting for an apology from the CTU.
I bring up this sham union today because I read
an interesting story about a math teacher from Earle STEM Academy in Englewood named Jo- R
cago – led his team to a first-place victory in the 2016 All- Girls National Chess Tournament. The team was one of only two all-African American girls’ chess teams in that tournament. It was a remarkable achievement for an un- derserved community, and the Fraternal Order of Police congratulates Mr. Ocol on his team’s amazing win.
KEVIN
KEVIN
KILMER
KILMER
There is only one problem: Joe Ocol does not have any bargaining rights, since the leadership at the Chica- go Teachers Union has expelled him. Why would CTU want to rid themselves of such an amazing role model and teacher? Well, instead of being a part of the CTU’s strike on April 1, he chose to attend y chess practice, which obviously paid dividends
seph Ocol. Once a top planning executive in the Philippines at Clark Development Corp, Ocol had
been placed in the government’s witness protec- tion program for blowing the whistle on what appeared to be a multibillion-dollar election fundraising scam in the agency tasked to transform a former U.S. military air base into an industrial complex and economic zone. As a result of this controversy, he lost his job and emigrated to Chicago to look for a better life. Thanks to his engineer- ing background, he became a math instructor at Marshall High School on the West Side of Chicago.
Troubled by the rising violence in that community, school authorities discussed with teachers and parents ways to lessen the spate of violence involving students. A suggestion led to the creation of a chess club, which Ocol, a chess enthusiast, volunteered to coach.
“The original idea was to keep the kids safe in school when it’s most dangerous,” Ocol retold, noting that gang-related violence usually erupts from 3-to-6 p.m. “We wanted to hold them in school for a while and chess was one alternative.”
In 2006, Ocol decided to expand his chess program to include not only high school students, but grade school and kindergarten pupils as well. He invited kids from nearby Faraday Elementary School, and from eight stu- dents in 2005, the chess club membership from the two schools grew to more than 100 in 2010. As an added bo- nus, students’ rising grade point averages coincided with the expansion of the chess program.
Fast-forward to April 24, 2016, and Ocol – now a math- ematics teacher and all-girl chess team coach at Earle STEM Academy in the Englewood neighborhood in Chi-
CASIANO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
Brian Strouse (#15806, EOW: June 30, 2001) for the 15th consecutive year. I would like to thank all of the commu- nity leaders that make this possible every year and es- pecially Alderman Daniel Solis from the 25th Ward and Patrick Thompson from the 11th Ward for the kind words to the Strouse family, and thanks to our officers in atten- dance.
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with the proof in the pudding. He received a cer- tified letter signed by CTU President Karen Lewis stating he was expelled from the union for not skip- ping chess practice. The remedy ordered by CTU was that he forfeited his salary for the day, even though his time coaching is strictly voluntary, meaning he does not get paid. His response to the CTU was that he would agree to forfeit his salary as long as it would go to the children he coaches with the hopes that it would assist in an ongoing fundraiser to allow the national champion chess team to go to the White House. That remedy was dismissed as fast
as his union card.
Despite these amazing accomplishments by an in-
credible role model and teacher, Ocol has said he’s tired of the bullying he has been receiving from other union members. He filed a complaint last month since people have been sending him “nasty” messages saying that he should leave Chicago public schools and work for a char- ter school.
On June 22, the Chicago Teachers Union had anoth- er pointless protest at City Hall, during which members called for an elected police board to stop racism at the CPD and “defend the future of our children.” Once again, I call on the CTU leadership to stick with the issues that directly affect your membership since you are clearly ig- norant to what it means to protect your children. Instead of putting on your faded red shirts and making signs writ- ten with third-grade grammar, why don’t you take a lesson from Joe Ocol and actually do something to help people?
Unfortunately, I already know what the response from the CTU will be.d
among us. On June 21, this officer stopped dead in her tracks to prevent the death of citizens caught in a burn- ing house. Because of her keen observation and her he- roic efforts, she was able to save the lives of four citizens and three dogs. Officer Jennifer Jacobucci is a true hero among us and a credit to our city. d
FOP is here to “Serve and Protect” you, so that you can better “Serve and Protect”
the citizens of Chicago. God Bless!
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I would be remiss if I did not mention another hero
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2016 11