Page 8 - FOP May 2019 Magazine

First Vice President’s Report
A perfect day for a protest
On March 27, I received a call from Daniel Tre- vino, one of the trustees of Lodge 7, about pro- testing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. The proposed date was April 1 — April Fools’ Day. The timing was perfect for a protest in light of the dropped charges against Jussie Smollett, an ac- tor who staged a hate crime against himself two months prior.
One of the biggest problems we would encoun- ter was that April Fools’ Day was just four days away. The fol- lowing morning, as planned, Danny (who is always punctu- al) was in my office, ready to go. I told him my doubts about pulling this off, but we decided to get to it. First, we needed a checklist of the necessary tasks, including:
1. Shopping for the sign materials
2. Enlisting others to help with making the signs
3. Ordering three buses to transport protestors muster-
ing at the FOP
4. Obtaining a permit for the protest
5. Notifying the membership of the protest
The first stop was at Home Depot to purchase the lumber for the signs, which needed to be cut, plus a staple gun and
staples; next, the dollar store for markers and plasterboard; and finally, the party store for miscellaneous items, including the same kind of horns that we used as young kids at Sox Park. While shopping, I lost sight of Dan and searched the aisles looking for him. The blare of one of the horns he was testing soon told me his location. One thing you are guaranteed to do when you are with him is laugh!
This is the second protest that I have been involved with since being elected first vice president. The first one was my idea: to protest at City Hall due to the lack of contract nego- tiations, which had come to a halt. As a result of that protest, contract talks resumed. Several members are always ready to pitch in to help, including Catherine “Cricket” Oboikovitz, Bob Bartlett and Mark Tamlo. They spent several hours during the weekend painting, stapling, gluing and arranging the signs for the protest.
We ordered the buses, and next up was the protest permit. I had never applied for a permit like this before, but Bob had information on how to do it. The filing process was easier than I thought it would be!
Communicating with our members today is easier than in years past. Facebook, the Second City Cop blog, media outlets and emails got the word out. On Monday, April Fools’ Day ar- rived, and with it, the anxiety of not knowing what we would accomplish and whether it would be successful.
The Jussie Smollett case was the final straw for Foxx. How many deals have been made by this state’s attorney during her administration? The dropping of the 16 felony charges and the sealing of the case itself brought the national spotlight to Chi- cago. There are several questions that need to be answered, which is why Lodge 7 demanded a federal investigation of Foxx. The turnout was amazing, including Mr. and Mrs. Man- nie Rodriguez, the parents of deceased Chicago Police Officer Mannie “Tito” Rodriguez. The participants in the rally were estimated to be at 500.
Without a federal investigation, far too many questions will never be answered. Why was the former top aide to Michelle Obama involved in the first place? Who was she inquiring for? As a result of the protest and the continued pressure, two of Foxx’s top aides have recently resigned or left voluntarily — it depends on whom you believe. The idea of Trustee Trevino and the hard work by many others will hopefully lead to the resignation of Foxx, for the betterment of all citizens of Cook County.
PAT MURRAY
8 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2019