Page 18 - January 2021

What does it mean to be ‘woke’?
John has been on the job for eight years. He grew up in Chicago in a blue-collar home, where his father worked in the construction industry
and his mother worked as an office man-
ager at a neighborhood dentist’s office.
John attended the local Catholic schools
and then went on to complete two years
at one of the Illinois state schools. He
came back to Chicago and joined the mili-
tary, and after one deployment, he returned to Chicago. He got the call to start the academy and
began as a recruit at the Chicago Police Academy. He married the girl from the neighborhood who seemed to always ignore him, and they brought their two little girls to the edges of the city to move into the bungalow he believes they overpaid for. It needed work and still does, but life was as good as it can get.
Chad grew up in a leafy northern suburb. His father, like his grandfather, was a lawyer. Chad attended an excellent sub- urban high school, went to college back east and came back to Chicago to earn his MBA. He married a girl from a similar background, is moving up quickly in his professional job and bought an expensive house a few miles from Wrigley. They live on an affluent block, socialize with the right neighbors and take pride in telling their high school friends that they still live in the city and have not sold out to the suburbs. Chad feels safe and content, and the violence in the city that he reads
about is distant and far from his enlightened life.
The last six months have been very tough for John. He left the West Side tactical team after three years to move to a slower district to be able to spend more time with his girls. Unfortunately, the world exploded in 2020. John was in the middle of all the civil unrest. He took the bricks, the bottles and the horrible insults that seemed to be aimed at him personally. John felt the hate and was confused, as he has never mistreated any citizen he has encountered on this job. His RDOs were cancelled, he worked 12-hour days and he has yet to see the benefits of moving to a slower district to spend more time with his family. He endures and hopes life will eventually return to some sem-
blance of normal.
Chad is almost ashamed to admit that his life has not been
that bad. With the worldwide pandemic, he now gets his im- pressive salary while working at home. This schedule has al- lowed him to spend lots of time with his young family. The neighbors all meet out on the sidewalk each afternoon, so- cially distancing and sipping their wine. The children all play with their masks on, and the adults lament the fact that they can’t take that summer vacation. They also talk about the po- lice. They proudly display their signs on their porches and windows. “Hate has no home here” and “Defund the police” are the most popular. Chad has taken the mandatory diversi- ty classes at work, feels socially conscious and watches CNN
TIM GRACE
The Law Firm of Grace & Thompson Specializes in Representing Chicago Police Officers
James E. Thompson, Partner JThompson@ggtlegal.com
Timothy M. Grace, Partner connorgrace@aol.com
We pride ourselves in maintaining a small-firm feel by treating each case with care and consideration.
Seasoned trial attorneys representing Chicago Police Officers in matters before the Chicago Police Board, Internal Affairs, COPA, Inspector General, and Civil and Criminal Courts.
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Contact us today for a free consultation! 312-943-0600 • GGTlegal.com
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18 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2021