Page 11 - FOP_APR16.indd

War on the Police
In just one week in Chicago, we have had four officers shot and one severely beaten with a baseball bat. It has never been this bad to the point where you identify yourself as a police officer and you are shot at or beaten. This is not exclusive to Chicago; it is happening nationwide in numbers never seen before. You have to be on guard twenty four seven. The public is now on edge because if this can
happen to us, what chance do the citizens have? Society is starting to realize that we are not the problem.
Black Lives Matter
On March 17, new motions were filed by the Pension Fund trustees, and the city filed motions on March 21. There is nothing much new in their motions, and we don’t expect the city to have much new either.
The main problem is having to go through another four months or more before getting a decision from Judge Cohen, which is likely to be essentially the same
thing as he is viewing now.
GREG BELLA
On Palm Sunday, the reverends marched on all Chicago Police stations to protest police brutality. While it is their right to protest, I just believe their prior- ities are out of whack. As I write this article, there have been 111 people murdered and 635 people shot this year in Chicago. So it begs the question: Why are they protesting brutality?
For years, when there was a problem, real or per- ceived, the reverends would mobilize protests in the streets and the mayor would meet with them.
Today, they no longer have the ability to start and stop the protests, and they certainly don’t get the media attention. The bigger problem is the Black Lives Mat- ter Movement itself can’t spell out what it wants as wit- nessed a week ago when taking to the streets to protest Donald Trump.
What does Trump have to do with Black Lives Matter? If the Black Lives Matter movement is really against the perceived police brutality, then it got what it wanted. The Department of Justice is here. The ACLU is running the Chicago Police Department, and every officer is be- ing taught de-escalation.
Proactive policing is over and rightly so. Nobody wants to be the next YouTube sensation. Make no mis- take, the Palm Sunday protest was not about police brutality. It was about the reverends being pushed aside and who will lead the black community. If black lives really matter, then they all should be protesting the senseless waste of 111 lives in the city of Chicago.
Retiree Health care
Here is a summary of Clint Krislov’s letter:
On March 11, Clint Krislov filed a preliminary appel- late brief. This appeal seeks a preliminary injunction against the 2016 increases. Later that week, Krislov:
• Asked the Illinois Supreme Court to take the case directly.
• Filed our motion for summary judgment on the merits.
Krislov proposed to Judge Cohen that, assum- ing the city’s motion has no new surprises, he just rule that he would still uphold Count 1 (the constitutional claims, which he views differently from us); as to count 2 (contract) and count 3 (estoppels), this time with prejudice, and make findings that there is no reason to delay appeal so that we can appeal it immediately.
As you guessed, the city (joined by the fund) has re- sisted this and would like to drag this out as long as pos- sible.
Krislov filed a motion for summary judgment in view of the facts stated in the complaint are substantially un- disputable and entitled us to judgment as a matter of law.
Krislov is now able to process donations from cred- it cards, but encourages you to keep contributing by check since the processor charges almost 4 percent on credit card charges. This has been a major work, and if you want to make a contribution send it to:
Clint Krislov
Krislov & Associates, Ltd.
20 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606
I will post any updates on the FOP Lodge 7 website.
Indiana Retirees
The Indiana Law Enforcement Training Program cov- ers qualifying for H.R. 218 statewide. All pertinent in- formation can be obtained on their website, inretleo. com. This program is for retired police officers and federal agents throughout the state of Indiana. They are licensed, insured and bonded. All participants in their program are retired Law Enforcement personnel.
You can call Frank at 219-510-4773 or Jerry at 708-
227-5469. d
RECORDING
Secretary
So, at this point, our efforts are focused on get- ting the case up to the appellate court or prefer- ably the Illinois Supreme Court as soon as pos- sible. Retirees are suffering paying the current
premium rates.
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2016 11