Page 14 - October 2021

Communications Report
Does your alderman support the CPD?
On Sept. 14, the Chicago City Council approved our contract by a vote of 40 to 8. Finally, after four long years, our members have received a pay raise. While we all wanted to see a larger raise because of the vital role we as police officers play in Chicago, this contract includes a fair increase to pay the bills, support our families and help our members deal with the ever-in- creasing taxes and fees here in Chicago and Illinois.
A wholehearted thank-you goes out to the 40 al- dermen who raised their hands to support our FOP members, the men and women of the Chicago Police
Department. While each one of those 40 aldermen may not see eye to eye on every issue facing law enforcement today, we greatly ap- preciate their much-needed assistance in getting this fair contract approved for our membership.
But while 40 members voted to support the men and women of the Chicago Police Department, eight aldermen instead decided to turn their backs on us and vote “no.” Eight aldermen decided not to support the officers who risk their lives for the people of Chicago. Four years of back pay are owed to our members, and these eight would prefer that our officers not be compensated fairly.
These are the eight aldermen who chose not to support the men and women of Lodge 7: Daniel La Spata (1st), Michael Rodriguez (22nd), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), Andre Vasquez (40th), Matt Martin (47th) and Maria Hadden (49th).
This is particularly rich, pun intended, as each of these eight al-
dermen accepted a one-year raise of 5.5 percent, amounting to an increase of $6,743. Tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), this will be the biggest raise aldermen have received in 15 years. These eight aldermen are more than happy to accept an enormously generous pay raise for themselves, but they reject a contract that fairly com- pensates the officers who risk their lives for the people of Chicago.
Our members worked day in, day out with cancelled days off and forced 12-hour days during the riots and pandemic. Our members were forced to work without a contract for more than four years, unable to strike, leaving little to no time to spend with their fami- lies. Our members weren’t able to conduct business via Zoom, we weren’t able to work remotely and weren’t able to spend time with their families.
And these aldermen are fine with that, fine with Chicago Police Officers not being paid fairly, rejecting a long-overdue pay raise. It’s shameful.
I have another homework assignment for you: If you do not know who your alderman is, stop what you are doing right now and look it up. (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/council.html is a good resource.) Check to see if your alderman is one of the eight listed above who chose to turn their collective backs on the men and women of the Chicago Police Department. You need to know who represents you in City Council. If your alderman is one of these eight, we need you to help us unseat him or her. The next election is Feb. 28, 2023, and every alderman will be up for reelection. It’s time to get involved and vote out the aldermen who do not support the men and women of the Chicago Police Department.
MICHAEL CARROLL
14 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ OCTOBER 2021