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Lodge 7 Field Representative Tom McDonagh brings the consummate glass-half-full perspective to the wake of 2016. During visits to roll calls and conversations with members from various Districts, he says he has witnessed a growing camaraderie resulting from all the anti-police rhetoric. It’s a feeling – a bond in essence – that has en- abled officers to go into many of the at-risk communities with elevated pride and a strong sense of public service.
“In a lot of these communities, the only thing the citi- zens have is the police, so they take pride because we are helping the unhelpable,” McDonagh submits.
It doesn’t really take a magnifying glass to see some of the other achievements that have given the union a sense of pride or a sense of helping. Like proving the right to wear body ink is not a uniform violation, going into a burning house to save three women and three dogs as Of- ficer Jennifer Jacobucci did in June, going into a sewer to save baby ducks as officers did this past spring near Mid- way Airport and working more than three weeks without a day off during the Cubs World Series run in October, there are many magnificent and magnifiable moments and achievements from 2016, including:
Financial focus: Angelo Sr. notes that union leadership did what it promised when coming into office in 2014: reducing its salaries by more than $500,000 during the course of its term. “It was a big push toward getting this
union back on track by making the positions not about the money,” he asserts. “It’s got to be about doing the right thing for the membership. It easy for people to say it. It’s much more important to do it by your actions.”
Focus on retired members: A major step in continuing to get the backs of retired members came with the intro- duction of Lodge 7’s new retiree healthcare plan in Octo- ber. The culmination of more than two years of research and development has enabled many retired members to have a plan that allows them to choose their own doctors, their own hospitals, their own pharmacies and reduces out-of-pocket expense by up to 75 percent.
The Lodge recognized the work of Source One’s Jack By- rnes to bring the plan to fruition and his ongoing effort to respond immediately to any questions from retired mem- bers. There is still some concern about retired members who didn’t have the opportunity to enroll for various rea- sons, but Angelo Sr. pledged that the Lodge will take a per- son-by-person approach until they all have the healthcare that is available.
Looking across the table: Part of the job for Lodge First Vice-President Ray Casiano, Jr., is meeting with the De- partment on grievances. Rarely a week goes by when he isn’t sitting with or talking on the telephone to a member of the administration. It is here that Casiano has seen a notable improvement for the union.
“I think we have been able to speak to management in a way that has brought back dignity and respect to FOP Lodge 7,” Casiano indicates. “I feel we have gained some territory through our professionalism, and we have gained
34 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2017