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page report for every stop are noble and definitive objec- tives for 2017. Given the right political climate, the Lodge plans to take on these goals with a direct and level-headed approach.
“If we can be consistent, truthful and fair with our mes- sage and come to the table with facts that can’t be disput- ed about why things should be the way we request versus other ways needs to be the continued approach,” Casiano insists. “The Department wasn’t created yesterday, and we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. But it’s running on a flat and the rim is sparking. It’s still going that route, and that’s why we have the information we have; to make some real change.”
Objectives in the road are not bigger than they appear:
Casiano evokes his deliberate optimism when basing his perspective about what’s ahead on his feeling that Chica- go has the best patrol officers and detectives in the world who just need to be given the opportunity to do their jobs. And that has injected a cautious optimism, and even ex- citement, about the objectives ahead at 1412 W. Washing- ton Boulevard.
“One of the things I’m looking forward to in 2017 is the new contract,” Casiano concludes. “This will be one of the most important agreements to be negotiated since our first one back in 1981. We have the right man for the job to lead this union through the negotiation and keep the union right on track.”
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