Page 15 - February 2018 FOP Newsletter

Field Representative’s Report
The importance of voting
With the upcoming primary elections on March 20, I wanted to reach out to the members about the utmost importance of casting your vote in the election.
To illustrate the importance of showing up at the polls, you just have to look to what unfolded on the Northwest Side in the 45th Ward. Back in 2011, the current alderman and a Chicago Po- lice lieutenant were in a heated runoff election.
When the votes were tallied, the alderman now in charge of the ward won by fewer than 30 votes over one of our fellow officers. Many of our members didn’t take the time to vote in the election. Had they done so, we wouldn’t be where we are now.
Now the alderman of that ward is upset with members of his community opposing a large multi-unit building project. The ward, which is already congested and filled with over- crowded schools, now has an alderman who has been trying to push, against the zoning code, a 170-unit building in an area that doesn’t have the capacity to handle the increased density. The residents have voiced their concerns over the issue to the alderman, who, according to some people in his ward, has been unwilling to heed their concerns. Instead, in an attempt to quiet these residents, the alderman has hired a public relations firm to deflect their concerns and to at- tempt to make the issue about race.
This alderman and members of his staff have worked with this PR firm in what has appeared to be an attempt to label these residences as racists. The alderman and members of his staff have gone as far as to file CR numbers against 31 of our members, trying to silence these members and other residents from exercising their First Amendment rights. The Lodge is now fighting to restore these officers’ good names.
The situation in the 45th Ward illuminates just how im- portant it is to vote.
Next, I would like to bring to your attention the impor- tance of party ticket in this primary. If you take the time to go on the Chicago Board of Elections website to see the bal- lots for the individual parties, you will come to find quite the lopsided ballot. The main reason is the fact that no one in Cook County is running for judge on the Republican ticket, nor in many other races. Of the Republican candidates run- ning in races, only a handful have another candidate run- ning against them.
If you feel strongly that it is important to vote for the Re- publican candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and possibly a couple other races, then do so. But if not, I en- courage you to pull a Democratic ballot in this primary. In doing so, you have the opportunity to affect who will pre-
side in cases that you have before the courts. We have a large group of ASAs, with whom our members have worked for many years, who are in need of our votes. These candidates for judge can have a drastic difference in future proceedings. If you take the time to look at the ballots and the Lodge’s endorsements, you will likely see familiar names whom you have worked alongside. You know the kind of judge that this City needs.
There are 51 locations across the City that will have early voting starting March 5, and Election Day is March 20. To find your polling place for Election Day or for early voting, visit chicagoelections.com.
If you are not registered, you can do so online at ova.elec- tions.il.gov. It only requires your driver’s license number. So please take the time to look at the slate for the judges who are running and the Lodge’s endorsements. Most impor- tantly, get out and vote. d
ROBERT BARTLETT
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2018 15