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CHICAGO LODGE 7
Official Magazine
President’s Report
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE #7
EXECUTIVE BOARD
KEVIN GRAHAM
President
PATRICK J. MURRAY
First Vice President
Martin Preib
Second Vice President
Jay R. Ryan
Third Vice President
Greg Bella
Recording Secretary
Michael P. Garza
Financial Secretary
John Capparelli
Treasurer
Dean C. Angelo, Sr.
Immediate Past President
Sergeants-at-Arms
William Burns James Jakstavich Michael Mette
Trustees
Harold Brown Andrew Cantore Mark Donahue William Dougherty Pat Duckhorn Sergio Escobedo Fernando Flores Joseph Gentile Danny Gorman Ken Hauser Rick King Frank Quinn Carlos Salazar Ron Shogren Mark Tamlo Daniel Trevino Michael Underwood
Field Representatives
Robert Bartlett Rich Aguilar
Making sure you are safe
There really aren’t enough words to praise our members, who not only continue to do their jobs amid the COVID-19-challenged world but have stepped up even more. You remain undeterred in your mission to protect your communities and serve those who need your help, like the thousands of seniors you have delivered food and sup- plies to the past few weeks.
I can tell you this: I don’t think Chicago Police Officers have been treated right by the Department and the City in the wake of the pandemic. They should have had more protections in place long before we got to this point. The City has refused to listen to the FOP when we asked to close the lobbies of police districts and to provide us with reasonable protection in terms of equipment and protocols.
We asked to do away with roll calls. As I write this, they’re still having them. By the time this issue is published, maybe the Department will have done the right thing and cancelled them.
It’s maddening to me, but we have had disagreements with the City over best practices related to protecting our members when they’re on the job. I was on a teleconference with the mayor, and she told me I was wrong. I was reading from the CDC website as we were speaking. And even though I told her the information was coming from the CDC, she said, “That’s not what my experts are telling me.”
We are doing everything possible to push for protections and medical benefits our members who might need to be tested and/or test positive. As county and state public health officials are recommending, if anybody has symptoms, they should be tested.
We are doing as much as we can to protect our members. We have provided them with 200 gal- lons of hand sanitizer. We also picked up 100 gallons of hand sanitizer for Illinois State Troopers, for which Lodge 7 will be reimbursed. They already have picked up their sanitizer.
Most importantly, we are telling members that if you are not feeling well, you should stay home. If you’re not well, go on the medical. Don’t worry about it; we will determine whether it’s IOD or medical. But don’t go to work if you are sick.
We have heard that the Department cancelled some days off on the weekends. Right now, days off are not cancelled, but we do expect changes. As of this writing, there are no 12-hour shifts and no cancelled days off. But if problems persist, we believe some days off will be cancelled and over- time will be offered.
And know that we are talking with medical professionals about best practices. We are complain- ing to the City about not following best practices. Officers do not have to go in if they believe they will be subjected to unreasonable workplace conditions. We have worked with our attorneys to come up with criteria that determine whether officers are being placed in unreasonable danger due to the spread of COVID-19, and we are prepared to take legal action if necessary.
There are a couple of other issues that need to be addressed.
Contract negotiations have come to a halt. I spoke with the Department’s chief of staff at the end of March, and we going to do what we can to get contract talks back on track. We’re going to have to limit the number of people coming into the meetings.
I anticipate getting the contract talks going. We have negotiated everything on the table. We have submitted our request for an arbitrator, but the City has not responded. The City might be trying a little delay of game because we have a pretty strong position going into arbitration.
I also want to clarify the process governing the Lodge 7 election. There is an election committee in place that operates independently using a third-party company to administer the voting and tal- lying of the votes. The committee has control over the election. It has its own independent attorney and arbitrator.
They’re the ones who make the determinations on the election. I realize that they have decided to delay the count in the runoff because they need to get people from the company to come in and finish the election. That is their decision. And right now the company can’t do that. It is up to the election committee and I have no sense how long the delay is going to be.
The newly elected board members were sworn in on April 7. We were not able to have an installa- tion ceremony, but they have taken office. The election for president was not resolved by that time, though all ballots were in by April 3.
Finally, I am so grateful for the hundreds of condolences over the recent passing of my father. He had a big influence on my life, and I am really appreciative of all your thoughts, wishes and prayers.
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2020 5
KEVIN GRAHAM