Page 35 - APRIL 2019 FOP MAGAZINE

John M. Dineen
“They laid the foundation and each one of them added bricks to build the house,” extolled Jim O’Leary, who started his 31- year career with the Department two years before Chicago be- came an FOP Lodge in 1963.
And Ken Hauser, a former Lodge 7 trustee who was Dineen’s first partner on the job, praised: “They have the police and the membership in their hearts.”
When Graham began this historic day at 2 a.m. responding to the scene where off-duty Chicago Police Officer John Rivera had been murdered, it was another of the 24/7 tours your presidents have unconditionally put in to relentlessly fight for better work- ing conditions. It’s what has led to the right of members to ap- peal discipline penalties and not have to pay for their own law- yers. It’s what has kept supervisors from taking out their wrath on rank-and-file officers by making them work every weekend. It’s what changed being made to work overtime into being paid to work overtime.
“The work they have done is historical. They’ve changed the profession of law enforcement,” declared Dennis Fitzgerald, who started his 33-year career with CPD in 1968. Fitzgerald is a grand knight in the Knights of Columbus Chicago Police Coun- cil, and it was his idea to honor the FOP presidents for achieve- ments that positively affected so many lifetimes.
“When I came on the job, we didn’t have any benefits. And now we have so many benefits,” he continued. “They have done all the hard work. They fought all the battles with the city, coun- ty and state. And they’re most deserving.”
Collective effort
In the brick-by-brick evolution of Chicago Lodge 7, fair work- ing conditions, wages and benefits came as a result of the foun- dation Dineen and Nolan constructed. Donahue calls them the cornerstones. Pillars would also be appropriate. “I was fortu- nate enough to come after John Dineen and Bill Nolan, so we had our cornerstones all set,” Donahue confirmed. “We were in a good position.”
O’Leary recalls that position being somewhat adverse before Dineen became president. The police were at the whim of May- or Richard J. Daley, who didn’t even pay them for working over- time, let alone offer reasonable benefits, wages, protections or reasonable ability to take care of their families.
Consequently, in the late 1970s there was no collective bar- gaining. As Dineen often recalls, it was collective begging.
“When we started back in 1981 and won the first election to represent everybody, and I woke up the next day and said, ‘What the hell did I do?’” Dineen quipped with that great wit he’s had for all of his 82 years. “Really, the accomplishment is what we were able to do for the police officers, and it really professional- ized the women and men who do the job. We created seniority,
William J. Nolan
strengthened the pension and did a lot of other things the City is right now trying to take away from us.”
When asked to recall the greatest achievement of his presi- dential lifetime, Nolan cited the way the City resented the FOP for initiating collective bargaining. Law required the City to have to follow the contract, and in the ‘80s and ‘90s, a collective bargaining agreement proved to be a win-win-win;
“I think it came to the point where it helped the City, helped the police and helped everybody,” Nolan explained. “All I know is that being a police officer today is a lot better, not only from me but from all the presidents we’ve had.”
Donahue, Angelo and Graham each gave it up for their prede- cessors when considering how far Lodge 7 has progressed from the begging era. One of the notable accomplishments was No- lan leading the effort to purchase the old Woolworth’s building on West Washington Street and turning it into the present FOP hall and offices.
The Donahue administration worked to pay off the note on the purchase of that building. And he said it’s been a continuum of building ever since.
“Nobody does this job alone. You build upon what comes be- fore you. And like I said, I had a good base before me, with John and Bill,” Donahue expressed. “I think we did very well by the membership and moved them up from our base that we had already established into the 21st century of law enforcement.”
Angelo gained substantive union exposure serving as a field representative in the Dineen and Nolan years. He said he often drew from their counsel, having worked the riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention to navigate the union though one of the most difficult seasons ever with regard to vio- lence against the police and lack of respect for the police.
He learned to lean on an approach that has become a for- midable operating principle for Lodge 7. “This organization continues to move forward by continuing to build bridges that allow officers to have the best support, the best equipment, the best training and the best relationship with the population that they service,” Angelo noted.
Having been passed the baton, Graham confided how he has not been left holding the bag because of the presidential legacy. “One of the things that makes my job a little bit easier is all the hard work of the presidents that came before me,” he praised. “Every one of the presidents had something to offer FOP and made changes that enhanced our members’ benefits. If I had to worry about various things that have already been done, it would be that much harder and our members would be at a dis-
advantage.”
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