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Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
‘You can achieve whatever you want’
n BY KAREN JENKINS
Her friends all went home after school. But 16-year-old Mireya Lipsey passed their backyards and pools while heading to the daily grind — her part-time bank job — after the final bell rang.
Lipsey commuted to the bank day in and day out before mov- ing into industrial supply with W.W. Grainger a couple of years after high school graduation.
“I started working pret- ty young,” she expressed. “It taught me that with hard work, you can achieve whatever you want.”
Lipsey grew up in an apart- ment with immigrant parents from Ecuador, who served as her most trusted role models in self-motivation. Her moth- er worked at a bank, while her father owned and operated a driving school.
When Lipsey was in high
school, they were able to move
from their family apartment to
a Cook County townhouse in
Niles. She made a promise to
herself that she would be able
to provide a house with a big backyard and a pool for her future family.
“[Seeing my friends’ houses] gave me twice the mo- tivation to achieve that,” Lipsey divulged. “That’s what I wanted to give to my kids.”
But after the monotony of working and going to school, Lipsey knew that if she wanted to provide for a future family, she needed something more to sink her teeth into and fuel her passion.
Her best friend from third grade had joined the Chicago Po- lice Department two years prior, and the thought of not being tied to a desk all day intrigued Lipsey.
“She loved the freedom of being outside to help people and the excitement of it, because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Lipsey shared. “I liked that it was something different. It would be a challenge every day — that’s what drew me to that. And I liked that I could help people.”
At the age of 34, Lipsey decided to officially commit her life to public service on Sept. 11, 2000, in the 11th District.
On her first day on the job, she was working patrol with a field
training officer who told her that drugs were an issue in their part of town and walked her through, spotting drug dealers.
“And then all of a sudden he’s like, ‘Oh my God, did you see that?’” Lipsey recalled. “And I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t.’ And he said, ‘That guy just sold drugs to that other person.’ So that was kind of my first taste of what went on here.”
Lipsey went on as part of the 11th District gang Team for five years before testing to be a de- tective. She remained on the 11th District gang Team for an additional 10 years during a freeze on promotions.
Lipsey formed deep person- al relationships with residents, even giving out her cell phone number to help with tips about drugs and gang-related activi- ties in the 11th District.
“There was kind of a trust built there,” she affirmed. “It was pretty neat, because you know everybody and they like you after a while, because they know you’re there for them.”
After a whirlwind 15-year ten- ure in the 11th District, Lipsey was promoted to de- tective in 2015. Her pace of life — with a 6-year-old and 4-year-old twins at that time — was ready to take
a breather.
When she first started on the job, she loved the breakneck
pace of her day to day. But once her children were born, she found that the investigative end of operations fit better into family life.
“When I was younger, my world revolved around being the police,” Lipsey admitted. “Now I have the three kids at home, and my world revolves around them.”
And as the diligent detective works every day to efficiently piece together the elements of an investigation, she remains just as committed to hard work as her 16-year-old self was, driv- ing to her part-time bank job after school.
But now when she drives home from work, instead of going past her friends’ backyards and pools, Lipsey gets to walk into her own kept promise of providing a comfortable life for her children.
“That’s what I have now,” she conveyed. “My kids, they are my world. I get to work and be here. It’s a great life.”
24 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ OC TOBER 2020
DETECTIVE
MIREYA LIPSEY
Star # 21307 Unit 640