Page 28 - May 2017 Newsletter

P traits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
n BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Visits from the police usually
meant trouble on the south side of Englewood where Janice Wil- son grew up. But when law en- forcement came knocking in her neighborhood, sometimes on her own household’s door, young Wil- son was elated by the presence of her heroes in uniform. She be- lieved that there were no prob- lems that couldn’t be solved by the police.
“I always looked up to the po- lice while growing up,” Wilson recalls. “I knew that they were the good guys that were coming to protect us.”
Frequent run-ins with the po-
lice as a child prompted Wilson
to dream of becoming an officer
when she grew up. She and other
neighborhood kids would watch
as plainclothes officers in un-
marked cars cruised through the
streets of the 7th District. They
called them “the dicks,” short
for the detectives, and imagined
what it would be like to be behind the wheel of those vehicles, patrolling incognito to keep the community safe.
WILSON
the very town where her dreams to become a police officer manifest- ed. Today, Wilson is Englewood’s business and community liaison for the Chicago Police Depart- ment. Of all the units she’s worked on and all of the accomplishments she’s achieved as a woman in law enforcement, Wilson has never felt more satisfied than with the position she is in now to serve the community.
“I must say, it’s one of the most rewarding positions I’ve ever had on this job,” she states. “I get to work with the community in a way that I’ve never been able to do before, in a capacity where you’re making a difference and able to see the difference that you’re mak- ing.”
Wilson is one of many District 7 officers who has dedicated her free time to help out the “Englewood Angels,” a family of three sisters, ages 7, 2 and 1, who were found abandoned in a home on South Greene Street without electricity,
Sky’s the limit
JANICE
Star# 11352
running water, or food on Nov. 6, 2016.
“To take care of those girls and help provide for them, it really has been a life-changing experience for us,” says Wilson, who babysits for the three girls and now views them as her own family. “We get to touch so
many people’s lives through this type of work.”
In addition to helping members of the community, Wil- son has made it her mission to lift up other women in law enforcement. In January 2016, she founded the Chicago As- sociation for Women in Law Enforcement (CAWLE), where female officers come together to share their strengths, strug-
gles and perseverance on the job.
“Usually the women are the caretakers of the children and
the household...and we’re police,” stresses Wilson. “We have really big jobs to do at home and at work.”
Wilson’s 5-year old daughter attends every CAWLE meet- ing. She’s learning quickly that there is no limit to what she can achieve in this world. But, as Wilson says, there is still a lot of work to be done to reach gender equality in the work- force.
“The work never ends, especially for gender relations,” Wilson shares. “But, I will always tell my daughter that she can be whatever she wants to be. The sky is the limit.” d
Years later, after applying to become a police officer while studying family law at the University of Illinois, Wil- son learned that those undercover officers dressed in T-shirts and blue jeans were actually members of special units. And in 2004, she became one of them, first as a law enforcement officer on bike patrol in the 4th District, then on the Mid- night Violence Suppression Team, the Mobile Strike Force Unit and finally the gun team in 2009.
Her family and friends always encouraged her to pursue her goals in law enforcement, but men on the job were not always apt to accept a female within the ranks.
“I’ve always worked with guys who, at first, didn’t want to work with me,” shares Wilson, who came across male offi- cers in her career who didn’t want to have a female partner. “But, after they saw how hard I work – how dedicated and committed I was just like they were – and that I can hold my own, they really respected me. I gained the respect of my col- leagues very quickly.”
After having a daughter of her own, Wilson was asked by the 7th District Commander Kenneth Johnson to return to
28 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2017