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Financial Secretary’s Report
A reminder to keep your records organized
I hope the year is going well for you so far. I certainly will be happy to feel the warm weather come back into town. Knowing Chicago, though, it probably will be September before it starts to warm up.
We held a Grievance Committee meeting on March 15 with the following results: The com- mittee decided to withdraw seven grievances, go forward with six grievances and defer one. The deferred grievance was for an incomplete request
for a review of discipline form. After a grievance is filed, the City sends us the CR investigation file. All the records connect- ed with the complaint should be in the file. The City also sends a response letter stating the reason for rejecting the grievance.
In this case, the City stated that the grievance was not filed in a timely manner. The contract states: “The grievant will first submit his or her grievance in writing to his or her immediate supervisor in his or her unit of assignment within seven (7) of the Officer’s working days following the events or circum- stances giving rise to the grievance or where first known by the
grievant, or thirty-five (35) days, whichever period is shorter.” The City submitted the stated form, which was signed and initialed by the officer with a box (not a checkmark) and no su- pervisor’s signature. The committee, with the provided infor- mation, voted to withdraw it. The officer then came in and ad- dressed the committee, and the incomplete form was shown to him. The officer then stated that he had a completed form in his paperwork and would get it to us as soon as possible. The officer brought in the form within a week, and we submit- ted it to the City. The City then accepted the correct form, so
we may now go forward with the grievance.
This is a reminder to all you officers involved in CR investi-
gations to keep all the records that you are given in a file. This is certainly not the first — and won’t be the last — time that the City’s files might be incomplete. This is a good example of a knowledgeable officer keeping track of things.
St. Patrick’s Day party. The FOP St. Patrick’s Day party was a wonderful success, with “Buck ‘N’ the System” playing great music all night long. If you did not get a chance to stop by, plan for next year. It is never too early! Thanks to everyone for helping with the party: Cricket, Denise, Harold, Mike U., John D., Fernando, Jimmy J., Danny, Jason, Greg and Maria, Mark T., Johnny Capps and everyone else involved.
Honoring Dr. King. Finally, April is the time to remember one of the greatest leaders in modern history. Dr. Martin Lu- ther King Jr. led the civil rights movement, which led to the fight for equality rights for all minorities and genders. I can only imagine, if his life had not been silenced so tragically, how much more advanced society would be in recognizing equality on all levels. On his holiday, I like to see all the work that his efforts wrought; but during this month, I feel the sad- ness of a great loss.
With this said, when a political cartoon writer uses a great leader’s image to tarnish and insult the image of the police, it fills me with outrage. When I became the police, I wanted to protect our neighborhood and try to bring security and safety to all citizens. I am not unique in this thought; there are plenty of officers doing hard work every day to make our City safe.
The cartoon had a Police Officer in a vehicle pointing a gun at the Martin Luther King statue in Washington D.C. What sort of ignorance does the media possess to group all Police Offi- cers in that manner? They are the type to perpetuate the hate and ignorance that have no place in our society today. Foster- ing anger and confusion over situations that require conversa- tion and communication needs to stop.
MICHAEL GARZA
Knapp Medical Center
You Take Care of Us...
We Take Care of You and Your Family
We take our commitment to you PERSONALLY
• Serving Chicago Police Officers and their families since 1957
• We accept Approved CPD Health Plans and all Private Insurance
• On-site Pharmacy
• On-site lab for bloodwork and EKG
• On staff at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center and Illinois Masonic Medical Center
• Convenient Location with Free Parking in rear
Knapp Medical Center LTD Keith C. Knapp, Jr, MD
3303 S Halsted St • Chicago, IL 60608
Hours
Monday 8 a.m.–6 p.m. • Tuesday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday 6 a.m.–5 p.m. • Thursday 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Friday 8 a.m.–3 p.m. • Saturday 8 a.m.–Noon
CALL NOW for an appointment: 773-890-0800
COMMITTED to serving CPD members and their families
12 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2018
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