Page 15 - February 2017

THOMAS
THOMAS
McDONAGH
MCDONAGH
The morning of Jan. 13 brought the release of the Department of Justice’s report on the Chicago Police Department. The initial reac- tion among those familiar with the structure and operations of Chicago’s city government and its agencies (including the CPD), and the media’s perception of the mayor’s office, is that the report is comparatively weak and thin on substance. Its principal findings, as reported in
olution, why isn’t it inclusive of all Chicago citizens? How come there is no mention of Catholic or Protestant resi- dents of Chicago?
Not surprising, the alderman representing the 47th Ward, Pawar (my alderman), was the main sponsor of this gibberish. This is the same individual who recently an- nounced that he will be running for Governor of Illinois. This is an individual who couldn’t get a bulb changed on a streetlight, but has some very lofty goals.
DOJ Report thoughts
the two local rags, are:
• Training is inadequate, specifically related to de-
The resolution was mainly an anti-President Trump, “feel-good session” for the aldermen in attendance. This was the day after President Trump tweeted that he would send in the feds to help Chicago manage its violent-crime problem. Apparently this did not sit well with the elected crew at City Hall. Alderman Pawar referred to President Trump as a Caligula figure. Did Pawar use this term because Caligula was a proponent of political and public reform? Or was it because he built aqueducts and repaired walls in ancient Rome? Alderman Ramirez-Rojas chimed in, stating that President Trump should create jobs for peo- ple of color instead of locking up more black and brown people. I was stunned as I sat there listening to this fresh- man alderman make these baseless statements. Alderman Mitts reminded everyone that African-Americans need to be at the forefront and that they have been underserved for generations. Mitts said she would like to be added as a
sponsor to this resolution.
Alderman Arena stood up in support of this resolution,
stating Chicago is a sanctuary city that welcomes all citi- zens. Well, Alderman Arena, according to the dictionary, a citizen is a legally recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth, either native or naturalized. How about we worry about making Chicago a safe city and then worry about the sanctuary tag later. There may not be many citi- zens to welcome to Chicago if we do not get some control over the violence that crippled the city in 2016.
The unity resolution also took aim at the Chicago Police Department, calling for the end of the unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policy. The resolution is committed to end- ing the over-criminalization of colored communities and advancing efforts to reduce the number of individuals in detention systems. The unity resolution urges the City Council of Chicago to vigorously oppose all federal efforts that conflict with these efforts. You would think that the elected officials of a city that has been under the micro- scope because of intense violence would be open to any help they can get. Our elected officials need to realize that President Trump is going to be around for four years whether they like it or not, so they better start making de- cisions that are in the best interest of the city before it’s too late.
St. Jude stickers
St. Jude stickers are available for purchase at $7 each. For more information, contact me at 312-733-7776 or e-mail tmcdonagh@chicagofop.org d
cisions about the use of force continuum.
• CPD merit promotions facilitate the promo- tion of clouted, often incompetent individu-
als to leadership positions.
• A “code of silence” is observed by most in the
Field Representative
CPD.
The training issue is the direct result of inadequate
funding. The city does not want to spend money training us. They have survived all these years without opening their pockets–why would they start now? The merit sys- tem has been teeming with nepotism since its inception and now the fruits of the poisonous tree are abundant. There is little admiration for many of these “30 percen- ters” because they are poor leaders and have failed to earn any respect. The motto “given, not earned” should replace “we serve and protect” on certain squad cars. Maybe we should take a page from the Fire Department’s playbook and only allow a career maximum of one merit promo- tion.
The “code of silence” narrative that pops up when the Chicago Police Department is mentioned has zero merit. This unsubstantiated term was blurted out and somehow stuck. It now appears in every defense lawyer’s complaint verbiage when police officers are sued. We are not a crew of desperados singling out certain groups because of their color. We are protectors of those that cannot protect them- selves, regardless of color. We distinguish between good and evil. Apparently the DOJ report needed some filler, therefore it was mentioned and must be fact. What a joke.
Perhaps most startling was the lack of statistical data. Cross-tabulations are commonly used in reports of this nature to establish objective, quantifiable evidence of al- leged patterns and practices. Where’s the data? The report is entirely anecdotal and is indicative of a conclusion in search of premise, which leaves those conclusions open to doubt. This report is supposed to be the largest pattern and practice investigation ever conducted by the DOJ. I am not impressed.
City Council
I attended the City Council meeting on Jan. 25 to find out what, exactly, a unity resolution was and why the Committee on Human Relations was championing it. The crux of this resolution is that the national political climate is producing fear and anxiety among residents of Chicago, particularly among people of color, immigrants, Muslims, Jews and the LGBT community. If this is in fact a unity res-
REPORT
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2017 15