Page 7 - FOP JUNE Newsletter

would like to offer up a special thank you to the Illinois State Memorial Committee for all of its hard work, dedica- tion and research. Every year the committee does every- thing that needs to be done behind the scenes without recognition or reward. So we would like to take a moment to personally recognize the committee members: President Dave Johnson (retired Sangamon County Sher- iff ), Vice-President Dave Allen (Secretary of State Police), Treasurer Bob Crouch (retired Springfield Police Depart- ment), Secretary Mary Anne Blair (representative for the Family Survivors and Village of Woodridge Trustee), Past President Robert L. Dilley (retired Springfield Police Department) and Sergeant-at-Arms Joe Dominguez (Illi- nois State Senate).
Bill 777. This vote is huge for the future solvency of our pension. The political battle lines in Springfield were drawn a long time ago. Getting anything passed is difficult enough, but to get the non-partisan support that was required to override a veto was, once again, huge.
If you were in attendance, then you had a chance to hear one of the most on-point and moving presentations that we have heard in several years. One of our own, John Gor- don, who is the brother of CPD Officer Michael P. Gordon (EOW: Aug. 8, 2004) and the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Manager spoke about the meaning of family. He also spoke about the last time he saw his brother Michael before he left for his last tour of duty. As if John’s words about his family and his brother weren’t fitting enough, his addressing the elected officials’ inability to rec- ognize what police officers mean to the safety of our com- munities was something that was truly unique and extremely meaningful, especially with what police officers now face in 2016. Thank you John; your words were incredible.
We could not be more pleased that the elected officials took on this fight. So many hours and dollars were spent on securing the best possible measures to ensure that the pension for our current retirees, their spouses, those who came on the CPD a short time ago and those coming on the job now have a pension. Experts from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (Ralph Martire and Vasyl Markus) who assisted us have shared that this fix is not per- fect, but if they could write a fix in keeping with the current financial environment; the design behind SB 777 is a good design.
National Police Week
Be Safe and God Bless the Police
Once again, the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D. C. offered everyone in attendance another week full of moving and memorable events. In keeping with all of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes with minimum appreciation; we wanted to point out a few of our own that put in long hours each and every year to make the National Memorial the amazing event it is, The Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police National Offi- cers President Chuck Canterbury, First Vice-President Jay McDonald, Second Vice-President Les Nerri, Treasurer Tom Penoza, Secretary Pat Yoes, National Secretary, Ser- geant-at-Arms Roger Mayberry and the National Family Auxiliary President Linda Hennie put in tons of hours for many months before the actual event so that when every- one arrives, things go off without a hitch.
We would be remiss if we did not also recognize the incredible support given by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.).
Legislation
As mentioned in the past, the arrival of your monthly Chicago Lodge 7 Magazine can be delayed because of something that might be so pressing that the issue at hand needs to go into the President’s Report. One such issue happened over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend. Not precedent-setting for this governor, because another not- so-important-to-him bill was vetoed before, but the legis- lature did in fact override Governor Rauner’s veto of Senate
An entire team worked with Lodge 7’s lobbyists to secure this victory. Lobbyists from Local 2 (CFD), the City of Chicago, the State Lodge and even the PBPA worked toward securing enough votes of support for the override. Phones never stopped ringing, text messages were con- stant, conversations between us and the House and the Senate and City Hall took place during the entire Memorial Day weekend. Work went on as if everyone was literally in their offices. We are so very proud of the open communi- cation, professionalism and partnerships that were neces- sary to get this done. Sorry for the delay in the delivery of the magazine, but...what a weekend! d
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2016 7
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