Page 5 - January 2021

CHICAGO LODGE 7
Official Magazine
President’s Report
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE #7
EXECUTIVE BOARD
JOHN CATANZARA
President
Michael Mette
First Vice President
Daniel D. Gorman
Second Vice President
Fernando Flores
Third Vice President
Rob Noceda
Recording Secretary
Jim Jakstavich
Financial Secretary
Dennis McGuire
Treasurer
Dean Angelo Sr.
Immediate Past President
Sergeants-at-Arms
Nenad Markovich Frank Quinn III Daniel Sheehan
Trustees
Harold Brown John Capparelli Pablo Claudio Frank J. DiMaria David DiSanti Mark P. Donahue Patrick Duckhorn Tim Fitzpatrick Dan Goetz Ken Hauser Tom Lonergan Brock Merck Steve Olsen Monica Ortiz Dan Quaid Ron Shogren Daniel G. Trevino
Field Representative
Andrew Cantore
We have only begun to fight
My fellow Lodge 7 members, those of you who have continued to serve so bravely and heroically through the endless summer of canceled days off, under the attack of rioters they refused to prosecute and even though the City refuses to compensate you fairly: Allow me to offer a state of our union as we begin 2021.
Nearly eight months ago, we launched the great Chicago FOP comeback. I stand before you to confirm that morale at Lodge 7 is higher than it has been in a long time, and support for the Lodge is booming. It’s like someone walking through the desert has finally found a cup of water. We continue to get phone calls, emails and visits from officers saying, “Thank you for the voice,” “Don’t give up” and “Keep fighting the fight.” The resounding message for 2021 is to keep fighting the fight.
Our goal, first and foremost, is to represent, and to do that we have brought a very high level of customer service to our members. It has come in so many ways, including gestures like on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, when we cooked meals so those working could stop by the FOP hall and partake during their lunch break. We also dropped food off at several districts. It gave us a chance to use our newly rehabbed kitchen and let members know that as long as they are working, we are working for them.
The state of members’ morale received a boost in December with the agreement the Lodge reached with the Department on a time-off initiative, which increases the maximum number of officers allowed to be off from 15 to 30 percent. This is for District law enforcement only, and here’s how it works:
• Officers will submit requests 14 days or more prior to the time-off date(s).
• They will be granted or denied time no less than seven days prior to the day requested.
• Manpower will be augmented similar to a Violence Reduction Initiative (VRI) by areas. Of-
ficers can sign up to work their RDOs or furlough segments. As long as there are enough
volunteers, all requests will be granted – up to 30 percent.
• Volunteers will come from district of assignment first and then patrol if needed, and strictly
by seniority.
• Time off requests CANNOT be denied as long as manpower is available. The volunteer list
must be exhausted before days off can be canceled.
This is covered by a Memorandum of Understanding and is protected by the grievance and
arbitration procedures. It has a guarantee through the end of 2022.
Some details are still being addressed. The FOP will maintain a copy of the volunteer lists to
monitor proper enactment of the program.
The time-off initiative was our baby to solve the problem of it being at the discretion of the
watch commanders. It gives everybody a chance to count on time off to schedule getaways and vacations. And it gives everybody who wants it a chance to make a lot of money.
Non-reformists
The state of police unions is another conversation. The attacks from Washington, D.C. are not even as loud as the ones coming from Springfield, a lot of them resulting from a large Democratic majority trying to pass a lot of nonsensical legislation.
We’ve been aligning with a group of law enforcement professionals to put forth our own version of legislation. We’re not using the word “reform.” That means we’re doing something wrong. They are trying to set us up with complicated processes which allow us to only do so much.
We are trying to lead a discussion about police “modernization,” working with a law enforce- ment coalition that includes voices who wouldn’t necessarily be on the same page. Sheriffs and chiefs of police, not necessarily rank-and-file, but this is an attack on everybody. We are going through what needs to be done so everybody goes in with the same voice.
The whole point of terminating the contract with our former lobbyist is because it never made sense to me that we are not down in Springfield ourselves pitching our case to lawmakers. I don’t
JOHN CATANZARA
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2021 5