Page 37 - December 2020

Points of Review
Bringing 2020 into focus shows that the toughest year ever for Chicago Police Officers was filled with many memorable moments for them and their union
By Mitchell Krugel
Mainstream news media headlines record a bleak, disre- spectful, even angry 2020 for Chicago Police Officers. As Chi- cago Lodge 7 Trustee Tim Fitzpatrick characterized the year that sucked, it was like taking all the bad stuff that happened during his 22 years on the job and scrunching it into the past 10 months.
The year of living dangerously shed the anguish of the pan- demic’s unprecedented risk and the worst riots in the city since 1968. And it could easily be remembered by the rioters spitting on the police and throwing frozen water bottles at them. Or the media staging an ongoing reel of anti-police narrative. Or the onslaught on the Columbus statue that sent dozens of officers to the hospital. Or a summer and beyond of cancelled days off.
Or those endless tours on the front lines where, with no relief in sight, members – male and female – were forced to relieve themselves in alleys.
Above and beyond those story lines, however, Lodge 7 casts perhaps a more virtuous review of 2020 with its own provoca- tive headlines.
“Get the Picture” detailed the Lodge 7 board’s decision in Jan- uary to post billboards at 10 intersections throughout the city advertising “Help Wanted. Cook County State’s Attorney.” It put focus on the FOP’s efforts to admonish and oust Kim Foxx for letting too many offenders back on the streets.
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