Page 5 - December 2020

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
They passed a budget to defund us and then said they wouldn’t pay us... Now, they are going to pay
Brothers and Sisters,
As I previously informed you, the city was told to respond by 3 p.m. today
about whether the 11.5-percent offer was achievable or not and what it would take to make that happen. Clearly, they have not been bargaining in good faith. They waited till EXACTLY 3PM to send their reply today. They have rejected that offer as unreasonable. In return, a response was sent to them. The city was in- formed that the 11.5 percent is now off the table for good, and we are reverting to our original counteroffer of 17 percent. Any and all discipline reform talks are also now off the table going forward. Those two issues will end up in arbitration at some point. We will continue to negotiate parts of the contract wherever pos- sible. When we a hit wall on all matters, we will then proceed to arbitration on
whatever has not been resolved.
All this after the mayor twisted enough arms to get her budget passed this afternoon which
not only increased property taxes but also cut over 600 CPD sworn jobs from our budget. That is a quasi-defund the police move, and 29 aldermen voted for that budget. Their names will be published tomorrow.
Most members have read this post from our Facebook page that went up on Nov. 25. Some I have talked with about the City rejecting our proposal to settle the financial part of the con- tract and the city council’s simultaneous passing of the 2021 budget know that the post is the expletive-free version of my response.
Citizens will feel the City has spit all over them with the cutting of 600 jobs that are per- manent losses. We’re already having officers leave more frequently than ever before, already depleting the ranks. Now, with making no effort to fill those vacancies, we will see the same effect we experienced when Rahm cut 1,100 jobs out of the budget.
When this mayor took over, we needed more police. That created a hiring frenzy and a major influx of young officers who are all working together, still learning to be the police. They are working hard and doing the best they can, but the learning curve has created some gaps. It does not make any sense not to have a steady flow of replacements. Without it, the City will have to hurry up and play catch-up down the road and eventually realize that’s not going to work.
Considering what the Department is looking to do with the constant creation of new units, it’s easy to say that we need another 1,000 officers. To fulfill the requirements of the consent decree, we need more manpower in the districts. Robbing the districts to put together city- wide units decimates the districts more than ever before. These strategies make no sense. There is nothing cohesive among the Department, the City and the mayor’s office. They are obviously making it up as they go along.
I believe this all falls on the mayor’s office. The buck always stops with the mayor. I think even within the Department, if there were people who are proposing ideas, they are being yeah-or-nayed by the mayor. It’s the reality of life.
JOHN CATANZARA
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2020 5