The
following articles appear in the current monthly FOP newsletter.
By Mark Donahue
The first half of the 93rd
General Assembly closed out on Friday November 21st after failing to
pass our pension legislation. Due to
the fact that there has been so much information, some true and some not true,
floating around about this very important subject, the factual elements that
have transpired during this past year will be relayed for your benefit in
understanding where we are at in obtaining this pension benefit.
At the direction of the Legislative
Committee and the Board of Directors, HB 2239 and SB580 which both called for
the increase of maximum benefits to sworn members of the Chicago Police
Department to 80% and increasing the annual percentage formula to 2.5% for all
years worked, were re-introduced in the 93rd General Assembly this
past January. Also introduced was
legislation calling for the minimum benefits for widows to be raised from $800
to $1200 per month. Shortly after
introduction we began to lobby representatives of the City for their support of
these issues in Springfield with the desire to have an agreed to proposal for
the Legislature. The importance of “agreed to bills” is reflected in the
decision making process that had been established by the Legislature in forming
the Pension Laws Committee which sought such agreement in all proposals that
they would eventually approve. In order
to garner the support of City Hall on this issue the Lodge was well aware of
the fact that this would be a process of negotiations. Accordingly this issue was also presented as
a proposal in the collective bargaining process in May of this year at which
time the response from the City was that no pension legislation would be
negotiated in the collective bargaining process. Although this has been made a point in past negotiations, the
reality is that this issue had been addressed there before.
During the negotiations with the City
over these issues it became apparent that if the Lodge was to be successful in
gaining their support, we would have to address and resolve any and all
issues/problems that were raised by the City in reference to the benefit. The big issue for the City became the cost
of supporting our proposal and those costs included: additional training costs
for what they perceived to be a potential “rush for the door”; the hit to the
Pension Fund with lower paid new hires replacing more tenured officers and most
importantly; paying off the overtime that has accumulated for those who would
take immediate advantage of the benefit.
This figure alone was estimated to be about 24 million dollars, a
liability that the City admitted was their biggest concern and one that they
also admitted was caused and needed to be corrected in the future by them. A non-economic concern of the City was the
potential “brain drain” for the Department if many of the tenured officers did
accept the benefit. That concern was
summarily dismissed by high ranking members of the Department.
Talks relative to addressing these
concerns of the City centered around what the Lodge felt would be a significant
savings to the City in particular to their Corporate Fund from which all
payroll and key expenditures come. In
addressing this concern with the Board of Directors and the Legislative and
Political Action Committees of the Lodge, the numbers that we had devised as
far as savings to the City, would be enhanced for argument s sake if we had an
actuary legitimize them and so the Lodge did just that. The end result of hiring the actuary and
presenting those figures in discussion with the City representatives was that
they agreed with our numbers and recognized the savings but those savings were
felt to fall short of the savings the City was seeking. In continued talks they had recommended
forgiving the additional contributions to the Police Pension Fund that were
agreed to in a paper transaction made in 1997.
That transaction, to which the Lodge was part, consisted of the City
seeking to bolster the funds of both the Police and Fire Pensions which at that
time were about 60 and 48 % funded respectively. At the same time, the Municipal and Laborers Pension Funds were
over-funded at the rates of over 100%.
The City offered to divert funding from the Municipal and Laborers Funds
into the Police and Fire Funds at the rates of $50 million to each fund over a
period of 15 years. Those diversions
began after the passage of the appropriate legislation, always necessary when
changing pension provisions, in 1999.
The trade-off for this agreement for the members of the other funds was
to raise their maximum pension benefit to 80% and the advantage for the City in
negotiating this was to foster the Police and Fire funds so the City’s bond
ratings would improve and ultimately result in lower rates when they borrow
money. Since that time, as mandated by
legislation, the Police and Fire Funds have each received in excess of $27
million. This money does not reflect
any member contributions, matching rate contributions from the City or interest
earned on those funds as some of our members have been led to believe.
The other suggestion that was made dealt
with the paying out of accumulated overtime only for those members who would
retire in the first year. Those
payments would be made over a period of 2-3 years easing the financial burden
on the City as well as giving some tax advantages for those who did retire if their
accumulated overtime payout was in excess of a not yet determined figure.
After the close of the Spring session,
the committees of the Lodge decided to identify the issue/issues that would be
pressed for the veto session and they and the Board agreed that it should be
the 80% and Widows increase bills. To
that end, the Lodge sought to do all it could to succeed in getting those
enhancements. The actions included
contacting all State Representatives and Senators as well as members of the
City Council with our findings as to these bills being a win-win agreement for
both the membership and the City. There
was a flurry of activity in making personal contact with a great many of these
individuals and getting a positive response from most of them as to their
support of our agenda. On Friday,
October 31st while in a meeting with the Mayor’s representative and
the Budget Director, the question was raised as to whether we would be
interested in receiving the pension formula we were seeking, 2.5% for each year
worked, but retaining the maximum pension at 75% which would reflect working 29
years and a day to reach maximum pension, down from the current 32. Also included in the offer was a raise for
the Annuitants and the Widows who receive the minimum pension, of $100 per
month in ‘04 and another $100 per month in ’05 and the promise to clear up the
language for the mandatorally retired members who failed to receive a
previously passed benefit due them in ’00.
The City backed off discussion to pay out overtime over a 2-3 year
period but insisted on the forgiveness of the remaining deferment into the
pension fund. The City then informed
the Lodge that it would have to run the offer by the Mayor and the following
Monday, November 3rd, we got a call that the Mayor had signed off on
the offer. The Lodge then informed the
City that we would have to run the offer by our Board and time permitting the
Unit Reps before we could give them a response. Discussion on the issue was extensive at the Board meeting on
November 4th and “all” aspects of the offer were discussed. After such, a vote was made by the Board to
make a recommendation to the Unit Reps at a meeting that was scheduled for
Thursday, November 6th, to accept the offer of the City. The motion did not receive any no
votes. At the Unit Reps Meeting
discussions lasted 3 hours in which all of the details were addressed at least
once. After there were no more
questions from the floor, the Unit Reps overwhelmingly voted to accept the
offer and the decision was tendered to the City.
The Legislation was drawn up in an
“omnibus” pension bill and contained not only the agreed to language pertaining
to us but benefits for the Firefighters, Municipal and Laborers Funds and the
Park District Fund. Aside from the
Police and Fire issues which were basically the same except for the
Firefighters to resolve their “Brass Bill” issue and getting their duty
availability made pensionable, the issues for the other funds were devised to
avoid the layoffs that have taken front row in the news media. The issues addressing these 5 pension funds,
all from Chicago, were attached to SB 1704 as Amendment #1 by Speaker
Madigan. Every effort was made to keep
this amendment free of any other pension issues as it reflected no cost to the
State of Illinois. On November 18th,
16 members of the Board of Directors went to Springfield to lobby support for
the passage of this bill along with representatives of the Firefighters Union
and Municipal Laborers Unions. On 19
November I testified at the House Personnel and Pensions Committee where that
Committee voted to adopt by a vote of 8-0.
That same day it was sent to the floor of the House for a vote. After a show of force by the Republicans,
who wished to attach a downstate teacher pension issue to it, it failed to get the
required votes and was then placed in postponed consideration status which
meant that the vote would be officially taken at a later time. After several more hours of “reasoning” with
the House Republicans by significant Democratic members of the House and those
of us in attendance, when the bill was again considered it passed
overwhelmingly. The House Republicans
[downstaters] sent a message to leadership that they wanted their issues as
well as Chicago issues to be addressed.
The bill was then sent to the Senate and that is where the most
despicable actions that I have ever seen occurred. After testimony was heard
in the Senate Insurance and Pensions Committee on November 20th, several of the
Republican Senators mimicked the concern of being able to pass their agendas in
the Democratic dominated legislature.
They all openly agreed that the issue was important to the people of the
City of Chicago and for their sake they would not oppose it and the vote in Committee
came back 6 voting for, 0 voting against and 4 [Republicans] voting
present. The bill was then sent to the
floor of the Senate where after getting the support from key Republican
Senators, the vote was taken and, as in the House, it lacked the necessary
votes and was placed in postponed consideration. The problem with the Republican Senators was that their leader,
Frank Watson, held them together for no other reason than his disdain for the
City of Chicago. He would not even let
his contingent vote for the bill which all agreed would cost the State nothing
-- and save the jobs of 1100 City workers.
On November 21st the vote was again called for and unlike
what happened in the House, the 2nd vote also failed. Several collar community Republican Senators
who stated their support, voted no or present [which in this case was the same
as a no vote]. The only Republican
Senator who would not fold to the pressure of his caucus leader and saw the
necessity in passing this bill regardless of party affiliation was Sen. Kirk
Dillard. Simply put, the majority of
the Senate Republicans took a relentless position against the City of Chicago
and exhibited no concern for the well being of its citizens who also happen to
be citizens of the State of Illinois.
This issue will be addressed again in the
Legislature in January with the assurances of House Speaker Mike Madigan who
led this fight in the House, as he told us he would, for improving our pension
benefits. The Speaker was able to
secure the House vote on the formula issue and increasing widows and annuitants
benefits by 25% over the next 2 years.
In January, unlike in the veto session, a simple majority is required
and as long as we hold the Democratic support, we should prevail. The Speaker has vowed that he will continue
to drive to see that this legislation is passed by the Senate and signed into
law when the legislature re-convenes in January. Based upon the confirmed support he gave in getting this bill as
far as it went, there is no need to doubt for any less in January. Senate President Emil Jones also staunchly
supported this bill as was evidenced by his testimony on the Senate Floor. His argument was overcome by the vile
display of unconcern by the majority of the Senate Republicans.
It is true that this bill does not
contain an enhancement for all of our members, and that is the reason we will
continue to address these issues, to gain improvements that will impact them as
well. Not only is the 80% bill not a
dead issue but greater consideration will be given to compounding the COLA
increases now that the Lodge has received revised financial reports that
positively impact the issue for the retirees.
The work we did this year will serve us in the future as we revisit this
issue with the legislature. The current
enhancement once passed, will positively impact about 11,000 members now and in
the future and all that will come afterwards.
This is the most significant change to our pension that has been
negotiated in the past 20 years and the members that you elected, after having
been fully advised of the issues were given an opportunity to have a voice in
accepting or rejecting it. That choice
may not please everyone, but it was made after being informed and in the best
interest of the membership of this Lodge.
I would like to take this opportunity to
wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a very Healthy, Happy and
Prosperous New Year. Especially at this
time of year, time is the most precious commodity you can spend on your family
and friends, please spend it wisely.
Vice
Presidents’ Article
By
Bill Dougherty, Frank DiMaria and Greg Bella
There has been a change in
department policy regarding going on light duty when you are pregnant.
Unfortunately not even the department knows exactly what the new policy change
is going to be. We have been working on getting a copy of this new policy from
the Medical Section, MLAS and the Legal Department and should have some
resolution to this problem shortly. In the past a note from your doctor stating
that you were pregnant was enough to put an officer in a light duty status. The
Medical Section now requires a medical reason(back pain,sore feet,etc) in order
to place you in a light duty status. This medical reason most be written in
your doctors note in order to be placed on light duty. No officer should be
placed in a no pay status because they are pregnant. We should have resolve on
this soon, so stay tuned to the newsletter and website.
Before an officer signs
his/her IOD report, make sure that the report is filled out properly. You must
show in your IOD report what police function you were performing at the time of
your injury(traffic stop,responding to a call, placing an offender in custody).
List all the body parts that were injured on your IOD report. If your IOD
report is filled out wrong, and you don't discover it until the next day, write
a To-From report to your District Commander informing him/her of the
discrepancies in the IOD report. Always make a packet for yourselves when you
are injured on-duty. You may need copies of your reports at a later date. If
there are witnesses(police or citizen) that witnessed your injury, get their
information in case you are denied.
After the Lodge has demanded
arbitration on your grievance because it couldn't be resolved at mediation, the
next step is that an arbitrator be selected. After the arbitrator has been
selected a date is set for the arbitration. The lodge then prepares the officer
for the arbitration. We have had officers contact the Lodge one week before the
arbitration and tell us that they didn't want to proceed. If the lodge cancels
the arbitration the lodge must pay a cancellation fee to the arbitrator. On
average this fee is $1000. The Lodge has in most cases 30 days before the
arbitration to cancel the arbitration with no fees. If for any reason an
officer doesn't want to proceed with their arbitration please contact the lodge
so that we may keep our costs down.
The following is a list of
fraternal benefits offered to Sergeants and above who wish to become members in
the F.O.P.:
FOP calendar book, window
stickers and ID card
Invitations to the Annual
Picnic at Santa’s Village, the Annual Fishing Tournament and the Annual Golf
Outing.
Monthly Newsletter
Quarterly Newspaper
Life Insurance Policy
Legislative Lobbying
Local and State Levels
The cost for the fraternal
membership is $50.00 annually.
Those who are interested for
membership should contact the Lodge.
Administrative Officer Street Deployment
The Department plans
on deploying up to 1000 Police officers who are currently working non bid
administrative positions to be assigned to a fixed post in the middle of a drug
market. Officers if you are called upon
to serve in this broad attack upon the drug trade keep Officer Safety your
number 1 priority.
When assigned to this
Operation the Department says it will issue each officer a radio and put them
out into the street to sit at a known Narcotics Spot in a marked squad car to
deter drug sales and to chase the drug dealers from the area. Officers when given the pieces of
equipment (car and radio) go over it thoughoughly and ensure that it is working
properly. Do not take out squad cars
that are unsafe or radios that are substandard. Officers never position your self in harms way. Police Officers Safety and Street Survival
is our Number 1 priority!
Finally after fourteen months, two rulings from the arbitrator
and the case being sent to the Police Board Cornelious and Green were
reinstated on 24 Nov 03 and will receive full back pay. Both men and the Lodge had their patience
and will stretched to the limit but in the end we prevailed. There was a little blurb in the Sun-Times
that stated that they were put back to work, nothing like the headlines that
put them in jeopardy. You won’t read in
the newspaper about the mental anguish and financial hardship that the city put
on these men and their families but in the end, family and friends is what got
them through this ordeal. Hopefully now
that this case is over the truth will finally come out as to what really
happened.
The City has notified the Lodge that the new verbal abuse
order will take effect early in 2004.
We are waiting to see the final draft.
If you are notified to appear at OPS or IAD to give a
statement for an on duty incident or an off duty incident where you took Police
action and whether you are the accused or a witness you are entitled to representation. Call the Lodge with the date and time of
your statement so that an attorney can accompany you.
When a C.R. number is sustained with a penalty recommendation
and your option is the DSP or the CRP always check the box for the DSP. If you are not satisfied with the results of
the DSP then the next step is to request the CRP.
By Sidney M. Davis
The Davis Family extends its hearty wishes for a
joyous Christmas Season and New Year to all members (active and retired). Please keep all members who are in the
military and away from home in your prayers.
Remember it is the season for giving,
extend yourself this season and make Christmas a happy one for a needy
family. G-d bless you and be safe.
This month’s issue of FOP
Newsletter contains the 2004 Holiday / Event Calendar. A few changes have been made. Members having any suggestions to make it a
better calendar, please contact Sid Davis in writing at Unit 541. Thank you.
The date for the 2004 FOP
Fishing tournament has been set for Wednesday 9 Jun 2004. All members who anticipate fishing, please mark your calendars. This is a change in date from previous
years.
Special Order 03-10A, which
is a revision corrects the erroneous reference that officers in the personnel
concerns program are prohibited from participating in the voluntary special
employment program. Officers in the
personnel concerns program may request to participate in the voluntary special
employment program provided they are otherwise eligible. Officers on suspension, summary punishment,
medical roll, limited duty or convalescent duty are prohibited from
participating in the voluntary special employment program.
College Courses
Harold Washington College
Spring 2004 registration will be held from 17 Nov. to 17 Dec. 03, Mon-Fri.,
0900-1400 hours, at the Education and Training Division, 2nd
fl. After 17 Dec., registration moves
to the main campus at Lake and Wabash, Room 102. Picture I.D. and star are required at time of registration. Classes start 12 Jan. 04.
Try a healthier nog. Love the taste of eggnog, but not the fat,
calories and cholesterol? Consider a
soy-based nog this holiday season. A
4-ounce glass of commercial soy nog (such as Sammi’s Best Soy Nog and Silk Nog)
has only 60 to 90 calories and about 2 grams of fat-virtually none of it saturated-compared with 170
calories and around 10 grams of fat (6 saturated) for the traditional
stuff. For a homemade nog, use vanilla
soy milk, tofu “ice cream”, rum extract, and nutmeg.
The following events listed
will occur from 08 Dec 03 thru 09 Jan 04.
For further information on any events posted below contact the Lodge
(312) 733-7776, and ask for Sid Davis.
09 Dec 03 Italian American Police Association Meeting
09 Dec 03 Latin American Police Association Meeting
11 Dec 03 13th Period Begins
15 Dec 03 Chicago Police Ski Club Meeting
16 Dec 03 FOP General Meeting (Noon)
17 Dec 03 PEB Financial Seminar (Deferred
Compensation)
17 Dec 03 Detective Association Meeting
17 Dec 03 Recognized Openings in Districts and Units
19 Dec 03 Recognized Vacancies / Transfer Bids
(Citywide)
19 Dec 03 Overtime pay for (26 Oct – 22 Nov)
22 Dec 03 First Day of Winter
25 Dec 03 Holiday (Christmas Day)
01 Jan 04 Holiday (New Years Day)
06 Jan 04 FOP Board Meeting (11 a.m.)
06 Jan 04 Polish American Police Association Meeting
06 Jan 04 Chicago Police Marine Association Meeting
06 Jan 04 German American Police Association Meeting
07 Jan 04 Chicago Police Women’s Association Meeting
08 Jan 04 1st Period Begins
In the November newsletter I
wrote about the Lodge filing an Unfair Labor Practice Complaint against the
City, in regards to the intergovernmental agreement entered into by the City of
Chicago and the Chicago Park District.
This agreement transfers the authority to regulate traffic control on
Park District property from the City of Chicago to the Chicago Park District
and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. The Lodge has since filed an amended complaint, adding a season
ticket holder to the complaint. A
hearing in this matter has been scheduled for December 9 and 10, 2003 before an
administrative law judge of the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
We have received an
arbitrators’ decision on the Manpower Safety Complaint. This complaint was filed over a year ago,
due to officers’ being denied time due, and one man cars. In order to verify these complaints the
Lodge requested copies of the A&A sheets, Daily Watch Complement Reports,
and the duty assignment sheets. We felt
by comparing these documents to each other we would be able to accurately
determine if there was an actual manpower shortage. The department refused to turn over this documentation to
the Lodge. The Lodge then demanded
arbitration on this complaint under Article 9, Grievance Procedure, as opposed
to Article 15, Safety Issues. After
numerous discussions, and two continuances on the arbitration we finally have a
resolution in this matter. The
arbitrator has ordered that upon reasonable requests by the Lodge, specifying
date(s), incidents(s) and reasons for which information is sought under Article
15, the Department shall make available for inspection by the Lodge the
documentation we requested. In addition
to making the documents available for inspection , the Department will provide
copies of the A&A Sheets to the Lodge, related to the requests. The arbitrator also ruled that the documents
produced by the Department under this order are deemed confidential, and the
documents and the contents of those documents shall not be revealed by the
Lodge. Documents produced by the
Department shall be viewed only by the Lodge’s Grievance Chair, and the Counsel
for the Lodge. The contents of the
documents may be discussed with the Board of Directors for the purpose of
determining whether to take action under the terms of this agreement.
By John Capparelli
The new improvement to the handbook this year is that they are
spiral bound. This should eliminate the
ongoing complaint of pages falling out of books of years gone by.
The 2004 Membership Packet, which includes the Handbook, ID
Card and Window Decals, will be mailed to all Active members during the week of
December 8th. Retiree
packets will be mailed out to members during the week of December 15th. Inside the packet, members will find their
new 2004 Identification/Membership card.
This year, the member’s name and F.O.P. National Lodge ID
number are preprinted on the face of the card.
This ID number allows members access to the F.O.P. National Lodge’s
website, www.grandlodgefop.org. Member ID numbers are required for any
purchases you would like to make at this site.
Also, your membership card is required for the purchase of a medallion
in our own F.O.P. Gift Shop.
Membership cards are also required for entry into F.O.P.
sponsored events, like our Annual Picnic and Fishing Tournament. Please remember to peel the ID card off of
the information letter and put it in your wallet. Do not discard this ID card.
Also new in the packet this year, on the bottom of your
information letter, is the beneficiary information that we have on file for you
here at the Lodge. Please review this
information because this is who we will pay if something dire happens to you in
2004. If the name you see is an ex-wife/husband,
a deceased parent or spouse or just someone you no longer want as beneficiary,
please call Doreen at 312-733-7776 and request a new beneficiary information
card to be sent to you.\
The dues for Retirees remains at $25.00 per year and all dues
should be paid by February 1, 2004.
Dues for Sergeants and Above members who elected the Fraternal
Membership are $50.00. Dues may be paid
with cash, check, money order or credit card.
We accept MasterCard, Visa and Discover credit cards. Anyone wishing to pay with credit cards
should contact the Lodge after January 1 and submit the appropriate
information.
The surplus stock of Handbooks will be available for purchase
to anyone who wants one in our Gift Shop after January 1, 2004 and will sell
for $3.00 each. Any errors found in the
handbooks should be reported to this office as you discover them.
By Ken Hauser
The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is proposing that all public employers and pension funds that provide post-employment benefits (health care) be required to carry these as liabilities on an actuarial basis. Carrying these benefits in the public sector as liabilities will have a drastic effect on the bond ratings of the employers. When this happened in the private sector many employers eliminated retiree health care benefits. If the public sector followed the private sector by eliminating health care benefits this would create a greater under-funded pension liability to pension funds if they had to provide these benefits. This bill is still in Congress, I will follow this unwanted proposal and keep you informed.
In the State of Indiana, in an effort to
help pay the States’ share of teachers’ retirement benefits during the next two
years, lawmakers will remove $380 million from the Teachers’ Retirement
Fund. The pension fund’s executive
director stated that the legislators are digging themselves a bigger hole. The pension fund currently is under-funded
by almost $8 billion. This is what most
Pension Trustees would call a RAID.
Speaking of under-funded pension funds,
54% of public pension plans are under-funded; 18% of public pension plans are
less than 75% funded and almost half of all private pension plans are
under-funded. When giving thought to
the previous two paragraphs, do we need more proposals or actions taken to
under-fund our pension systems?
May your holidays have an abundance of
food and spirits enjoyed with good friends, little work and much family
time. Wishing you and your family
holiday happiness and good health in the New Year.
F.O.P.
Veteran’s Corner/Disability Report
By
PO Carlos “Sal” Saladino, Chairman
The best of health from
Committee members PO Kim Shemash, Trustee Rhonda Bullock, 1st Vice
President Bill Dougherty. We are
available for calls at the FOP office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. Check out the Disability Page link on the FOP web site, www.chicagofop.org, for beneficial
information.
An option is available, if
chosen by the police officer prior to retirement to reduce the officer’s own
annuity and, thereby provide a reversionary annuity, to begin upon the
officer’s death, for the officer’s spouse.
A reversionary annuity is in
addition to the regular spouse’s annuity.
Various conditions must be met:
1.
The election must be
made by filing a written designation with the Pension Board prior to
retirement.
2.
The election must have
been in effect for 730 days (2 years)
prior to the police officer’s death to enable the spouse to receive the
annuity.
3.
The police officer must have retired. Death before retirement voids the election.
4.
The death of the spouse
prior to the police officer’s retirement voids the option. If the reversionary annuitant dies after the
police officer’s retirement, but before the police officer, the reduced annuity
being paid to the officer shall be increased to the amount of annuity before
reduction for the reversionary annuity and no reversionary annuity shall be
payable.
5.
The police officer may
not reduce his own monthly annuity by more than $200 nor elect to provide a
reversionary annuity less than $50 a month.
This option is a chance that
your spouse will outlive you and that his/her annuity will be enhanced. If your spouse dies first, any money you
have put into this option you lose, and the monies taken out of your pension
will be brought back up to the level of monthly reduction taken out. For more information, call the Pension Fund
at 312-744-3891 or 1-800-656-6606.
Warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
to you and your families. Be safe.
Our thoughts and prayers go
to CPD members serving our country as military reservists and National Guard
members. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all veterans.
We had a big turnout for the
flu shots at the FOP Hall. Thanks goes
out to VA administrator Joe Bazil, his staff of nurses, VA service officer
Phyllis Taylor and FOP Recording Secretary Sid Davis (Sgt. Major) for their
work and valuable information for veteran police officers. Only two people cried and we all know what
branch of service they are in!
Veterans Day, Washington
D.C., marked the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s
Memorial. We attended a movie (actual
footage) with the nurses of the 12th Evac Hospital in CuChi; we were
oh so young then. November 10th
was the 228th birthday of the U. S. Marine Corps. We were very
impressed with the Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo
Jima). A special thanks goes to Vietnam
Veterans Bernie O’Donnell (chopper pilot) and Rich O’Brien (1st Cav)
for taking time to visit soldiers (injured in Iraq and Afghanistan) at Walter
Reed Hospital in Amputee Ward 57. The
most humbling experience for me was taking name rubbings from the Wall for
fellow police officers.
The Chicago Police Marines
fundraiser had a huge turnout at the FOP Hall.
There was plenty of drink and food (S.O.S.) and laughter filled the
hall. I have to admit these Marines
throw a pretty good party.
There is a public Pearl Harbor ceremony at Navy Pier on
Saturday, December 6 at 11:00 a.m.
Contact Aida Johnson for more information at 312-744-6699.
Airborne,
Sal
Retiree
& Pension Update
By
John Dineen
The
FOP and the City came to agreement on a Pension Bill that would have, among
other things, increased the minimum surviving spouses pension in 2004 to $900
and in 2005 to $1,000. This legislation
would also have increased the minimum retired Police Officers pension to $950
in 2004 and to $1,050 in 2005.
As
sorry as it may sound there are presently 81 Retired Police Officers making
less than $1,050 per month, with 51 Retirees receiving the minimum of
$850. For surviving spouses the total
is 1,891 receiving less than $1,000 with 1,581 receiving the minimum of $800
per month.
I
was in Springfield on November 18th to assist in an attempt to get
this legislation passed in the Veto Session of the Legislature. To pass any legislation in the Veto Session
it takes a super majority of 60% of the House and Senate voting in favor of the
Bill. On November 19th the
Legislation passed the House of Representatives and was sent to the
Senate. To pass in the Senate the Bill
needed 36 votes and on November 21st the Bill was called and could
only muster 31 votes in favor. As a
result of this defeat the Minimum Retirees and Surviving Spouses were denied
the miniscule increase in their pensions.
It will be back to Springfield in January for a new try at passing this
Legislation.
At
our November meeting the Pension Board approved pensions for 14 Officers.
This
brings the total retirement through November to 385 Officers. The total breaks down as follows:
Police
Officers 306
Sergeants 56
Lieutenants 13
Exempt 10
General
End of the Year Information
The end of the year is approaching fast and members will soon think about either selling or carrying over Personnel Days and Baby Furlough Days.
The number of years you have on the job determines how
many BFD days you will receive:
15 years or more 6 BFD
10 but less then 15 5 BFD
5 but less then 10 4 BFD
1 but less then 5 3 BFD
Probationary Officers: You will receive three (3) BFD days upon completion of your first 12 months of the probationary period. (Appendix P –Supplement to the Collective Bargaining Agreement).
Any Officer having an
anniversary during the year, which entitles you to an additional BFD day, will
receive the additional BFD day on your anniversary date.
At the end of the year you
may sell back ALL of your BFD days or any combination you desire. You may carry over four (4) BFD days for use
in the next year.
All Officers excluding
probationary officers receive four (4) personal days on the 1st day
of January each year.
At the end of the year you
may sell back ALL of your Personal Days or carry over ALL of your
Personal Days or a combination of the two.
The payment for BFD days and Personal Days will be the rate in effect on 1 Apr of the payment year. Officers are normally paid on 1 Apr of each year for all BFD days and Personal Days turned in.
Compensation for holidays are outline in section 11.2 of the contract book. Who has to work on a holiday and who will be off is determine by seniority. This is outline by the seniority provision of Article 23.7. Any member may contact Sid Davis at (312) 733-7776 regarding any of the above mentioned contract provisions.
CHAPLAIN’S CORNER
Do You See The Rose Or The Thorns??
A man planted a rose, watered it faithfully and before it
blossomed, he examined it. He saw the
bud that would soon blossom but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought,
"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many
sharp thorns?" Saddened by this
thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it
died.
So it is with many people.
Within every soul there is a rose; the G-d like qualities planted in us
at birth growing amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can
possibly come from us. We neglect to
water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone
else must show it to them. One of the
greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and
find the rose within others. This is
the characteristic of love -- to look at a person and know their true
faults. Accepting that person into your
life, while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help them to realize that they can overcome their faults. If we show them the rose, they will conquer
their thorns. Only then will they
blossom many times over.
Some people grumble that roses have thorns, some are thankful
that thorns have roses......makes you stop and think.
Let us take a moment, as we
reflect on the year gone by. We've had
some roses in our lives, we've had some thorns, thank G-d we made it. Thanks to each of you for your dedication
and devotion to your profession, and for being who you are. I close wishing you and your loved ones a
safe joyous holiday season.
May you get a clean bill of
health from your dentist, your cardiologist, the other M.D.'s, your plumber and
the IRS.
May your hair, your teeth,
your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure,
your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage
interest not rise.
May Friday evening, December
31, find you seated around the dinner table, together with your beloved family
and cherished friends, ushering in the new year ahead.
May you wake up on January
1st, finding that the world has not come to an end, the lights work, the water
faucets flow, and the sky has not fallen.
May you go to the bank on
Monday morning, January 3rd and find your account is in order, your money is
still there and any mistakes are in your favor.
May we relax about the future
and realize that we still have a long, long time until we pass, G-d willing.
May you be awe struck by
G-d's sense of humor as you wrestle with the possibility that a professional
wrestler could become president of the United States, and other mysteries of
life.
May what you see in the
mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.
May someone love you enough
to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about
your virtues.
May the telemarketers wait to
make their sales calls until you finish dinner, and may your checkbook and your
budget balance, and may they include generous amounts for charity.
May we all be blessed to
share good wishes again next year.
Amen.
Compliments Of Your Police
Chaplain, Rabbi Moshe Wolf 773-463-4780 or
Talking Heads
The couple were shopping for groceries and were trying to bypass the “impulse items” for sale as they headed for the checkout counter; no last second Dorito’s, no new pop or bottled water, beef jerky or candy. All they wanted to do was pay and go. He was The Police. She was The Secretary. They wheeled up to the counter, and The Secretary saw a girl in her late teens as the checkout girl. The Police saw a female gangbanger as the checkout girl. The Secretary didn’t even look at the bag boy yet, but The Police already had made him as a ‘banger’ too.
Ahead of the couple was an elderly woman, just finishing her
own checkout as our couple began to unload their cart onto the black rubber
belt. She was putting her purse and
small coin purse back together when the bagboy said, “You want me to open the
jars?” She said with a smile, “Yes,
please, if you wouldn’t mind…I can never get them open. I don’t know why they put them on so
tight…”. Eager to show his strength,
the bagboy opened each jar, breaking the vacume seal, then retightened the lids
so they wouldn’t leak. It was obvious
she was a regular shopper here, and the checkout crew knew her and she
purposely chose lane 4 to make her life alone a bit easier. She pushed her cart out the door. Eventually, our couple checked our and
headed to their car with their groceries.
As they placed their bags in the back seat and floor of the
car, the husband and wife silently knew that The Secretary and The Police were
on very different pages in the Book of Interpretation of Life. “Wasn’t that sweet of the kid to offer to
open her jars? People are good…they
really are!” she said. “Mmmhmmm,” said
The Police. Then it started; he and she
both went off in their own direction, mentally, and didn’t say another word.
No, it wasn’t sweet at all, dear, The Police thought, silent
and resigned. Didn’t you see the way
the female banger was looking in the old lady’s purse as she was getting her
stuff together? Didn’t you notice that
tattoo’s on the bagboy’s hands? I cant
keep all this gang stuff straight but I’ve put the ‘cuffs on enough of them to
know their skin scribbles. Two bangers
working the checkout counter, up to no good.
They’ll probably end up stealing the old lady’s identity or money or
credit card. Maybe burglarize her
apartment. A home invasion. Rob her on the way home and break her hip
and her future? Throw a little rock or
whatever in to the picture and rape wouldn’t be out of the question. Two punks trying to get next to an old lady,
that’s all. Two slick bangers working
together in an innocuous job, ready to victimize whomever presented themselves
as potential victims, thought The Police.
Good God, she thought, silent and frustrated. I just saw a beautiful, quiet, honest
moment, and he can’t even see it. It
wasn’t created by a public relations person.
It was just one human being’s kindness to another. They seemed to genuine! That bagboy didn’t have to ask the woman
about those jars. Nobody had to apply
any spin to that scene. The bagger
didn’t do it for publicity. After all,
no one even saw or heard what happened except us. It was sweet, it really was.
Good.
A little voice in The Police head asked quietly, almost afraid
to be heard: I wonder if she’s right.
Maybe I see evil everywhere. A
little voice in The Secretary head murmured: I wonder if he’s right. Maybe he knows things I don’t know anything
about. So she said with a patient,
loving genuine smile, “Dear, you just cant see the good in people, can
you?” And he said, “Honey, if you knew
what I knew, you wouldn’t go out of the house.”
Good exists. So does evil. Both are
real, and powerful. It’s a terrible
dryness of the soul to be unable to recognize them. The police world is a place rich in experiences, doing a job on
the street level that can drain or tickle the human soul two or three times a
workday. Sometimes we need to be
reminded that police work is one of the last exciting jobs left in America, one
of the few substantial jobs around, a job that can tickle or torment the
soul. It’s up to you, Officer.
May your holidays be enjoyable, whatever form they take. May your soul be satisfied with what you’ve
done that past year. May the year ahead
be your best ever. And may the good God
bless us all, most especially those of you who go out into the mix of everyday
life every day to Serve and Protect.
Respectfully,
Fr. Thomas Nangle, CPD
Chaplain
312-738-7588