ICOPs Police Bulletin - Illinois Council Of Police

ICOPS
POLICE
BULLETIN
Official Union Publication June 2007
ICOPs Welcomes Members from
Belleville, Granite City and Centreville
It’s an old story, but a new one too. Southwestern Illinois
College (SWIC) hasn’t jumped at the chance to commission
their campus public safety officers as police officers.
The college has about 25,000 students, and more than 2,500
employees. The primary campuses of SWIC are located in
Belleville and Granite City.
In December, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board
conducted an on-site union election, which resulted in a
unanimous vote for ICOPs to represent the college’s 39
public safety officers and dispatchers. The ICOPs chapter
officers are: Christie Stennett, president; Bryan Whitaker,
vice-president; Marc Ellington, campus representative;
and Jason Waters, campus representative.
At this point in time, ICOPs is servicing the members’ old
contract, which expired in October 2006. Negotiations for
a new contract are just beginning, and Stennett hopes the
contract negotiations are completed this year.
What do the new ICOPs members want? They want a fair
and equitable contract with wages that are comparable to the
surrounding municipalities and to other community colleges.
They haven’t had a pay raise since October of 2005. Equally
important, they want to be commissioned as police officers,
something the college has opposed. ICOPs filed a grievance
in February on this issue.
“According to the law, because we’re conservators of the
peace, we should be police officers,” Stennett says. The
unarmed public safety officers can make arrests, but the
county police must transport those arrested to the county jail.
Stennett says if they were police officers, it would create a
safer campus and would lessen the liability for the college.
The SWIC public safety officers and dispatchers were previously
members of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The
main reasons they changed unions, according to Stennett, is
that it made sense for them to be connected to a law enforcement
union, and there was a conflict of interest if it was
necessary to take action against an IFT member. She says
they had heard about ICOPs, checked out our website and
got in touch. Stennett has since found that ICOPs “always
makes time to talk to me and has been very dependable.”
The union is “open and honest about what to expect and
what not expect,” she adds.
“On campus, we are very proactive, which is why we have
slow days,” Stennett states. But crime has increased, especially
drug use, property crimes, alcohol and weapons violations,
and gang activity. In addition, Metrolink passes through the
campus from St. Louis and there are more vagrants.
Ironically, the campus public safety officers have received
extended police training, in part because one of the three
police academies in Illinois is located at the Belleville campus.
Almost all the public safety officers have a college degree;
many of them have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law
enforcement.
All are certified, state-licensed first responders, and fully
trained. According to Stennett, “We’re counselors, trained in
crisis intervention and to deal with mental illnesses. A couple
of us teach management of aggressive behavior for college
faculty and staff, and rape aggression defense classes for
women, as well as CPR. We also participate in the college
speaker’s bureau for the community on such issues as DUI
and stranger danger.”
In addition to serving
as a corporal in the
public safety department
at SWIC and
as ICOPs chapter
president, Christie
Stennett has plenty
on her plate. She is
the mother of three
girls, a 12-year-old
and twin 5-year-olds,
and is working on
a bachelor’s degree
in Administrative
Justice Management.
Continues on page 2
In photo are Corporal Christie Stennett with
Officers Marc Ellington and Bryan Whitaker. They work at
the Belleville campus of Southwestern Illinois College.

ICOPs Welcomes New Members
Continues from page 1
Centreville Police and Dispatchers
Join ICOPs
The police and dispatchers in Centreville decided to join
ICOPs, shortly after Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC)
public safety officers in nearby Belleville signed up with
ICOPs. But unlike SWIC, the Centreville force has never
been in a union, although they’d previously considered it.
In January, the Illinois labor board recognized ICOPs as the
representative of the Centreville police officers, a sergeant
and the dispatchers. Kiwan Guyton is ICOPs chapter president,
Perlisa Wright is vice-president and Tom Williams
is secretary.
Negotiations are beginning on contracts for police officers
and dispatchers. The top issue on the table, for sure, will be
wages, which are low and no raises have been given for several
years. Health insurance, staffing, professional education
and training will be on the table as well. Centreville police are
granted no incentives to further their education and training.
Chapter President Guyton knows that with any organization
it’s hard to bring in a union. But “we need to progress,
to have a brighter outlook, and to move forward,” he says,
adding “ICOPs lawyers are treating us right.”
An 11-year police veteran, Guyton says, “We work in the
intercity. There’s little money and few good jobs, which make
the crime rate go up. In other cities with less crime, police
make double or more coming in the door. In Centreville,
Retirees, Take Note
Last year, Congress enacted and the President signed the
Pension Protection Act of 2006, which incorporated the
Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety Retirees
Act. It could mean $750 yearly savings if you are in a 25
percent tax bracket.
Effective January 1, 2007, the Healthcare Enhancement
Act allows Public Safety Officers who retire at normal retirement
age or on disability to use up to $3,000 yearly on a
pre-tax basis to purchase healthcare insurance or long-term
care insurance. The premium must be paid directly from
your Pension Fund to a healthcare or long-term care
insurance company.
You will be sent a form that you need to fill out and
return to the Pension Fund in order to be eligible. You
must authorize the Pension Fund to pay your individually
purchased health premiums from your annuity in order
to receive the pre-tax benefit.
Source: Retired Chicago Police Association newsletter, Annuitant Trustee,
Ken Hauser
In photo, left to right, are Officer Mathew Storey, Dispatcher Benjamin
Zaring, Corporal Larry Kroenig, Officer Jason Waters and Officer James
Etherton, who work at the Granite City campus of SWIC.
everyone is trained and has at least five years of experience.
I’ve worked on the U.S. Marshall Task Force. Some of us
have 4-year degrees. We are a close knit department, but
when we leave work most of us go to another job. We
shouldn’t have to take another job in order to put food on
the table.”
Now a detective, Guyton started working for the Centreville
P.D. in 2003, when there were 18 police officers. Today,
there are 11 including the chief. “Police officers have left
to go where the money is better and we can’t recruit more
officers because of the money.”
“We want to be shown that we are appreciated in Centreville
by what we make on our check,” Guyton states. “Would
you put your life on the line for bare minimum? We do a
very good job. Regardless of how many calls, we treat people
fairly. We need the public’s support.”
Born and raised in Centreville, ICOPs Vice-President Perlisa
Wright has been with the police force seven years, two years
as a sergeant, and is raising a 13-year-old daughter. She also
works part-time as a public safety officer at SWIC, where she
first learned about ICOPs. “Everybody’s for the union,” she says.
Dispatchers hope stress eases up
“We’re a bunch of dedicated people who
do the best we can.”
— VALERIE GRAY,
CENTREVILLE DISPATCHER
Valerie Gray, a Centreville dispatcher, says, “We’re a bunch
of dedicated people who do the best we can. We do care and
we’re not doing the job for the money. We want the people in
the community to call on us whenever they need anything.”
The dispatchers, too, need second jobs “in order to make it,”
according to Gray. “We hope with the new union, our jobs
will be less stressful. Dispatchers hear so many sad stories.
So you have a lot of stress, and it doesn’t get easier with the
years. But with the union, we hope to come up with better
schedules, as well as better pay.”
2 ICOPs June 2007

from ICOPs President, Norm Frese
Bargaining for Health Insurance Gets Tougher
Our healthcare system in the United States is in a deep crisis,
and health insurance is rapidly becoming the toughest issue
at the bargaining table.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, thanks in large part to organized
labor, most private sector employees won health insurance
coverage. Law enforcement officers and other public
employees followed the lead, and began to catch up and to
exceed the private sector. For many years thereafter, health
insurance costs and coverage were relatively stable. Most
of us came to expect and take health insurance for granted.
We can no longer do so.
Nearly 20 years ago, health insurance rates began to climb,
slowly at first, then astronomically. Many factors have contributed
to the increases. Americans are living longer and
people generally need more care as they age. Technological
advances in medicine are magnificent, but very costly.
Insurers’ profits have risen dramatically, as have doctors’
insurance premiums for malpractice lawsuits.
The administrative overhead, waste and duplication of healthcare
providers and services have burdened the system even
more. In excess of one-third of the total U.S. healthcare
budget goes for administration — that’s extraordinarily high,
no matter whose figures you use.
ICOPs Contract Update
Negotiations for first-ever contracts
are underway for:
Centreville Police Officers and Dispatchers
Fox River Grove Police Officers
Lake Villa Police Officers
Other contract news:
Dixmoor Police Officers and Sergeants will begin
negotiations on a new contract shortly.
Island Lake Police Officers, Sergeants and Telecommunicators
are bargaining for second contracts.
North Aurora Police Officers have resolved several
grievances with management under their first-ever
contract won in 2006.
Southwestern Illinois College Public Safety Officers,
Dispatchers and part-time Officers are seeking their first
contract with ICOPs as their representative.
Stone Park Police Officers and Telecommunicators recently
began negotiations to renew their contract.
Willow Springs Police Officers have negotiated and
ratified a new contract.
Furthermore, today,
more than 45 million
Americans have no health
insurance and often only
get care in the most expensive
places of all, hospital
emergency rooms. While the
poor are insured through
Medicaid, the large majority
of the uninsured are middle
income working families to
whom no decent insurance
plan is available or who
cannot afford monthly premiums of well over a thousand
dollars for skimpy non-group coverage.
Yes, the healthcare system is at a crisis point. We all hear
about proposal after proposal to make the system work,
but in my view, most of them are patchwork. They won’t
fix a system which essentially needs some kind of overhaul.
Meanwhile, higher premiums have led many employers to
increase the employees’ share, and other companies to stop
group coverage altogether. The biggest hits in healthcare cuts
have been taken by private sector employees, whose rate of
coverage has fallen 20 percent lower than for public employees.
But that simply means our problem is right around the corner.
As police officers, we are not immune from this trend.
Many towns and villages simply cannot increase revenues
enough to pay rising healthcare premiums. If Illinois does
not find ways to reduce the cost of insurance, every town
and village will eventually end up choosing between cutbacks
in personnel or healthcare.
Regretfully, some of you will face difficult choices at the
bargaining table in the future. For example, in recent contract
negotiations, a village asked police officers to switch to HMO
insurance plans from more-expensive PPOs, because of a
large budget shortfall. ICOPs reviewed the village’s records
and books, and provided members with a thorough and independent
analysis of the village’s finances.
ICOPs cannot make such decisions for you, but we can and
will keep you informed, take a hard look at your employer’s
finances, and advise you. ICOPs will stand by you in whatever
decisions you make, and fight any arbitrary attempts by management
to cut your benefits.
In Solidarity,
June 2007 ICOPs 3

N EWS & VIEWS ON H EALTH AND S AFETY
Stop Stressing Me Out!
Job stress is nothing new; we’ve all experienced it. The pressure
to perform 100 percent day in and day out takes a toll,
but it comes with the job.
These days, with budget belt-tightening and police shortages,
law enforcement officers have been forced to shoulder additional
burdens in an already over-stressed work environment.
Public indifference or hostility, political interference, media
miscoverage, petty internal battles or poor management can
pile on the stress. The job, especially combined with such
added burdens loaded on, can cause job dissatisfaction and
serious health affects.
There are ways you can relieve stress.
Continue to learn on the job. Make the time to further
your education in law enforcement or other fields of interest.
You should feel that your job will lead you to some desirable
future. Whether that’s a promotion, doing your job better,
mentoring others, consulting or assisting youth in your community,
law enforcement work can become an educational
journey.
Laugh. That’s one of the best ways to ease stress.
Sharing jokes, watching funny movies with your friends,
reading the comics may help. Being able to see the humor in
situations enables many people to do their jobs better while
improving their mental and physical health.
Learn to relax. Deep breathing exercises and regular
stretching are easy ways to ease stress and relax.
Take leisure time seriously. Don’t use off-duty hours
to sit around and stew over the pressures of your job. Those
pressures will still be there tomorrow, so don’t bring them home.
Can Mediation Reduce Hostility
between Police and Civilians?
In several cities, “mediation” has a new meaning. Denver
sends cops and civilians who have a difference of opinion to
an impartial mediator. According to an April American Police
Beat (APB) article, “it’s working out great” and the city is
steering a growing number of police-misconduct allegations
toward mediation.
APB describes an incident where a rookie police officer
arrested someone in error. Instead of bringing in lawyers,
the complainant met the officer in a mediation session,
the officer apologized for the stress he inadvertently caused,
and the complainant heard the officer’s side of the story.
Denver’s independent police monitor calls the program a
“poster child” for the concept of community-oriented
policing. “For every citizen that mediates and is no longer
angry with the department, that’s another supporter in the
community to help the department accomplish what it wants
to accomplish.”
Last year, Denver mediated 39 of its 614 citizen police
complaints, bringing officers and their critics together in
library rooms, community centers and city offices to go
over complaints in the presence of professional mediators.
Police-civilian mediations don’t strive for an actual settlement
or written agreement. What they accomplish is to allow
civilians to hear the police officer’s side of the story, and the
police to hear out the civilians, including the dramatic impact
a false arrest can have.
It’s well worth monitoring how mediation works in the
long term. Efforts that successfully reduce hostility between
civilians and police are worth their weight in gold. To read
the entire article about mediation, go to www.apbweb.com,
“Got Hate, Mediate” by Cynthia Brown.
If Enforced,
Move-Over Laws Could Save Lives
In some states, drivers must whenever possible
move over to the center lane when they see the
flashing lights of emergency vehicles stopped on
the side of the highway, or drivers must otherwise
slow down below the posted speed limit.
Such laws are meant to keep patrol officers and highway
workers safe from being hit by passing cars. Unfortunately,
it took a growing number of workers killed on the nation’s
highways for states to begin to take stronger action.
Traffic accidents claim the lives of more police personnel than
any other cause of death in the line of duty, including shootings.
According to FBI statistics, 49 officers died in crashes
last year, and 13 of those were struck and killed by passing
vehicles while they worked outside their patrol cars.
In 2001, Wisconsin enacted a move-over law but few
motorists seemed to know of it and it was rarely enforced,
that is until last year. In 2006, two highway workers on the
shoulder of a road were killed, and a 29-year-old sheriff’s
deputy suffered severe head injuries after he was struck by
a car when responding to an auto accident.
The deputy’s family then took to the radio airwaves to raise
awareness about this critical safety issue and asked motorists
to respect the state’s move-over law. Wisconsin has since
changed some of its highway signs to read: “State Law:
Move Over or Slow Down for Emergency Vehicles.” It has
also increased its citations for violators to $252.
Move-over laws are a good idea that could save lives, but like
every good law, the public needs to be made aware of it and
why it’s important. In that respect, some states have dropped
the ball on move-over laws. It’s all about changing human
behavior. Wisconsin is taking steps in the right direction.
How about Illinois? We’ll report on Illinois in future editions.
4 ICOPs June 2007

Learning About and Handling Mental Illness
The tragedy at Virginia Tech demonstrates once again the
urgency for the public as well as law enforcement officers
to recognize and understand the signs of mental illness.
While doing so may not have prevented that tragedy, it would
improve the odds of making police officers and the public safer.
The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
has a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) initiative. Through the
CIT program, teams of law enforcement officers learn how
to deal with individuals who have a mental illness. The CIT
training is a one-week, 40-hour block of instruction. Topics
include mental illness recognition, substance abuse and dual
diagnosis, child and adolescent disorders, medications, developmental
disabilities, risk assessment and intervention skills.
In cities and towns with CIT programs, trained police officers
respond to calls involving mental health crises. At least one
CIT officer is usually available on all shifts. Such officers also
perform their regular duty assignments. A decrease in police
officer injuries is one of the positive results of CIT programs.
In 2006, 12 CIT teams operated
out of 73 departments with 860 CIT
officers in cities and towns throughout Illinois.
To learn more, contact the CIT Coordinator, Shelley
D. Daunis at citcoordinator@att.net or 773.549.0967.
Violent Crime Increases in Mid-Size Cities
Charlotte, St. Louis, Milwaukee and other mid-size cities
are experiencing a spike in violent crime. Are the chickens
coming home to roost?
As we’ve reported in previous editions, much of the federal
funding that once helped pay for local law enforcement programs
such as community policing has dried up since 9/11.
Midsize cities which depend more heavily on federal funds
than larger ones have nearly 25 percent fewer officers than
they did in 2001. Current White House budget proposals
would continue the trend.
Let’s keep the heat on Congress to adequately fund local law
enforcement programs and federal mandates. How about it,
shouldn’t hometown security and safety be first?
Fatigue and What You Can Do about It
One underestimated hazard of police work is fatigue, which
can lead to poor concentration, absenteeism, accidents, errors
and injuries. Those who work night shifts, split shifts, rotating
shifts and other non-daytime hours are affected most by fatigue.
Indeed, 22 million Americans work at least half of their hours
from 1800-0600 hours, and many of them are employed in
the most dangerous jobs, such as law enforcement.
Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD) is characterized by excessive
sleepiness when performing nighttime work and insomnia
during daytime sleep opportunities. SWSD occurs when the
normal 24-hour circadian rhythm is compromised. This cycle
regulates sleeping, waking, digestion, secretion of adrenalin,
body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and many other
aspects of bodily function. The cycle also affects thought
process, emotion and human behavior.
These rhythmical processes are typically coordinated to allow
for high activity during the day and low activity at night.
Disturbance of these rhythms may affect your level of concentration,
motivation and reaction time. Police officers who
work prolonged periods of overtime can suffer the symptoms
of SWSD even if they work the day shift.
While excessive sleepiness is the primary complaint of people
with SWSD, other symptoms include insomnia, disturbed
sleep schedules, irritability, anxiety, loss of patience, depressed
moods and frequent illness. Add this to the already higher
rate of heart disease and ulcers that shift workers experience
and you have a combination that endangers the health of
police officers and the communities they serve and protect.
Everyone has an inborn need to sleep. Many studies show
that most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per cycle.
Very few adults can function properly with less than five
hours of sleep.
You can take steps to minimize or eliminate the effects of
SWSD.
• Find time for short naps. Studies find that short naps help
people to perform their tasks more efficiently, make them
more alert and improve their mood. Some people may feel
groggy or drowsy after a nap, but the feeling usually fades
away within 15 minutes and the benefits may last for hours.
• Drink a caffeinated beverage early in the shift and try not
to rely on them all night.
• Brief periods of physical exertion such as
stretching exercises or climbing stairs can
help keep the body functions moving.
• If possible, don’t leave the most tedious
or boring tasks to the end of your shift
when you are apt to feel the drowsiest.
• Talk with partners and be on the lookout for signs of
fatigue in each other.
Shift Work Sleep Disorder is a serious issue that demands
attention. Take the time to evaluate your energy levels and the
quality of time you put on the job. Just knowing the symptom
and dangers of SWSD is half the battle.
Source: Pamela Kulbarsh, RN, www.officer.com
June 2007 ICOPs 5

The Funnies . . .
It takes all kinds!
Oops!
Aspen, Colorado, police officers tailed a 32-year-old woman
for driving erratically. The lady made a run for it and eluded
police by ducking into a residence. Unfortunately for her,
she chose the home of the Aspen police chief. There, she
was arrested and found to be carrying cocaine and drug
paraphernalia.
www.apbweb.com
Don’t mess with us
Along with a $50 speeding ticket, a motorist received in the
mail a photo of his car speeding through an automated radar
trap. The motorist sent the P.D. a photo of $50. The police
responded by returning a photo of handcuffs.
www.greenoaktwp.com
Sorry, can’t do that
A police officer pulls over a guy who is weaving in and
out of lanes. He approaches the driver’s window and says,
“Sir, I need you to blow into this breathalyzer tube.” The
man says, “Sorry, officer, I can’t do that. I am asthmatic
and would have a really bad asthma attack.”
“Okay, fine, I need you to come to the station to give a blood
sample.” “I can’t do that either. I’m a hemophiliac. If I do
that, I’ll bleed to death.”
“Well, then, we need a urine sample.” “I’m sorry officer I
can’t do that either. I am also a diabetic. If I do that I’ll get
really low blood sugar.”
“Alright, then I need you to get out of the car and walk a
straight line.” “I can’t do that, officer.”
“Why not?” “Because I’m too drunk to do that.”
www.angelfire.com
FREE
SPEEDING
TICKETS
AHEAD
It’s a sign of the times
Mount Holly, NJ, has introduced
some new road signs to get drivers
who ignore conventional warnings
to slow down. The town put up
brightly colored signs with such
messages as “Meet Our Judge — Exceed 25 mph” and
“Free Speeding Tickets Ahead.” Officials felt the old black
and white speed limit signs no longer registered with motorists.
www.police-sheriff-military.com
Greed will get ‘em every time
A man walked into a convenience store in Topeka, Kansas,
and demanded all the money in the cash drawer. After
seeing the take was small, he tied up the clerk and worked
the counter himself for three hours until police showed up
and arrested him.
www.lifeonthebeat.com
Snickers in the courtroom
A defense attorney cross-examined a police officer during
a felony trial. It went like this:
Q. Do you trust your fellow officers?
A. Yes, sir, I do, with my life.
Q. With your life? Let me ask you this then, officer.
Do you have a locker room in the station?
A. Yes sir, I do.
Q. And do you have a locker in that room?
A. Yes sir, I do.
Q. And do you have a lock on your locker?
A. Yes sir, I do.
Q. Now why is it if you trust your fellow officers with your
life, that you find it necessary to put a lock on your locker?
A. You see sir, sometimes lawyers have been known
to walk through.
www.policeguide.com
This girl is one smart cookie
A stranger, seated next to a little girl on an airplane, turned
to her and said, “Let’s talk. I’ve heard that flights go quicker
if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.”
The little girl closed her book and said, “What would you
like to talk about?” “Oh, I don’t know,” said the stranger.
“How about nuclear power?” “Okay,” she said. “That could
be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first.”
“A horse, a cow and a deer all eat grass, the same stuff.
Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out
a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps
of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?”
The stranger thinks about it and says,
“Hmmm, I have no idea.”
To which the little girl replies, “Do you really feel qualified
to discuss nuclear power when you don’t know shit?”
Jackie Marie Portman,
Office of Professional Standards, Chicago P.D.
Ouch!
A bank robber in Virginia Beach got a nasty surprise when
a dye pack designed to mark stolen money exploded in his
Fruit-of-the-Looms. The robber apparently stuffed the loot
down the front of his pants as he was running out the door.
“He was seen hopping and jumping around with an explosion
taking place inside of his pants,” said the police spokesman.
The suspect and his charred trousers are in custody.
www.butlerwebs.com
First grader pops the question
Tommy’s first grade class took a field trip to their local police
station, where they saw pictures tacked on the wall labeled
“The Ten Most Wanted.”
One of the youngsters pointed to a photo and asked if it
was really of a wanted person. “Yes,” said the policeman,
“the detectives want him badly.”
Tommy then asked, “Mister, why didn’t you keep them when
you took their pictures?”
www.angelfire.com
6 ICOPs June 2007

ICOPs Police Bulletin
published by .
ICOPs
ILLINOIS
COUNCIL
OF
POLICE
Norm Frese
President
T. R. Smith Executive
Vice-President
Henry ‘Sonny’ Harris
Vice-President
Joseph H. Kelley
Secretary-Treasurer
Richard Bruno
Staff Representative
Legal Staff
ICOPs
Noel T. Wroblewski
Richard F. Blass
ICOPs
227 West Spangler Avenue
Elmhurst, IL 60126
1.630.832.6772 telephone
1.630.832.6978 fax
1.800.832.7501— 24-hour
toll-free number
www.icops.org — website
icops@sbcglobal.net — e-mail
CREDITS: Editor, Kathy Devine,
Local 34071, CWA; graphic designer,
Judy Sviatko, Local 34071, CWA;
printed by Sommers & Fahrenbach
Please add my name to the
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mailing list.
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Mail to ICOPs at the address above.
Blue in Black and White
by Peter Thoshinsky (Turner Publishing Co.)
ICOPs Legal Plan
Application
ON THE
Cop’s Bookshelf
According to the American Police Beat, this amazing book of photographs
incorporating stories and poems offers a rare look into what life is like on the
street for police officers. The author captures the mixed emotions police feel
when protecting people who may despise them. He humanizes the police
force, while reserving judgment on the people we encounter. The book transcends
location; the images could be from any U.S. city and the cops could
be from any department in the country.
Sergeant Peter Thoshinsky is a sergeant with the San Francisco P.D. who has
served for more than 20 years as a member and supervisor of the SWAT Team.
Good Cops: The Case for Preventive Policing
by David A. Harris (The New Press)
In his critically-acclaimed book, Profiles In Injustice, Harris revealed how
racial profiling impedes efforts to catch criminals. In Good Cops, he shows
that the solutions to reducing crime, fighting terrorism and preserving civil
liberties are within reach if only the Department of Justice will listen. Based
on five years of research, Good Cops highlights how preventive policing has
succeeded on the ground all over the country. Harris punctures the myth
that public safety requires sacrificing our constitutional rights.
David Harris, a professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo
College of Law, has presented his research and solutions in police training
sessions around the country as well as to government bodies and commissions.
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Billed in 6 month intervals
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June 2007 ICOPs 7

INSIDE
Welcome to Belleville, Granite City
and Centreville members pp. 1-2
Pay heed to your health insurance p. 3
News & views on health
and safety pp. 4-5
The summer funnies p. 6
On the bookshelf p. 7
You’ll find more news
@ www.icops.org
ICOPs
227 West Spangler Avenue
Elmhurst, IL 60126
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Jim Ritz, On Retiring
Last year, Jim Ritz retired as commander of investigations
after 21 years with the Lyons Police Department. He knows
that villages should give retirees the benefits they’ve been
promised and should recognize people when they retire.
But Ritz knows from first-hand experience that neither of
those things always happen. When he retired, the village board
was demoting and firing police officers to balance its budget.
Ritz retired in order to save someone’s job.
Ritz was paid for unused vacation, holiday and comp time
days. His union contract also gave him the choice to take
time off or be paid for the sick time he had accumulated.
But the village called his retirement a “resignation,” because
he was only 46 years old, and then denied him the sick leave.
ICOPs attorney Rich Blass filed a grievance on behalf of Ritz,
who was under an ICOPs contract, and the issue has now
been settled. Ritz says, “I’ve gained a lot of respect for ICOPs.
Throughout this process, Norm Frese and Rich Blass always
let me know what is going on.”
Ritz also told the Bulletin that at one board meeting there
was a dispatcher who retired after 28 years, and she received
no recognition at all from the village. Sounding disgusted,
Ritz said, “It is really important to recognize people when
they retire.” He also hopes that all future contracts close any
conceivable loopholes that management could use regarding
benefits you’re entitled to receive upon retirement.
Island Lake Patrol Officer
Matt du Chemin is ICOPs
chapter president.
Island Lake Police
Seek Parity
in New Contract
The first-ever contract of Island
Lake police officers expired a
year ago, and negotiations for
a new contract began in October.
ICOPs contracts in Island Lake
cover patrol officers, sergeants
and telecommunicators.
Chapter President Matt du Chemin says the first contract
for police officers was beneficial, but hopes renewal of their
contract will bring them parity with the surrounding area.
Negotiations have been delayed, in part, because the village
has a new mayor and village board.
Du Chemin, who grew up near Island Lake, wants to stay
with the village police force if the wages can become and
remain comparable to the surrounding area. “I like the
camaraderie between the officers. We are like a family.”
He joined the force in 2003, after working four years for the
Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Du Chemin is married
and has three children.