OUTLOOK

Member SpotlightWe know John McCabe as the IPCSA lobbyist extraordinaire, but did you know hisfavorite color is green? Well, I asked the hard questions when I interviewed John.Little did I know at the time he was a journalism major at the University of Illinois.So I'm sure my interviewing skills did not measure up, but we had a funconversation. At least I thought so!John grew up on the south side of Chicago in the St. Margaret of Scotland parish.You see, Chicago neighborhoods have names of course, but one is usually asked,"What parish are you from?" He graduated from St. Ignatius, the original magnet school in Chicago.John is married with two children and a wonderful English Setter named Aspen. His favorite holiday isChristmas, for the obvious reasons of giving and spending time with family and friends, and his (2) favoritepies are apple and banana cream.John's career began in the late 70's in the Illinois General Assembly. An internship led to his position on theHouse Democrats' staff as research analyst. In 1983 he set out on his own and former what is now called JohnMcCabe & Associates Ltd. He has been IPCSA's lobbyist since 1988 and continues to shatter the stereotype asa "slick and smooth" lobbyist. John is about as down to earth as it gets: I mean, he put up with my sillyquestions for 30 minutes or so! John learned the job we do as probation officers from sitting in meeting aftermeeting with the "old lions" and with officers: totally immersing himself in the job and the process.John not only works tirelessly for IPCSA and probation officers across the State, ( he took a major cut in pay toremain as our lobbyist), he is also our photographer. He learned the art photography at U of I. His pictures areso good because he is not afraid to get up close and personal for a good photo op.John is as good as it gets, and it was truly a pleasure to interview him. I will leave you with a quote (some maycall it racy before the entire thought settles), that is attached to his emails. "Life's headiest drive is not love'sorgasm or hate's dagger, but one man's need to change another man's copy." From Hugh Leonard, Irish Playwright,via notes scholar and attorney-at-law, Julian D'Esposito.Over the years IPCSA has established many traditions. One of the littleknown traditions is the raffle prize known as Old Man Winter. Old Man Winterwas given to IPCSA as a raffle prize by an unknown donor at the Fall 2007conference in Sangamon County and has made its way around the state since.However, a sense of panic came over the crowd during breakfast at Fall 2012Conference in Rockford when it was realized Old ManWinter failed to show up. Therefore, an APB hasofficially been issued for Old Man Winter. Anyone havinginformation about his whereabouts please contact TomGregory at tgregory@vercounty.org.26