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Tag: Leadership

There are no leaders in Chicago

Published by pvbella on January 30, 2022
Image: PV Bella

The people of Chicago, the county and the country are starving for sensible leadership on the vexing issues of crime and violence that strangles the city. And in Chicago and Cook County, taxpayers aren’t getting any leadership from Evans, Foxx, Preckwinkle and the woefully ineffective Mayor Lori Lightfoot. (JohnKassNews)

Elected officials are supposed to be leaders. Mayors, State’s Attorneys, County Board Presidents, and Chief Judges are supposed to lead and manage their charges. They must also exhibit leadership to the citizens. Appointees like Chicago Police Superintendent Davis “Tex” Brown are supposed to be leaders.

Chicago and Cook County have no leadership and no great leaders. The city is rudderless and heading into a berg or a severe storm to sink this ship of state. The mayor is floundering, and her Superintendent of Police is incompetent. The State’s Attorney cares more about the welfare of criminals and their families than the victims of crime and their families. Kim Foxx is merciless, pitiless, and devoid of humanity.

Chief Judge Tim Evans is following orders. He believes that it is the jurists’ responsibility to rehabilitate criminals. Funny, I thought that was the responsibility of the Correction’s System, which is failing. No one talks about the failure of the corrections system. It is not allowed.

Toni Preckwinkle has a heart as cold as sub-zero temperatures. Her constant silence speaks volumes. She is the puppeteer in chief. Preckwinkle pulls the puppetry strings of Foxx and Evans. They prance and dance to her manipulations.

The whole criminal justice system is broken in Chicago and Cook County. Great and even good leaders know that when their initiatives are not working, they must change course. Our so-called leaders are stuck on stupid.

Kim Foxx refuses to budge off her positions on not prosecuting criminals. She acts like a defense attorney or social justice advocate instead of a prosecutor. Foxx is not a leader. She is a follower of nonsensical “social justice” philosophies. She follows those philosophies religiously even when they are proven failures.

Tim Evans is a follower. He is following Chicago Machine Boss Preckwinkle’s edicts. He knows she can break him, sending Evans into the obscurity of retirement.

Mayor Lightfoot is no leader. She follows her own drumbeat, which is out of tempo with the people. The citizens do not know what she stands for if anything. We do know public safety is not her first and highest priority. The death toll, shootings, carjackings, robberies, and looting- excuse me, smash and grabs (Can’t offend the tender sensitivities of criminals, can we?) prove it.

We are being terrorized in our neighborhoods due to a total lack of leadership. The elected officials do not care. It is more important for them to be right than do the right thing. Lori Lightfoot, Kim Foxx, Toni Preckwinkle, and Tim Evans do not deserve reelection. They did not earn the trust of the people. We need leaders. Leaders who know what their jobs are. Leaders who put public safety first and foremost. Leaders who care and empathize with crime victims and their families. Leaders who can change course when their initiatives are not working. Leaders we can trust to keep us safe.

By the way, Tex Brown blamed the murder of Melissa Ortega on a war between gangs on the west end of Little. Village. That war has been going on for over forty years. I ought to know since I worked there when it erupted. They will keep battling over that turf, and more innocent people will die due to the failures of our “Dear Leaders.”

Welcome to the KMA Club

Published by pvbella on December 3, 2021
Image: PV Bella

When Chicago Police officers retire, we join the KMA Club. Captain Melvin Roman retired from the Chicago Police Department after over 31 years of service. First, welcome to the best club in the world, boss. 

Roman was a former commander who was shamed, “dumped,” and demoted to captain. He wrote this email to the citywide distribution list before proudly walking out the door. It floated around social media the past few days. I was able to obtain a copy from a website to publish here.

I have no commentary on this except to offer my best wishes to Melvin Roman in his retirement.

“After over 31 years with the Chicago Police Department, my career has come to an end. I find contemplating retirement similar to contemplating life in general.

Thoughts of what has been left undone, thoughts of what I could have been done better come to mind. I’d like to think that I have always tried to do the right thing regardless of what was right.

Anyone who is a true leader will understand what I have said. My resignation as a Commander was done with this in mind. If I cannot have a voice to be heard then I have no business being in the position.

I will always be proud to say that I was a Chicago Police Officer, although I cannot be proud of our current Department. We speak about building trust with the community but do not have a trust within our own department. We speak a lot about Officer wellness and contradict that daily by missing the simplest and most basic opportunities to truly show Officers we care.

In 31 years I have never seen a Department in which the rank and file Officer is at war with the top brass administration of the Department. An administration that listens to no one, allows no one a voice, and tries to lead by the only tools they know: Fear and intimidation. Tactics which will always be doomed to fail.

A plumber on a job knows that his tools are the most important aspect of his job. An electrician knows the right tools for the job are critical. Yet here in the Department we seem to lose track of one plain and simple fact: Officers are the most important aspect of our mission.

They must have trust and faith in us as supervisors to leave the station and fulfill the missions we decide and they do that because they respect and have faith in the MEN AND WOMEN who lead, NOT the rank! This is a fact that some will never understand. Some put on the uniform and rank, and even ribbons, and think they are more important and look down on the Officers they should be holding in high esteem.”

Supervisors who have had the benefit of some of the most prestigious leadership training and still do not know the most fundamental traits of a leader: A leader must genuinely care about the people they lead. Without that you will never accomplish a mission and this Department will not change.

Some will claim they do care and maybe they do, but if your outward demeanor exemplifies disdain and a lack of respect, that is what is received. Rank should be perceived as a level of responsibility. Even though it’s also authority, you should lead by your character and not by what’s on your collar.

I have faith that at some point the Department will build itself back up and will once again be something to be proud of. I hope that many of you who will take over the Department will keep these hard facts in mind. Many will be angry and upset with my words but I promise you I offer them only out of a deep gratitude and respect for the Officers who serve the great city of Chicago and to a beloved Department which I will always love and support.

To the rank and file Officers to whom I undoubtedly owe any and all my success, I can never express my true gratitude so I will simply offer a very sincere appreciation and a huge thank you. (CWB Chicago)