All Blog Posts Tagged 'illinois' (10)

WHY?

If the fire service is populated with honorable and good people who are dedicated to providing their best efforts in the name of public safety to their communities, then why should we have to pay someone else to advocate on our behalf? Who better than us to advocate for our needs?

An advocate is defined as one who pleads the cause of another; one who defends, vindicates or…

We have to distrust each other. It is our defense against betrayal. – Tennessee Williams

Much has been written about the motivations of firefighters.

Though there may be different reasons for why some choose to be full-time, while others are paid-on-call or volunteer; all firefighters CHOOSE to serve the public. The frequency of the…

You heard me!

Don’t expect accommodations or special considerations.

You’re a grunt just like the rest of us. Time to pay your dues.

You can’t be on top of your game if you don’t train.

You can’t extend your reach or maximize your effectiveness, unless you are willing to put your blood and sweat into it.

You don’t have the first idea of what I’m talking about, do you?

You were never a firefighter, were…

Oh, where to begin.

As if things weren’t already bad enough in Illinois, I read today where my state is the third most corrupt state in the nation. Chicago has the distinction of being named as the number one most corrupt city in the nation.

For many of us who have lived in Illinois our entire lives, this doesn’t exactly come as a revelation, but it is very frustrating after spending so much time in politics with the idea that we were going to change…

Note:

My other blog on the situation in Moline IL entitled “City Fires; Chief Retires” can be found here. Pertinent links to local news coverage can also be found under the Comments section.

After watching the Moline budget talks being covered on local TV, in the local papers and listening on local talk radio, I am convinced that fire departments will NEVER win another battle against manpower cuts, as…

The Moline, Illinois city council, on the advice of the city administrator, plans to cut 12 firefighter/paramedic positions and privatize EMS in the city.

Immediately after the decision was made, Chief Ron Miller announced his resignation/retirement. See associated links:…

I have started and stopped this blog a couple of times now.

The first time, there was too much anger. The second blog contained too much sarcasm.

Why?

Well; there are several reasons.

First of all, I struggle with calling an event that was filled with so much pain, suffering, sorrow and sadness an “anniversary”.

But, many are referring to the tenth year since the 9/11 attacks as “the tenth anniversary of…

Well, everything was just dandy until our long time village police chief retired.

Not only did our fire department get along with Jim, but many of us had developed a real friendship with him.

The irony of this dust up between our fire chief and the new police chief is that we have terrific relationships with our county sheriff’s department and our state police.

Here is the situation that was described to me:

Our fire…

That is what I like to call the workers compensation system here in Illinois.

Blogger Alert: I want to be very clear that I am not singling out a particular segment of the workforce based on the links provided. My cynicism extends across the board. The term “union” appears in this article as an example of lobbying only. It does not reflect my view of unions either way, so save the vitriol.

As part of my job, I handle work injury claims for my company.…

From the Chicago Sun Times:

A 51-year-old veteran Chicago firefighter died after being found unresponsive at his firehouse quarters on the South Side Saturday morning.

 

Lt. Patrick Hannon was given Advanced Life Support care and was taken to Mercy Medical Center where he died, according to Fire Media Affairs Dir. Larry Langford. He was on-duty and was found…