FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2024
IUOE LOCAL 150, IBEW 134, AND LABORERS DONATE $125,000 TO THE CHICAGO POLICE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT OF THE GET BEHIND THE VEST PROGRAM
The Donation Will Be Made in Honor of Fallen Chicago Police Department Officers Andres Vasquez Lasso and Luis Huesca
COUNTRYSIDE, IL (May 17, 2024) – The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, AFL-CIO, alongside IBEW 134, and Chicago Laborer’s District Council donated $125,000 to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation in support of the Get Behind the Vest Program on Friday, May 17 at 1407 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL. The funds were raised through the efforts of the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade held this past March.
Proceeds raised from the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade are being donated to the Get Behind the Vest Program, which is a fund set up by the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation that provides bullet proof vests to Chicago Police Officers. The donation will be made in honor of fallen Chicago Police Department Officers Andres Vasquez Lasso and Luis Huesca.
“Local 134 Brothers and Sisters support the Get Behind the Vest Program and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chicago Police Department,” shared Don Finn, Business Manager, IBEW Local 134.
“Everybody going to work, deserves to come homes; and if police officers don’t have the proper equipment, then they aren’t protected,” stated James Connolly, Business Manager, Chicago Laborers’ District Council. “This is a small token of our appreciation for the work they do.”
Every year, the Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade names an Honorary Grand Marshal. In 2024, the Honorary Grand Marshal was fallen CPD Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso. Officer Vasquez Lasso’s family participated in the parade by riding in vehicles donated by Westfield Ford. Additionally, the donation will be given in honor of fallen CPD Officer Luis Heusca, who is being named the 2025 Honorary Grand Marshal for the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“IUOE Local 150 knows the importance of backing our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line to keep Chicago’s neighborhoods safe,” said James M. Sweeney, President-Business Manager, IUOE Local 150. “I’m proud the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade recognizes our officers as heroes. Their sacrifices should be remembered and honored.”
The 2024 Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade had a wonderful turnout from both community groups participating in the parade and friends from the neighborhood eager to celebrate a day centered on getting out into the community with family and having fun.
“Thank you to everyone involved. We feel like we’ve been given a pot-o-gold through this great community event,” said Phil Cline, Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Executive Director. “Two-hundred and fifty Chicago Police Officers will be protected with a replacement bulletproof vest; and thousands more feel the community’s support, which is priceless,” he added.
Donating the check from the Parade includes:
James M. Sweeney, President-Business Manager, IUOE Local 150; Don Finn, Business Manager, IBEW Local 134; James Connolly, Business Manager, Chicago Laborers’ District Council; and Jeffrey Horne, Vice President, IUOE Local 150. (Present in photos below are Jeffrey Horne and James Connolly)
In attendance from the Program includes:
Phil Cline, CPMF Executive Director; Sandra Wortham, CPMF Executive Board President and sister of fallen Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV; Maria Marmolejo, Gold Star Families Chairwoman and wife of fallen Chicago Police Officer Eduardo Marmolejo; Maureen Biggane, CPMF Director of Operations (and former Chicago Police Commander); and Erin Bauer, a Gold Star family member and wife of fallen Commander Paul Bauer. (All present in photos below)
Names of Participants in Photo – Left to Right
Jeffrey Horne, Vice President, IUOE Local 150; Sandra Wortham, CPMF Executive Board President and sister of fallen Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV; Maria Marmolejo, Gold Star Families Chairwoman and wife of fallen Chicago Police Officer Eduardo Marmolejo; Phil Cline, CPMF Executive Director; James Connolly, Business Manager, Chicago Laborers’ District Council; Maureen Biggane, CPMF Director of Operations (and former Chicago Police Commander); and Erin Bauer, a Gold Star family member and wife of fallen Commander Paul Bauer.
History of the Chicago Working Families’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade:
The first Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place in March of 2015. The parade started with humble beginnings with a few community groups and schools participating. At the time the parade was an annual effort of the Clear-Ridge Men’s Social Athletic Club (SAC) and the IUOE Local 150.
President-Business Manager, James Sweeney, is from the Garfield Ridge neighborhood. After feeling that the downtown parade had grown so large it left a disconnect between the event and the community, Mr. Sweeney wanted to offer a parade that could bring back the neighborhood feel to it. That’s what the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade did.
Year after year, the parade has attracted more unions and community groups, as well as larger crowds to cheer on the parade. This parade offers a day where the neighborhood can come together, celebrate being a community, support law enforcement, as well as local businesses. To date, the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the longest continually running parade in Chicago, due to community groups coming together, even during covid, to celebrate one another. The actions kept the event’s ten-year string going strong.
Each year, the parade has included a component that supports law enforcement. Last year, $100,000 was donated to Officer Danny Golden, and the year before that, the parade supported the Get Behind the Vest Program with $100,000 in support of the late CPD Officer Ella French.
Sponsors and Participants of the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade include:
Excavators, Inc.; Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting; Lunch Pail Republicans PAC; Northern Indiana Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC; Powering Chicago; 13th Ward Democratic Organization; Central Contractor Service; Chicago Federation of Labor; Chicago Laborer’s District Council; Heneghan Wrecking; IBEW Local 134; IBEW Local 9; IUOE Local 150; Laborers LMCC; LIUNA Local 4; McGill Construction; Megent Financial; Taylor Excavating; Teamsters Joint Council 25; Teamsters Local 731; Ullico; Walsh Construction; HighStar Traffic, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7; Chicago & Cook County Building Trades; Chicago Enforcers; Flood Brothers; International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2; International Association of Machinists Local 126; Ironworkers Local #1; IUOE Local 399; Kocher Insurance; LaGrange Crane Service; Mariyana Spyropoulos; Nichols Crane; Stevenson Crane; Union Legal Services; Veteran Inspection Services; Westfield Ford; WGN; Will & Grundy; Yard One; Cobra Concrete; Flood Testing Laboratories; 23rd Ward Alderman Silvana Tabares; Atlas Crane; Cement Masons Local 502; CISCO; Coler Chiropractic; De Colores Beauty Bar; Dunleavy Construction; Friends of Joshua Hernandez; Home Run Inn Pizza; Imperial Crane; John Dermody Memorial Foundation; Midway Chamber of Commerce; Rafferty’s Pub; Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local 73; Twisted Shamrock Pub; All Exterior; Contractors/Midway Cool Kids Club; Beat the Streets Chicago; Brother Hood for Fallen Police; Chicagoland Toys for Tots Motorcycle Parade; Clearing Night Force; Berwyn Police and Fire Departments, Countryside Police Department, McCook Police Department, Lyons Fire Department, Stickney Fire Department; Willow Springs Police Department, Riverside Police Department; The City of Tinley Park; Clear Ridge SAC; Hope Church Midway; T&M Transportation; Dore Elementary; Fire Museum of Chicago; Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch; Girl Scout Troop 25425 St. Daniel the Prophet; Girl Scouts Troop 20199; Kennedy High School; Leo Dilger; Light the Line; Mush Softball; Mutts of the Midway; Nina Mastro Organization; Regarding Rainey; Sts. Bruno & Richard School; Two Holy Martyrs; Cub Scout Pack 4439; and Medinah Motor Corps.
IUOE Local 150, IBEW 134, and Chicago Laborer’s District Council, are immensely grateful to all those who sponsored, participated, and came out to enjoy this year’s Chicago Working Families’ Archer Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Without their ongoing support, this donation to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation would not be possible.
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ABOUT THE IUOE LOCAL 150: The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 is a labor union representing over 23,000 working men and women in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Local 150 members operate and maintain heavy equipment in a variety of industries, which include heavy highway and building construction, heavy equipment rental and repair shops, construction material production, concrete pumping, hoisting, steel mill service, slag processing, pits and quarries, landfills, testing and drilling, pipeline, landscaping, public works, and more. In addition to securing work for its union members, Local 150 fights on behalf of all working men and women to ensure fair wages and equal pay. Most recently, Local 150 championed The Worker’s Rights Amendment in 2022, ensuring constitutional protection for all Illinois workers to join a union.