Power Watches again.

Another topic suggestion from a reader. Again, the names have been removed to protect the, coworkers, we suppose. And also again, if this is you, and you want to take credit for the suggestion, we'll be happy to add your name. But we assume that people prefer anonymity to protect themselves.

Greetings...

How about talking about the10 hour shift petition being circulated by PCOI ****** on 2nd watch. She told me she stopped AV3 on the floor one day and asked him about the 10 hour shift posibilities and he claimed to have no knowledge of it at all....in the past and future. Personally I think he is lying...but that's just my opinion...!!!

Well, this is the same person who told the who city via the media that the 911 Center is "adequately staffed." Or whatever the exact words were, we'll update later.

GREAT blog by the way...don't let the negative comments get you down. You are doing a fantastic job.

And we thank you. We would've published your letter if you'd mentioned nothing about the job we're doing, but we appreciate the kind words. And negative comments getting us down? Not hardly. We're like Timex.

You understand that one if you're over 25.

Uniformed police officers dispatching.

Oh, our e-mail link finally started working.

This is a letter from someone whose name we'll keep under wraps unless he/she wants it put up here.

I think the time has come for us to address the subject of uniformed police officers still hiding at the 911 center. It is obvious that the police department needs each and every sworn body it can dig up to work the districts and take care of the unending requests for police service. The powers that be, downtown, tell us we must "dispatch faster" and I say"to who??" The officers that still work the floor are not subject to the same rules and regs that the rest of us are, the do not have to work mandatory overtime, they are paid much better and receive a ton of benefits including unlimited sick time, shift differential and better uniform allowance. They do not, in most cases, handle the zones like the civilian dispatchers
and some are not even made to work the zones. Some take all summer off "sick", when they work they only work as calltakers, and one can't even stand to wear a uniform anymore. No discipline is ever handed down to them and the
disparity of how they are treated and how we are treated is deplorable. I say this topic should be address on the blog and see if anyone else has a opinion on this matter. There is a place for officers that cannot work the street and it is called ARP. Light duty, ill, injured and cowardly police officers have no place on the operations floor. There is one officer who has been taken off every busy zone in the room and has a list of dispatchers that will not work with her because they don't want to be there when someone gets killed. GET RID OF THEM!!

We'll add our thoughts later.

We won't just ignore disapproval.

We were told to take a cue from SCC, and we shall. Most of you have perused the comments sections, and have seen comments we feel obligated to address.


What a sad posting on this very day. You claim your heart goes out and yet your comments of running away and the Sept. 10th typo shows you made light of those that actually sacrificed here and continue to do so abroad, oil and Bush?

"10Sep01" wasn't a typo. It was a reference to the day before 11Sep01, hence "10Sep01." We thought that was pretty clear in itself, and through context clues. Or through the fact that we don't let typos sit on the blog in posts discussing more trivial topics.


You thought more of running away and top posting the topic of dating Po's, then of genuinely honoring all the fallen. You have lost a blogger and any faith in your ability to remotely pave the way of any changes at OEMC.

We post in order of post creation, which results in the posts showing in reverse chronological order. If that offends, you, sorry, you're a "lost blogger" anyway, and everyone's entitled to an opinion. And given the proximity of the CECC to the downtown area, how do you really propose having a cloud of dust (remember Ground Zero?) envelop this building with poor ventilation (remember people choking on the Ops Floor because of a nearby fire?), yet clinging to your console and dispatching through the radio system that is frequently problematic or inoperable (remember getting switched to CityWide 6?) and fails when there hasn't been widespread devastation? Or do you not have family that holds you near-and-dear, or vice versa?


Hey blog jockey. Listen up. Hit that Second City Cop link you talk about and see how classy and reverant they were for today's posting. It is entitled "Where Were You?" Take a peek and learn a lesson. They did it with class. Unfortunately, you did it like trash and proved we are second to them again. Thanks a bunch.

You're more than welcome. Since when do we represent the thoughts and beliefs of every OEMC Ops Floor employee? And while you're reading us the riot act and telling us about ourselves, try to keep in mind that the same reverent (that's with e's and no a) blog you laud had a single post a few months ago that did more disjustice to you (since we apparently speak for you) than this whole blog ever will.


This blog has become nothing more than a gossip tabloid, and is no longer a catalyst for positive change, if it ever even was one.

Somehow we agree. We don't recall the informative or throught-provoking topics, there must not have been any. Therefore, they can't have been the bulk of what we've posted, since the blog is a "gossip tabloid."

We don't recall seeing more than one e-mail suggesting topics for discussion, either, which we assume didn't come from you. And that would be in spite of the repeated request that people do such. We (as a whole) post pertinent topics. Commenters have turned comments sections 180 degrees from where we started. We should censor them?

What next, fall wardrobe suggestions? Jessica and Nick sightings? Favorite CD's? Dating your sister's boyfriend, scandalous or convenient? You are really reaching blogmaster.

We aren't reaching any more than you did with that extremist implication that we've ever posted (or ever will post) something that isn't related to the job by any stretch of the imagination. We stick with our take that if people had any topics they thought were better, they were free to e-mail us with them.


Apologize to the fallen heroes for posting such trivial nonesense on this sacred day

Sarcasm aside, we can admit to errors in judgment. Which we do here. We don't regret the post itself (it was legitimately requested by a reader), but in retrospect, we do see a flawed decision on timing and should have been more respectful of those who gave/lost their lives on 11Sep01 and gave countless hours of their own time to restore sanity and order in the weeks and months thereafter. Our rant (it is our view/opinion, which we're entitled to) could have waited for another day.

Why not start back with an e-mail and a resulting poll?

Four posts for the price of one; who says the best things in life aren't free?

We came, we read, we responded. But in the background, as to give someone else the floor. From the Anonymous e-mailer:

Hey there...I have a question which might be a good topic of
discussion. What do our calltaker and dispatcher coworkers think of dating
po's? Do some people just think it's a major taboo and think less of
you for doing so? Do they have the mindset that you shouldn't "shit
where you eat" etc? Or is it no biggie... just an easy opportunity to
meet people, much like a lot of America does w/on-line dating services and
such?

Have at it. Answer away. Banter amongst yourselves.

Links.

While we've been on "leave," we've received a lot of positive feedback around the workplace on the "Understanding" links we posted a couple of weeks back. We'll continue to search for more links like those.

And as we do, we encourage you to e-mail us with links that you all may come across when you browse the Web.

We're back.

And just in time for the 5th anniversary of 091101.

Our hearts go out to those who lost family members on that day. And also to those who lost family members in the War For Oil perpetuated by the idiot of a "leader" this country has. We find it repugnant that George Bush is pimping the [predominantly] male youth of America in this farce he calls a "War on Terrorism."

And we're still not ready. We'll never be ready - or "prepared" - for the next (note the lack of room for possibility that there won't be another) attack. Nothing in the world can ready the country - and particularly this city - for something so life-shattering. Chicago is not much closer to having preparations in place than it was on 10Sep01. But *shhhh* don't tell the public that. We'll just say this:

The city has prepared us (its first-and-foremost emergency communications employees) so well for a potential terrorist attack that if (God forbid) downtown gets attacked, if buildings crumble, the cloud of dust you see won't be from the collapsing buildings;

It'll be from our tennis shoes. There'll be so much rubber burning in the parking lot the grey concrete is going to look like tar.

Another link request.

Someone asked that we link to this site.

We don't really see a problem with that.

Someone actually understands us?

We are in the process of looking for other police dispatch sites to network with, but alas, they are few and far between. We did, however, uncover a couple of interesting links. The first link approaches the topic of dispatcher stress, something that noone seems to understand except for dispatchers. From that link, we are tickled pink by the following quote and had to make sure we didn't write it (didn't realize people were still aware of the Peter Principle):

Ambitious people can advance to the highest level their incompetence will permit and then languish there making life miserable for their subordinates.

Strike a nerve?

The second link (from the same site) discusses issues that hit particularly close to home. We suggest you scroll to the dividing line and start reading there.

More to come, like the Tonight Show. Feel free to e-mail us with any pertinent links you may come across.

CTA Sound-Off.

The City employee blogs are no longer an emergency-services exclusive.

We and SecondCityCop have added links to the CTA Sound-Off blog (we fixed our link today), and we see that one of our coworkers has left a comment, which undoubtedly means there are even more of you who have at least visited.

We pass on best wishes and luck to the new blog, and hope that a trend has been sparked; a trend of city workers who go "public" because they're tired of the shabby treatment received from "The City That Works." We feel more like it's "The City That Jerks" its employees.

Wouldn't it be something to see a collection of blogs from employees of various departments? Maybe that would get us the media attention that so many PCOs say we need to get any major improvements.

Or maybe the media is disinterested because residents don't care about the employees' issues as long as they get their little amenities. And maybe we, the police districts, 311, CTA, and every other department should start answering the phones with "Welcome to Chicago, may I take your order, please?"

Darken down some.

Seems that not many people have funny stories of radio or phone goings-on. How about this:

The gates are open for you to tell your worst, most piss-you-the-hell-off stories of 911 calls or radio transmissions. Or partners. Or callbacks. If it pisses you off and it's a job function itself, feel free to vent it here.

Addition: Thanks to one of our anonymous posters, we present "Exactly what we want to tell citizens who can't control their pre-teen children." Windows Media Player required.