John Dineen, who served as Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president for 21 years, dies at 89
Family, friends, and former colleagues were to gather Sunday to remember former Chicago and national Fraternal Order of Police President and Chicago police Officer John Dineen.
The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 said Dineen passed away this past Wednesday. He was 89.
Dineen was born July 4, 1936, on Chicago's West Side. He attended St. Mel High School on the West Side and served in the U.S. Army.
An archive Chicago Tribune report, Dineen joined the Chicago Police Department in 1959, just over a year after he was discharged from the Army. He advanced to the role of detective in 1963, working in the homicide and organized crime units, the Tribune reported.
Dineen served as FOP national president from 1979 until 1981, while also leading Lodge 7. He stepped aside from the national role to help negotiate Lodge 7's first collective bargaining agreement.
Lodge 7 won the agreement in 1981. Dineen was then credited with working to secure the lodge's collective bargaining rights permanently through the Illinois Labor Relations Act of 1983.
"As president of the lodge for more than two decades, he helped secure the union's role as the official bargaining representative for rank-and-file officers and played a key role in establishing its first contract with the City of Chicago," Illinois state Rep. Patrick Sheehan (D-Illinois) wrote in an Instagram post.
Dineen was voted out as Chicago FOP president in 1993 after 21 years. This followed a controversy over plans for a float in the South Side Irish Parade showing support for five CPD officers accused of abusive conduct — including Cmdr. Jon Burge, published reports from the time note. The FOP decided to change the theme of the float following the controversy.
The Chicago FOP Lodge is now known as Chicago John Dineen Lodge 7.
Dineen's wake was to be held at Cooney Funeral Home in Park Ridge on Sunday. Funeral services will take place on Monday at St. Juliana Catholic Church in Chicago.
