RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on September 22, 1988, Chicago Police Patrol Officer Irma C, Ruiz, Star #16823 of Area 4 Youth Division and the devoted mother of four children, perished inside the Moses Montefiore School at 1300 South Ashland Avenue at the hands of a rampaging armed felon; and
WHEREAS, on that fateful and tragic day, Officer Irma C. Ruiz became only the third female Chicago Police to be killed in the line of duty; and
WHEREAS, Officer Irma C. Ruiz graduated from the Chicago Police Academy on October 1, 1976; and
WHEREAS, Officer Irma C. Ruiz was among the first women assigned to the Grand Crossing District; and
WHEREAS, In her twelve years in the department, Officer Irma C. Ruiz won a department commendation, three honorable mentions and had four complimentary letters added to her personnel file; and
WHEREAS, Officer Irma C. Ruiz and her partner Officer Greg Jaglowski were assigned to the Harrison Area's Youth Division and were a mobile unit that responded to an emergency call at the school; and
WHEREAS, as members of a mobile unit responding to calls, they were summoned to the Montefiore School to escort an unruly student to his home; and
WHEREAS, while in the process of picking up the student, Officer Irma C. Ruiz and Officer Greg Jaglowski received a report that an armed offender had entered the school; and
WHEREAS, the offender, described as a deranged gunman had already killed two other people in an auto parts store and wounded a maintenance worker and a school custodian by the time the officers arrived on the scene; and
WHEREAS, the gunman fired upon the police officers, fatally striking Officer Irma C. Ruiz in the chest and wounding Officer Greg Jaglowski twice in the legs; and
WHEREAS, although seriously injured, Officer Greg Jaglowski managed to return fire killing the offender; and
WHEREAS, Officer Greg Jaglowski eventually recovered from his wounds and received the IACP/Parade magazine "Officer of the Year" award for his heroic actions; and
WHEREAS, according to Chicago Police Superintendent LeRoy Martin, "Had my two officers not been there at the school to pick up a youth, had he (the gunman) not encountered them, I'm afraid we would have had a massacre. Officer (Irma C. Ruiz) sacrificed her life;" and
WHEREAS, the Chicago City Council has been informed of the pending thirtieth anniversary of Officer Irma C. Ruiz courageous actions and tragic passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, Officer Irma C. Ruiz, a warm and caring woman, resided in the Beverly community with her husband Peter and their four children and was deeply devoted to her family and community; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and Members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-fifth day of July 2018, call upon the Chicago Park District leadership to honor the memory of Officer Irma C. Ruiz and hereby rename Walnut Park at 3801 West 45th Street, Irma C. Ruiz Park; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be presentedjo the Chicago Park District,
and to Peter Ruiz the husband of the late Officer Irma C. Ruiz. f J
(1/ Edward Alderman -