Mayor Jane Byrne

February of 1982 witnessed the tragic deaths of three Chicago Police Officers.  Fatefully, two were lost returning from the first officer’s funeral.  Police Officers from the Emerald Society of Illinois, with the assistance of then Mayor of Chicago, Jane Byrne, arranged for the presence of the Pipes & Drums of the Emerald Society, City of New York Police Department to “pipe” these officers to rest.  This impressive and fitting tribute to these “fallen men in blue” was the impetus for the formation of the Bagpipes and Drums of the Emerald Society, Chicago Police Department.