Court chief gets star treatment

"Now I know how Lee DeWyze feels."

Chief Ralph DeBartolo uttered those words Thursday as he accepted the Illinois State Bar Association's Law Enforcement Man of the Year Award.

But the title he earned had nothing to do with musical talent and everything to do with DeBartolo's 53 years in law enforcement, 21 of them as a member of the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the last nine as Chief of the Cook County Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.

ISBA member James Morici Jr. nominated DeBartolo and spoke first at the recognition event. Morici recalled DeBartolo's 32 years as a Chicago police officer. Among the first officers on the scene of the 1958 fire at the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, he has received several commendations for valor and ranks as "one of the foremost authorities in Cook County on homeland security issues," Morici said.

Co-founder of the Italian-American Police Association and a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, DeBartolo also volunteers with Easter Seals and Kids Fight Cancer, among other charitable organizations, Morici said.

"From top to bottom, (DeBartolo) is all about public service to his fellow man," Morici said.

Presenting the award, ISBA president John G. O'Brien noted that it is "given not annually, but sparingly."

Remarking on the large contingent of sheriff's deputies, attorneys, judges and court personnel gathered at the Rolling Meadows courthouse for the 20-minute event, O'Brien said it reflected "a career well spent, a life well-lived."

Addressing the crowd, DeBartolo expressed his deep gratitude and praised former Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan and current Sheriff Thomas Dart. He concluded his brief remarks, saying "thank you very much. Let's have some food."

Dart called the award "richly deserved."

"He's touched so many people's lives," said Dart, himself a former ISBA man of the year. "He makes my life out here very easy."

DeBartolo called the recognition one of the highlights of his professional career.

"It's amazing," he said. "It makes me feel my work is appreciated."