Mt. Prospect chamber leader also a private detective

Dawn Fletcher Collins of Mount Prospect isn't your typical suburban mom. Oh sure, she's active in several community organizations and fundraisers and is the new executive director of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce. She also worked for 12 years at Mount Prospect School District 57, where her three children attended.

But she also packs a private detective license.

Her work as a private detective dates back to her father's Illinois Counties Detective Agency, which he founded in 1967 in Mount Prospect. Kenneth Fletcher offered security patrols for neighborhoods, parking facilities and apartment complexes as well as investigative services for companies seeking to ferret out fraud or parents seeking information on future in-laws.

“I know sometimes it sounds really exciting and interesting and it can be,” said Fletcher Collins. “But the funny thing is, it really is a private and confidential type of work, so I don't speak out about its details.”

She also won't talk about whether she's had to use a weapon during the course of her undercover work.

She's among 1,054 licensed private detectives in Illinois and a license can be valid for three years, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which oversees the profession.

When her father died of a heart attack in 1992, Fletcher Collins took over the business with her brother, Jim Fletcher, and husband, Jay Collins. By 1997, they decided to close the business and each focused on other jobs. Jim Fletcher works security in Mount Prospect and is a singer with the The Fairlanes, which performs classic hits. Jay has remained in the investigative industry.

Now her full-time job is chamber executive director, taking over for the now-retired Jim Uszler.

“My full-time focus is all about Mount Prospect and how the chamber of commerce can support and promote our business community,” she said.

Honoring his father

Ravi Chadha started Home Helpers of Chicago, which provides caregiver services in Elk Grove Village, Bensenville and other suburbs, because he wanted to honor his late father, Mohinder Chadha, a computer science specialist and business owner in Florida. Mohinder had died of complications related to diabetes. Ravi, who was born in India and came to America when he was 5, was hit hard by his father's death. While Ravi worked as a consultant and other positions at major corporations, he sought to do something “with more meaning,” he said. He obtained a license in February for the Home Helpers franchise and plans to expand the service by the end of this year.

First Viagra, now LibiGel

Sandra Croak-Brossman of Lake Forest started last week as vice president of regulatory affairs and quality assurance for Lincolnshire-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. She's a 24-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry and was the worldwide regulatory lead for Viagra while at Pfizer. Now, she'll oversee BioSante's progress on LibiGel, a testosterone gel.

Inside the jury box

Connie Wilson will be telling business executives what it was like to serve as a juror on former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial at the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce's luncheon at 11:30 a.m. today at the Lisle Hilton, 3003 Corporate West Drive, Lisle. She's an active member of the Holy Spirit Catholic Community, has a degree in music and education and has lived in Naperville for about 20 years.

FastTrack

Warner A. Cruz, president of Rolling Meadows-based J.C. Restoration, has been elected to a term on the board of directors of the Better Business Bureau in Chicago. ... Michael Cassa of Naperville is the new president of the Downers Grove Economic Development Corp. He's been in economic development for nearly 20 years, most recently as executive director of the Oswego Economic Development Corp. Cassa replaces Greg Bedalov, who is now the new president of Choose DuPage.

Larry A. Boward of Glen Ellyn has joined the State Bank of Illinois as community president/West Chicago. He was the first vice president and senior relationship manager for business banking at Citizens Financial Bank and was responsible for Cook, DuPage and Will counties. ... Cameron Monti of Carpentersville joins the board of directors of Shelter Inc., an Arlington Heights nonprofit that offers emergency and long-term housing for abused or neglected children. Monti also cofounded the Palatine Food Drive and the annual Palatine Bowl Charity Football Game.

Bob Leonardo of Aurora is a new financial services representative for The Premier Wealth Group in Downers Grove. ... Jim Johnson, who hails from Boston and is group vice president of workplace safety initiatives for Itasca-based National Safety Council, has been asked to serve as a member of the National Occupational Research Agenda, known as NORA, and its Manufacturing Sector Council. He'll be part of a team that looks at occupational safety and health problems in manufacturing and then NORA will develop a national research strategy based on that information.

Andrew Maletich of Plainfield is a new broker at Cawley Chicago, a commercial real estate company. He's based in Downers Grove. ... Steve Parsons is the new executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Naperville-based OfficeMax starting today. He's held HR positions at Rite Aid Corp., Sears Holdings Corp. and elsewhere. ... Matthew Sheahin, a partner at Lavelle Law Ltd., was appointed to the Northwest Regional Advisory Board of Catholic Charities. Lavelle Law has offices in Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Lake Forest, Palatine and Bensenville. ... Jonathan P. Ward, a partner at equity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC, joined the board of directors of Deerfield-based United Stationers Inc., a distributor of business products.

Ÿ There's more to business than just the bottom line. We want to tell you about the people that make business work. Send news about people in business to akukec@dailyherald.com. Follow me on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter.