Two finalists for Grayslake police chief
Grayslake Mayor Rhett Taylor says the village's interim police chief is one of two finalists in the running to receive the job on a permanent basis.
Taylor said Wednesday he expects to decide next week, culminating an effort that began with the hiring of a search firm in the fall. He said the village board may be asked to ratify his police chief recommendation at a meeting Feb. 1.
“It's really important to me to have a deliberative process,” Taylor said. “I want the town to know we went through an exhaustive process.”
Operations Cmdr. Matt McCutcheon has been interim police chief since Larry Herzog's retirement July 2. McCutcheon's Grayslake police career started in 1991.
Taylor said search firm Voorhees Associates in Deerfield began with roughly a dozen police chief candidates, then narrowed the crop to seven. He said the final two are McCutcheon and another applicant he declined to identify.
McCutcheon was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Under the criteria listed in Voorhees' recruitment brochure, Grayslake's next top cop should have experience in all facets of police operations, including criminal investigations, emergency management and gang prevention.
In addition, the candidates should have demonstrated experience in and commitment to personal community involvement by attending local events and participating in activities involving businesses.
“While the village of Grayslake remains financially stable, future budgets will be extremely limited,” the recruitment brochure stated. “The next chief is expected to make use of the existing resources to continue to serve the community at a high level.”
Taylor said high-level village administration employees, a Grayslake Chamber of Commerce representative, Herzog and Hainesville Mayor Linda Soto were included on an interview team. He said the two finalists appeared separately for closed-door sessions that were part of village board meetings.
Soto was asked to participate, Taylor said, because her village contracts for police service from Grayslake.
Taylor said he received feedback about the interviews and compared notes with Voorhees vice presidents Leo McCann and Michael Hosking. McCann and Hosking are former chiefs in Buffalo Grove and Lake Forest, respectively.
“Basically, the decision is now with me,” Taylor said.
Grayslake's chief will lead a department with 33 full- and two part-time sworn employees. Pay is projected at about $130,000, depending on qualifications.
Herzog was Grayslake's police chief for 13 years.