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Buffalo Grove bids farewell to outgoing deputy chief

It was a busy night Monday for Buffalo Grove Deputy Police Chief Steven Husak.

While the Buffalo Grove village board was reading a proclamation honoring his 25 years of service to the community, Husak was at the Lake Zurich village board meeting, being voted in as the village's new police chief.

After that, Husak turned up at Buffalo Grove village hall to say farewell to trustees and other village officials.

Husak, who will remain with Buffalo Grove until April, reflected on his long service to the village, saying he will miss the people he served alongside.

“It's a really good agency,” he said of the police department. “It has really good people.”

Over the years, Husak has filled many roles — patrol officer, D.A.R.E. officer, corporal, sergeant and, since 2011, deputy chief. Husak was commander of the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team and Buffalo Grove Police Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 74. Among the honors he accumulated in Buffalo Grove were the Cook County Sheriff's Law Enforcement Award of Merit and 2006 Buffalo Grove Police Officer of the Year.

He also spent some time as interim chief during the transition from former chief Steve Balinski to current Chief Steven Casstevens, giving him some experience for his new role in Lake Zurich.

“I have been working for it for some time,” he said of his aspirations to be a police chief.

He said that when you're the deputy chief, you are focused more on the operations side of the department. As chief he'll have the opportunity to address vision and policy.

“That certainly is something that appealed to me,” he said. “Lake Zurich is very desirable, too. It's a nice town. It's got a great department.”

Buffalo Grove leaders praised Husak for his work in the police department.

“You have been a wonderful asset to the department and the village,” Village President Jeffrey Braiman said.

Husak thanked the board and prior boards for their support of the police department.

“We have a top notch police department,” he said. “I think I had one little role in that over the 25 years that I've been here. I'm very happy with the things that we accomplished together.”

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