Police force says hello and goodbye on the same day
The Elgin Police Department celebrated several new hires, a few retirements and a promotion in a ceremony Friday afternoon.
Four new officers were sworn in: Michael McCarthy, 33, Daniel Kazy-Garey, 25, Martin Vega, 24, and Latasha Williams, 34.
Officer Bill Wood, who was the department's liaison for Elgin High School until last summer, was promoted to sergeant.
His wife, Kelly, pinned the new badge on him. Wood's sister, Cheryl Hagan, of Streamwood, and a cousin from Louisiana, where Wood grew up, were on hand for the ceremony.
Among those who retired are husband and wife Sgt. Don Thiel and Detective Norma Thiel, who are lifelong Elgin residents.
"From the time I started here, I was blessed to be around people who were good at what they did," Don Thiel said.
Officer Mike Gough, the department's longtime sketch artist, and Abbot Middle School liaison officer Detective Leon Filas also retired.
Elgin Police Chief Swoboda said the department's authorized number of officers - as per city policy - is 180, down from a high of 194 or so before the 2008 recession.
The department's diversity of gender and ethnicity slightly increased compared to last year.
Among Elgin's 180 officers, 19 are women, including Cmdr. Ana Lalley, compared to 18 last year, according to data provided by the department.
There are 12 black officers - one more than last year - along with 144 white officers, 20 Hispanic officers, three Asian officers and one identified as "other."
Several Elgin City Council members have said that diversity, including within the fire and police departments, are among their priorities.
New hires go through a monthlong in-house training, followed by 12 weeks at the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and field training in Elgin, Swoboda said.
Retirements tend to come in waves, often because people are hired at the same time, he said. Officers can retire after 20 years, but can't collect a pension until they are at least 50 years old, he said.
New officers bring in a new set of eyes, and are often good with technology, Swoboda said.
"It's bittersweet," he said. "We lose some stellar people in the police department, and we get some new people. I think that's a good thing - new ideas, new perspectives."