DuPage kids get chance to shop with a cop

Some kids listen for the sound of Santa's reindeer when waiting to find out what they might be getting for Christmas.

Some kids listen for the sound of Mom and Dad whispering while they wrap their gifts.

And some kids listen for the sound of police sirens.

That was the case Saturday, when law enforcement agencies from throughout DuPage County combined to hold their annual Shop with the Sheriff and Shop with a Cop events at the Meijer store at Gary Avenue and Schick Road in Bloomingdale.

Lucky kids got to ride in a procession of police vehicles, all with lights flashing and sirens blaring, before entering the store with a uniformed officer who helped them shop.

Each child got to spend up to $125 on gifts for themselves and family members. Afterward they got their picture taken with Santa and some help from the cops to wrap their gifts.

"It's absolutely amazing. You think the kids are going to spend all the money on themselves, but they make sure to buy for parents and other family members," Burr Ridge Officer Angie Wilhelmi said. "I just think that's awesome."

All of the money for the program comes from donations, and the kids were selected by the sponsoring law enforcement agencies. The celebration was sponsored and coordinated, as it has been for the past two decades, by the DuPage County Sheriff's Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 109.