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New top cop in Pingree Grove

Shawn Beane was appointed police chief Monday night in Pingree Grove, only the second person to hold the post in the history of the village.

The village board unanimously selected Beane, who'd served as deputy chief since 2008, on Monday. Trustee Nick Campbell was absent.

The board had appointed Beane as interim chief after former Police Chief Carol Lussky retired last month. Village President Steve Wiedmeyer initially said the village would seek applicants for the top post, but trustees said they ended up only interviewing Beane before making their decision.

"He was the right choice," Trustee Ray LaMarca said. "We all thought that."

Trustee Bernie Thomas agreed.

"He is very knowledgeable. He has his act together and knows what we need," Thomas said.

Beane, who declined to disclose his age or town of residence, has worked for the village since March 2007. "I've had a very rewarding career," said Beane, who thanked the board for having faith in his ability to lead the police department.

Beane said he plans to continue work started by Lussky, such as creating a community emergency response team and updating the department's emergency operations procedure manual.

His career started in 1977 in Schiller Park followed by Hanover Park, from which he retired in 2005, and part-time work in Sleepy Hollow and South Barrington until he joined Lussky, who had become police chief in Pingree Grove in 2006.

The two of them had worked together in Hanover Park, where Lussky was SWAT team commander, Beane explained. "When she became chief here (in Pingree Grove), that was the driving factor, because we worked so well together," he said.

Beane, who grew up in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood, said he decided on law enforcement after getting to know a few Chicago police officers while he worked in the speed shop of Nickey Chevrolet. "I wanted to help people and do the right things," he said.

He said he served as a crisis resolution team trainer and has worked in the gang unit, administration and investigations, among other assignments. He graduated from Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety School of Police Staff and Command and taught criminal justice classes at Harper College, he said.

The village has grown from 2,000 to about 6,500 residents in his nearly nine years on the job, but the work essentially is the same, Beane said.

"Our job hasn't changed that much," he said. "We are still dealing with community policing, which has always been our backbone. In smaller communities know everybody you deal with, which actually makes our job much easier."

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