Elgin police chief on bad cops, leadership style

As a kid, Jeff Swoboda threw snowballs at police cars and once called 911 to see how long a response would take.

Today, as Elgin's police chief, he doesn't take it personally when people have an attitude toward law enforcement, he says, because it's all about putting yourself in their shoes.

"If we don't have the community's support, trust, input and guidance, we can't succeed as a police department," Swoboda said Wednesday during the "CEO Unplugged" luncheon series hosted by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce.

Having an effective police department requires hiring the right people - those who communicate well and believe in justice and fairness - and giving them proper training and equipment to do community policing, he said.

While 99 percent of police officers may be good ones, it's important not to underestimate the effects of the bad 1 percent, he said. "That's great, unless you live in the neighborhood that the 1 percent patrols," he said. "When we identify that 1 percent, it's my job ... to make sure that person is no longer a police officer."

A native of Southern California, Swoboda was hired in Elgin 24 years ago and started as a "resident officer," living in the West side community he patrolled. He has served as chief of the now-182 member department since 2010.

Swoboda answered a variety of questions that included the fun and trivial. Among his favorite foods are Lucky Charms, cheesecake and Lou Malnati's sausage pizza. He loves bike riding, the Cubs, the movie "Braveheart" and country music, although his favorite concert was when he took his late mother to see Celine Dion.

He's a hands-on leader who wears his heart on his sleeve, and believes it's OK to jump the chain of command for "important stuff," he said.

His worst work experience? Notifying parents of the death of their child.

He's stayed in Elgin for more than two decades because he wants to serve in a community that poses challenges, he said. The number of shootings hit an eight-year high in Elgin last year, although violent crime was down compared to the past decade and overall crime to people and property was at a 43-year low.

"I've never seen myself as chief of a place where there's no crime, there's no social issues, there's no issues of dealing with people who are hungry or who have been raised in a family where there isn't the right type of parenting going on," he said. "There are difficult problems to solve in Elgin, to work on, and this is one of the reasons I like it. I like to be challenged daily as a police chief."

As for which profession he'd pick beyond law enforcement, his answer surprised the crowd - and Swoboda himself.

"Politics," he said. "I didn't even know I would say that. Wow."