Villa Park police chief returns in slightly altered role

Villa Park has restructured its police department and outsourced its top post to save money.

And the first man to take the new civilian director position is former Chief John Payne.

"We're hiring him to come in and run the show," Trustee John Davis said. "I raised my eyebrow at first. It is legal. It sounds like double-dipping, but it's actually saving the village money. It was creative."

Payne, who wasn't thinking of retiring immediately, officially packed his badge last month and returned to work the next day as a paid consultant.

As a result, he's starting to collect his police pension for his 36 years as a sworn officer. However, he won't accumulate any new pension nor will he receive any health benefits. He's also earning a lower salary.

"It ensures I'll stay a little longer," Payne said. "There's no down side to it. Everything runs the same, but you're saving money."

This way, Payne says he can stay with the department longer, help in the future with the search for his replacement and the village doesn't have to pay market prices for a new chief's salary.

"We can take advantage of John's expertise as much as possible," Trustee Dave Hegland said. "It's an everybody wins situation."

The lower salary and lack of pension and benefits is expected to translate into an annual savings of roughly $60,000, officials said.

"That will give us another guy (sworn officer) on the street," Trustee Al Bulthuis said. "I'm on board with it."

Payne, who was named chief in 2004, has been with the department for 36 years.

His law enforcement career began with a three-year stint as a military police officer with the Army in the late 1960s.

He spent three years with the Hinsdale police before returning to his hometown in September 1972 to serve as a patrolman for the Villa Park Police Department.

Payne worked as a juvenile officer in Villa Park for several years before becoming a detective. He was promoted to sergeant in 1987, then watch commander before being promoted to lieutenant in 1991.

He served as deputy chief of the patrol division from 1996 until 2004 when Ronald Ohlson retired and Payne took over the department's top job. He's also a graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., where he gained some additional command training.

From his perspective, Payne says little has changed with the job title.

His command staff remains the same though the deputy chiefs' titles also have changed. Robert Budig is now chief of patrol services and Mark Johnson is chief of support services. They both remain sworn officers with the same duties as before.

And Payne, as a retired police officer, can still carry his gun. But he is a civilian, so he can't arrest people like sworn police officers.

"I haven't personally done a lot of that lately," he said. "I have a whole department to take care of that for me."