Former longtime chief molded Libertyville Fire Department

The man who nurtured Libertyville's 25 volunteer firefighters into a full-fledged professional force has died.

Jack R. Reitman, 76, who was Libertyville's first full-time firefighter/fire chief from 1969 to 1995, died Thursday at Advocate-Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington. He was born Feb. 27, 1933, in Little York, Ill.

The Libertyville Fire Department, which was established in 1896 after a big fire the previous year that burned down the entire east side of town, was all-volunteer for 73 years and 8 months until Reitman was hired in 1969. The town of roughly 6,000 residents was just starting to grow.

An Army veteran who served in Korea for 18 months from 1951 to 1952, Reitman helped establish three Libertyville fire stations - there was one when he started - and gradually replaced the volunteer department with full-time firefighters.

"The volunteers did a great job providing service, (but) just couldn't take care of business like it needed to be taken care of," said current Libertyville Fire Chief Rich Carani, who was a firefighter under Reitman since 1989. "He built a foundation upon which the department could develop."

Today, the department has 41 full-time firefighters and six paid/volunteer firefighters serving a little more than 20,000 residents.

Reitman also helped start the fire department's paramedic program in 1972, among the first in the region.

"Libertyville was one of the first in the area to be in the first paramedic class at Advocate Condell Medical Center," Carani said.

Reitman was president of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association in 1978 and 1979.

"He was the only one in the association to serve for two consecutive terms," Carani said. "He was a very nice guy."

After his retirement from Libertyville, Reitman returned in 1996 to Monmouth, Ill., where he began his firefighting career and worked about 12 years before becoming Libertyville's fire chief.

He became Monmouth's interim fire chief from 1996 to 2000 and was mayor from 2001 to 2005.

"He's just always been very service-oriented as far as the community was concerned," said Reitman's wife, Katherine Jean, 74. "He was just totally dedicated to the fire service."

Visitation for Reitman will be from 3 p.m. until the funeral service at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at McMurrough Funeral Chapel, 101 Park Place, Libertyville.

Reitman is survived by his wife of 54 years, Katherine Jean, and five children, Teresa Simon of Lake Zurich, Hugh Reitman of Third Lake, Rodger Reitman of Montana, John Reitman Jr. of Florida, and Deena Neal of Libertyville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Libertyville Fire Department, 1551 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, IL 60048.

Reitman's daughter Deena Neal said she hopes any money donated to the fire department would be used to carry on her father's legacy.

"He accomplished so much during his service here in Libertyville," she said. "My dad just had such big hopes and dreams for the department."