Lincolnshire police chief retires after 14 years as town's top cop

Lincolnshire Police Chief Randall Melvin has retired after leading the department for 14 years.

Melvin's last day on the job was Friday. Commander John Kleffner, another department veteran, has been named interim chief.

In an interview Monday, Melvin said he had been aiming to step down Jan. 1. But because the village is on sound financial footing after some rough years during the recession, he decided to retire a little early.

“It's been an honor,” Melvin, 56, said of his time as chief. “It's been a dream come true.”

Village Manager Bob Irvin credited Melvin for steering the force through a period of tremendous growth for the village.

“More than anything, he was open and accessible to village staff, the public and the entire police department, and I think that made him an effective chief of police,” Irvin said.

Melvin, who spent his teen years in Lincolnshire and was a Stevenson High School graduate, joined the police department in 1975 as a cadet, the precursor to today's community service officers. He left the department in 1980 to work as the business manager for a local antique gun collector.

Melvin returned to the department as an officer in 1985. He was promoted to investigator in 1990 and was named assistant to the chief in 1993.

He was appointed chief in 1996. Mayor Brett Blomberg, then a trustee, called promoting Melvin the best decision village officials have ever made.

“He has been awesome,” Blomberg said. “He has really made us all proud.”

Melvin was a former president of the Lake County Chiefs of Police Association and worked with the Major Crimes Task Force and other police agencies.

His tenure as chief included several notable criminal investigations by his department.

In 2003, Sandra Rogers and Jonathan McMeekin attacked Rogers' ex-husband and his new wife as they slept in their Lincolnshire home. Both Rodgers and McMeekin were convicted and sentenced to prison.

In 2008, former Waukegan resident Clarence Weber was arrested after murdering his wife, Adelina, in the parking lot at the Springhill Suites hotel in Lincolnshire. He later was convicted and sentenced to prison.

In 2009, 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan was killed at a former Minee Subee day care center. An employee, Melissa Calusinski of Carpentersville, now is on trial and faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

The owner of the day care center also was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice.

Kleffner, who worked with Melvin for 30 years, described his former boss as an “honest and straightforward guy” who left the department in great shape.

He praised Melvin for keeping ahead of the curve when it came to law-enforcement technology. Lincolnshire was among the first towns in the state to put computers in its squad cars and years later among the first to add cameras to those cars.

Melvin called the department “one of the most professional departments around.”

Melvin is the latest Lake County police chief to retire. Libertyville's Patrick Carey, Lindenhurst's Jack McKeever and Round Lake Heights' Don Johnson also recently ended their law-enforcement careers.

Lincolnshire officials are just beginning to look for Melvin's permanent replacement, Irvin said. It will be a national search, he said.