Retiring Itasca police chief celebrated for can-do attitude
Gigi Gruber made a lot of decisions during her 12 years as Itasca village president, but the one closest to her heart is coming full-circle Friday.
Police Chief Scott Heher, 53, is turning in his badge, gun and keys after 29 years as an Itasca police officer, the last 11 as chief.
Choosing Heher as chief in August 2003 "was the best decision I ever made," Gruber said.
She said his departure makes her sad "because we're losing a chief with a heart of gold who cares about the village and its people."
He also has an attitude and work ethic unlike any other, Gruber said.
"I never heard Scott say 'I can't do that,'" she said. "Scott's motto is 'Let's go do it.'"
Heher carried that attitude into his personal life, with countless marathons and triathlons under his belt and seven Ironman competitions. All those races took a toll: the need for hip surgery is forcing him to retire a year earlier than planned.
"I have moderately advanced osteoarthritis in my left hip. I just beat it up after all these years of running, triathlons and Ironmans and all that other crazy stuff I've done," he said. "I could go have surgery, take three months off rehabbing and come back to work, but I was going to retire next year anyway.
"The organization can't move forward while I'm out and occupying the seat, so I'm just going to go and let the next in line take a step up."
Chasing time
Heher's departure provides some opportunities for advancement in the 23-officer department. The first to benefit is Deputy Chief Robert O'Connor, who will replace Heher on Monday.
"That means a sergeant will move into a deputy chief position, which means a patrol officer will move to sergeant, which means we'll be able to hire a new officer," Heher said. "For a little organization, like us, that's a lot of moves."
Heher said it seems like "just a blink of an eye" since he was the new officer getting hired in September 1985.
"It does seem like it's flown by, but Scott has had an incredible career at the Itasca Police Department," Village President Jeff Pruyn said. "He has held every position there is to hold in the department. I don't think there are many officers who can say that."
Looking at the four clocks sitting on the credenza behind him, Heher acknowledged his obsession with time.
"I'm always amazed at how quickly the time goes by and I'm fairly time conscious because I'm aware we don't have a lot of time, professionally, to make a difference in our part of the world," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, if you're five minutes early, you're five minutes late because the clock never stops ticking."
As a young man growing up in Leland, Heher always wanted to be a police officer.
"I just thought it would be an interesting and exciting job where every day was a different opportunity to serve and make a little difference," he said.
Since then, Heher said the job and its demands have changed for the better.
"I think there's a greater scrutiny of police today and a greater accountability demanded of the police. Those are both very good things," he said.
Technology has helped, too.
"We don't handwrite tickets or criminal complaints any more," he said. "We don't even handwrite reports anymore."
A tricky start
Heher said he never imagined becoming chief the way he did, following the unexpected death of longtime Chief Michael McDonald.
"Chief McDonald left me some really huge shoes to fill and stepping into them was difficult at first because his unexpected death really shook the organization," Heher said. "But, organizationally, life goes on. We still needed to respond and provide services. That didn't stop. It may have been bumpy at first, but we found our rhythm and charted our course after that."
Heher credited McDonald and McDonald's predecessor, Stanley Rossol, with preparing him to lead the department.
"(Rossol) taught me what it meant to wear the uniform of the Itasca Police Department. I never even saw a wrinkle or piece of lint on his uniform. It was that important to him," Heher said. "(McDonald) taught me how to run the business side of a police department and that's really important. So they both played huge roles in my development as both an officer and chief."
Heher said he's proud of his tenure, specifically the village's historically low crime rate and its recent designation by the National Safety Council as a Safe Community.
He's not the only one. Former village administrator and retired state police Col. David Williams said Heher was an easy choice in 2003 and an even better choice today.
"The guy made a difference. Scott Heher is a credit to the profession and he did what he was supposed to do as chief of police," Williams said from his North Carolina home. "There's not a lot of Scott Hehers around. He's an exceptional human being who had the intelligence to do the job and he brought an unbelievable enthusiasm."
Wood Dale Police Chief Greg Vesta also appreciated his relationship with Heher.
"For as long as I've known Scott, we've been able to rely on Itasca to share equipment, manpower, whatever we need and vice versa," Vesta said.
In retirement, Heher said he doesn't expect his commitment to fade. His wife, Trudy, retired last week from her position of director of parks and recreation in Lake in the Hills, but the couple expect to stay in town. They have a home in North Carolina to visit, but they're not moving any time soon
"Our doctors and dentist are here. Our friends and neighbors are here. Our favorite places to eat are here," he said. "Everything good is here. Why would we leave now that we have more time to enjoy those things?"
Heher said he hasn't planned his retirement.
"I really haven't given it much thought, but I'm not one to sit on the sideline," he said. "But whatever the future may hold, I'll explore in due time."