Pingree Grove police chief to retire

Carol Lussky, the only police chief in the history of Pingree Grove, will retire next week after a 32-year career in law enforcement.

Lussky, 55, who lives near Elgin in unincorporated Kane County, was hired by the village as a part-time chief in September 2006, and became full-time in January 2008.

“I succeeded in building an awesome police department and completed what I was hired to do, and now it's time to take care of my family,” she said. Her husband is Jim Lussky, a retired Cook County sheriff's officer.

The village will hold a celebration in her honor from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, her last day on the job, at the police department, 1 Police Plaza.

Lussky, who for a time held the post of interim village administrator, worked well with the board, Village President Steve Wiedmeyer said. The village board recognized Lussky's service by giving her a plaque earlier this week.

“Any time you're a long-term employee that vacates their post, it's always a loss — and she's a big loss for the village,” he said. “She always was well liked and well received in the town. Everybody knew her.”

The board appointed Deputy Chief Shawn Beane to interim chief, effective with Lussky's retirement. The village will seek applicants for the chief's post, Wiedmeyer said.

Lussky said she will continue being active with Illinois-Wisconsin Search and Rescue Dogs, a volunteer group that assists law enforcement with finding lost and missing people. She and her dog went to Joplin, Missouri, after the 2011 tornado.

She also plans to devote more time to her antique cars hobby, she said. “Basically, I plan on goofing off,” she said.

Lussky grew up in Arlington Heights and became a police officer at 23 after attending Prospect High School and Harper College. She later earned bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice, both from Lewis University.

She decided on a career in law enforcement after getting to know her high school liaison officer and becoming a police explorer, she said. She was hired as a police officer in 1983 in Hanover Park and attained the rank of sergeant when she was hired by Pingree Grove.

“There were a lot fewer women involved in law enforcement,” she said, “but the ceiling had been broken.”

When she started in Pingree Grove, the police department was housed in a former three-room fire station without indoor plumbing. “That was an incentive to move out,” she joked. The current police station was built in 2008.

Lussky has seen the village grow tenfold to an estimated 6,000 residents or more, with a police department that now numbers seven full-time and 12-part-time officers, plus a records clerk, she said.

“Probably the thing we deal with most is domestic disturbances — not necessarily violence but arguments and disagreements that occasionally escalate to violence. We also have the occasional car burglary,” she pointed out.

“Really, it's a very, very low crime area because of the great police department we have.”