Elburn police chief retiring; ex-sheriff to fill in

Elburn will be looking for a new police chief, as Chief Steven Smith is retiring Dec. 31.

The village board accepted his resignation Monday night.

Smith, 65, said he had talked with village officials "for a while" about leaving at the end of the year.

Besides traveling more, and spending more time with a new granddaughter, Smith will pursue a second career. He is going to be a counselor, working with a psychologist hired by police departments. Smith has a master's degree in social work, and has volunteered on teams that debrief emergency workers after stressful incidents.

Although his last day in the office is Dec. 31, technically Smith will be a village worker through April 30. He is being paid for 176 hours of unused vacation time, 374 hours of unused sick time, and 138 hours of paid administrative leave, according to his severance agreement.

The board also contracted with former Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez to serve as interim chief. Perez will be paid $50 per hour for no more than 40 hours per week. There are no insurance or pension benefits. He will receive $250 for buying a uniform.

Perez will help the village search for a new chief.

Smith began working for the village in 2004, after retiring from the St. Charles Police Department.

Village President Dave Anderson, a few minutes after taking office in 2009, promoted Smith to chief. He replaced James Linane.

Linane did not continue to work for the village. In a 2011 lawsuit for severance pay, he said he was fired because he refused to submit a letter of resignation Anderson requested of him. The two settled out of court for $85,000 and a declaration that Linane had retired. Linane is now police chief in Sleepy Hollow.