New Prospect Heights police chief to be sworn in Jan. 14

Prospect Heights will swear in a new police chief and deputy chief at a public ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, at the Gary Morava Recreation Center, 110 W. Camp McDonald Road.

With Chief Al Steffen's retirement Jan. 1, Deputy Chief Jim Zawlocki moved up to chief and Mark Porlier was named the new deputy chief.

Steffen was honored at the Dec. 10 council meeting with a proclamation from Mayor Nick Helmer for his 28 years of police service, the last three as chief. Steffen, one of the original 17 police officers in the city, was praised for his hard work, dedication and professionalism.

Zawlocki also was one of the department's original hires. He attended the Chicago Police Academy and was a patrol officer in Woodstock before coming to Prospect Heights, where he quickly became an officer in charge and was soon promoted to sergeant. He served as a watch commander for many years, emphasizing coaching and training, and was the department's first officer certified as a traffic accident investigator.

He served on the Northwest Suburban Major Case Assistance Team as a surveillance team supervisor and later was an investigator on the Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team task force. He was the Officer of the Year in 2015. He was named deputy chief when Steffen became chief.

Porlier joined the department in 1994 and became a detective in 1998, where he received training as a lead homicide investigator. In 2007, he won the state Excellence in Law Enforcement Award for his work on a cold case double homicide. In 2009, he was assigned for a time to a federal Drug Enforcement Agency task force. He was promoted to sergeant in 2012.