Schaumburg aims to slash police hiring time during officer staffing crisis

Desperate to resolve a problematic 13 vacancies among its 119 officer positions, Schaumburg will follow the lead of most other area police departments to bring its six-month hiring process down to the regional norm of two months.

Though Schaumburg is in crisis mode, other departments are facing hiring issues as well.

“Being short officers as we are can lead to burnout, or officers being tired,” Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly said. “We don’t want our officers out there in that condition.”

With one absence, trustees last week unanimously recommended moving forward with a series of recommendations to expedite the hiring process that included abandoning polygraph testing, lowering the entry-level educational requirement to an associate degree and doing background checks in-house rather than through an outside agency.

Though the police department is where the need for greater efficiency is most pronounced, the revisions would also affect the fire department.

The changes would require renegotiating parts of four separate union contracts. Schaumburg Village Manager Brian Townsend suggested that could be done within 30 days.

They are making other changes as well. Officials said Schaumburg is the only municipality in the region where the police and fire chiefs have no role in the hiring process. They want to allow chiefs input going forward.

Trustees emphasized these efficiencies shouldn’t compromise the goal of finding the best candidates.

“I think this is a refreshing change and should accomplish what we want to accomplish,” Trustee Mark Madej said.

Townsend believes the new hiring practices should prevent future shortages. The village is so far behind, it will likely take 18 to 24 months to get to full capacity.

While the department has had at least six vacancies at any given time since 2016, officials said the higher vacancy rate called for change.

The hiring process in both public safety departments has been led by the five-member fire and police commission, a common suburban practice. Improved efficiencies won’t diminish their role, Schaumburg Police Chief Bill Wolf said.

The neighboring Hoffman Estates Police Department, for instance, is at full capacity while continuing to collaborate with a fire and police commission in its hiring, Village Manager Eric Palm said. Commissions were designed to ensure a merit-based, non-patronage system for hiring and promotions, he added.

His village has found hiring efficiencies by eliminating the written exam, considering veteran status in lieu of a college degree and providing a path for community service officers to become sworn police officers while still maintaining the integrity of the process, Palm said. It’s even in a position to pre-hire in anticipation of retirements.

Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said that when it comes to hiring people who are going to make life-and-death decisions, it’s desirable to give residents a voice through the commission.

“I think it cuts down on the favoritism stuff,” he added.

Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig began exercising a different philosophy in his village about 16 years ago, leaving its fire and police commission largely with the responsibility of retirement benefits.

He said that commissioners are political appointees, and he prefers to leave hiring decisions to human resources professionals.

With major crimes in Hanover Park at a more than 50-year low in 2024, Craig said there’s strong evidence the best police officer candidates are being hired this way.

“It’s a good process,” Craig said. “We don’t beat around the bush. I’ve had no pushback. You can’t wait six months to hire someone. I would say two months is the worst-case scenario. My thing is being more efficient. I think it’s served Hanover Park well over the years.”

While not facing the same urgency as Schaumburg, Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres addressed his city council earlier this month on ways the police department is improving its hiring practices.

Among the most recent examples are direct recruitment of college athletes and establishing set interview dates with the fire and police commission, the latter of which has proved a significant time-saver.

“With the assistance of the city’s data team, we analyzed all aspects of the hiring timeline,” Arres said. “We’re in the early stages of evaluating other aspects of the new-hire process to find more efficient ways to get candidates in the door sooner.”