Police reward goodness with food coupons

Jim Goschey has seen it.

He'll be on patrol as a Naperville Park District police officer, and he'll actually spot someone doing something nice.

Once it was a man going out of his way to return a lost wallet. Another time it was a mom who was picking up trash around a park while her child was skating.

"We have maintenance people who do that," he said with a smile when he approached the helpful mom. "I know," she said, "but it's my park, too."

It's enough to get a guy to thinking.

"A lot of good deeds go unnoticed," said Goschey, who works full-time in the city's sign department and is in his second year as a part-time park police officer.

He decided it would be cool to find a way to thank people who make the effort to keep their parks clean, safe or just better places.

So after clearing it with his bosses, he visited several area businesses, including the McDonald's at River Road and Ogden Avenue. He asked if they might be willing to provide coupons that officers could hand out to reward folks for being thoughtful.

The result is a program that began July 23 in which park squad cars come equipped with gift cards for free ice cream at any McDonald's or free popcorn from Belgio's catering, which operates the Riverwalk Eatery and concessions at Centennial Beach.

When the park district's 24 part-time officers spot a resident going beyond the call of duty, they can whip out a gift card to go along with their "thank you."

"We want to show people it really does matter," said Goschey's boss, Lt. Mike Harrington. "It really is noticed and it really is appreciated."

Both Harrington and Goschey say the interaction that comes with handing out cards is a perfect opportunity to encourage residents to take ownership of their parks and forge a better relationship between park police and the people they serve.

"Sometimes we walk up to people and they don't even know Naperville has park police," Harrington said.

Goschey says he's already handed out cards to three kids who helped collect trash one night while he was locking up the Riverwalk skate park.

"Instead of using my pen and ticket book, I'd like to educate people beforehand and use my ticket book as a last resort," he said.

That's the kind of attitude the district is trying to inspire, said Sameera Luthman, marketing and communications manager.

The park district is responsible for roughly 2,500 acres, she said, "and it's important to encourage everyone to be good stewards of the land."

Harrington has high praise for Goschey's initiative in suggesting the program and then making it a reality.

"I've been as impressed with this as I've been with any officer catching a guy doing a crime in a park," Harrington said.

Both men say they plan to track the program's success this year with an eye toward possibly expanding it by getting more sponsors and offering more prizes.

Luthman said district leaders also will monitor the effort. It's too early to make promises, she said, but if it's successful, "there's always room for doing something more down the road."