C'Ville police chaplain there when you need him

When Pastor Phil Zilinski arrives at the scene of a tragedy, he doesn't want to be seen as the bearer of bad news.

That would make his job too depressing, he says.

Instead, as chaplain for the Carpentersville Police Department, Zilinski says he is the beginning of the grieving and recovery process for families.

"How can you keep telling people bad news?" Zilinski said. "Once people are brought down by the bad news, the only way is up. I am not there to take them down. I am there to help them back up."

Zilinski began as chaplain for the East Dundee police almost a decade ago, but eventually moved to the larger Carpentersville department. The village was also his boyhood home.

"We tried to get a community chaplain program going and we were on a rotation of three days on call," Zilinski said. "But no one was building any relationships."

Whether it is sitting with a family in a hospital room, waiting to hear the diagnosis of a loved one or standing on the banks of the Fox River watching as divers search for a drowning victim, Zilinski said he is there to comfort the family as well as the police officers involved.

"It is no fun telling people that their loved one is dead," said Zilinski, who has been the Carpentersville Police Department chaplain for eight years. "But I do get a great deal of joy helping people out, helping to make the situation more bearable for them."

His role with the police department extends beyond notifying families of tragedies. Zilinski is also a major factor in connecting the police department with residents, said Detective Sgt. Dean Stiegemier.

"He is another bridge, another link that we have in the community that can help us establish rapport with the citizens," said Stiegemeier, who has worked with Zilinski for about eight years. "It doesn't have to be religion-based; he is a calming person, his demeanor is a calming factor in a lot of situations."

Still, Zilinski said many situations hit close to home. A father of five children--including four adopted from foster care -- Zilinski said one particular case was difficult because of the similarities between his own children and the victim.

In the summer of 2006, 11-year-old Pedro Solis of Carpentersville was swimming in the Fox River with friends when he drowned.

Zilinski waited in the banks of the river with Pedro's family while divers searched for the boy's body.

"That was hard because I have a 12-year-old son and I could imagine him playing in the river like that," Zilinski said. "That made me go home and hug my own kids."

Despite the language barrier, Zilinski said helping the family was one of the most rewarding experiences of his career.

"I would say a prayer and then the translator would say it in Spanish," Zilinski said. "It is difficult to console someone when what you say has to be translated, but the mother would nod her head and say, 'I understand.' That was a very touching scene."