Elgin changes face of police department with promotions

In a little more than an hour Friday, the Elgin Police Department changed the face of its organization.

The department held its biggest promotion ceremony in recent memory, naming three lieutenants to the newly established commander rank, promoting two sergeants to lieutenant and installing three police officers as sergeants.

“It’s the largest change to the Elgin Police Department anyone can remember,” Police Chief Jeffrey Swoboda said.

The department also said goodbye to Sgt. Jose Morales, 51, who retired after 24 years of service. The joke was that it took eight people to fill his shoes.

Earlier this month, the city reorganized the department and created the rank of commander. It will be a hybrid position in which they will still be involved in daily operations but be in a position to make changes without dealing with the bureaucracy.

For example. if a commander attends a neighborhood meeting and hears about an idea to improve police services, he or she has the power to make that change.

“It’s about thinking big, having big ideas, going forward, working hard, getting teams around you that do that do the job,” Swoboda said.

The new commanders are Glenn Theriault, a 17-year veteran, Ana Lalley, a 16-year veteran and Lt. Bill Wolf, who has 20 years in. Theriault helped establish the city’s adjudication division, Wolf works in the special investigations and technical services divisions and Lally oversees patrol.

“It is humbling to continue to have these opportunities to move forward and to probably make some more changes as we go along to make the community better,” Theriault said, “It’s a real privilege to have worked with many of you here.”

Swoboda described Theriault as a man who is never satisfied — but in a good way, Lalley as a no-nonsense cop who has no problem attending community meetings and Wolf as a man who will work long hours, but will never ask for comp time.

Morales, meanwhile, says he has come a long way from the little boy who once sold oranges and mangoes in Puerto Rico. He moved to Elgin with his family in 1969 and was the first in his family to graduate from college. His plans are to divide his time between Puerto Rico and Elgin.

At the ceremony, Morales was honored by the Puerto Rican Heritage Organization, the Elgin Latino Political Action Team and the Hispanic Heritage Commission. He choked up during his farewell speech and says he leaves the department a richer man because of all of the friends he has made here. “I couldn’t ask for anything better,” he said.

Also promoted were sergeants Frank Trost and Dan O’Shea to lieutenant and officers Kevin Senne, Jim Roscher and Colin Fleury to sergeant.