Wheeling police chief retiring; Prospect Hts. top cop to take helm

After nearly 30 years with the Wheeling Police Department and holding roles including K-9 officer and sergeant, Police Chief Bill Benson will retire Jan. 4.

On the same day, current Prospect Heights Police Chief Jamie Dunne will be sworn in to take the helm in Wheeling. Deputy Chief Al Steffen will take over Dunne's job.

"Chief Benson has always been a fixture of the police department and the village of Wheeling," Village President Dean Argiris said. "He's always the first one there for fundraisers and he's made many contributions to the police department."

Benson says he's been thinking about retiring for a while, and now seemed like the right time.

"I've been trying to retire for the last year and a half, but I wanted to make sure the department was in good shape to hand it over to my successor," Benson said.

That includes making sure the budget was solid and reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies was in place.

"Everyone knows when it's time to go, and this is my time," Benson said.

Benson has risen through the ranks, serving as officer, detective, K-9 officer, crime prevention officer, sergeant, deputy chief and chief.

After working for one year in St. Petersburg, Florida, Benson started as a patrol officer with Wheeling in 1986.

He served as the department's first K-9 officer with the dog Laser from 1987 to 1994. He served as sergeant from 1996 to 1999. In 2006, he was promoted to deputy chief, and after Chief John Stone retired in 2010, Benson took his spot.

He says one of the best memories he has is as the K-9 officer.

"Laser was the first dog we had in the department, and in the mid-'80s there were only a few K-9s in the area. We got to do a lot of work even outside of Wheeling."

Benson says he'll miss the people he's worked with.

"Everyone always came together when they needed to; I've really enjoyed the teamwork here," he said.

Argiris says he hopes today's young faces in the department take Benson as an example and strive to work their way up in the department. But in this case, Dunne was the only candidate Village Manager Jon Sfondilis recommended for the position, Argiris said.

"He is well-respected in his career and is very familiar with Wheeling and the surrounding areas," Argiris said. "We talked about doing a national search, but we wanted to make sure we got someone in there quickly."

Dunne has led the Prospect Heights Police Department since February 2011. Before that, he served with the Buffalo Grove Police Department for 30 years, finishing his time there as deputy chief.

Prospect Heights Mayor Nick Helmer said Dunne first told him a few weeks ago that he was thinking about taking the position is Wheeling.

"He's done so well with us, I said to him, 'I'd like you to take this opportunity because you deserve it,'" Helmer said. "He's been phenomenal. He's very detailed, well-liked, and he restructured the whole police department."

Dunne says he plans on taking the first three to six months in Wheeling to learn more about the department and listen to residents and the village staff.

"It takes a while to peel back the layers of the onion and learn about the culture of every police department," Dunne said.

Prospect Heights Deputy Chief Al Steffen will be sworn in as chief there Jan. 4. He has been with the department since it was created in 1990.

"I think Al will do a fantastic job," Dunne said. "He's been a partner and involved in the entire decision-making process."

Helmer says Steffen was the obvious choice for the job, and no other candidates were considered.

After retiring, Benson says he plans on taking six months to one year off to relax.

"The plan is that I have no plan," he said.