What honor Mundelein chief has in common with John McCain, Nancy Pelosi

What does Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther have in common with the late Sen. John McCain, former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi?

Guenther joined their ranks last month when the American Medical Association honored him with the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service.

"I was really caught off-guard at even being nominated and considered for such a prestigious award," Guenther told us this week.

The AMA gives the annual award - named after its founding father - to public officials who've contributed to medicine and the betterment of public health.

Guenther earned the honor for his role in establishing A Way Out in Lake County. The pioneering program allows people battling opioid addiction to walk into any participating department's police station and ask for help. Police will work with the county health department from there to get the person an assessment and find treatment, even if the person can't afford it.

AMA board Chairman Jack Resneck Jr. praised A Way Out for attacking the stigma of opioid abuse and eliminating the fear of arrest for a person ready to seek help.

"When confronted with an opioid epidemic that has overwhelmed police departments and first responders across the country, Chief Guenther found an innovative solution that is working for his community and giving people with substance use disorder a chance at recovery," he said.

'True validation'

For Guenther, the award is testament to A Way Out's success since it launched in 2016.

"This is a true validation of a lot of hard work by a lot of people here in Lake County," he said. "Cities, counties and states across the country are replicating it, and to be a part of that is neat in itself."

Guenther flew to Washington, D.C., Feb. 12 along with Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz to accept the award during the AMA's National Advocacy Conference.

"Chief did an exceptional job representing Mundelein and his acceptance speech drew applause during the talk and the audience gave him a standing ovation upon completion," Lentz told us. "In typical Chief Guenther fashion, his comments focused on the victims of the opioid crisis and the good work taking place in the field as a result of this groundbreaking program.

"This program is changing lives and saving lives, and for this we are grateful."

Banner year

The award caps an exceptional 10 months for Guenther, who in April was named 2018 Chief of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

Besides A Way Out, the award recognized Guenther's work to create a Latino Police Academy to build relationships between the police department and Mundelein's Latino residents; the department's women's self-defense courses; his implementation of a wellness screening program for the department's sworn officers; and a program in which officers serve as occasional teachers at Mundelein High School.

Times have changed

Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain was the featured speaker at the annual Kane County Chiefs of Police officer-of-the-year awards dinner Wednesday night in St. Charles.

Hain, a two-time nominee, said that in the early 2000s, nominations were earned for things like making a big drug bust or rescuing somebody.

Now, he said, "we increasingly hear of heroic actions during firefights."

That's likely to be the case next year when the officers who bravely confronted the gunman at the Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora on Feb. 15 are sure to be honored.

"But will that (Pratt) be the worst incident that we have to reflect on for 2019? Think about that," he said. "What will Kane County law enforcement be talking about one year from tonight?"

Drop the puck

Want to catch some exciting action and help a good cause at the same time? Teams from the FBI and Chicago Police Department will face off at 6 p.m. Saturday at the 2019 Law Enforcement Hockey Classic at The Edge Ice Arena, 735 E. Jefferson St., in Bensenville.

You could get a chance to rub elbows with featured guests John Seda from the TV show "Chicago P.D.," actor D.B. Sweeney from "Eight Men Out" and "Memphis Belle," former Blackhawk Brandon Bollig and CBS 2 anchor Rob Johnson.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for kids online at www.honorflightchicago.org/event/hockey/, or $30 at the door.

The event benefits Honor Flight Chicago, which takes World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials.

Here's a tip

Tip your servers generously March 7 at the FoxFire restaurant, 17 W. State St. in Geneva, even if they are slow refilling your water glass or forget to bring the bread.

Geneva police officers will be working from 6 to 9 that night to raise money for Special Olympics. There also will be a 50/50 raffle.

Safest suburbs

It probably comes as little surprise for those of us who make our homes here, but a new survey by SafeHome.org confirms it: The suburbs are among the safest places to live in the nation.

The home security website's new 101 Safest Cities in America report analyzing cities with a population of more than 50,000 includes 11 Chicago suburbs, five of them in the top 25.

Topping the local honorees is Wheaton, which placed ninth on the list.

Next are Palatine (14th), Hoffman Estates (15th), Arlington Heights (17th), Mount Prospect (22nd) and Des Plaines (29th). Other suburbs to make the top 101 were Naperville (33rd) and Elgin (72nd).

SafeHome.org compiles the list by crunching 2018 FBI data from 13,366 law enforcement agencies of cities with populations of 50,000 or more. Categories include property crimes, violent crimes and resident-to-officer ratios.

Nationally, Greenwich, Connecticut, ranked first, followed by Parsippany, New Jersey; Weston, Florida; and Ramapo, New York.

• Got a tip or thoughts on a cops and crime-related issue to share? Email copsandcrime@dailyherald.com.