In La Grange Park, One Officer Promoted, Another Joins the Force

At Tuesday night's La Grange Park Village Board meeting, one officer was promoted to the rank of sergeant and another joined the force in a village swearing-in ceremony.

To start the night's meeting, Interium Village Manager Julia Cedillo welcomed and congratulated the officers, while Police Chief Dan McCollum cracked jokes.

"One of the great things about La Grange Park is that we don't have to do this often," McCollum said, refrencing that employees stay at the village for a long time.

Sergeant Joe Renc and officer Doug Rackow were each sworn in. Renc, who started at the department in 2002, was promoted to Sergeant. Rackow, who grew up in Western Springs, was welcomed onto the force. He had recently completed training and an internship at the Kane County Sheriff's Department.

Renc's wife was given the honor of pinning on his badge, and Rackow's mother was given the same. Both smiled widely, with Rackow's mother joking she had a lot of practice pinning on boutonnieres over the years.

"I congratulate you on your accomplishment and your promotion," Village President Dr. Jim Discipio said. "Thank you for representing your community."

After the ceremony, Renc said that he felt proud of the promotion, thankful for his family attending and was looking forward to leading the other officers.

"I lost my father about eight months ago," Renc said. "It's too bad he didn't get a chance to see this."

Rackow said that he'd been learning a lot and was ready to get started.

"They've been teaching me a lot and I'm just learning the ropes," Rackow said.

Later in the night, McCollum said he was pleased with the new appointments.

"We're really encouraged by these appointments and I think [they] will be a compliment to the force," McCollum said. 

Also at the meeting, the village honored 14 staff members for their years of service and they were presented certificates by the interim village manager.

"I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—the village has fantastic employees,” Cedillo said. "The quality of any organization comes from the people who contribute to it."