Romeoville To Build Police Officer, K9 Memorial At Village Hall

ROMEOVILLE, IL — The Village of Romeoville will honor former police officers — human and dog alike — with a new memorial outside Village Hall. The memorial will pay tribute to members of the force who have retired and passed away.

Village officials in early September approved a measure to spend just over $90,000 on the memorial, which will be constructed in front of Village Hall. The memorial will have three light-up acrylic panels, which contain outlines of a male officer, female office and a K9 unit, according to renderings of the memorial. The three panels will have the words "integrity," "loyalty" and "honesty."

There will be pavers surrounding the memorial, which will have the names and service years of the former police officers and K9's that have passed away. A number of pavers will have a inscription reading: "Their duty was to serve. Our duty is to remember."

Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey said there are 10 former police officers who will be honored at the site, as well as a number of K9's.

The memorial has been in the works since at least May. The idea for the memorial originated with police and village personnel who wanted to honor retired members of the force, Turvey said.

Village officials unanimously approved the item at the board's Sept. 4 meeting. In passing the resolution, board members allowed the village to skip the bidding process required and enter into a contract with Joliet-based GLI Services, which has worked with the village on several parks projects, officials said.

Mayor John Noak said the memorial has been on the village's radar for some time, and that he's excited to see movement on the project.

"I really love what everyone’s come up with," Noak said after the vote. "It’s going to look fantastic and [be] a really nice addition to honor those who served. I look forward to the day we have an unveiling.”

The memorial should be completed by the end of November, according to the contract between GLI and the village.