A recent restructuring of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, including the appointment of a new undersheriff, has helped the office reach its goal of becoming a more academic organization working toward increased community involvement and diversity, Sheriff Mark Curran said.
For years, Curran said, administrators have been working toward increased professionalism and accreditation in all areas of the office, and new command staff appointments represent some of the final pieces of that puzzle.
Earlier this month, Curran announced that he had appointed David Hare undersheriff, a position that had been vacant since Raymond Rose retired in April. Hare formerly was police chief in Round Lake Beach and the sheriff’s office hired him as chief of operations in 2016.
In his new role, Hare will oversee the office’s highway patrol, criminal investigations, court security, warrants, civil process, records, community services, training and judicial sales departments. All sheriff’s office deputy chiefs and division heads will report directly to Hare, Curran said.
In another major appointment, former Chief of Administration Jonathan Petrillo has been promoted to the new position of chief of law enforcement and community services. Curran hired Petrillo, a former deputy chief with the Vernon Hills Police Department, in April.
Curran said academic achievement and law enforcement experience are both being taken into consideration in building an administrative and command staff with what he terms unique qualifications.
Both Hare and Petrillo hold master’s degrees, and Hare is an adjunct instructor, teaching management-level police administration courses at Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety.
“These guys could be in the running for chief (of police) jobs anywhere in the country, and they’re here,” Curran said.
“Dave is the best numbers guy I’ve known in law enforcement,” Curran said in a recent interview. “He has a rare aptitude and skill set unique in an era of smaller budgets and greater scrutiny.”
Hare said there is now more emphasis on team goals at the sheriff’s office, as opposed to officers at the jail, highway patrol and other departments primarily being concerned about their sector.
“The bottom line is that the sheriff’s office as a whole is everybody’s goal,” Hare said.
The addition of chief of community services to Petrillo’s title represents the office’s intent to continue pursuing community outreach through meetings with local officials and residents, as well as social media efforts, Hare and Petrillo said.
Officials said they want the office to be known in the community as an agency that protects people and provides services, as opposed to just making arrests.
Petrillo said that as part of the office’s effort to continue to improve both law enforcement and community services, he has been visiting with various groups across the county.
“It’s a lot of listening and asking questions,” he said.
Petrillo said the outreach efforts already have generated new programs, including one to help homeless veterans and eventually to have “zero homelessness in Lake County.”
Curran said the office has made strides in increasing diversity — including increased minority hires — along with transparency and group participation among employees.
Curran was first elected in November 2006. By Febuary 2009, the number of women employed in the office had grown from 110 to 118, while the number of blackpersonnel had increased from 65 to 79 and the number of Hispanic employees increased from 22 to 36 during that time, according to records.
Currently, the sheriff’s office employs 46 Hispanics, 62 blacks and 122 women. Those workers include deputies, corrections officers and office personnel.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said the number of black employees is down due to several recent retirements, but the office continues to strive for diverse hiring. Two new black corrections officers were included in a group of six officers who recently completed basic training for the office.
Before the new appointments, Curran formed a committee to assist in a review and assessment of the administrative command structure. The committee included police chiefs, former sheriff’s office employees and a representative of the Lake County state’s attorney’s office.
Curran said other command staff officers will continue in their current roles, with Chief David Wathen leading the operations of the Lake County Jail, and Chief Jennifer Witherspoon, the first high-level black female command officer in the sheriff’s office, overseeing jail programming. In addition, Witherspoon, who holds a law degree from John Marshall Law School, serves as the office’s legal liaison.
While the administration’s relationship with its unionized deputies has not always been smooth, Curran said he believes it has improved and is continuing to improve, and that the deputies are demonstrating a “buy-in” to the change of culture.
“The focus here is to operate as an organization, not just the sheriff, undersheriff and chiefs,” Curran said.
Corrections officer Robert Webber, a 15-year veteran of the department, said he feels morale is good among most sheriff’s office employees.
“From my perspective, things are fine,” he said this week. “I’m happy, and I think a lot of people that work here are happy and think our command is good.”
