Promotions shape new top brass in Skokie police department
By Mike Isaacs misaacs@pioneerlocal.com July 19, 2011 11:48AM
Michael Pechter was among five Skokie Police personnel promoted Monday at the Skokie Village Board meeting. Pechter is now one of two new deputy chiefs although he was still commander when he spoke earlier in the year. | Pioneer Press file photo
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Updated: July 19, 2011 11:50AM
It’s been at least decades since the Skokie Police Department has seen this extensive of a shuffling of the deck in its upper level staffing as five new deputy chiefs and commanders Monday were sworn into their new positions.
The Police Department over the last year has been a shining example of the concept of “hiring from within” as all senior positions have been filled through a competitive promotion process. That includes Police Chief Tony Scarpelli who became chief earlier in the year after Barry Silverberg retired. Scarpelli was deputy chief at the time.
“From the very start, the strategy was not to promote until we had new officers on the street,” Scarpelli said this week. “We knew these positions would be filled down the road.”
The vacancies started to add up because several long-time high-ranking police department employees retired without being replaced. The village’s hiring freeze due to the stern economy meant that the police department had to make changes from within to make sure it prioritized keeping adequate personnel on the streets.
But even with the lifting of the hiring freeze to bring in new officers, Scarpelli said, the promotions were delayed. Before officers hit the streets, they are subject to seven months of training.
The Police Department hired seven new officers who are now on the streets since the flurry of upper level vacancies emerged. A few more are still to be hired.
In total, the department will have 89 officers on staff when the hiring process is completed, he said.
What has helped make the extensive changes palatable for the department, Scarpelli said, is the ability to promote long-time personnel who have served in many capacities.
The two new deputy chiefs sworn in Monday — Al Lopez and Michael Pechter — have a combined 50-plus years on the force. Lopez has been with the department for nearly 30 years and Pechter, who helped oversee the department’s recent monumental move to its new state-of-the-art headquarters on Niles Center Road, 22 years.
The three new commanders sworn in Monday — Michael Krupnik, Terence Shiel and Paul Weinman — also have extensive experience on the force. Krupnik has been with the department for 26 years, Shiel for more than 20 years and Weinman for 17 years.
“Every one of them being promoted started here as officers,” Scarpelli said. “They have all served in many different positions and in diverse roles. That absolutely makes the transitions smoother.”
Scarpelli said it’s always best to hire from within when possible because employees come to their new positions with experience and an institutional working knowledge of how the department operates.
This significant round of promotions isn’t over either since the new commanders have left their sergeant positions vacant. Three new sergeants are likely to be sworn in at the next Village Board meeting, all of them having served as officers.
In fact, 30 officers initially put in for promotions to sergeant, 22 were found eligible and seven qualified, Scarpelli said.
The department will continue to keep four positions vacant due to the village’s partial hiring freeze still in effect. But only one of the frozen positions is a street officer, Scarpelli noted, while two are sergeants and one is a commander.
“I think the people who work here strive for more responsibility,” Scarpelli said. “We have a process in place where these promotions serve their needs and the department’s needs when there are openings.”
That process has been part of a significant year in the department’s long history. A year ago, the Skokie Police Department was located in a downtown building one-half its current size with a different chief, different deputy chiefs and different commanders.
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