Dennis Koletsos retires Dec. 31 after 16 years as chief of police for the city of Northlake.
He grew up in Chicago but later moved with his family to the west suburbs where he attended East Leyden High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences and a master’s degree in human resources management at National Louis University. Except for some odd jobs in construction as a young man, he’s spent his entire career — 41 years — in law enforcement.
Q. How old were you when you decided you want to go into law enforcement?
A. Probably since I was 10 years old. Growing up in Chicago where I’d see a squad car go by, I always wondered where they were going.
Q. Where did you go to college?
A. National Louis University. I finished up after I was already on the job 10 years.
Q. Ten years?
A. I realized at that time my ambition was to become chief of police. I realized without going back for more education and developing skills, I would be very limited and wouldn’t achieve that goal.
Q. Where was your first job in law enforcement?
A. Wood Dale as a patrol officer at age 22. I was there for 21 years.
Q. What were the challenges of that job?
A. I wore a lot of different hats. I became an evidence technician a couple years in. Then detective sergeant in 1977. Then a couple years later commander. In the mid 1980s, I took over operations including the detective division as deputy chief of operations.
Q. Anything else?
A. Embracing technology. In the early 1970s, there was very little technology in the police field. Using technology to improve police operations was certainly a challenge.
Q. What was your next position?
A. Chief in Grayslake for four years. It was one of the faster growing communities. It went from a small farming community of 7,000 to 28,000 people in the boom times of the 1990s.
Q. What were the challenges of that job?
A. Just trying to figure out the new streets they were cutting. I actually had a guy part-time mapping the new streets. Also changing the culture of the department. Instilling professional policing methods while hiring new personnel to keep up with the growth.
Q. In 1998, you took over as chief of police in Northlake. A few years earlier, a police chief had been convicted of getting paid for ignoring gambling and the department had gone through several police chiefs since then. What was the state of the Northlake Police Department when you arrived?
A. I got here and realized there was gong to be a lot of work to upgrade the department. I thought it would be a heck of a challenge but I told (Mayor Sherwin) I was on board.
Q. What were the challenges?
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A. There were a lot of long-term employees who didn’t want to see any change. That’s normal for any organization when an outsider chief of CEO comes in. The union was very strong. There were definitely some hard decisions and hard fought battles between the administration and the union. Eventually we were able to develop a good working relationship.
Q. What are you most proud of achieving?
A. Developing performance standards for all levels. Computerizing the operations — when I got here we only had one computer in the building. Developing and implementing a purchasing system for all expenditures in the department. CALEA [Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies] accreditation twice.
Q. Any tips for a police officer that wants to work his way up the ranks?
A. The biggest thing is to maintain your integrity throughout your career. It’s not the same thing as honesty. Integrity is what you do when no one knows or no one is looking. Also, you have a responsibility to discipline your people. It is not that any chief wants to, but it’s a necessary function of the job.
Q. What do most people not know about being a police chief?
A. There’s a tremendous amount of stress. A tremendous amount of time you are not compensated for. It’s a commitment your family has to go through also.
Q. Any plans for retirement?
A. Maybe sleep in a little bit. Play with my grandkids before they get too old. Maybe travel a little bit. It will be nice to slow down a bit.