South Holland Police Chief Greg Baker said Tuesday the inability to upgrade security at the city’s former police station was the primary reason for moving two blocks away, but his growing department also needed more room.
South Holland residents got an inside look Monday at their new $4 million police station at 16340 South Park Ave. during the department’s open house.
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More than 150 people attended the event, peppering staff, sworn officers and citizen police academy graduates with questions, comments and congratulations. The department has operated out of its new location since July.
Visitors entering the single-level south wing breezed past the records department to learn about the lockup portion, which includes a secure entryway to the male, female and juvenile detention cells, as well as interview, holding and bonding rooms.
In the lockup portion of the facility, Sgt. Todd Koster told visitors how a motorist suspected of drunken driving is brought into the area to have blood-alcohol concentration checked on a machine and to walk a straight line on the floor.
He added that many motorists have no problem taking the test.
“Drunks have a lot of confidence,” he said. Visitors also learned computers have turned fingerprinting into an inkless process.
The three-level north wing houses administrative offices, conference rooms, and a kitchen on the main and upper levels, while evidence collection and storage, locker rooms and a fitness area are in the lower level.
Former Deputy Chief Robert Stegenga, one of the dozens of individuals gathering in the upper level of the north wing, praised the “beautiful” facility as “a wonderful way to repurpose a building.”
Stegenga, who retired after a more than 35-year career, said relocating the department was inevitable given the gradual increase in sworn officers from 21 in 1974 to 48 now.
“We just outgrew the old building,” he said.
Baker said the formerly vacant former MB Financial building, purchased in 2013, was a logical choice.
“It’s a secure building with the advantage of being a former bank,” he said.
The 33,854-square-foot facility also provides more room for the department.
Baker said he’s “very happy” with the new quarters, noting it’s “85 to 90 percent how it was as a bank.”
The emphasis on renovating much of the facility instead of rebuilding helped keep the price tag around $4 million, he said, adding that drug-asset forfeiture money covered most of the cost.
Plans call for eventually adding a large community room, administrative courtroom and command van garage at the facility, Baker said.
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.