Louis Alessandrini, a longtime veteran of the New Lenox Police Department, was sworn in Nov. 9 as the village’s new police chief replacing April Di Sandro, who served in the role for six months.
Alessandrini, 51, joined the department in 2005.
Alessandrini credited Di Sandro and previous chief Bob Sterba for their leadership in the department.
“We have a great department, Alessandrini said Friday. “We have had some great leadership here … this department is in real good shape.”
Di Sandro, who first joined the department in 1990, was named police chief in April to replace Sterba, who held that role for 12 years. Di Sandro, who was the village’s first female police chief, retired at the end of October.
“I loved working at the police department … I really enjoyed it,” Di Sandro said Friday.
Di Sandro, 53, said she opted to retire to spend time with family, noting that she recently became a grandmother and has two children at home for remote learning.
“I had a really nice career, but it was time,” she said. “I’m super excited and can’t wait to spend time with my grandson.”
Di Sandro said she held every rank in the department before becoming chief. She began has chief just as the village began dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, saw it’s first murder in 20 years and saw protesters gather at the village commons.
“Her experience was critical over the past several months,” New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann said.
As chief, Di Sandro’s salary was $155,000, a $9,000 increase from her salary as deputy chief. With 30 years of experience, she will collect 75% of her salary as chief for her pension. The salary bump she received as chief means an additional $6,750 a year in pension benefits over what she would have received from $146,000 salary as deputy chief, Baldermann said.
Alessandrini, who has two years less experience than Di Sandro, will make $153,000 as chief.
Alessandrini said he plans to continue to work in building community relationships.
“Our goal will be to continue to earn the support and trust of the citizens that we serve here in New Lenox,” said Alessandrini. “They’ve been very supportive of us and in turn we want to continue to provide professional service to them.”
Baldermann said law enforcement agencies face challenging times, but was confident Alessandrini was up for the task.
More Top Picks Best Tablet Kids
“He has the integrity and demeanor to oversee a department in a time when there’s an even heavier burden on law enforcement,” Baldermann said.
Alessandrini joined the department in 2005 after serving 13 years with the Chicago Heights Police Department. He has been a deputy chief for the New Lenox Police Department since 2017.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.