Bolingbrook HS School Resource Officer Retires After 25 Years

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Officer John Ivlow, the school resource officer and football coach at Bolingbrook High School, will retire after 25 years of service, according to the Bolingbrook Police Department.

Chief Mike Rompa presented the Distinguished Service Award to Ivlow on Tuesday. Ivlow, who will retire after the first of the year, was honored with a clap out at Bolingbrook High School by students and staff, the department said.

Ivlow graduated, attended, and played football at both Northwestern University and Colorado State University. According to the department, in 1992, while attending Colorado State, Ivlow was rated the 39th best rusher in the Western Athletic Conference and No. 5 for rushing yards per attempt.

Ivlow entered the National Football League in 1993, and played for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers when they won Super Bowl XXIX in 1995, the department said.

After his professional football career, the Bolingbrook Police Department hired John as a patrolman. In 2000, he was reassigned to Bolingbrook High School as a school resource officer, according to the department.

At the school, he combined his passion for football with his calling to positively impact the lives of youth by becoming an assistant football coach, the department said. After head coach Phil Action retired in 2002, Ivlow took over the squad and has led them to six conference championship titles and one state championship title.

The department said Ivlow has received 16 Chief's Commendations and numerous thank you letters from the public during his 25-year tenure. He was also the Bolingbrook Exchange Club 2009 Officer of the Year, a 2015 candidate for the Bolingbrook Police Department Officer of the Year, and the 2020 Bolingbrook Police Officer of the Year.

In 2017, he was also named a “Pillar of Valley View” by the Valley View School District School Board for his dedication to the district and in 2019 was named to the School District 202 Hall of Fame, the department said.