Official Helped Hire Most Burr Ridge Cops

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge resident Ronald Damper has taken part in the hiring of 88 percent of the village's police officers, an official said this week.

On Monday, Damper was honored at a Village Board meeting for his 22 years of service on the three-member Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. He has submitted his resignation.

"During his 22 years of service, he's interviewed hundreds of police applicants. I actually think it's in the thousands because we used to have testing with 200 applicants," Police Chief John Madden said.

The chief also said Damper has attended meetings with officers about issues they face every day, including diversity. Madden said he has worked with Damper for 20 of the 22 years.

"I was just in the roll call a half hour ago, and they were bringing up how they enjoyed when you came to the meetings and had great discussions," Madden told Damper.

Resident Edward Shishem was appointed to replace Damper.