Lemont Resident Named Police Chief Of The Year

LEMONT, IL — Lemont resident and Beecher Police Chief Terry Lemming won the 2023 Chief of the Year Award from the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, according to a release from the organization.

The award goes to a chief who excels in his or her own department and provides extraordinary service to the association. A committee made up of several from the 1,400+ member statewide organization determined that Lemming truly embodied what it meant to be an outstanding chief worthy of awarding, a release states.

His selection was approved by the ILACP Board of Officers.

Lemming has spent nearly four decades in law enforcement "perfecting quality policing," according to a release.

He started off in local law enforcement and then joined the Illinois State Police in 1989 as a trooper. He spent 25 years with ISP where his primary assignments were multi-jurisdictional drug task forces.

From 2004 to 2008, Chief Lemming was Illinois’ representative to the National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, NASDEA. As a board member of NASDEA, Lemming organized the national Operation Byrne Drug operation where more than 5,000 criminals were arrested nationwide in one day, according to a release.

Lemming went on to serve as the President of the Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association,
and served as Illinois’ delegate to the National Narcotics Officers Associations Coalition from
2008 to 2018.

After retiring from the Illinois State Police, Lemming was appointed Chief of Police in the City of
Lockport in 2014, a release states. While there, Chief Lemming implemented a Safe Passage Program, a safe harbor drug treatment program. His efforts did not stop there as he also resurrected a dormant Chaplains Program to minister and counsel both officers and residents, while also starting the charitable organization “Lockport Love” whose mission is to help residents in time of need, according to a release.

In 2022, Lemming was appointed Chief of Police in the Village of Beecher, where he currently serves.

Chief Lemming quickly noticed the town did not have a drug education program in the elementary
schools and went on to establish the “Too Good for Drugs” education program in Beecher schools.

“Chief Lemming came to our community as part of the ‘Linebacker Program’ when our community needed short-term executive management. However, he did not treat this as a ‘short-term gig’ and dug right into addressing the needs of our community, our department, and our officers. His involvement in the community is far beyond anything we ever expected from the chief’s position, and he has truly made a connection with our community,” Beecher Village Administrator Robert Barber said in a news release.

“From the first phone call through his entire tenure, Chief Lemming has impressed me with his
professionalism, honesty, and dedication to duty… he consistently goes above and beyond and even though he lives some distance from our community he is here for us day or night when needed. He gives up his nights and weekends to attend community events and our community members love him. His impact in this community will be felt long after he leaves us,” Beecher Village President Marcy Meyer said in a release.

Lemming has been a long-time supporter of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and a
member since 1998, the release states. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of the association’s Legislative Committee.

“Chief Lemming has the ability to see complex issues from multiple perspectives as well as articulate those perspectives, which makes him effective when negotiating or drafting bill language,” Lemont Police Chief Marc Maton said in a release. “He has always been an advocate of law enforcement having a voice at the Capitol and recruited me to be part of the legislative committee in 2001.”

Lemming has also been an active member of the Police Chiefs Association of Will County and has been its long-serving legislative liaison.