Romeoville Cops, 7-Eleven Partner For Trading Card Program

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Romeoville kids will soon be able to collect Cop Cards — think of them like baseball cards, but featuring Romeoville's 65 sworn police officers, plus police dog Spike. "The idea is for officers to have these available to hand out," Sgt. Chris Burne said. Anytime an officer encounters a child, they're encouraged to pass out their card, challenging local kids to collect them all.

"That way they'll have met all of the officers," Burne said of the latest community policing effort. "It's one way of bridging the gap in the community."

The program is funded through a donation by 7-Eleven. Burne and Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey were at the Alexander Circle 7-Eleven store to accept a check from Steve Sturgill, the chain's zone asset protection manager.

"Romeoville police have been very supportive of us, and we wanted to be supportive of them," Sturgill said.

Burne said the idea came from Romeoville Police Department intern Ryan Fetzer.

Fetzer said he pitched the idea of bringing back trading cards featuring local officers, a program that was done in the past but discontinued more than a decade ago.

Sturgill said he hopes the Cop Cards program can become an extension of 7-Eleven's Operation Chill program. Like the trading cards, Operation Chill helps local police connect with young community members by catching kids red-handed doing good deeds or showing positive behavior. If an officer spots a kid doing something good, the child gets a coupon good for a free 12-ounce Slurpee.

The Cop Cards will feature each officer's photo along with their biography and information on their personal interests, along with the 7-Eleven logo. Burne — who predicts the card featuring K-9 Spike will be the most collectible — said they should be ready to hand out by this spring.

Related: Meet Spike, Romeoville's Police Dog

Photo: Chief Mark Turvey accepts a check from Steve Sturgill, center, flanked by 7-Eleven field consultant Samantha Gibson, a Romeoville 7-Eleven employee, Sgt. Chris Burne and RPD intern Ryan Fetzer/Patch photo by Shannon Antinori