Glencoe Pays Firm To Find Rare Combination Cop-Firefighters

GLENCOE, IL — Consultants are going to help find new members of the Glencoe Department of Public Safety. Village trustees approved a one-year contract Thursday with the consulting firm Walker Thomas Group for about $20,000 to provide training and recruitment services. Officers in Glencoe perform dual roles, operating as both law enforcement and paramedics. Rosemont is the only other department in the state that handles both police and firefighting responsibilities.

According to village staff, a significant group of officers at the department were hired in the late 1980s and early 1990s and will be retiring around a similar time.

The office of the village manager and the public safety command staff decided they need to "develop a pipeline of future prospective applicants."

To do so, Walker Thomas plans to present at least 12 events a year, including celebrations, job fairs or speaking engagements, for department staff to attend.

The village is also looking to create a strategy to "assist in increasing women and people of color within Public Safety in Glencoe," according to a letter from Walker Thomas Group CEO Erika Walker.

The proposal lists the recruitment plan as having three phases, although only two ("Planning" and "Execution") were included in a proposal of the firm's scope of services.

The department currently has 36 officers, an average starting salary of $65,500 and one open position. Two retired this year and another six could be eligible to retire next year, Assistant Village Manager Sharon Tanner told Pioneer Press.

Adding to the difficulty for the department is finding candidates who are interested in being both a cop and a firefighter and qualified to do both.

Village manager Phil Kiraly told the paper some potential officers have "washed out," while Glencoe Public Safety Chief Cary Lewandowski said "people who are either police- or fire-oriented have difficulty doing both," according to Glencoe News. At least member of the village board, Trent Cornell, suggested that the dual roles may someday need to be separated if the department keeps having these issues.

In addition to finding new officers, the Walker Thomas Group proposal includes "Diversity & Inclusion and Cultural Awareness Training," which would begin with six focus groups to identify and focus training. It will be followed by classes to provide officers with "an expanded worldview of themselves and others" to strengthen relationships with the community. Other goals of the program are to "begin to build cultural competence" and increase communication "across lines of difference."

The $19,200 contract with the Walker Thomas Group approved by trustees includes a 10 percent contingency, so it could rise to as much as $21,120.

_{Top photo via Patch file | Carrie Porter}