Everyday Heroes 2016

Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 • A Northwest Herald publication

Celebrating the selfless efforts of McHenry County police, fire

and rescue personnel

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To Serveand Protect

EVERYDAY HEROES | Northwest Herald / NW

Herald.com • Saturday, February 27, 2016

3WELCOME TO EVERYDAY HEROESCome inside and meet the people making a difference in our lives as police, fire and EMT personnel

Contributors

This section was produced by Northwest Herald editors Jason Schaumburg, R. Scott Helmchen, H. Rick Bamman and Joan Oliver; reporters Emily K. Coleman, Katie Dahl-strom, Allison Goodrich, Hannah Prokop and Caitlin Swieca; correspondent Cynthia Wolf; and photographers Matthew Apgar and Sarah Nader.

John Adams ..................4

Mike Bennett ...............6

Ken Caudle ...................8

Wesley Crain ..............10

David Eeg .....................11

Theresa Harper .......... 13

Linda Hooten .............. 19

William Husfield ....... 20

Daniel Kreassig .......... 21

Jeremy Mortimer .......22

Jerry Schillaci .............23

Joe Teson ....................24

Mike Bennett

To see a photo gallery of this year’s Everyday Heroes honorees, visit NWHerald.com

2016 Heroes

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S4 JOHN ADAMS McHenry Police

DepartmentBy HANNAH PROKOP

[email protected]

Between working the midnight shift at the McHenry Police Department and spending the day working with McHen-ry County Police Charities, teaching classes and spending time with his family, John Adams doesn’t get much sleep.

The McHenry police officer started with the department in 1999 after work-ing with the Antioch Police Depart-ment. Adams’ father also was a police officer, and Adams knew that was always what he wanted to do, too.

Being a police officer is more than writing tickets for Adams, he said, it’s about the legacy he’ll leave behind.

“If I retire and leave my shiny stuff here, and I don’t leave a better legacy or better place than I walked into, then it’s not right for me,” Adams said.

The legacy he’s made in McHenry includes his dedication to the McHenry County Police Charities board, which helps fundraise for the community and develop relationships between cops and community members.

The program the group is most known for is Shop with a Cop, when law enforcement officers are paired with at-risk children.

Adams said he is the longest-serving member on the board and coordinates the Shop with a Cop program with the McHenry Police Department.

He also works with the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce, which fundraises for the event.

Wayne Seely is a chamber member who has worked with Adams on the Shop with a Cop program.

“His heart is always in the right place,” Seely said of Adams.

Seely said Adams always is thinking outside the box on how the organiza-tion can raise money to help children.

Adams is so passionate about it that he gets the whole family involved, Seely said.

Ellen Menas, Adams’ younger sis-ter, said she has helped fundraise for the event and participated, too.

“It’s really tough to quantify and to put into words what the program means to him,” Menas said.

She said Adams is “self-sacrificing” and a great role model when it comes to helping children and showing them cops are human beings.

“He really lifts these kids up and empowers them,” Menas said.

The first year Adams participated in the event, he and his wife went shop-

ping with a brother and sister. Adams said he was amazed the two children only wanted to buy gifts for other peo-ple at the event.

“I always tell my family and friends that all the bad stuff you deal with

through the year, that one day seeing the look on the kids’ faces and the ex-perience you have and the interactions it’s worth it,” Adams said. “We can make an impact there, and we hope we can have a positive impact on everyone that’s involved.”

Adams has seen the impact of the program on the community. Some children who were part of the program when they were younger now are donating their time or money to the program as adults, Adams said.

Aside from fundraising all year for the one day of shopping with children, Adams also teaches a junior achieve-ment class once a week at St. Peter School in Antioch, where his 13-year-old daughter, Molly, and 10-year-old daughter, Amy, attend.

After getting off an overnight shift at 8 a.m., Adams said he was going home to make 50 chocolate covered strawberries to bring to the students for the lesson on how to run a hot

dog stand, continuing his work in the community.

“I’m lucky to call him my broth-er,” Menas said. “And I think that the community is extremely fortunate to have someone who’s so compassionate and passionate about the community he works in and giving back on an extraordinary level.”

Sarah Nader - [email protected]

McHenry police officer John Adams has worked with volunteers to provide a Christmas for at-risk children through the Shop with a Cop program.

>> The Adams file

Age: 48Workplace: McHenry Police

DepartmentLives in: AntiochFamily: Wife, Kosette; daughters,

Molly, 13, and Amy, 10Quotable: “I always tell my fam-

ily and friends that all the bad stuff you deal with through the year, that one day seeing the look on the kids’ faces and the experience you have and the interactions, it’s worth it.” – John Adams

“I think that the community is extremely fortunate to have someone who’s so compas-

sionate and passionate about the community he works in and giving back on an extraordinary

level.”

Ellen MenasJohn Adams’ sister

Everyday Heroes| Northwest Herald / NW


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S6 MIKE BENNETT Crystal Lake

Police DepartmentBy EMILY K. COLEMAN

[email protected]

Crystal Lake Police Sgt. Mike Ben-nett has shoveled driveways, changed tires and even stopped traffic on Route 31 to help a mother goose and her gos-lings get across the busy roadway.

Bennett sees it as part of the job, one that led to his decision to pursue a career as a police officer after working as a security officer in low-income housing, but one that doesn’t get as much attention as it should.

“[Departments] don’t prioritize that,” Bennett said. “But you do hear about how many tickets you wrote the day before, how many tickets they want you to write, concentrating on different intersections for certain violations and stuff like that.”

The Crystal Lake Police Depart-ment, where Bennett has spent the past 21 years, has been supportive of the efforts, but the good deeds still aren’t quantifiable, he said.

Bennett’s emphasis on community policing is one of the reasons he was named to a new target response unit that will be focused on problem-solv-ing within the community, getting to spend more time on quality-of-life issues such as neighbor disputes, kids who are running into trouble and is-sues related to drug addiction, said his supervisor, Cmdr. Ron Joseph.

“Mike is self-initiated, team-ori-ented, works to inspire his personnel to achieve a higher level of customer service,” Joseph said.

That’s why Joseph wasn’t sur-prised at all to hear that Bennett was raising money to buy a new dog for Laura Johnson, a developmentally disabled Crystal Lake resident who had been out walking her dog when she was hit by a car, leaving her dog, Scooby, dead and her with an injured foot and leg.

Johnson had been woken up by her dog around 2 a.m. Oct. 26, said her mother, Judy Johnson.

Laura Johnson doted on Scooby, a 3-year-old shelter dog that looked like a black poodle, and would take him out anytime of day or night, Judy Johnson said. They’d head out the front door and loop around the condo-minium complex they’ve lived in for the past 18 years.

That night, they didn’t make it far-ther than the sidewalk right outside their building when a car driven by Damian Dzitkowski jumped the curb and hit the two of them. Dzitkowski

was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to a year of probation in December.

“She was down there screaming, ‘He killed my dog. He killed my dog,’” Judy Johnson said. “She was sitting on the ground. She couldn’t stand up

yet. She was in such shock. Her foot hurt, but she didn’t even realize [that she had been hit].”

Information came to Bennett in bits and pieces as the first officer respond-ed and then he arrived to conduct the investigation, get witness statements and, ultimately, make an arrest, he said.

“After everything kind of died down and we talked to Laura a little bit – she didn’t say a whole lot – then we realized there was more to it than a woman out with her dog,” Bennett said. “By the end of the shift, it kind of sank in. I think a lot of us felt pretty bad.”

Bennett thought about putting out a jar with a note on it to raise money to help replace the Johnsons’ dog, but then he decided to do something “a little bit more modern.”

A link to the crowdsourcing site GoFundMe.com was sent around the Crystal Lake Police Department and its dispatch center, Southeast Emer-

gency Communications or SEECOM, Bennett said. Within three days, they had raised $500, and by the end of the week, it was about $1,000.

The Johnsons used the money plus an additional $200 they had gotten from some of Judy Johnson’s former co-workers – she had retired from McHenry County College the year be-fore – to buy a bichon-frise-and-shi-tzu mix puppy they named Abbie.

The donation gave Laura Johnson something to look forward to instead of just thinking about what had happened and the dog she lost, Judy Johnson said.

Actions like this help the police de-partment build trust with the commu-nity and ensure the department can be successful, Joseph said.

“I thought it was very noble,” he said. “It was very empathetic and noble that he would lead the charge for trying to make restitution, but working with him for 21 years, that’s nothing that surprised me.”

Sarah Nader – [email protected]

Crystal Lake Police Sgt. Mike Bennett was instrumental in raising funds to buy Laura Johnson a new puppy last year after her former puppy died after being hit by a car.

>> The Bennett file

Age: 45Workplace: Crystal Lake Police

DepartmentLives in: Crystal LakeFamily: Wife, Andrea; son, Tyler,

25, and daughter, Erin, 23; step-daughter, Carissa, 13.

Quotable: “I could write a thousand tickets and actually feel guilty, but change one flat tire and that would make my day for the next week.” – Mike Bennett



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KEN CAUDLE Huntley Fire Protection District

By CAITLIN SWIECA [email protected]

Twenty-seven years ago, Ken Caud-le was fresh out of the U.S. Army Spe-cial Forces and seeking a career that could re-create some of the excitement the military provided.

“I used to jump out of airplanes for a living,” Caudle said. “To come back to regular civilian life, it was like, ‘OK, now what do I do?’”

That line of thought brought Caud-le into the firefighting service, a line of work that has suited him remark-ably well. A self-described average high school student, Caudle excelled in his fire and EMT training.

Now 47, Caudle is in his fourth year as the chief of the Huntley Fire Pro-tection District, an agency that serves 60,000 residents over 55 square miles.

Caudle started rising through the ranks of Huntley’s department quickly after he joined the agency 16 years ago.

“I noticed we would give him Matthew Apgar – [email protected]

Huntley Fire Protection District Chief Ken Caudle has been involved with firefighting for 27 years. Continued on page 9



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smaller projects and he’d do well on it,” former Huntley Fire Chief Jim Saletta said. “We started giving him bigger projects. He demonstrated good organizational and leadership skills, good planning – things that are chief material.”

Along with that, Saletta said he saw a work ethic that could match the demands of the chief’s position. When the agency was working to get its accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence, for example, Saletta often would wake up to email notifications that indicated Caudle had been working on the online appli-cation at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.

“He was working around the clock so we can have it done on time,” Saletta said.

Caudle went from firefighter to lieutenant to training safety direc-tor to captain to deputy chief before assuming his place as the district’s leader.

While working on the front lines, he honed his administrative skills, earning bachelor and master degrees in business management.

“Chief Saletta saw something in me I wasn’t really looking for,” Caudle

said. “He brought it out of me, and here I am sitting in this seat.”

As chief, Caudle is responsible for making sure the district’s service meets the standard even as Huntley continues to expand.

The goal, he said, is to stay one step ahead. Caudle analyzes new devel-opment and commissions studies to make sure the department is financial-ly prepared to build a new station or get new equipment if that need arises.

His quest to stay on the cutting edge leads to outside-the-box ideas. Last year, he offered subsidized FitBit activity trackers to encourage fire-fighters to stay in shape.

When the department received a SAFER Grant, which are generally used to expand staffing, he decided to use the money to allow part-time workers to earn some benefits, which he hopes will help the department maintain them.

“He’s done so much for that depart-ment, getting equipment via grants or government programs that have given him equipment,” said Marengo Fire Protection District Chief Bob Bradbury, who works with Caudle on the McHenry County Fire Chief’s Association.

Saletta, who now serves as a rep-resentative of the taxpayers on the district’s board of trustees, has been pleased by his leadership.

“Year after year he’s under bud-get,” Saletta said. “He completes proj-ects on time. We set goals and objec-tives in December every year for the following year. He pretty much gets 90 percent done, and the ones he doesn’t are because of outside influence more than anything else.”

While he carries out the vision

of the district, Caudle said he also occasionally joins his firefighters on calls, holding onto the part of the job that drew him to the fire service in the first place.

He also organizes meetings with residents of Sun City’s neighborhoods, arranges for firefighters to make appearances at block parties and other events, and works to make sure he stays connected with all the district’s firefighters.

Caudle has a lot on his plate, but those who have worked with him have no doubt about his ability to reach all his goals.

“Ken is a can-do guy,” Cary Fire Protection District Chief Jeffrey Macko said. “You’ve got a situation or a problem, he says, ‘I can get that done.’ And he does.”

>> The Caudle file

Age: 47Workplace: Huntley Fire Protection

DistrictLives in: Crystal LakeFamily: Wife, Sharon; son, Aden, 4,

and daughter, Melanie, 2Quotable: “For us, every day we

come to work is a different day. There’s going to be certain things you have to do every day, which is part of operations. Just sitting here listening to the calls, every call is a different type of call, which is really neat.” – Ken Caudle

Continued from page 8 “Ken is a can-do guy. You’ve got a situation or a problem, he says, ‘I can get that done.’ And

he does.”

Jeffrey MackoCary Fire Protection District Chief

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S10 WESLEY CRAIN Glenview

Fire DepartmentBy HANNAH PROKOP

[email protected]

Wesley Crain tells his students the day they stop learning, they need to retire from the fire service.

Crain, fire science instructor at McHenry County College and a full-time Glenview Fire Department lieutenant, said he’s always wanted to be an instructor. For the past 25 years, he’s taught introductory fire science courses at MCC.

“My love of teaching is to be able to watch students’ success and to watch careers develop for these students, knowing you had an impact,” Crain said.

The Woodstock native attended MCC before joining the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, where he worked for 25 years. His father also was a Woodstock firefighter, Crain said.

Now at the Glenview Fire Depart-ment, Crain will work a 24-hour shift and leave thinking about going back to work at MCC.

His love for the job is what keeps him going, Crain said.

“If I can help students progress in their careers and watch them grow, that makes me really happy,” Crain said.

The classes Crain teaches are an introduction to fire sciences, and for the past semester he also has been the interim department director, coordi-nating the lessons for all of the fire science classes.

Jim Falco, dean of education, ca-reer and technical education at MCC, said Crain is responsible for bringing experts into the classrooms.

“He’s very attentive to the students and really wants to makes sure the students understand the critical role they play in the fire services,” Falco said.

Coordinating with local fire de-partments to bring in their supplies is another part of Crain’s job, Falco said, and something that requires him to have a close relationship with all departments in the area.

Crain’s teaching doesn’t stop with MCC, however. He also teaches some classes for the University of Illinois’ Fire Service Institute, Crain said, and heads the training division at the Glenview Fire Department.

Glenview Fire Department Lt. Gary Schumacher said Crain has been with the department for 13 years, and Crain has taught Schumacher some of what he knows working in the fire service.

“It’s a lot of work, and I know it’s a lot of off-hours he does to put all that stuff together,” Schumacher said.

Crain is able to get old firefighters and new ones excited about the fire service, Schumacher said, which is important for a career that can be

hard to get into.“I think he just loves the fire

service so much that he just wants to see it thrive and wants to see the right people get the job,” Schumacher said.

As a teacher, Crain said he looks at it as his responsibility to do every-thing in his ability to get students through their goals and give them extra help if they need it.

He also encourages working as a team in his class, following the fire department protocol of not leaving anybody behind.

“We make their worst day to be something, hopefully, better in the outcome in the end,” Crain said of any person who the fire department works with. “And it’s the same thing in the classroom. We got to all help each other.”

Helping people doesn’t stop when he’s outside of the department or the classroom. Crain said when he’s at home, neighbors will call him if they

need help.“You don’t have to wear the shirt,

but they know who you are,” Crain said.

He said in class, he emphasizes fire-fighters are held to a higher standard than others.

With all the jobs Crain works – he also does construction work in the summer – he said his family supports him through the business.

“They’re actually my heroes for putting up with me,” Crain said.


When he’s not working full time at the Glenview Fire Department, Wesley Cain is teaching students at McHenry County College.

>> The Crain file

Age: 49Workplace: McHenry County

College and the Glenview Fire Department

Lives in: WoodstockFamily: Wife, Laurie; daughters,

Katy, 24, Cara, 20, and Jeni, 18Quotable: “If I can help students

progress in their careers and watch them grow, that makes me really happy.” – Wesley Crain

“I think he just loves the fire ser-vice so much that he just wants to see it thrive and wants to see

the right people get the job.”

Gary SchumacherGlenview Fire Department lieutenant



11DAVID EEG Huntley Fire Protection District

By CAITLIN SWIECA [email protected]

When David Eeg finishes his shifts as a battalion chief at the Huntley Fire Protection District, he goes home and helps run another crew: the six chil-dren he is raising with his wife, Kate.

The children ranging in age from 9 to 18 in his home may not have the maturity of his co-workers, but Eeg said there’s a lot of overlap in the necessary skill sets.

“There’s coaching, and there’s counseling, and there’s listening,” Eeg said. “I try to listen more than I talk.”

The members of Eeg’s Red Shift say their leader has mastered all those skills. Kelly Gitzke, a Huntley firefighter/paramedic who has known Eeg for 15 years, said his positive leadership has lent itself to a culture of enthusiasm and respect.

“He’s very approachable,” Gitzke said. “He would never yell. If there is a problem, he will put it in terms of, ‘What are the lessons learned? Let’s try to make this better.’”

Kate Eeg said while her husband is very skilled at leaving his job at work, he is very good at translating that demeanor to his parenting.

“I see that with the kids,” Kate Eeg said. “I’m the hothead, and he’s the one that keeps his cool and sees the silver lining in things and can pull the lesson out.”

Those who regularly interact with Eeg give him credit for bringing out the best in others, but Eeg is reluctant to take any of that credit himself.

He calls his wife “the hardest-work-ing person I know,” and he heaps praise onto everyone at the district, from trustees to rookie firefighters, for their commitment to the department’s mission.

Kate Eeg said her husband’s self-less demeanor starts with his relation-ship with God. His faith, she said, has taught him how to value others.

That lends itself to an intense loy-alty to his family, which is the No. 1 reason Eeg said he’s stayed in Huntley throughout his 29-year firefighting career, which began after his planned career in aerospace engineering was derailed after the Space Shuttle Chal-lenger disaster.

Eeg is a graduate of Huntley High School and has lived in the village since he was 14. Nearly four decades later, he helps his 85-year-old father run the family concrete business during the summer.

His faith leads to his leadership philosophy, which he describes with several references to Golden Rule.

“I have to enforce the rules, and I have to be the adult supervision and that kind of stuff,” Eeg said, “but I try to hold it all together with relation-ships and treat other people the way I’d like to be treated.”

That applies to his co-workers and the people he interacts with during emergencies, many of whom he knows are going through the worst day of their lives.

Eeg describes the basic function

of the fire department as “making calm out of chaos,” and his demeanor certainly contributes to the desired end state.

“Dave is one of my guys that I can put my pillow on my head at night and go to sleep and not worry about a thing,” Huntley Fire Protection Dis-trict Chief Ken Caudle said. “He will take care of everything.”

Caudle said Eeg has become one of his go-to guys when he has a question or idea to bounce around because he knows the battalion chief will bring new ideas to the table and collaborate to achieve them.

The fire service may not have been Eeg’s original career plan, but he said he cherishes the work now. Unsurpris-ingly, he describes his job’s benefits through the lens of those around him.

“It provides for my family,” Eeg said. “It can be a nice, feel-good job. You feel like you’re making people’s lives better and helping them out when they really need help.”


Huntley Fire Protection District Battalion Chief David Eeg has worked for the fire district since 1987 and has been the battalion chief for Red Shift for eight years.

>> The Eeg file

Age: 52Workplace: Huntley Fire Protection

DistrictLives in: HuntleyFamily: Wife, Kate; children, Alisa,

18; Danielle, 17; Russell, 15; Mary Catherine, 13; David Tiger, 11; and Hannah, 9

Quotable: “A lot of times, when we meet somebody, it’s on the worst day of their life. Trying to get stuff going the right way is a huge responsibility, and I appreciate that responsibility. If there’s ways we could have done something better, we’ll certainly do that. I’ve got to say, our team does a pretty job the first time. We try to do the best we can, and if there’s some-thing we could’ve done better, we’ll try to better last time.” – David Eeg

“Dave is one of my guys that I can put my pillow on my head

at night and go to sleep and not worry about a thing.”

Ken CaudleHuntley Fire Protection District chief

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THERESA HARPER McHenry County Sheriff’s Office


McHenry County Sheriff Deputy Theresa Harper has been with the sheriff’s office for 15 years.

By ALLISON GOODRICH [email protected]

Six-year-old Hailey Downing wants to be a police officer one day, and it’s all thanks to her “Auntie Theresa.”

When a classroom assignment required students to choose someone they were thankful for, Hailey chose Theresa Harper, a 15-year deputy of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, said Hailey’s mom and Harper’s best friend, Jessica Downing.

“[Theresa] is a fantastic role model for Hailey,” said Downing, who lives in McHenry. “Hailey actually wants to become a police officer when she grows up because of Auntie Theresa.

“She likes the idea of getting the bad guys, but primarily she wants to help people.”

That’s the example Harper sets for her daughter, Downing added.

From making deliveries of Thanks-giving and Christmas dinners to organizing a group of deputies for a photo shoot for a calendar fundraiser,

Continued on page 13



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If you are any of these people, then youmay qualify for property tax relief!

• Do you live in a home that you own in McHenry County? (age not important)

• Have you put an addition on your home in the past 4 years?• Are you over age 65 and living in a home that you own?• Are you a homeowner age 65+ with an income of less than $55,000?• Are you a disabled Veteran or are otherwide disabled and a homeowner?

When you pay your real estate tax bill, you want to know thatyou are paying a fair and equitable portion for public servicesthat you receive. We try hard to make that happen by strivingfor a correct assessment of your property. We also want to makesure you take advantage of the property tax relief that may beavailable to you. Check your tax bill.

Ask Yourself...DO YOU QUALIFY?

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NORTHWEST HERALD

Harper’s work for the sheriff’s office and for the community extends beyond her afternoon patrol shifts, Downing and other friends and family members said.

Harper, 37, is the “go-to” person when someone needs help with something – really, anything – said McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Aimee Knop, who has known Harper for years after Harper took her under her wing when Knop first moved to the area.

One service she’s particularly known for is going to check car seats for families throughout the county. Sometimes it’s during her shifts, but oftentimes she goes after hours when it’s convenient for the person who’s requesting the service.

She’s one of very few people at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office who is certified to install and check car seats as a car seat safety technician,

a title Harper said requires biannual certification. She’s been certified for nine years, since the time she spent working with the McHenry County Traffic Crash Investigation Unit.

“Basically, in an accident situation, if you’re in a child safety seat and if that seat is put in correctly, it’s the saf-

est place in the vehicle,” Harper said. “If you go to a crash scene and you see a child safety seat that wasn’t put in correctly or wasn’t used at all, and there was a death involved, it’s going to hit you hard because it is something that could have been avoided if the seat was put in correctly and if the parents had been educated about it.”

Harper’s father, Mark Guerra of Cary, said her desire to serve stems from childhood, when she would sit and watch shows about police officers.

“She mostly loved watching people get rescued and watching people help-ing other people,” Guerra said.

In a field in which the daily duty could be anything from handling a fatal crash to responding to a domes-tic dispute, Harper said she’s always searching for the positives – little tasks or extra responsibilities that aim only to generate some good.

That’s what drives her to maintain her car-seat certification and her participation in as many charitable

events as she can handle.Recalling work she’s done over the

years for the Polar Plunge, the Law Enforcement Torch Run, Shop with a Cop, among others, there was really only one moment for which she reluc-tantly took some credit.

It was a couple of years back, and a woman in the community was looking for some help with a car seat. Harper found that the out-of-date seat needed to be replaced, but the woman couldn’t afford it, Harper said.

“At the time, we [the sheriff’s office] had a program, so I got her a new seat,” Harper said. “Then I actually put her on the list for a Christmas dinner that year.”

When it came time to celebrate her son’s birthday, the family received some duplicate gifts, which then were donated.

“She called me and told me that she gave back,” Harper said. “And it was all because we helped her out. That was really nice.”

>> The Harper file

Age: 37Workplace: McHenry County

Sheriff’s OfficeLives in: HuntleyFamily: Son, Cody, 13; live-in boy-

friend, Jack ScurtyQuotable: “[Theresa] is a fantastic

role model for Hailey. Hailey actually wants to become a police officer when she grows up because of Aun-tie Theresa.” – Jessica Downing

Continued from page 12

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Every parcel, building, and piece of property within the county andthroughout the country is represented in a recorded document thatrecorders’ offices identify, preserve and protect. The integrity of theserecords provides important data required for precise title, timelyreal estate closings and genealogy searches.

Your property records are securely stored in our office and offsitewith the assurance of continued service in the event of a disasteror other critical interruption. You can search 177 years of land recordsboth in our office and offsite; information is viewable and printablewithin seconds.

Phyllis K. Walters, McHenry County Recorder

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� ONLINE ACCESS: SEARCH, VIEW & PRINT DOCUMENTS

� ELECTRONIC RECORDING

Walk-In: McHenry County Administration Building667 Ware Road, Room 109, Woodstock, IL 60098

Mail: McHenry County Recorder2200 N. Seminary Avenue, Woodstock, IL 60098

Phone: 815.334.4110 www.mchenryrecorder.org

WHAT DOES YOUR RECORDER’SOFFICE DO FOR YOU?

The McHenry County Recorder’s Office is Pleased to Provide You Service:

MCHENRY COUNTYRECORDER

MISSION STATEMENT

“TO RECORD,

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AND RETRIEVE

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“HERE ARE SOME OF THEACCOMPLISHMENTS I’M

MOST PROUD OF.”

PHYLLIS K. WALTERS,McHENRY COUNTY RECORDER

32 YEARS1984-2016

--1987 1 MILLIONTH DOCUMENTRECORDED

1ST COMPUTERSYSTEM FOR RECORDING

--1995 PASSED LEGISLATIONFOR RECORDINGSTANDARDIZATION

--1999 1ST SCANNING OFRECORDED DOCUMENTS

--2001 LAREDO(ONLINE SEARCH)

--2002 2 MILLIONTH DOCUMENTRECORDED

--2003 ***RECORD YEAR***173,421 DOCUMENTSRECORDED

--2005 REDACTION OF SOCIALSECURITY NUMBERS

--2006 DEED NOTIFICATIONPROGRAM& FREE WEBSEARCH

--2007 PROPERTY FRAUDALERT PROGRAM

--2008 1ST ELECTRONICRECORDING

--2012 ALL DOCUMENTSSCANNED, IMAGED ANDINDEXED – BACK TO 1839

--2015 STREAMLINED OFFICE -SAVING TAX DOLLARS

Phyllis K. Walters, McHenry County Recorder says,“The office is recognized as one of the BEST in theState…and in the Country. It has been a privilege andan honor to serve the citizens of McHenry County”.

In December 2016, after 32 years of service, RecorderWalters is retiring and a new leadership will begin.

Recorder Walters and her staff want you to knowthey have worked hard to develop and implementa state-of-the-art recording system for YOUR landrecords. The 177 years of recordings, along with acombined 163 years of staff knowledge and

Phyllis K. Walters experience, will help to ensure continuation ofMcHenry County Recorder the very BEST in services for you!

� Accurately and timely record, maintain, and retrieve all McHenry Countyreal estate related documents dating back to 1839.

� Serve as the “protector” of your most important resource- your property!

� Identify, preserve, and safeguard EVERY page of EVERY recorded documentthat represent EVERY parcel, building and piece of property within thecounty.

� Information is securely stored offsite with the assurance of continuedservice in the event of a disaster or other critical interruption.

From 1839 to August 1987, it took almost 150 years to record one million documents.

In 1987 the office implemented an automated indexing system. Until that timeeverything was done by hand – hand stamping, filming one page at a time andhand-posting and searching party names in large ledgers.

In 2002, 15 years later the 2 millionth document was recorded.

Now, over three million documents are recorded, scanned and indexed.

Recorder Walters with hand-posted books. Today – all documents on computer.

WHO IS BEHIND OUR SUCCESS?

Proud of the Value the Recorder’s Office Delivers to YOU!



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Serving You Since 1837

Mary McClellan, Clerk

McHenry CountyClerk’s Office

For answers to your election questions and anyother function of the County Clerks Office donot hesitate to call the office at 815-334-4242.A staff member will be happy to assist you orif you need to conduct business, in person,the office is located at the McHenry CountyAdministration Building, 667 Ware Rd., Room107, Woodstock, Illinois.

Election Mission:The County Clerk is the chief election authority administering elections throughout McHenry County. We offer election-related ser-

vices to candidates, political parties, press, local units of government and the general public. These services include voting by mailprograms, early voting, and securing voting sites. Other services include recruitment, training and scheduling election judges andelection workers, as well as election night tabulation of results and conducting the official canvass of elections.

It is the mission of the County Clerk’s Office to conduct all elections in a fair, accurate, impartial and efficient manner.

For your convenience early voting sites will be open Saturdays andSundays through Sunday, March 13th!

For the complete Election Calendar and Candidates guide,please visit our website: www.co.mchenry.il.us/countyclerk

Tuesday, March 15th is the date of the Illinois General Primary Election. I feel it is very important thatyou exercise your Right To Vote! Candidates running in County, State and Federal elections have a signifi-cent impact on your tax amount and how your local property taxes are spent! To ensure faster processing atElection Sites and Election results, we now offer electronic poll books at all election sites. Registered votersthroughout McHenry County will have the opportunity to cast ballots for several offices including:

• Presidential • U.S. Senate • Congressional • Illinois House • McHenry County Board• McHenry County State’s Attorney • McHenry County Recorder • Judicial Court• McHenry County Chairman • Circuit Clerk • County Auditor • County Coroner

• Precinct Committeemen • Several ReferendumsThese candidates nominated on March 15th will set policy for issues and laws that effect you!

Important Message to All Registered Voters:

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Attention Registered Voters...

Please VOTE!It’s your right. It’s your responsibility.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016 - General Primary ElectionTuesday, November 8, 2016 - General Election

Now thru Monday, March 14: Grace period registration & voting inthe Clerk’s office thru Election Day

Monday, February 29 - Monday, March 14: Early Voting periodThursday, March 10: Last day to apply for a ballot by mail

Friday, March 11 - Monday, March 14: Nursing home voting periodELECTION UPDATE: Same day registration at precincts on Election day.

REMEMBER, YOUR VOTE MATTERS!

WE WANT YOUTO VOTE IN

2016!

For more information, contact

Mary E. McClellanMcHenry County Clerk’s OfficeMcHenry County Administration Building667 Ware Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098 • 815-334-4242www.co.mchenry.il.us/countyclerkEmail: [email protected]

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PROPERTYFRAUD ALERT

PHYLLIS K. WALTERSMcHENRY COUNTY

RECORDER

FREE SUBSCRIPTION

QUICK, PERSONAL

NOTIFICATION

OVER 5,200

SUBSCRIBERS

BE PROACTIVE

SIGN UP TODAY!

What Is Property Fraud?It is when someone illegally uses your property for financial gain.

What Is Property Fraud Alert (PFA)?Property Fraud Alert is a notification service that alerts subscriberseach time a document is recorded with their name on it in theMcHenry County Recorder’s Office.

It’s Easy…It’s Free...Sign Up Today!

Call our office: 815.334.4045

Visit our office: McHenry County Administration Building667 Ware Road, Room #109Woodstock, IL 60098

Online: www.propertyfraudalert.com� Select McHenry County from the list of participating counties.� Agree to a disclaimer prior to entering your name or business name.� Elect one method of notification, either an email address or phone number.� Enter up to four personal and/or business names per one unique email.

address, or up to three personal and/or business names per uniquephone number.

Tell your friends and family to sign-up for PFA today!Keep this and pass it on.

PROTECT YOUR DEED!D!PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY!



19LINDA HOOTEN Huntley Police Department

By KATIE DAHLSTROM [email protected]

A woman called Huntley Police Sgt. Linda Hooten after every court hearing to detail the steps she was taking to get away from the man she’d been stuck with in a domestic violence situation for years.

She said she was finally going to get him to stop, Hooten recalled.

“It was so great to see that,” Hooten said. “Because I also see the other side, where they’re not ready to leave and they keep going back. To hear the con-fidence in her voice, it was great. I was her cheerleader.”

For Hooten, her job as the domestic violence coordinator for the Huntley Police Department is filled with these small but powerful moments that re-mind her why she does what she does. The reminder could come in the form of a phone call, an aside after a presen-tation or the realization a survivor has after 10 conversations with the police.

“It’s very rewarding and knowing they feel more empowered and they feel like there is a way out,” Hooten said. “... I know it takes them a long time to make the decision to leave.”

A member of the Huntley Police Department for 15 years, Hooten has been the domestic violence coordinator since the position was created in 2009 in response to a murder suicide that stemmed from an abusive relationship. Her job entails monitoring and screen-ing all the domestic violence reports and coordinating any necessary follow up.

Hooten said when she looks at the department now, she sees one that is better equipped to deal with domestic violence. For example, she said police reports that used to describe the victim as “sad” now will include details about the mascara streaming down the vic-tim’s face.

Her work helped when county protocol relating to domestic violence was rewritten in 2012, and Huntley’s program has been a model for other agencies.

In 2015, Huntley had 268 domestic vi-olence contacts compared to about 400 when her position was created in 2009.

Hooten also has worked with the Child Advocacy Center as a forensic interviewer since 2007, interviewing more than 100 children who have suf-fered some sort of abuse. She said her mom questioned her decision to put herself in a position that would involve hearing such troubling accounts.

“I would rather endure it than see-ing that child not be able to talk about it,” Hooten said. “It’s hard for them to process it. If it’s hard for an adult, imagine a child trying to process it.”

Hooten’s dedication to the job is clear to her boss, Deputy Chief of the Support Services Bureau Todd Fulton. Working with survivors of domestic violence and child victims can be an

especially trying assignment, but he’s seen Hooten throw herself into the work.

“She was definitely the right person for this position,” Fulton said. “I think it’s something she took seriously and hit the ground running. She is very passionate.”

Hooten’s strengths are a combina-tion of her wealth of knowledge about handling domestic violence and her big heart, said Bev Thomas, the coordi-nator for the 22nd Judicial Circuit’s Family Violence Coordinating Coun-cil, which Hooten has been part of for years.

“Her background and knowledge of domestic violence issues is unsur-passed in the county,” Thomas said. “The way she deals with the most important life-affecting issues shows a real compassion and great understand-ing.”

There’s no other way for Hooten to be as a police officer, a job she’s wanted since sixth grade. While her job has

changed from school resource officer to domestic violence coordinator and su-pervising the investigations division, her motivation hasn’t.

“It goes back to seeing somebody who thought they couldn’t get out of a situation or couldn’t overcome a situ-ation that they were in,” Hooten said. “That I could be a part of that and help them move forward.”

Matthew Apgar – [email protected]

Huntley Police Sgt. Linda Hooten has been the department’s domestic violence coordinator since the position was created in 2009.

>> The Hooten file

Age: 37Workplace: Huntley Police Depart-

mentLives in: WoodstockFamily: SingleQuotable: “Her background and

knowledge of domestic violence issues is unsurpassed in the county.” – Bev Thomas

“It goes back to seeing somebody who thought they

couldn’t get out of a situation or couldn’t overcome a situation that they were in. That I could be a part of that and help them

move forward.”

Linda HootenHuntley police sergeant

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S20 WILLIAM HUSFIELD Streamwood

Police DepartmentBy ALLISON GOODRICH [email protected]

William Husfield mainly remem-bers thinking, “Please don’t die; come back.”

A 26-year veteran of the Stream-wood Police Department, the 51-year-old corporal recalls thinking those words while performing CPR on a woman he had found unconscious during a response Aug. 2, 2015.

“I started doing CPR on her right away,” he said. “Her eyes came back forward, and I continued doing CPR until the paramedics came.”

The woman, whom Husfield de-scribed as middle-aged, had put a pain patch meant to be applied transder-mally in her mouth to ease severe pain, he said. When she did that, the patch’s medicine was absorbed too quickly and it hit her hard, said Hus-field, who lives in Crystal Lake.

“I just wanted to save her,” he said.He did exactly that, and, a few

months later, Husfield received a life-saving medal of commendation from the police department for his actions.

The significance of his actions didn’t set in until he heard other people talking about it, said Husfield’s wife, Alyssa.

“To him, that’s just his job,” she said, her voice thick while she described the night her husband was awarded the medal. “But at one point, he turned to me and said, ‘I really did something good didn’t I?’”

Husfield and Alyssa have been married less than three years, but they grew up together in Streamwood. Alyssa has known him since she was 8, and he was 10.

One of her fondest memories is of running around a creek with her now-husband and his friend playing cops and robbers. He was always the cop, she said.

“I set my mind to doing this ever since I was 5 years old,” Bill Husfield said.

Since, he has embodied what it means to serve and protect, his wife said, starting out after high school as a military police officer in the U.S. Army for three years of active duty. From there, he had a quick stint serv-ing as a police officer in Genoa before getting a job with his hometown department in Streamwood.

Streamwood Police Sgt. Dino Heckermann, who has known Husfield since 1989, described his colleague as

always ready to do the job, no matter what that happens to entail on a given day.

“It can be a more insignificant nu-anced operation or it could be a com-plicated problem-solving situation,” Heckermann said. “Bill is always

eager to serve.”As a corporal, Husfield is respon-

sible for filling in for the sergeant if need be, but he’s taken on extra, and some unofficial roles, in his 27 years.

He’s a field training officer, but he also has become something of a guru for technical assistance, Heckermann said.

“[Outside of the trained IT em-ployees], he’s one of the guys to go to for equipment, data entry and prob-lem-solving with systems,” Hecker-mann said.

While he takes off his badge when he’s off-duty, he doesn’t often leave his “eager-to-serve” mindset at the depart-ment, friends and family said.

Eric Edgren of Bartlett has been an assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 26 with Husfield for years.

He, too, described his longtime friend to be dedicated in all his en-deavors, including the troop.

“You can tell that he really cares about the kids in our group and kids

in general,” Edgren said, describing the time his own son joined and was further behind the others. “Bill took [my son] aside and showed him the ropes a little. He said, ‘Work with me for a bit, and we’ll get you to where you need to be.’”

From his time serving as a scout-master to the occasional charitable rides he takes as a member of the Blue Knights, a law enforcement motorcy-cle club, Husfield likes to stay active in activities that contribute to the community, Alyssa Husfield.

“His heart is so about helping everybody and his passion for all of it – it’s absolutely amazing,” Alyssa said. “It’s the kind of passion that makes you want to be a better person, too.”

H. Rick Bamman – [email protected]

William Husfield of Crystal Lake is a 26-year veteran of the Streamwood Police Department and was honored in 2015 with a medal of commendation for saving the life of a Streamwood woman.

>> The Husfield file

Age: 51Workplace: Streamwood Police

DepartmentLives in: Crystal LakeFamily: Wife, Alyssa; 18-year-old

sonQuotable: “His heart is so about

helping everybody and his passion for all of it – it’s absolutely amazing. It’s the kind of passion that makes you want to be a better person, too.” – Alyssa Husfield

“I just wanted to save her.”

William HusfieldStreamwood Police corporal



21DANIEL KREASSIG McHenry Police Department

By CYNTHIA WOLF [email protected]

Sgt. Daniel Kreassig is not one of those guys who started dreaming in boyhood of growing up to become a police officer.

“I wanted to be a high school teacher and coach football,” he said, reflecting recently on his 27th year with the McHenry Police Department. “I was privileged, though, to be the de-partment’s first high school resource officer.”

By all accounts, the privilege went both ways. Kreassig still hears from students he encountered during his years as the resource officer at McHenry High School East and West campuses between 1995 and 2002.

Kreassig also served as a firefighter and emergency medical technician from 1997 to 2002.

Throughout his long career with the McHenry Police Department, Kreassig has had numerous positions, Chief John Jones said. Along with school resource officer, these have included patrolman, investigator, field training officer, DARE officer, super-visor of the K-9 unit and now, as one of the department’s seven sergeants, a shift supervisor.

“He’s a guy who’s been here since 1989,” Jones said. “But there’s no lacking of enthusiasm in him. He still finds the job exciting, he’s still dedicated to the citizens of McHenry and the police department, and he’s a terrific example of a police officer.”

Jones said the work Kreassig per-formed during his tenure as school re-source officer has left a lasting legacy.

“He has people coming up to him who are adults now who he definite-ly influenced when he was a school resource officer,” Jones said. “They were headed on a negative path and af-ter interacting with him, they headed down a much better path.”

After a hiatus, McHenry recently reinstated the school resource officer program. Kreassig’s example still stands as a model, Jones said.

As a patrol sergeant, Kreassig said he strives to keep everyone motivated, in part by starting each shift with an inspirational message.

During Kreassig’s years as a police officer, the public’s respect level for the profession has waxed and waned. Recently, everything from the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, to the ongoing investigations into alleged misconduct within the Chicago Police Department

and the Lt. Joe Gliniewicz scandal in Fox Lake has made things more challenging.

“After 9/11, you walked proud,” Kreassig said. “But then, with recent developments … we have to make sure that people don’t perceive us to be like that. We all know everyone’s filming us every day at traffic stops. I try to encourage our officers to catch that excellence, stay positive and show that you’re one of McHenry’s finest.”

Sometimes, the little things can

turn the tide, Kreassig said. He recalled a day last summer when someone on Main Street reported that ducklings had fallen through a sewer grate. Without a more pressing con-cern at the time, Kreassig responded.

About a dozen people had gathered in front of a pet grooming business, from which Kreassig borrowed a fish net.

“I duct-taped the fish net to my lock-out tool,” he said. “Somebody got a bucket. [Rescuing the ducklings] kind of brought everyone together. I was amazed at how appreciative they were that I spent the time doing some-thing like that.”

Among achievements of which Kreassig is most proud is an adopt-a-school program started two years ago with McHenry Elementary District 15. Day shift officers are assigned to a particular school. Each visits his or her assigned school weekly.

“Since the officer comes into the school regularly, the kids are ac-customed to seeing an officer in the school,” Kreassig said. “It’s good to start children when they’re young to

see police as public servants, as some-one who’s there to help.”

McHenry Mayor Sue Low said she’s witnessed firsthand the positive reac-tion the program has engendered from young students.

“[Sgt. Kreassig] does his job with professionalism and continually looks for better and new ways,” she said. “I really admire that.”

A resident of Johnsburg, Kreassig is near retirement eligibility, but said he anticipates staying with the depart-ment at least another year. The officer already knows, though, how he wants to be remembered.

“I hope I made a difference and that people will say, ‘Hey, he cared about his community and did his best to do the right thing,’ ” Kreassig said.

His wife, Laura Kreassig, said she has no doubt he’ll get his wish.

“He puts people’s interests first. He truly cares about their situation,” she said. “And he tries to stress that with the younger officers, too. He’ll tell them, ‘People you run into who have problems, they’re people, too, and they need to be treated with respect.’”


McHenry Police Department Sgt. Daniel Kreassig has spent his 27-year career protecting and serving the city of McHenry as a patrol officer, school liaison officer, investigator and, most recently, as a sergeant.

>> The Kreassig file

Age: 51Workplace: McHenry Police

DepartmentLives in: JohnsburgFamily: Wife, Laura; sons, Bryce,

22, and Tanner, 18Quote: “I hope I made a difference

and people say, ‘Hey, he cared about his community and did his best to do the right thing.’ ” – Daniel Kreassig

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S22 JEREMY MORTIMER Woodstock Police

DepartmentBy HANNAH PROKOP

[email protected]

Jeremy Mortimer never thought he would be a police officer.

Mortimer joined the U.S. Army for three and a half years after high school before joining the National Guard for about a year, thinking he might become a paramedic. When he decided that wasn’t the route for him, he started studying criminal justice at McHenry County College and joined the Harvard Police Department in 2004.

He’s been in law enforcement ever since.

After a year with Harvard, Mor-timer joined the Woodstock Police De-partment, working the midnight shift, and five years ago, he became a school resource officer for the high schools in Woodstock Community Unit School District 200.

Starting on the midnight shift with Woodstock caused him to be involved with many negative situations and bad people, Mortimer said. Working as a school resource officer, though, allows him to deal with “awesome” people.

“For me, it’s just a positive remind-er that there are still good people in the world today,” Mortimer said.

Being a school resource officer includes everything from handling emergency situations at the school to interacting with students in the hall to teaching them about new trends on social media, Mortimer said.

“It takes a special type of person to be able to excel in that environment,” Woodstock Police Detective Sgt. Jef-frey Parsons said.

Parsons oversees Mortimer and said he has helped develop programs in the classroom to teach students about new trends, such as sexting and cyberbullying.

It’s the longevity of what Mortim-er has done in his position as school resource officer for the past five years, Parsons said, that earned him the recognition of the Woodstock Police Department’s Police Officer of the Year award.

Mortimer said he loves his job because it’s different every day. He balances his time between Woodstock High School and Woodstock North High School throughout the week.

“The thing that I really enjoy doing, and I think one of the main purposes of this position, is getting out in the hallways, meeting with the kids, build-ing that rapport, letting them know

that cops are humans, too,” Mortimer said.

And building those relationships with students has paid off.

Mortimer said a student once came back to his office to tell him Mortimer had saved his life by preventing him from killing himself.

“If I can maybe make a difference,

even though it’s small, I think that’s a good thing,” Mortimer said, later adding, “Building that rapport and actually witnessing them come to me and trust me as that figure is just so unique and positive and it’s really cool.”

Mortimer said the hardest part of his job is when a student he believed was making some headway getting on the right path falls back into their same problems.

Woodstock North Principal Brian McAdow said Mortimer understands the school’s mission of preparing stu-dents for the real world.

“It would be very easy to look at students who make a mistake, wheth-er it be a parking or speeding ticket, in a black-and-white situation,” McAdow said. “But [Mortimer’s] ability to see gray and to work within in our system … that’s very, very beneficial because, again, we’re trying to help kids make the right decision.”

Mortimer’s personable and charis-

matic nature also is what makes him a good person for the job, McAdow said, adding it’s evident in how Mortimer works with the students that he has children of his own.

Mortimer said he’s also been involved with the Shop with a Cop program and helps with school dances and the teen dance at Woodstock’s Summer in the Park.


Jeremy Mortimer has been a Woodstock police officer since 2005. After serving five years in the patrol division, he was assigned as the school resource officer. He splits his time between Woodstock North High School and Woodstock High School.

>> The Mortimer file

Age: 34Workplace: Woodstock Police

DepartmentLives in: HarvardFamily: Wife, Hollie; daughter,

Kylee, 15; and son, Kasen, 12Quotable: “If I can maybe make a

difference, even though it’s small, I think that’s a good thing.” – Jeremy Mortimer

“The thing that I really enjoy doing, and I think one of the

main purposes of this position, is getting out in the hallways,

meeting with the kids, building that rapport, letting them know

that cops are humans, too.”

Jeremy MortimerWoodstock police officer



23JERRY SCHILLACI McHenry Township Fire Protection District

By EMILY K. COLEMAN [email protected]

Jerry Schillaci was working on the clinical hours he needed to be certified a paramedic when the organ donation case came up.

Despite having worked at what is now Centegra Hospital – McHenry since he was 16 years old, Schillaci knew basically nothing about organ donations.

Schillaci shadowed the coordina-tor from the Regional Organ Bank of Illinois, now Gift of Hope, as the kidneys and livers were extracted from the woman, who had suffered a massive stroke, and taken to other hospitals where the transplants would be completed.

“From that point on, after I saw the recovery and I saw all these different transplant centers coming in, recover-ing the organs, I knew I was taking a total left turn on what I wanted to do,” Schillaci said. “I knew this was my new calling.”

Schillaci had wanted to be a firefighter since he was a little kid, fascinated with the idea of “laying on the sirens and blaring the horns and making messes.”

Once he knew being a firefighter also meant being a paramedic, Schilla-ci threw himself into health care.

He earned his certified nursing assistant certification while at Johns-burg High School, entered the fire sci-ence program at the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus in Grays-lake, where he got to do a ride-along with the Gurnee Fire Department, and worked as a patient care technician – first at Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry, and a year later at the Canterbury Care Center, now the Springs at Crystal Lake.

Schillaci joined the McHenry Town-ship Fire Protection District in 2000. He still works there as a firefighter and paramedic despite getting a full-time job with Gift of Hope eight years ago.

One of his favorite parts of the job is as an instructor for the Learn Not to Burn program for fourth-graders across McHenry, which he does on top of his scheduled 12-hour shifts.

McHenry’s version is one of the more involved public education pro-grams, Schillaci said.

Kids actually get to call 911 and speak to a dispatcher, try on some of the gear, check out the ambulance and fire engine, learn how to use fire extinguishers and create a floor plan

of their home showing the location of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, the primary and secondary exits and

their families’ meeting spots.Schillaci rallied to make sure the

program had enough instructors to keep going this year, said Rebecca Rosner, the district’s new public education coordinator, adding that Schillaci makes an impact on the first impression.

“I’ve never, ever seen him in a place where he’s not willing or complain-ing,” Rosner said.

At Gift of Hope, Schillaci serves as the supervisor of allocation and perfu-sion, which means he oversees eight people in the department that finds homes for all the organs, said Lisa Hinsdale, Gift of Hope’s manager of allocation and perfusion services and Schillaci’s direct supervisor.

He also cleans, inspects and tests donated kidneys, something that, if done incorrectly, could mean a

damaged organ that cannot be used, Hinsdale said, adding that he’s one of a very small number of people in the country that know how to do that and do it well.

That expertise meant Schillaci was even called when he was supposed to be on vacation with his wife, Audra, and their two young boys, Hinsdale said.

The nonprofit was having trouble with new software and needed Schilla-ci’s help, otherwise the donated organs might have been lost.

But that’s what makes it worth it to Schillaci.

“The thing I love about Gift of Hope is I’m part of something where when I leave, we saved a life, many times saved multiple lives at the end of the day,” he said. “It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s pretty cool.”


Jerry Schillaci, a McHenry Township Fire Protection District firefighter and paramedic, oversees eight people in a department that finds homes for organ donations at Gift of Hope.

>> The Schillaci file

Age: 37Workplace: Gift of Hope and

McHenry Township Fire Protection District

Lives in: McHenryFamily: Wife, Audra; two sons,

Evan, 10, and Anthony, 7Quotable: “To me, the donor fami-

lies – those are the guys in my mind that are the true heroes. They’re the ones that every day save lives.” – Jerry Schillaci

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S24 JOE TESON Algonquin-LITH

Fire Protection DistrictBy CYNTHIA WOLF

[email protected]

Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District Chief Peter Van Dorpe summed it up this way in his Everyday Heroes nomination of Joe Teson: “There are heroic acts. And then there are heroic lives.”

Capt. Joe, as he is known through-out his community and the fire service, clearly deserves the honor, the chief went on, noting not only Teson’s de-cades of service to the Algonquin-LITH Fire Protection District, but also his dedication to numerous community causes.

Teson was an active member of the Jaycees, the Algonquin Leadership Program, the Booster Club at Jacobs and Dundee-Crown high schools, a builder of Angel Town Playground, among the organizers and participants in the Shamrock Shave, a Movember participant and Muscular Dystrophy Association supporter.

He also is a founder of the Bear Ne-cessities Run, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and was the precursor of the Bear Necessities Pe-diatric Cancer Foundation, Van Dorpe and others said.

Teson raised a family, hosted Great Lakes recruits at Thanksgiving time, cleared driveways and walks for se-niors and others in need, and, through his business, Teson Automotive, helped allow people to drive to work, redardless of whether they could afford to pay him for their repairs right away.

Instructor for the McHenry County College Fire Academy. Salvation Army bell ringer. The list goes on.

Were it not for a massive stroke he suffered two years ago this month, Teson still might be on the job, said his son, Lt. Dan Teson, also of the Algon-quin-LITH department. Instead, he retired in April 2015 with 33 years of service.

“One of the coolest memories I have about my dad is when he was recog-nized for having worked for 30 years at the department,” Dan Teson said. “People in the fire service often say they have first and second families, as in my first family is my wife and kids, and my second family is my brothers and sisters at the fire department.

“During his thank you speech, he said he doesn’t have two families, just one big family.”

That family was put to the test when Capt. Joe suffered his stroke, Dan Teson said.

“It was 26 minutes from the 911 call to his first CAT scan at Good Shepherd Hospital,” he said. “And it wasn’t special treatment. That’s the level of service our guys provide. [Capt. Joe] was the training officer for a long time.

“We were lucky we had the Algon-quin fire department the day he had his stroke.”

Capt. Joe has been defying medical odds ever since, his son and others said.

The stroke was severe and could have proved lethal. Today, however, Teson is talking, taking some steps and determined to recover.

Capt. Joe said he grew up on Main Street in Algonquin, just a couple of blocks from the fire station. His mother, Frances Teson, participated in the volunteer ambulance service. He and his brothers often rode their bikes to fire scenes, where they’d watch the crews work.

So it was only natural that in the early 1980s, when the department published an ad seeking new members, he applied.

“My brother Charlie joined at the same time,” he said.

Teson became one of four captains, and earned a reputation as a great in-structor at McHenry County College.

“I really liked being involved with it all,” Teson said. “I liked working with the new members and training them.”

Fire Prevention Bureau Director Mike Murphy, also with the Algon-quin-LITH department, called Capt. Joe “an old-school firefighter” and all-around great guy.

“He’s there for his family, for the fire service and for the community,” Murphy said. “He just gives and gives and gives and never asks for anything in return.”

The family, Teson’s wife, Kathy, said, is grateful for the community’s support during the past couple of years – support she knows will continue as long as it’s needed.

“The guys came over and cleaned my gutters,” she said. “They came over one morning and gutted the bathroom to make it handicapped accessible. They met him in town when he came back from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago with the fire trucks and escorted him home.

“It is a brotherhood.”

Matthew Apgar – [email protected]

Joe Teson is a former captain with the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District. He retired because of a stroke after 33 years of service.

>> The Teson file

Age: 62Workplace: Algonquin-LITH Fire

Protection District (retired)Lives in: AlgonquinFamily: Wife, Kathy; sons, Tim, 42;

Dan, 36; and Christopher, 30; daugh-ter, Melissa, 27

Quote: “When you went to a call, you were thrown into unknowns. You had to sort it out and make fast decisions. ... I’d say I was successful. Nobody got hurt on my shift. Every-one went home every day.” – Joe Teson



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