Villanova Named ‘Police Chief of the Year’

Chief Bill Villanova received an unexpected surprise in the mail last week when he learned had had been named “Police Chief of the Year” by the Illinois State Crime Commission.

The police chief’s award was announced during Tuesday’s village board meeting.

“Now knowing what the requirements were, my reaction was ‘what did I do to deserve this,’” Villanova said. “Knowing that one of my peers put me in for this was quite humbling.”

The Illinois State Crime Commission is the largest organization committed to combating public corruption and strengthening the Illinois criminal justice system in the state. It’s membership and board of directions comprise many of the state’s most influential leaders in government, law enforcement, education, labor, business and public policy.

Villanova didn’t even know he was nominated, but learned that colleague Bill Joyce, chief of the South Chicago Heights Police, put his name in for the award. The police chiefs had served on the South Suburban Chiefs of Police’s executive board.

The Oak Lawn police chief will be honored at the 16th annual “Salute Those Who Make A Difference” awards dinner at Drury Lane in Oak Brook Terrace on June 20.

Villanova joins a distinguished list of past honorees, including Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy, the former Secret Service special agent who was wounded in the assasination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.