Sheriffs Criminal Invstgtns history

1829 A new jail replaces the Onondaga Hill Jail.

Cook County itself had only been incorporated four months earlier, on January 15th, 1831.

1840 The first legal execution is conducted at the Salina St jail on November 19th.

1846 The Sheriff’s Office becomes an elected post.

In 1901, the first prisoner was moved into the new Jamesville facility.

1915 The position of Onondaga County Sheriff Deputy becomes a salaried position.

1917 About this time, the Cedar Street jail is opened and the Sheriff reassumes the role of Jailer.

1921 – Sheriff Charles W. Peters proposes the Sheriff’s Office create a police force dedicated to patrolling the roadways and areas of suburban Cook County.

February 25, 1922 – The Cook County Board approves the creation of the Police Department.

May 29, 1924 – Cook County Police Station #19 is opened at Archer and Kean Avenues in Justice, Illinois.

June 7, 1925 – Policeman Harold Kegler #1223 was killed in a motorcycle accident while attempting to stop a speeding vehicle on Milwaukee Road in Maine Township.

1926 Sheriff Lewis Schriber forms the first complete organization of women deputy sheriffs, “Women Sheriff Corps.”. Each town was represented by one of the deputies who assisted in the courts and worked as juvenile officers.

June 24, 1928 – Policeman John Sweitz was killed in a motorcycle accident as he and his partner patrolled River Road in Norwood Park Township.

May 24, 1930 – Policeman Frederick Bryant was killed when his motorcycle struck a ditch while he and his partner attempted to stop a speeding vehicle.

September 5, 1931 – Policeman Joseph Meyer Lapine was killed in an automobile accident at the intersection of Rand and Wolf in Des Plaines, Illinois while he was attempting to stop a speeding vehicle.

May 24, 1933 – A decision is made by the Cook County Board to continue the Cook County Highway Police.

August 11, 1934 – Policeman Robert Schanbaum #1302 was struck and killed by a drunken driver while he and his partner issued a speeding ticket to another driver on Milwaukee Avenue.

On July 01, 1935, Sheriff Toman released a public service video announcing and demonstrating the service now available from the Cook County Sheriff’s Highway Police.

August 23, 1936 – Highway Police Chief Lester J. Laird, Traffic Court Judge John Gutknecht and Don Hancock of WBBM Radio board an airplane and transmit traffic congestion over the radio.

March 19, 1937 – Sheriff John Toman officially opens the new Cook County Sheriff’s Highway Police Station located on Ridge Road near Halsted in Homewood, Illinois.

1938 It became legal for a sheriff to be elected for successive terms.

October 19, 1941 – Policeman Frank Christian was struck and killed by a drunken driver at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and 79th Street, in Stickney Township while he was investigating a previous accident.

June 6, 1945 – Policeman William Pottow #702 and Policeman Leonard Hurwitz #584 were killed in an automobile accident at the intersection of Touhy Avenue and Harlem Avenue, in Niles, Illinois.

1947 In January, the Sheriff’s Office adopts military titles for rank.

December 10, 1953 – Sheriff John Babb proposes consolidation of all police units of Cook County into a Metropolitan police force.

July 15, 1957 – Police Officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Highway Police, a squad of journalists, and three United States Marine sergeants arrived at the banks of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Route 83, northeast of Lemont Township.

October 21, 1959 – Sheriff Sain is granted permission from the Circuit Court to hire an additional 100 officers for the Sheriff’s Police.

July 15, 1960 – Sheriff Frank Sain announces the purchase of three (3) tow trucks for use by the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department on traffic crashes.

1961 Sheriff Sarto Major introduced the six-point star shield. (It was introduced to Sheriff’s Departments across New York State in an effort to distinguish deputy sheriffs from municipal police.)

December 3, 1962 – Richard Ogilvie was inaugurated as the 46th Sheriff of Cook County.

September 02, 1963 – Officer Bernard Singer is assigned to conduct air traffic reports for WGN in a Cessna Skyhawk airplane.

1964 Sheriff Patrick Corbett takes office and becomes the county’s first Democratic sheriff.

1967 Hat badges were discontinued when the Sheriff’s Office adopted a new uniform style.

December 10, 1968 – Patrolman William Denear video records with audio a suspect he was interviewing in reference to a vehicle crash.

May 29, 1969 – Sheriff Joseph Woods announces The Cook County Sheriff’s Police has set up a Helicopter Emergency Ambulance System.

The issue of a 20-year retirement for Deputy Sheriffs employed in a police capacity had been a controversial one across the state since the mid-1970’s.

1971 Sheriff Corbett proposes the 911 telephone emergency communication system, but the plan is rejected.

May 17, 1972 – Newspaper Chicago Today releases a report documenting that the Cook County Sheriff’s Police is responsible for providing police services to the largest area in Cook County, including the City of Chicago.

July 12, 1973 – CCSPD purchases the current headquarters in Maywood, Illinois.

1975 There is a disturbance at the Jamesville Penitentiary and Sheriff Corbett mobilizes the Department’s Occurrence Control Unit to put down the disturbance.

August 3, 1977 – Investigator John Rusnak #152 was killed when his unmarked vehicle was struck from behind by a pickup truck while he was traveling southbound on the Tri-State Tollway in Alsip, Illinois.

December 22, 1978 – John Wayne Gacy is arrested by the Des Plaines Police Department in reference to a missing juvenile investigation.

Mid 1980’s – CCSPD Radio Communications transitions from sworn police officers to civilian dispatchers.

1982 The Sheriff’s Department establishes sub-stations around the county.

Sheriff Corbett proposes to take over the operation of the Jamesville Penitentiary and, in 1983, it is replaced by an adjacent site.

The importance of the modern sheriff was stressed by President Ronald Reagan in his address to the National Sheriffs’ Association on June 21, 1984.

October 17, 1985 – Investigator Michael Ridges #380 was shot and killed after stopping three suspects who fitted the description of men committing vandalism to a local home in Prospect Heights.

July 07, 1986 – Sheriff Richard Elrod appoints Samuel Nolan Chief of Police.

The facility was named after the late Syracuse Police Officer Wallie Howard Jr., who was killed in 1989 during an undercover drug investigation.

1991 Onondaga County appropriated $52,600,000 for the new Onondaga County Justice Center jail facility.

1992 The emergency 911 communications system is established.

February 03, 1993 – Sheriff’s Police Patrol division officers begin working ten (10) hour shifts.

1994 Onondaga County and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department bicentennial.

Sheriff Walsh and Undersheriff Darby served their first term in office in 1995.

1996 Sheriff Walsh adopts the black uniform for both the Police and Custody Departments.

November 13, 1997 – Cicero Illinois terminates several police officers creating a manpower shortage.

1999 The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office becomes the first Sheriff’s Office in New York State to receive accreditation in the areas of Police, Custody, Civil, and Crime Lab.

2000 The Sheriff’s Office adopts a commemorative millennium era badge.

2001 A 20-year retirement is secured for the Sheriff’s Office Police Department members.

2003 The web site for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office is developed by one of its employees, Julie Durham, an Account Clerk in Personnel, and launched in the beginning of 2003.

January 4, 2006 – Officer James Knapp #408 was killed when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident at 6:15 am at the intersection of 100th Place and 76th Avenue in Bridgeview, Illinois.

2010 – Only 52 percent of Cook County’s 5.2 million residents lived in the City of Chicago.

At the beginning of 2015, the Office was predicted to finish the year more than $1 million over budget based on past experience and current operations.

In 2016 the Office will be pursuing additional certifications to ensure transparency and create confidence in operations.