HR1183 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1183 LRB093 23488 LCB 53483 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Chief of Police Francis G. DioGuardi is retiring after 33 years of dedicated service in the Police Department of the Village of Park Forest; and

WHEREAS, Francis G. DioGuardi has been in the Park Forest area since 1970; on September 16, 1971, he was sworn in as a patrol officer for the Park Forest Police Department; in the patrol division, he distinguished himself by establishing several community outreach programs fostering positive police/youth interaction and he was a department spokesman in the local school systems on child safety, stranger danger, and sexual assault prevention; and

WHEREAS, In 1981, he was assigned to the Detective/Juvenile Division where he investigated serious crimes and established a close working relationship with the Juvenile Justice System; in 1982, he was appointed Director of Crime Prevention and Youth Services within the Police Department; during his eight years in this position, he established several meaningful community policing programs; and

WHEREAS, He was one of the first 30 DARE officers in the State of Illinois in 1985 and taught the curriculum in three school districts in the Village; he served as Executive Director of Region II Operation Snowball and worked on the Rich Township High School District Operation Snowball; as a founding member of the South Suburban Council on Sexual Assault, he was instrumental in rewriting the sexual assault statutes of Illinois and helped create the Domestic Violence Act of 1986; and

WHEREAS, In 1989, he served as President of the South Suburban Juvenile Officers Association; in 1990, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and assumed the duties of first-line supervisor in the Patrol Division and served as a department hostage negotiator; in 1995, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and served as a shift Watch Commander; and

WHEREAS, In 1999, he was designated a Commander and provided input and direction to the Police Department Administration as part of the management team; he also served on the policy board of the Dating Violence Prevention Education Program at Rich Township High School District 227; in 2000, he was promoted to the rank of Captain and served as head of operations for the Police Department; he assumed the duties of Chief of Police in the absence of the Chief; and

WHEREAS, In July 2003, Chief DioGuardi was appointed Interim Chief of Police, assuming overall management of the Park Forest Police Department; he was appointed permanent Chief of Police for the Park Forest Police Department in 2003; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Chief of Police Francis G. DioGuardi on the occasion of his retirement from the Park Forest Police Department after 33 years of service; we thank him for his exemplary service and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Chief DioGuardi as an expression of our respect and esteem.