By Karen Haave
Bill Mort has spent his entire adult life in public service. Now, after a myriad of accomplishments and just as many sacrifices, he is retiring as Chief of Police in Peotone.
He says it’s time, “Well, you know, I’m not getting any younger. I’ll be 69 in May.”
He says his family wants him to step down, too, voicing concerns about job safety and his health. But there’s a wistfulness that suggests he’s not quite ready.
Still, he’s made the decision, and on December 31, he signed off for the last time. In short, that means two things: He will be home for future Christmases, and he can stop worrying about “his team” now.
Mort signed on with the Peotone PD in 1976, as a part-time patrol officer. He was 21 years old and took the job after just 24 hours of handgun and use-of-force training.
He’s had 30 years of experience in police work, though, and was retiring from the Will County Sheriff’s Department, with the rank of sergeant, and was distinguished for his work with the acclaimed Tri-County Auto Theft Unit and the SWAT team.
Starting salary was $85,000 a year, but in 2007, he took a self-initiated $10,000 pay cut to make room in the budget to create a pension fund for his staff. (Mort is not a part of that pension fund, so he is not “double-dipping” on retirement benefits.)
He has not had a pay hike since then, until this year, when the mayor insisted on giving him three percent more.
After more than 46 years in law enforcement, he’s not sure what comes next.
“I used to golf. I’ve got the fishing pole, but [police work] takes up all your time,” he shrugged.
The good thing about retirement is it’s “an opportunity to spend time with my family, for all the years I’ve lost with them.
“My wife said, ‘I guess you’ll be home for Christmas’.”
That will be a new experience, because Mort often subbed for “the younger guys with little kids” on their Christmas Day shifts, so he’s missed more than one holiday with his own family.
A resident of Peotone since 1970, he has no plans to leave the village, a town that makes him proud on a regular basis.
“We have a tremendous, caring community,” he said, citing programs like the Helping Hands Food Pantry, the toy drive he inaugurated last year, and the annual holiday baskets sponsored by American Legion Post 392.
“We had people bringing toys for the toy drive, high school kids bringing toys. Nobody went without a Christmas.”
It was so successful, his supporters opted to do it again this year.
At the same time, he pointed to the welcome home motorcade for newly promoted Bradley Police Sgt. Tyler Bailey, who was critically injured in the line of duty almost a year ago and just recently released from the hospital.
“It was so good to be from Peotone, to see the way people were lined up on the streets,” he smiled. “I was just so proud of this community.”
Asked what the best part of his job has been, he replied, “the thank yous from the public, for helping them. A thank you was all I needed.
“The hardest part of the job is losing people, seeing people (colleagues) pass away. They’re your family. You share their tears and cheers.”
He once said, “If you care about your department, you worry. You have to make sure they are the best-trained and well-equipped they can be. You have sleepless nights, only because you care.
“The worst fear for me is the call that comes when you have lost an officer. That’s the nightmare, and it will keep a police chief wondering if that phone call is coming.”
The other half of that nightmare, he added, “is a major event in the community, where there is loss of life. That’s the worst part of the job. That’s the one thing you just can’t stop worrying about.”
Overall though, he said, “Being police chief is not the hardest job in the world, if you were a good cop to begin with. ‘Chief skills’ can be learned.”
His goal when he took the job as top cop in Peotone was to make residents of the village feel safe working and living there.
“My wish for Peotone is that we continue to be a community where people want to raise their families,” he said. “I hope we all remember the value of saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to people.”
The lack of common courtesy, along with social media, is one of few things that annoy him.
Looking back, he said, “I’ve done my best. I’ve done the best I know how to do, and if people weren’t satisfied with that, I can’t change it.”
He met with his successor, David Demik, to pledge support, wish him well, and to give him some advice.
“I told him, ‘Make yourself available to meet your community’.”
The best cops, Mort believes, have “education, physical fitness, flexibility, and the ability to connect with people. You’ve got to be able to communicate with everyone.”
For Mort, communication was never an issue.
“Being from Peotone my whole life, everybody knows me,” he said. “People feel comfortable around me.
“The village has been good to me, it really has,” he added. “The thing I’ll miss is all the people I worked with, day to day.”
Clearly, he will be missed, as well. Accolades flooded social media in December, along with thanks, from those who have worked with him. The elementary school honored him with a parade during their last day of school before Christmas break. He also was honored during an open house at the Peotone American Legion, where residents and law enforcement colleagues wished him a long and happy retirement.
Congrats Bill, we wish you a happy, healthy retirement. May God continue to bless you & your family everyday. Enjoy your retirement.
Kate & Terry Lindemann
Congratulations on your retirement and your years of service! You will be missed! You were always available to help and easy to talk to. Thanks you for your service!!!
Peotone has been blessed by the service of such a fine public servant. I always appreciated his kind attention to those who were struggling. May retirement be a new chapter of joy.
Hey Bill!
Congrats on your retirement! Now you can do all the things you weren’t able to because of your dedication and service! Enjoy!!!
Well congrats Bill,u probably don’t remember me but you used to take me along and play basketball when you worked at the grade school.you made me dust mop first and play ball 2nd lol. Good luck with everything and thanks for looking out for me years ago. Mike Holmes. Mom and dad owned Linda’s Restaurant