Saying he has “too many balls in the air,” Willow Springs Police Chief Garry McCarthy has submitted his resignation after four years at the helm.
“I love it here. It’s a great place. But I’ve still got to put the time in,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful four years. I enjoyed my time here. I met a lot of wonderful people.”
McCarthy and his family reside in Park Ridge.
“We have too many balls in the air and we’re kind of falling behind. We’re not getting done the things we want to get done,” he said.
“But the biggest thing is I’m going to turn 67 in May and my son is 9,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy announced his decision at the village board meeting March 12.
His last day on duty will be April 29, ending a four-year run in Willow Springs.
He took the job in April 2022, saying, “Put me back in, Coach,” at the news conference in Willow Springs.
Thus ends his 45-year career in law enforcement that included time in New York City and Newark, N.J., before he came to Chicago where he became superintendent in 2011.
Four years later, he was forced out his job as Chicago police superintendent by former Mayor Rham Emmanuel in November 2015.
During the March 12 meeting, village officials spoke highly of his time with the department.
Mayor Melissa Neddermeyer and several trustees spoke highly of working with McCarthy.
“Your leadership has been incredibly positive and meaningful,” Neddermeyer said. “I wish you all the best.”
Trustees Bob Sprinkle, Rick Mika, Terrance Carr and Fred Posch weighed in, as did Village Administrator Ryan Grace.
Sprinkle, who serves on the police commission, said he “enjoyed all the great stories (McCarthy) brought to our meetings.”
Mika’s advice was to the point: “Try to take it easy. Take it slow.”
Carr said, “I never had anyone easier to work with. If I left a message, I’d get a phone call back.”
Posh praised McCarthy’s professional approach to the job.
Meeting with McCarthy for daily reports from the police department “was the best part of my day,” Grace said.
While McCarthy is appreciative of the kind words, he pointed out that the village administration was very supportive of him.
“They did that. They gave us more resources. They gave us more cops. I’d sit and talk about the budget and I basically got everything we needed. Upgrades in technology.
“And we’ve had the opportunity to hire the people we want to hire, not the people we didn’t want to keep. We’ve got a great chemistry in the station house. Typical cop banter, breaking each other’s chops,” he said with a smile.
It’s not that McCarthy will be taking it easy in retirement. Far from it.
He coaches his 9-year-old son’s travel baseball team, which has a 48-game schedule. The team is in the Windy City organization that has 390 players.
He hosts the popular “Behind the Badge,” a weekly program produced by Fox 32 Chicago and streamed on YouTube. He interviews law enforcement experts from around the nation.
“It’s the Number One streaming show on Fox 32,” he said.
And, he has a consulting company that helps with investigations, security and expert witness services.
“I’m still going to be involved in policing,” he said.
He knows that when winter’s chill hits later this year, he will be instantly transported back 45 years to when his career started.
“You know what’s funny, when the fall gets cold I get excited because I remember how it felt when I graduated from the (police) academy in December and went out on the streets (of New York). I can feel it every year,” he said.
Grace said the village will wait a few months before deciding to promote from within or conduct a search for a new police chief.
Grace noted that when McCarthy was hired in 2022, it was as interim chief: “I guess that worked out pretty well.”