Lake County Sheriff Curran graduates from police academy - Printable Version +- Waukegan Talk (http://wauktalk.com/forum) +-- Forum: Waukegan Talk (http://wauktalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=30) +--- Forum: Breaking News (http://wauktalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=8) +--- Thread: Lake County Sheriff Curran graduates from police academy (/showthread.php?tid=475)

Lake County Sheriff Curran graduates from police academy - fedupinwaukegan - 07-16-2009 More Sheriff Curran news. Congratulations Sheriff, that's a wonderful accomplishment. Lake County Sheriff Curran graduates from police academy By Russell Lissau | Daily Herald Staff Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran is congratulated by former DuPage County state's attorney Jim Ryan as he graduates from the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. Of the 63 cadets who graduated Friday from the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy, only one had stars on his uniform shoulders -- Mark Curran. Curran, who was elected Lake County sheriff in 2006 despite not having served previously as a police officer, made good on a promise by completing a 12-week police academy program. With family, friends and representatives from the sheriff's office in the audience, he accepted his diploma at the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. He called the academy experience humbling. He neither asked for nor received any special treatment during the course. "I got treated as any recruit and I was disciplined when I did anything wrong," explained Curran, 44. A lawyer by profession, Curran didn't need to attend the academy. Once he was sworn in as sheriff, he became the county's highest-ranking police officer. But by finishing the often-grueling program, Curran's credibility with the deputies he oversees has increased, said Sgt. Christopher Thompson, the office's spokesman. "They punished these recruits and he never faltered," Thompson said. "He never stopped." Several graduates received diplomas from fathers and other relatives who've worked in law enforcement. Curran received his from a VIP, too: former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, who was Curran's boss for a time. Curran's wife, Irene, and their three young sons attended the midday ceremony. Irene Curran, who's chief of child support for the Lake County state's attorney's office, called her husband's graduation a great accomplishment. "I think he feels a better connection now with the guys," she said. "I think it will make him a well-rounded sheriff." The cadets had classroom and practical training. They participated in simulated traffic stops, crimes, building searches and other on-the-job situations. Firearms training and an exercise regimen were part of the program, too. They also were hit with pepper spray, a less-than-pleasant experience they relived during a slide show Friday. Entering a program with cadets half his age "speaks volumes" about Curran's character, said Academy Director Bill Lawler. "If I was a Lake County deputy, it doesn't matter if I voted for the guy -- I'm impressed," Lawler said. Curran said he dropped 15 pounds because of the strenuous exercise. "In this line (of work), you've got to stay in shape," he said. Curran was the only graduate from a Lake County department. Other officers in his class are headed to departments throughout the Chicago area, including Schaumburg, Aurora, Lisle, Des Plaines and the DuPage County sheriff's department. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=162247">https://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=162247</a><!-- m -->