COAL VALLEY — He was working as an usher at the old Showcase Cinemas in Milan when new Coal Valley Police Chief Clint Whitney first got interested in police work.
At age 16, he got to take his flashlight out and occasionally usher unruly people out of the theater. But more importantly, he struck up conversations about police work with Milan auxiliary officers who were on duty at the theater.
“It was just something that I was very interested in,” said Whitney, 51, who will turn 52 on Monday, Jan. 20, his first day as police chief. “It just sounded cool to me. Then I got on the Milan auxiliary, and I knew that was something that I really wanted to do.”
Milan's auxiliary police force of volunteers disbanded in 2011.
Whitney graduated from Rock Island High School and Black Hawk College, and he studied criminal justice in college. He later graduated from the University of Illinois' Police Training Institute.
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On Jan. 8, he was named the new police chief in Coal Valley, succeeding his boss and mentor, Jack Chick, who retired a few days earlier.
Chick, village Administrator Annette Ernst and village board President Mike Bartels all alluded to what a good fit Whitney was for the job.
There are many reasons in addition to his 21 years on the Coal Valley police force.
“No. 1, it’s his personality,” Ernst said. “He has such a good rapport with the community, with the other officers, and with my other staff members as well. I just think he’s going to do a terrific job.”
In many ways, he is a bit like his predecessor, Chick. “He’s kind of like Jack 1.0 maybe,” Ernst said. “Not as bold of a personality as Jack.”
Chick himself thinks highly of Whitney, too. “It will be an easy transition for him to take over,” Chick said. “He’s great with people; he’s a good administrator.”
Whitney said Chick has been a mentor, especially in teaching him the day-to-day operations of the administrative side. “Jack Chick has been a tremendous help in the last few years,” Whitney said.
Like Chick, Whitney is big on community policing.
“You always want to keep the citizens close to the police department,” he said.
And like Chick, who worked for the Coal Valley force from 2007 until his retirement, Whitney enjoys working in Coal Valley.
“It’s just been a great place to work,” he said. “It’s quiet; it’s laid-back.”
The small-town aspect of the village is something he enjoys.
“You have more time to interact with the citizens,” he said. “You get more time to handle their complaints and talk to them. You just have more time to interact with the citizens of the town.”
He knows he’s taking over at a very interesting time in terms of history and changes in the state of Illinois, such as the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state. But he’s not too worried about that.
“I think it’s going to be a learning curve for everybody,” he said. “I don’t think we completely have all the laws, and how we are going to deal with it with the State’s Attorney’s Office. So it’s going to be a learning process with everybody.”
Not surprisingly, Whitney does have his eyes on the future for his department.
He wants to further the careers of the young officers under him.
“We have a lot of young officers in the department, and we need to get them developed so they can take over vacancies and promotions when they arise,” Whitney said.
His hobbies include riding his motorcycle and fixing up collector cars, and he also bowls.
The stepfather of two thinks having one teen does help him relate and understand younger people better.
“I love helping out people, and the job in general,” Whitney said.
In many ways, he’s still that kid who grew up in Milan who enjoyed working at the cinemas.
His reaction was telling when he was called to be told the job was his.
“I was speechless in a way,” he said. “I just didn't have the words.
“When I walked back in and told my wife (Michelle), she started tearing up she was so excited. You have that little tear coming up because you are overwhelmed. It was just unbelievable.”