Parade added to event honoring police officers
In its second year, Law Enforcement Appreciation Day ‘seems to be growing’
Anthony Lazzaroni was freezing with his peers during the funeral for Bradley police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic.
But there was one thing that warmed the Monee deputy police chief ’s heart that Jan. 7 morning, more than a week after Rittmanic was killed in the line of duty.
The public support of the police.
“When the sergeant from Bradley was shot, the streets were lined up with people,” Lazzaroni said. “That had to be the coldest day of the year and there were still so many people out there saluting. I told a rookie officer who was with me ‘You see this? This shows that there are more people who support us and love us than the ones who don’t.’ ”
Monee residents showed their support of their police this weekend. Village Trustee John Henson helped organize the second Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on Saturday at Firemen’s Park.
Village officers and their families were honored with food, music, raffles and a parade.
“It’s great that someone would put something like this on for us,” Lazzaroni said. “It means a lot. It makes the guys feel appreciated. It means a lot to our guys. It’s a great event and we really appreciate them doing it.”
Both events were held on rainy days. This year organizers added the parade, though rain held the number of spectators down.
“The sun will be out next year,” Lazzaroni predicted. “That will bring out more people.”
Officer Stephen Crescenti liked what he has seen in the infancy of the event.
“It’s very much appreciated,” he said. “It seems to be growing each year and that’s always good to see.”
Last year, Crescenti did 362 burpee exercises — one for every officer who died in the United States in the line of duty or from COVID-19-related reasons in 2020 — in 45 minutes.
This year, the former Homewood-Flossmoor multisport athlete did 617 pushups for those who died in 2021.
“I’ve done 500 a day,” he said. “What’s another 117?”
Will County Board member Julie Berkowicz helped organize the event and she needed the police’s help right away.
“When I got here today, guess what I did? I locked myself out of my car,” Berkowicz said. “And who helped me get into my car? The police. You can’t measure what they do for us 24 hours a day. They take that oath, and they are there for us.”
She said a police officer’s work covers a lot of territory and giving them a day of fun is the least people can do.
“This event is a good thing because officers need our support,” she said. “They do so
much for us. Not only do they keep us safe, but they do so much goodwill for the community.”
A lot has happened to Henson since organizing the first event for the police.
In 2021, he was coming off a close election loss, 372-346 to Anthony Raczek. The Navy veteran, however, was appointed to the board this March when Raczek resigned.
Even before he became a trustee, Henson would come to meetings to support the police, especially when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation in 2021 that some said hindered police.
Henson came up with the idea to honor the police that year as well.
“The last couple of years, there has been a negative connotation for officers and I just want to let them know that there are people who still appreciate them,” Henson said. “They go out there and they are our first line of defense.”
Henson said police are more vital than ever.
“In recent years, there has been an uptick in crime, even in this little village,” he said. “It’s just scary.”