Will County Sheriff's Deputy of the Year is new to department, but not to policing

7 p.m. Friday, May 6

The jackknifed semitrailer on Lorenzo Road means the Will County Sheriff's Deputy of the Year isn't getting a coffee break anytime soon.

“Too many drivers miss the entrance [to the warehouse], and they think they can turn around and don’t make it,” said James “Jim” Reilly, 50.

Reilly, who regularly patrols the south end of the county from Coal City to the Indiana border, had been on his way to Braidwood to meet with some younger officers and discuss what to watch for during the night’s shift.

Sheriff Mike Kelley said Reilly “does an outstanding job mentoring newly hired deputies – passing along his knowledge and work ethic to the next generation.”

Reilly has been named Deputy of the Year by the VFW and will be honored by the sheriff’s department Tuesday.

Reilly has been a deputy for only two years, but offers what seems like several lifetimes of experience.

Raised in Rockdale, Reilly expected a career in business, but decided on a whim to accompany his older brother to test for the Joliet Police Department. After time as a patrol and canine officer, he was assigned to the Will County Cooperative Police Assistance Team, working undercover to bust high-level drug dealers.

“He is an outstanding investigator. He was a great partner,” said Elwood Chief Fred Hayes, who was in the unit with Reilly.

But having to arrest a fellow officer for interfering with an investigation targeting a relative, the murder of another CPAT member and the release of a Joliet officer’s killer on a legal technicality brought “bitter” feelings, Reilly said. He joined a relative’s computer software business, traveled the world, began operating his own construction company and earned millions before being wiped out by the recession.

Then he started teaching at the Wilco Area Career Center.

“I taught criminal law and criminal justice to high school students – and, honestly, that’s when I started learning the value of education and went back myself,” Reilly said.

He is finishing his dissertation to complete a doctorate in criminal justice.

But the need to provide for his son, Braden, brought Reilly back to law enforcement, and a job offer from the sheriff’s department returned him to the Illinois State Police Academy – at twice the age of almost all his classmates.

“I wanted to stay in the area for my son,” Reilly said. “[Former Sheriff] Paul Kaupas knew me from CPAT. I don’t know what I’d be doing otherwise.”

8 p.m.

As the semitrailer’s tow truck is setting up, Reilly and Deputy Ryan Albin direct eastbound traffic through a gravel parking lot. It’s unknown what’s in the trailer that’s hanging down into the drainage ditch, but it doesn’t interest Roxy, the Belgian Malinois who has arrived with Deputy Robert Denny.

“Missed you at coffee,” Denny tells Reilly, who wonders whether the traffic jam is the start of a shift with more action than usual.

“I like working and arresting bad guys,” Reilly said.

According to Kelley, Reilly made more self-initiated arrests for illegal drugs and firearms than any other patrol deputy last year.

“No other deputy in the past several years has made more of an impact in reducing the rate of burglaries [in his area],” Kelley said. “Jim’s style of solving crimes is to use a proactive approach. He regularly searches social media sites to collect crime tips from residents. His professional and friendly personality injects trust with the citizens he interacts with, and he uses his contacts from other law enforcement agencies to collect information.”

9 p.m.

Reilly expects “the sheriff’s department will really be coming into our own in the next few years. We’ve got a lot of young guys and girls who are really sharp ... dedicated,” he said, citing Albin and Denny as two close examples.

Within minutes of Reilly remarking how that young talent is needed to combat the increased use of heroin in the area, there's an overdose reported in Braidwood. As more information comes over the radio, it seems as if the coroner's office will have to be called. A Braidwood officer has arrived, which is fortunate, because a Wilmington Township man has called 911 to say his neighbor has threatened him and has a gun.

For an “old man,” Reilly has no fear working the accelerator of his police SUV despite some drivers who seem oblivious to the flashing lights and siren.

10 p.m.

One of the neighbors has gone back inside and is blasting Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” so it can be heard halfway down the block. Reilly and Albin keep their composure and knock on the door again. The man finally comes to the door and repeats that he doesn’t care what his neighbor said and the deputies can search his house if they want. Reilly takes him up on the offer, heads inside and turns down the music.

The two men who live near each other have an ongoing feud that flared up again while they were outside earlier in the evening.

When questioned by Reilly, the caller said he saw a gun in the man’s house a decade ago, which the deputy explains does not qualify as “probable cause” for an arrest. After completing the search and speaking with both men separately, Reilly negotiates a tentative “stay away from each other” resolution, and everybody’s going to sleep instead of going to jail.

Twenty minutes later, the complainant is calling again, although his antagonist is almost certainly asleep. Reilly returns to diffuse the situation. He calmly explains the man’s options for making a criminal complaint. The man is disappointed the police can’t just roust the neighbor from his bed, because he’s changed his mind. The man said he plans to let Sheriff Kelley know he’s displeased with the resolution.

“You can do that if you want, sir. Remember you were speaking with Deputy Jim Reilly. Don’t forget you have my card,” Reilly says, before wishing the man to have a good night and be safe.

Midnight

The neighbors have kept quiet, and Reilly finally gets a chance to get that cup of coffee. He stops at a Braidwood gas station and is joined by Denny and some Braidwood officers, including Chris Alteri, who was able to revive the earlier heroin overdose using three doses of the antidote Narcan.

“All right, brother,” Reilly says.

Reilly offers a few tips and commiserates for a few minutes before he and Denny leave to check traffic on Interstate 55.

“Let’s see what else we can do tonight that’s good,” he says.