Overview

Streamwood's Finest (1960)

Streamwood's Finest (2005)

In the mid-1950s, the area now known as the Village of Streamwood was farm and pastureland intersected by Schaumburg, Bartlett and Oltendorf Roads.  On February 9, 1957, Streamwood was incorporated as a Village and with the establishment of the Village, a Department of Public Safety was created on June 20, 1957.

The Director of Public Safety was the sole employee of the Department, with his official office listed in the model home being used as a Village Hall, but all records were kept in his residence.  Subsequent Police Departments moved as the Village Hall did, to farmhouses and single family homes until the first Village Hall/Police Department was built at 401 East Irving Road in 1967.

Tragedy struck Streamwood's Police Department in the 1960s, when two officers lost their lives in the line of duty. Officer Thomas J. Tinnerella was struck by a speeding motorist while he was directing traffic in 1966. In 1967, Sergeant Salvatore V. Genualdi was also struck and killed as he manned a roadblock. Memorials to these officers are on permanent display in the Police Department.

The Department continued to grow along with the community. When a new Village Hall was built, at 301 East Irving Park Road, in 1990, the old Village Hall expanded to 14,600 square feet to house the Police Department. The building provided ample room for many years.

However, after 15 years, the growing force soon outgrew this space. In 2007, during the Village's 50th Anniversary, a brand new building was built for the Department. This 44,000 square foot building was constructed to house the Department for many years to come. The state-of-the-art facility includes a gun range, armory, cells, exercise rooms, offices and community meeting rooms.

Today's full-service Department has come a long way from its simple beginning. But, it is devoted to the same purpose - the service and protection of the residents of Streamwood.