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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING RALPH DEBARTOLO ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE COOK COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Sponsored by: PETER N. SILVESTRI, County Commissioner
WHEREAS, Assistant Chief Ralph DeBartolo is retiring from the Cook County Sheriff's Department after twenty four years of service; and
WHEREAS, Ralph DeBartolo has a long history of putting his life on the line for the safety of others, starting when he served 18 months as a soldier in Korea; and
WHEREAS, always knowing he wanted a career in law enforcement, Mr. DeBartolo applied for a position as a police officer with the Chicago Police Department and was hired in 1957 and stayed with the department until 1989; and
WHEREAS, on December 1, 1958, on his way home from completing an overnight shift, he encountered the horrific fire at Our Lady of Angels School, and without a moment's thought to his own safety, heroically followed firefighters into the building to assist them; and
WHEREAS, upon leaving the Chicago Police Department in 1989, Ralph DeBartolo joined the Cook County Sheriff's Department as a deputy sheriff. He was promoted to an Assistant Chief in 2000 and served in that position at both the Skokie and Rolling Meadows courthouses until his retirement this year; and
WHEREAS, early in his career, he was subjected to discrimination because of his Italian heritage. He became a champion against this type of bias, being instrumental in the forming of the Italian American Police Officers Association. He has been awarded recognition from the Order of the Sons of Italy in America, the Italian American Police Officers Association and was the 2010 recipient of the Law Enforcement Award from the Illinois State Bar Association; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the respect and admiration he has earned from fellow law enforcement professionals and supervisors, Ralph DeBartolo is much loved by his family, including wife Helen, sons Tony and wife Kim; Danny and wife Melissa and his...
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