HR0902LRB101 21851 MST 72810 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Orland Park Police Chief
4Timothy J. "Tim" McCarthy on the occasion of his retirement on
5August 1, 2020; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Chief McCarthy is a son of the Irish-American
7community of the South Side of Chicago; he was born in the City
8of the Big Shoulders on June 20, 1949 and attended Catholic
9schools in his youth; he graduated from Leo Catholic High
10School in 1967 and attended the University of Illinois at
11Urbana-Champaign; and
 
12    WHEREAS, At the University of Illinois, Chief McCarthy
13tried out for the Fighting Illini men's football team as a
14walk-on; earning his way aboard through this grueling process,
15his talent as a strong safety was so great that as a sophomore
16he earned a belated football scholarship and represented the
17State of Illinois on the Big Ten gridiron; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Upon graduating from the University of Illinois in
191971, Chief McCarthy turned his eyes towards the highest levels
20of law enforcement, joining the United States Secret Service;
21the Secret Service selected him to serve in its inner circle,
22the Presidential Protective Division, the law enforcement

 

 

HR0902- 2 -LRB101 21851 MST 72810 r

1officers who maintain perimeter control around the President of
2the United States; and
 
3    WHEREAS, While guarding newly-elected President Ronald
4Reagan on March 30, 1981 as the President walked out of a
5Washington, D.C. hotel and headed toward his limousine, Chief
6McCarthy heard the first of what would be six shots from the
7gun of a would-be presidential assassin; utilizing his
8training, he placed himself in the line of fire and took a
9bullet in the torso; numerous witnesses stated at the time that
10they had personally seen Chief McCarthy save President Reagan's
11life; and
 
12    WHEREAS, After the attempted assassination, his discharge
13from the hospital, and the resumption of his service, Chief
14McCarthy moved to executive law enforcement and returned to his
15home state of Illinois; he advanced in the Secret Service
16Chicago Division and was named Special Agent in Charge
17(Chicago) in 1989; and
 
18    WHEREAS, After leaving the Secret Service in October of
191993, Chief McCarthy was named chief of the Orland Park Police
20Department in May of 1994 and began a new phase of his life,
21which is now in its eighth decade; and
 
22    WHEREAS, As the police chief of a rapidly-growing and

 

 

HR0902- 3 -LRB101 21851 MST 72810 r

1diverse South Suburban Chicago municipality, Chief McCarthy
2had a new set of challenges to face; highly respected by both
3his officers and his colleagues, Chief McCarthy had the unique
4standing and stature to develop community-based law
5enforcement tools within his own jurisdiction that could be
6shared throughout Illinois with his fellow chiefs and police
7officers; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Among these pioneering efforts in community
9policing was Chief McCarthy's strong advocacy, from almost the
10very beginning of its availability, for adding naloxone to his
11jurisdiction's standard police vehicle kit; naloxone can be
12injected into a person suffering from acute respiratory
13distress following an opioid overdose, and its use has been
14credited with saving thousands of lives throughout the United
15States in the years since Chief McCarthy began advocating for
16its use; and
 
17    WHEREAS, As a champion of his police force, Chief McCarthy
18continually fought for more and better resources for the Orland
19Park Police Department and for Illinois law enforcement in
20general; during his service as chief of more than a quarter of
21a century from 1994 until 2020, the Orland Park police force
22grew by more than 30 sworn officers; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Chief McCarthy received the NCAA Award of Valor in

 

 

HR0902- 4 -LRB101 21851 MST 72810 r

11982 and the inaugural Police Chief of the Year Award from the
2Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police in 2016; and
 
3    WHEREAS, These are only two of the numerous honors, awards,
4and recognitions that Chief McCarthy has earned over the course
5of his storied career in national and Illinois law enforcement;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Awards and recognitions are less important to
8Chief McCarthy than his wife of 47 years, his three children,
9and his seven grandchildren; and
 
10    WHEREAS, After being a hero on the national stage, Chief
11McCarthy returned home to be a pillar of his family and of his
12home community, the community of Orland Park; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
14HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15we congratulate Orland Park Police Chief Timothy J. "Tim"
16McCarthy on his retirement, and we thank him for his service
17and wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to Chief McCarthy as a symbol of our respect and
21esteem.