April 2, 2021 www.gazettechicago.com eedition.gazettechicago.com Gazette 15 different type of holiday season," Williams said. "We are very proud of the over- whelming response we received for both this program and our domes- tic violence initiative and look for- ward to continuing to strengthen the bonds between our depart- ment, UIC, and the surrounding community," Williams added. UICPD also raises funds for Special Olympics, St. Baldrick's Foundation, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation and has col- lected clothing for Pacific Garden Mission. Decades of history The UICPD began in 1953, when the State Universities Per- sonnel System officially reclassi- fied department members' civil service titles to police officer. The State also changed the title of fire and safety supervisor (precursor to chief of police) to supervisor of security and traffic and added responsibility for the university's telephone and mail services. In September of that year the State selected John Albrecht, a former U.S. Army officer and Illinois state trooper, to run the department. Before 1953, the University of Illinois operated on two campuses in Chicago: the Medical Center, with health science colleges such as medicine, pharmacy, nurs- ing, and dentistry, and a major teaching hospital; and a two-year undergraduate division at Navy Pier. Several miles separated the campuses. Public safety services came via nine officers on the Navy Pier campus and ten officers on the Medical Center campus, under the direction of the fire and safety supervisor. Albrecht in 1955 requested sup- port from the university through a legislative bill to provide full po- lice powers to U of I Police. Af- ter various redrafts and with final approval from the university, the State reclassified Albrecht's staff as police officers, with full police powers as of 1959. With the open- ing of the Chicago Circle Campus in 1965, the UIC Police jurisdiction area grew substantially. When Cir- cle Campus and the U of I Medical center merged in 1982 to become the University of Illinois Chicago, the UICPD's roles and responsibil- ities remained the same. UICPD headquarters is located at 943 W. Maxwell St. in a former CPD building . Built in 1888, the building served as the old 7th District po- lice station and housed some of the nation's most notorious crimi- nals, including Sam Giancana and Al Capone. The station was the location for the 1980s NBC TV show Hill Street Blues and appeared as a regular filming location for NBC's Chicago PD , Chicago Med , and Chicago Fire , along with Showtime's The Chi and the Netflix series Easy . The public uses the building as a safe exchange zone, where people performing a sales trans- action or child custody exchange can do it in a safe, police patrolled environment. Chief's philosophy Like CPD, UICPD's goal is to serve and protect individuals in and around the UIC campus. Po- lice Chief Kevin L. Booker of- fered his philosophy on polic- ing the UIC campus, saying, "It's to embrace the UIC community through our proactive approaches and policies that foster transpar- ency and accountability. There- fore, my hope is that the commu- nity embraces us back with trust and collaboration." Booker added, "UICPD is com- mitted to safety and security in or- der to create the most enriching academic environment and qual- ity of life for all UIC students, fac- ulty, staff, and visitors." In an emergency, call the UICPD at (312) 355-5555. For general information, call (312) 996-2830. For Connecting4Communities, log on to connecting4communi- ties.com. For the Network log on to the-network.org or call (312) 527-0730.
Carmen P. Valentino
312-259-0333
cvalentino@myhst.com John Cahill
312-519-4072
jcahill@myhst.com
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UIC Police provide a variety of services for the university and its surrounding community. For more information call 312-996-2830.
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