Northbrook Police Chief Christopher Kennedy has resigned to “pursue opportunities outside of law enforcement,” a village spokesman said.
Deputy Police Chief John Ustich was scheduled to take over as interim chief on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Kennedy’s last day on the job, said Nicholas Glenn, communications manager for the village of Northbrook.
Kennedy has served as chief since 2021, when he came to the village with 30 years of law enforcement experience, including serving as a deputy chief in two different capacities with the Chicago Police Department.
Neither Kennedy nor Glenn returned phone calls or an email seeking comment.
Ustich said he is “very excited” to become interim chief.
“I love the direction Chief Kennedy was taking us in,” he said. “I look forward to the opportunity to continue to carry out his projects and move forward. He’s a good leader. I’m sad to lose him.”
Nonetheless, Ustich predicted the department will persevere in the former chief’s absence.
“We have a great department and competent and qualified leadership to carry us through the rest of the way,” he said.
Ustich said the biggest challenge he faces as an interim chief is not being able to award official promotions and make permanent changes in personnel.
“It holds up the promotions that should happen,” he said. “When a chief leaves, there are a series of promotions that should be done, from the chief on down.”
During the transition, the department’s school resource officer will be moved back into investigations until a permanent replacement is found for Kennedy, Ustich said.
“In the temporary period, we will appoint someone to help with administrative deputy chief functions while I take care of chief functions, ” he said.
Ustich, who plans to apply for the opening for chief, said his main goal as interim chief is to meet with all members of the department and request their input.
“I will talk to them about suggestions of how we might be able to do things better,” he said. “I will talk to all supervisors to see what they’re thinking and what their teams are thinking. I’ll be getting everything set up for whoever becomes the permanent chief. There are not going to be any full wholesale changes, obviously.”
Ustich, who has worked in the department for 28 years, said Kennedy taught him how to focus on community.
“He was big on community relationship building,” Ustich said. “We developed a community engagement officer and rehashed how we do community policing. We spend a good amount of time going in and out of businesses, making sure they know who to contact if they need assistance and letting us know what they need.”
When Kennedy started as chief, he launched a mental wellness program and eventually began a physical wellness program, as well, Ustich said.
“I would like to carry on his legacy,” he said. “He was just a solid leader as far as relating to people. He was always open to opinions, criticisms, suggestions. I’m pretty much the same way. I train officers to do their work and I empower them to make decisions. They understand that comes with responsibility. I just want to continue down that road of creating a positive work environment for the people who are here.”
As a deputy chief in Chicago, Kennedy first served in street operations under the first deputy superintendent and then oversaw the counter terrorism and special operations units, according to a communication from Glenn. The village will conduct an “internal search” for a new chief in the coming weeks, he said.
Ustich, who was promoted to deputy chief in May 2023, said he was not certain how long the hiring process will take.
