A Morton Grove police sergeant who also served in Naperville died of pancreatic cancer on May 31. He was 51 years old.
State records show Sergeant Jason Rago began his career in law enforcement with the Naperville Police Department in 1996. He joined the Morton Grove Police Department in August 2000 and remained there for the rest of his life. According to his wife, Monica Rago, he had been battling cancer for more than a year.
“He loved being a dad and doing his job,” Monica Rago told Pioneer Press. She also served with him briefly in the Morton Grove police department, where she was a community service officer and he was her supervisor. “As far as a supervisor, he was great, very understanding, viewed everything from all angles— just to make sure that everybody stayed safe and did their job.”
Police Chief Michael Simo said Jason Rago received many letters of appreciation and commendation throughout his 24 years of service to the department. “We have to make a lot of quick decisions, and nobody makes a quick decision like a patrol sergeant. (Jason) was especially good at that. He could assess the situation, figure out the best solution for it, and then talk people into doing the best right thing to help their problem work itself out,” Simo said.
Simo said even during Jason Rago’s last year on the force, he continued to have a good attitude and did desk work up until the month he died. “He told me that he thought it was very important to set an example as he went through his illness that people look at him and see he was trying to handle it as cheerfully and as matter of fact as possible.”
During his tenure in the department, Jason Rago was a founding member of the safety commission, a peer support team and honor guard, Simo said. He added that Jason Rago also planned the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival and Morton Grove days a few times.
A GoFundMe page for Jason Rago was set up in November of 2023 after his tumor increased in size and his cancer spread and was reclassified as being in Stage 4.
Monica Rago said she received a lot of support from the police departments in the months leading to her husband’s death as well as now. “They’re always family to me… They’ve been there for me and Jason, to support anything he ever needed or I ever needed.”
Monica Rago said her husband lived by a motto: “Keep fighting the good fight. Never give up, and remember to smile every day.” While he was dealing with cancer, Monica Rago said, “he never gave up, was fearless and was courageous throughout the chemo treatments and fought to the very end.”
Jason Rago leaves behind three children, Luke, Emily, and Noah. “He was a great dad, loved being a dad, and he was a great husband and absolutely loved doing both,” Monica Rago said. “There are just not enough words in this world to describe who he was as a person. No one’s ever going to be like him in this world.”
A celebration of life, in lieu of a funeral, is scheduled for Jason Rago’s friends and family, Monica Rago said.
According to his Glueckert Funeral Home obituary, Jason Rago is survived by, in addition to Monica Rago, the following: the mother of his children, Ann Gavin; his devoted and loving parents Georgene and Richard Metz; his brothers Anthony Metz and James (Christine) Metz; his aunts Roberta (Richard) Gheller, Carleen (Thomas) Jurkowski, Susan (Rick) Tippett; his uncle Frank (Sandra) Romanowski; his step-mother Shirley Rago; his mother-in-law and father-in-law Marta and Jerzy Owca; his grandmother-in-law Franciszka Walaszek; many cousins, friends and fellow brothers and sisters in blue.
