Next week, scores of police officers from across the state, as well as many of their friends and families, will be in Springfield for a ceremony honoring officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.
The annual ceremony is held at the Illinois Police Officers Memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol complex. The event will honor and remember those officers who were killed in the line of duty during the 2021 calendar year. The names of those officers will be added to the permanent memorial there.
Honorees this year include: Melrose Park Police Officer Joseph T. Cappello III, Chicago Heights Police Officer Gary Steven Hibbs, Illinois State Police Senior Master Trooper Todd A. Hanneken, Hometown Police Lieutenant James J. Kouski Jr., Cook County Sheriff’s Police Officer Allen Serta Giachetti, Champaign Police Officer Christopher Neil Oberheim, Brooklyn Police Officer Brian Russell Pierce Jr., Chicago Police Officer Ella Grace French, Pontoon Beach Police Officer Tyler Nathaniel Timmins, Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Ian Riley, and Bradley Police Sergeant Marlene R. Rittmanic.
The schedule for the day can be viewed here.