Schaumburg Engages Hillard Heintze to Provide Interim Police Chief and Strategic Advisory Support

Search for Permanent Chief Underway

Schaumburg, IL – Today, the Village of Schaumburg announced that it has engaged Hillard Heintze for strategic leadership and advisory support and counsel to the Schaumburg Police Department until a permanent chief has been appointed. Hillard Heintze will provide an interim Chief of Police who will serve on a dedicated, full-time basis as well as a Special Advisor to the Chief of Police.

The strategic advisory firm will also provide independent subject-matter expertise in national policing and public safety best practices through its Senior Leadership Council (SLC). The SLC will serve as advisors to the Chief in implementing the recommendations contained in the upcoming assessment report of the Schaumburg Police Department. The report is expected to address areas such as leadership and supervision, departmental structure, staffing, officer training, case management and special investigations, among other areas.

Hillard Heintze Chief Operating Officer Kenneth A. Bouche – a retired Illinois State Police Colonel – will serve as the Schaumburg Police Department’s interim Chief of Police. Current Chief of Police Brian Howerton announced his retirement last week and will officially step down effective April 5. Bouche will be sworn in as chief on April 1. Bouche has been one of the lead assessors on the Hillard Heintze team currently performing a comprehensive and independent assessment of Schaumburg Police Department practices and procedures. “While our ultimate goal is to identify a permanent chief who can guide the Schaumburg Police Department in the years ahead, the appointment of Ken Bouche to interim chief allows us to ensure that we can continue to deliver public safety services to village residents and businesses,” said Schaumburg Village Manager Ken Fritz. “Given the extensive analysis and examination of our departmental operations that Hillard Heintze has already completed, it makes a lot of sense to have Ken Bouche assume these responsibilities and we are pleased that he has agreed to do so.”

Identifying a highly qualified individual Chief of Police to lead the department on a permanent basis will take several months. The village plans to contract with an executive search firm and, working closely with Hillard Heintze, will conduct a thorough national search for the department’s next leader. The village has not set a specific deadline on identifying a new chief, but expects to begin the process after evaluating the assessment recommendations and determining the characteristics and experience requirements it will apply in selecting the best candidates for this position.

Bouche served several roles during a distinguished, 23-year career with the Illinois State Police. Among other accomplishments, he oversaw the delivery of critical real- time information to over 1,000 police agencies and 40,000 police and justice end- users on a 24-hour basis. Bouche also served as a Major and Lieutenant Colonel responsible for advancing innovation and effectiveness in the operational areas of patrol, community policing, criminal investigations and specialty functions such as South Suburban Major Crimes Unit, the Public Integrity Unit and the Tactical Response Team. Bouche began his career in the Air Force as a member of the Military Police.

He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.A. from Northeastern Illinois University.

“Over the last several weeks, along with my colleagues at Hillard Heintze, I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know a great many of the professional men and women who serve the department and the people of Schaumburg with integrity and commitment every day,” said Bouche. “Even for a short period of time, it is an honor to serve with them. Together we will begin the work necessary to improve the integrity, operations and reputation of the SPD and help shape it, now and over time, into a national example of a true community-focused policing agency committed to public service and professional excellence.”

The Hillard Heintze Senior Leadership Council is an independent council of retired Major City Police Chiefs dedicated exclusively to bringing national and international best practices to the pursuit of excellence in policing and public safety. Individually, Council members have been personally responsible for leading the significant transformation of major city police departments and law enforcement agencies for many of the largest municipalities across this nation – including Chicago, Boston, San Jose, Virginia Beach and Miami-Dade, among others.

Get updates from The Cardinal CRIME BLOG ‘Plus’ on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Crime & Forensics’ Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts in the 24/7 Crime Alerts! and sub-categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …