The Village of Justice is Pleased to Announce the Grand Opening of
The Players Club Golf Learning Center

The Players Club Golf learning Center (formerly the JPD driving range at 8500 W. 79th street) will be Hosting its grand opening this Saturday, May 15th at 10am.. There will be a breakfast buffet at 9am and the ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 10am. Owner and Golf Pro Mike Mandakas will be on hand for the ceremony as will the Mayor and Trustees. Mike has remodeled the club house and has made upgrades to the range/grounds as well. With the help of mother nature the grounds will be in pristine condition soon. The center is not only a driving range but a place that individuals can sign up for lessons from Golf Pro and Owner Mike Mandakas to help improve any aspect of their game. Mike looks to the future of the center with expansion plans and enhancements. This is a great addition to the Justice Business Community and the area in all that the center has to offer. Grab your clubs and come out and meet Mike and his staff. Sign up for some top notch lessons to improve your game, or get a bucket of balls to shake the rust off your swing. We're sure you'll be impressed with what he has done and all that The Players Club Golf Learning Center has to offer anyone who enjoys the game of golf! Be a part of your community

The Justice Police Department participated in the Fourth Annual Seat Belt Incentive Program for productivity from May 1- May 31, 2010. This program was administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety (DTS). The goal of the program is to save lives and prevent severe injuries on Illinois highways and achieve a higher percentage of safety belt compliance rate through aggressive safety belt enforcement. This is a statewide program and hundreds of agencies participated.

DTS awarded equipment grants to agencies based on the number of citations issued, on a department per capita basis. The top award was a $24,500 grant, for the purchase of a new patrol car. Additionally, there were 3 awards of $10,000, 6 awards of $5,000, 9 awards of $2,600, 9 awards of $2,000 and 15 awards of $1,000.

I am happy to announce that for the second consecutive year, the Justice Police Department was selected as the overall winner out of 200 or more participating agencies!
Our department will soon receive the $24,500 grant for the purchase of a new patrol car.

In addition, the officers issued over 1400 citations for failure to wear seatbelts during this campaign. We have collected $27,200.00 in fines and there is an additional $16,200.00 that is currently outstanding.

Deputy Chief Kraig McDermott of the Justice Police Department administered the program locally and the entire patrol division participated. I would like to thank each officer for their dedication and hard work, you all should be proud of what was accomplished! I would also like to thank the members of our Communications Center. They had the task of entering each violation into the computer database, which at times was overwhelming. Thanks again, I am proud to lead such a great group of professionals!

On Feb. 8th 2009 at 9:55pm, Lieutenant Carmen A. Consolino of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, was off-duty and traveling on Archer Road in the Village of Justice.  While driving, he noticed a fire coming from the second floor of a townhome located in the Arbors of Justice Subdivision.  Lt. Consolino drove over to the fire and immediately contacted the Justice Police Department to report the incident.  He then began to evacuate the homeowners of the four (4) townhome building.  Residents of the building advised Lt. Consolino that there may be a lady in the burning residence. 
He and Corporal Ronald Brenza of the Justice Police Department, attempted to gain entry to the residence, however, the door was locked.  They both kicked in the door and made entry to the building while the entire second floor was fully engulfed with flames.  Upon entry, the officers crawled upon the first floor of the townhome due to the heavy smoke and significant heat.  Lt. Consolino then heard human sounds coming from the living room area and observed a middle-aged female in a semi-conscious state lying on a couch.  He and Cpl. Brenza dragged the female from the couch to the main doorway where Officer Carmen Scardine of the Justice Police Department met them and carried her outside to safety.  The female victim was transported to a local hospital and was treated for smoke inhalation.  She was released a couple of days later and has made a full recovery.  The residence was destroyed by fire; however, the adjoining homes were saved.
 The officers, without hesitation gave their assistance and I would like to recognize them for their compassion and bravery in the face of danger.  They came to the aid of others in crisis, while jeopardizing their own safety. Their selfless acts of courage and bravery are inspiring. We were very pleased to honor these individuals  by presenting them with Lifesaving Awards at the March 23, 2009 Village Board meeting.

On behalf of the men and women of the Justice Police Department, please accept our sincere thanks to the officers and my personal thanks for heroic acts!
Sincerely,
Robert Gedville, Chief of Police

Trustee Mary McGee, Chair of the Public Safety Committee and Chief Robert Gedville would like to take a moment to celebrate the individual accomplishments experienced by some of the members of the Justice Police Department in the past year:

Corporal Lucas Wyatt 
 2009 Officer of The Year
Corporal Michael McNamara 
2009 Narcotics Enforcement Award
Corporal Ronald Brenza 
 2009 Traffic Safety Award recipient.
Sergeant Mark Krummick
2009 DUI Enforcement Award recipient.
These officers were honored for their achievements at the February 8^th Board Meeting.

Pictured as follows: front row l to r: Corporal Lucas Wyatt, Corporal Michael McNamara, Sergeant Mark Krummick, Corporal Ronald Brenza, back row l to r: Trustee Mary McGee, Deputy Chief Kraig McDemott, Chief Robert Gedville, and Deputy Chief Michael Kurschner.

Chief Gedville encourages all residents of Justice to take advantage of Nixle!  Nixle is a community information service that alerts all residents to public safety threats and community events via web, e-mail, and cell phone. Sign up at www.nixle.com and/or obtain more information.  Please share this new service with friends and neighbors to spread the word! We are very excited to have you experience it for yourself.

The Justice Police Department is looking for more residents to join our Neighborhood Watch Program and give us a hand in making the community a safer place to reside.  The meetings take place on the last Thursday of every month at 7pm in the Village Hall Board Room.  We  look forward to meeting with you and sharing information regarding the neighborhood.

On February 9th, during the Village Board meeting, Mayor Wasowicz and Chief Gedville presented the 2008 Justice Police Department Awards. They are as follows; Officer Anthony DeBella was the 2008 “Officer of The Year” recipient. Corporal Michael McNamara was the 2008 Narcotics Enforcement Award recipient. Corporal Ronald Brenza was the 2008 Traffic Safety Award recipient. Sergeant Mark Krummick and Corporal Lucas Wyatt were the DUI Enforcement Award recipients. The Justice Police Department Honor Guard presented the Colors to open the meeting. I would also like to welcome the newest member of the department, Officer Carmen Scardine. Officer Scardine was hired in December of 2008 and he brings over fifteen (15) years of experience with him. He was an officer with another south suburban police agency prior to his employment with our department. His experience, knowledge and training will be an asset to the Justice Police Department.
         Robert Gedville, Chief of Police

 
The money from this grant will be used for upgrading radio equipment throughout the Police Department. The timing of this check couldn't be better as the equipment in place now is approaching the threshold of being outdated and at the end of it's service life. The money that would have been used to replace the outdated equipment, without the grant, can now be used in other essential areas. The Village and the Police Department are grateful to Congressman Lipinski for all his efforts in securing this grant.