Rebuilding season: Hebron’s Gumble hires full- and part-time officers for embattled community

It was a year of chaos for the tiny McHenry County town of Hebron: Its police chief was ousted, it went months with no one in the role, a controversial top cop was appointed and a depletion left the department empty of officers.

When the dust settled following a three-way run for village president in the April 1 election, the new mayor was determined to fix the town’s image among its residents and the greater community.

“We are doing our best to try to … act like a normal municipality," Village President Steve Morris said.

His first act after being sworn in May 12 was to bring back Chief of Police Juanita Gumble, who had been forced out July 22, 2024.

“I do not think I could have picked a better chief who has risen to the occasion, and then some,” Morris said of Gumble’s return. “Six months without a single person hired, and now there are several full-time and part-time [personnel] hired.”

In the two months since being sworn in as Hebron’s chief of police for the second time, Gumble has hired four full-time officers and four part-timers, filling roles left empty for six months.

While the contingent of officers is not enough to cover the 1,400-resident town 24 hours a day, seven days a week, officers are available at the busiest times and will be there for the town’s residents and its schools, Gumble said.

“They were here at my swearing-in and walked over here with me” to sign on for the department, Gumble said of some of the new officers.

Gumble was first named Hebron’s police chief Jan. 30, 2023. In her 1½ years as chief, Gumble was credited with improving evidence room security, overhauling the department’s general orders and procedures, and ensuring officers had proper equipment.

Despite previous praise of her work from then-Village President Robert Shelton, Shelton and Gumble began butting heads. Gumble was frustrated by trustee texts while on vacation, prompting Shelton to claim Gumble verbally resigned during a July 2024 phone call, leading to a board meeting at which she was forced out. Gumble denied resigning on that call.

The chief of police position remained open until Nov. 13, when Shelton named Peter Goldman to the role. He was affirmed in a 3-3 vote, with Shelton breaking the tie. In February, the board voted to hire McHenry County sheriff’s deputies to patrol amid complaints from residents regarding the department. Goldman turned in his resignation May 7.

Among the new hires is Darrick Tomlin, who was previously a community service officer. He currently is at the Illinois State Police academy, expected to graduate in August. Another officer will enforce truck traffic.

While staying within the budget given to her by the board, Gumble still was able to increase the salaries offered – $31 an hour for full-time officers and $28 an hour for part-time staff.

What the department does not have now is a union. With the resignation of all sworn officers and only one nonmember, Sgt. Bruce Biancalana, still out on medical leave, the union folded for lack of membership.

Officers will patrol the schools when classes resume for the year, Gumble said, and be available for service calls. Those tend to be neighbor disputes, parking issues and animal complaints. Residents should call 911 – they will be forwarded to the McHenry County dispatch center – for emergencies. But most residents have her cellphone number, too, Gumble said, and they are welcome to call it.

“A lot of information comes in over the phone,” she said. “If they need me, they should call.”

What residents should not be worried about is the police department trying to generate revenue for the village.

“We don’t have quotas,” Gumble said, adding that because Hebron sits at the intersection of Route 47 and 173, they will stop speeders.

But residents are getting warning tickets for village ordinance violations, she said. That is one of his issues, Morris said – ensuring residents are following the rules that he contends previous administrations were not enforcing.

“We as a village didn’t enforce anything, and people did what they wanted with their properties: junk vehicles in the driveway and piles of rubbish,” Morris said. “We are not trying to make money off of the back of our residents, but there is a three-strike rule.”

Residents will get two warning tickets for ordinance violations and must show they are trying to solve the issues, he said.

“It only helps everybody to clean up our town,” Morris said.