Walker was first Black sheriff in Illinois

Statistics show that approximately 58,000 Black officers are employed by police agencies in the United States. However, the push for equality has been slow for many Black police professionals.

The first elected Black sheriff in Illinois history was Roger Walker, who won election in Macon County, in central Illinois, in 1998. In his role, Walker emphasized police-community relations and was active and visible throughout the city of Decatur, his adopted hometown.

Born on Feb. 7, 1949, in Brownsville, Tennessee, Walker settled in Decatur with his family as a youth and graduated from the local Eisenhower High School in 1967. He then spent three years in the U.S. Navy.

In August 1971, Walker married his wife, Vergie, a union that produced two daughters. The marriage remained until Vergie’s death in October 2004.

After leaving the Navy, Walker was encouraged to join the Macon County Sheriff’s Department by another Black deputy, Willis Coleman. Walker took the advice and was hired as a patrol officer in 1972. Fourteen years later, Walker and Coleman were still the only two minority deputies in the department.

Walker worked his way up the ranks with the department, earning a promotion to patrol sergeant in 1980, patrol supervisor in 1985, and lieutenant in 1987. He was the first Black officer to hold a supervisory position in the department. Walker also served the department as a detective.

In his career, Walker had accumulated over 2,000 hours of law enforcement training. He earned an associate’s degree in sociology at Richland Community College in Decatur, where he later served as an instructor of police-community relations.

Walker clearly understood the needs of the people he served. A skilled communicator with a human touch, he frequently handed out licorice to children in the Longview Housing Project, on Decatur’s near north side.

On Aug. 29, 1997, Walker announced his candidacy for sheriff of Macon County to replace Lee Holsapple, who was retiring after 12 years in the position. A Democrat, Walker did not receive Holsapple’s endorsement.

Walker, though, touted his many years of practical experience.

“I know what’s going on out there,” he said.

As a candidate, Walker promoted a “sweeping community policing initiative” that was intended to tighten the relationship between police and citizens. He also expressed his desire to improve policing in rural Macon County.

Walker, though, did not want the color of his skin to be an issue in the election.

“Race has nothing to do with it,” he said. “I’m a professional.”

His approach, and his ability to connect with people, helped him become the first elected Black to serve as sheriff in state history. Walker ran unopposed for re-election in 2002.

Among many other initiatives, Walker stressed the needs of at-risk youths, as well as a safe haven program of free door upgrades and window locks for low-income, elderly and residents with disabilities.

On May 1, 2003, Walker left the department to accept an appointment as director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. He remained in the position for six years and then was appointed to the Prisoner Review Board in 2009. He served on the board until 2010.

During his life, Walker was highly active in countless professional and benevolent organizations on the local, county and state levels. At various times, he served as both treasurer and vice president of the Land of Lincoln chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), chair of the Decatur branch of the NAACP Legal Redress Committee and vice president of the Decatur chapter of Frontiers International.

He was also vice chairman of the Macon County Youth Violence and Gang Task Force, organizer and coordinator of the Macon County Sheriff’s Honor Guard, and a fundraising team leader for the American Heart Foundation, Heart Society, March of Dimes and American Cancer Society.

A member of the African-American Cultural and Genealogical Society of Illinois, Walker was also a junior football league coach in Decatur and active in the music ministry at the Main Street Church of the Living God in Decatur, which was under the leadership of his brother.

Walker played the saxophone as part of the ministry. In 1981, the Kiwanis Club honored him as the Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

After a prolonged illness, Walker died at age 63 on March 10, 2012. In a statement the day after Walker’s death, then-Gov. Pat Quinn called Walker “a great guy, a history maker and a man of the community.”

“Roger believed in the power of law and he proudly upheld the law,” added Quinn. “He loved democracy. We won’t soon see someone like him again.”

Walker was posthumously inducted into the Decatur Hall of Fame in November 2016. The following year, a section of Illinois Route 48 through Decatur was renamed the Sheriff Roger E. Walker Jr. Memorial Road.

In July 2022, the dedication of a mural honoring Walker on West Eldorado Street in Decatur was held, one of many tributes to the first Black sheriff in Illinois. Indeed, Roger Walker’s legacy lingers on in Macon County.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.