Will County Gazette

At its Nov. 2 meeting, the Village of Romeoville board celebrated the swearing-in of an officer and a sergeant in the village's police department. Police Chief Ken Kroll read out some background on Officer Anthony Panko and Sgt. Mike O’Connor as they were being sworn into their positions.

“Mike has a very impressive work history,” Kroll said during the meeting, which was streamed on YouTube. “In his 11 years with the police department, he's been a tactical officer, a detective, a bicycle officer and an evidence technician. He's been assigned outside of our agency to an auto theft unit. The cardinal rule is we never assigned anybody outside the agency unless we know we send the best. It's a credit to you.”

Kroll also noted that O’Connor is instrumental in forging a positive culture in the department, and serves as a mentor and peer support officer. O’Connor also is a former board member of the department’s FOP.

O’Connor was promoted to the rank of sergeant from within the department, it was noted during the meeting. A Bolingbrook native, he joined the department in 2012 and holds dual degrees in psychology and sociology and graduated from the police academy where he was a Frank Nape Award winner, given to the most outstanding recruit, according to the session. He was joined at the ceremony by his parents, wife and children.

A native of Woodridge, Panko graduated from Downer’s Grove High School, and he still lives in the community. It was noted that he also is a graduate of the Chicago Police Academy and worked with the department starting in 2017. He also worked with the Niles department prior to joining the Romeoville force. He was joined at the swearing-in by his family, including his father, who also worked in law enforcement.