WILLIAM "BILL" LOGAN JR.
ABOUT
William "Bill" Logan Jr.
Bill Logan is a proud father and loving grandfather who comes from a family with a rich and courageous history. In the early 1900s, his family fled racial terror in South Carolina and migrated to Evanston. In 1932, Bill was born in Evanston’s Community Hospital; he was raised in Evanston’s 5th ward and was educated in the Evanston school system.
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Bill is a graduate of Evanston Township High School (Class of '51) where he starred in basketball, football, and baseball. He was the first Black football captain, first Black football player to receive the Myerson Award for Excellence in Football for four years, first Black homeroom president, and first Black senior class vice president.
Bill earned a football scholarship to Western Illinois University when, after one year, he was drafted in the US Air Force during the Korean War. There he served as telecommunications specialist in Japan and Korea, receiving numerous awards including the United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Air Force-Good Conduct Medal, and the Korean War Service Medal from Korea.
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After being honorably discharged from the Air Force, Bill joined the Evanston Police Department in 1957 and served there for 30 years. He had the honor to be selected by the Evanston Police Department to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s police bodyguard when he came to Evanston in the 1960s. This encounter inspired Bill to return to college and, while serving as Captain at the Police Department, earn his BA degree in Public Administration from Northeastern Illinois University in 1976. Bill advanced through all ranks in the department, becoming its first Black Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy-Chief and eventually Chief of Police.
Bill received the department's highest commendation award for Valor for Outstanding Performance Above and Beyond the Call of Duty by placing his life in jeopardy in a successful effort to free a hostage and disarm a felon. He is a 1972 graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy in Washington D.C. Bill is a founding and life member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) with over 4000 members. In 2001, he was honored by President George Bush as founding member of NOBLE. As a thought leader in law enforcement, Bill is published in over a dozen publications. As a consultant, he participated in the selection of Chiefs of Police and other high-ranking police positions in over 70 cities throughout the US.
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After retiring from the Evanston Police Department in 1987, Bill became Director of Safety at Evanston Township High School for 19 years. Before retiring in 2006, he introduced many new initiatives, including implementing a motor patrol for safety staff, crossing guards, and a telephone hot line, certifying safety staff in CPR/First Aid and defibrillator use, developing a school crisis plan, and coordinating school drills with police, fire, and hospitals.
Bill has a long history of serving the Evanston community and our country on numerous committees and boards. In 1958, he co-founded The Chessmen Club of the North Shore, and in 1968, he co-founded the Fellowship of African American Men (FAAM) Youth Basketball Program where he coached both of his sons to championships.
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Bill’s life and legacy, his civic and community work, are encapsulated in the African ethic of Ubuntu – the humanness of being a human being – a person full of care, community, respect, responsiveness, restoration, empathy, and interdependence displayed towards one another.
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In his spare time, Bill could be found listening to music, exercising at the Levy Center, enjoying nature, watching sports on TV, doing his best to attend committee meetings on Zoom, spending time with his family, adoring his grandsons, and remembering his beautiful wife, Marcia.
