Growing up, a police officer was always something DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen thought about becoming.

Both his parents dabbled in law enforcement, as did his grandfathers and some of his cousins. Yet, at the same time, Feithen had an interest in business.

His career took a step toward law enforcement one summer while he was working as a pool manager in his hometown of Lockport.

The pool, which Feithen managed for four summers, was owned by the school district, meaning his boss was the superintendent. During many visits to his boss’ office, Feithen often saw auditors sitting around a table crunching numbers for a week straight.

At that moment, Feithen said he was a little “turned off” by the business world.

Feithen graduated from NIU with a degree in sociology in 1975. The same year, he began working as a police officer for the DeKalb Police Department, where he immediately began showing signs of moving up the ladder.

“He was a smart kid,” DeKalb Police Lt. Jim Kayes said. Kayes started at the department a year prior to Feithen.

Feithen’s hard work paid off in 1982 when he was promoted to a detective in charge of juvenile community relations.

It was at that position that Feithen said he saw the impact of his job.

“One thing that impacted me is what a difference police officers can make when dealing with victims of crimes,” Feithen said.

Even while doing what he enjoyed, Feithen aspired to move up. In 1988, he earned his master’s degree in public administration from NIU.

Feithen said his goal was to be police chief, and the degree would help him accomplish his goal.

By the time Feithen became chief in 2000, he had seen DeKalb transform.

He said he saw more drugs and people carrying guns.

Feithen never has had an experience as an officer where a gun was fired, but he can’t say the same for other jobs he’s held.

As a teenager, Feithen worked as a stock boy at a Jewel grocery store in Joliet. The store wasn’t in the best area, and calls of shoplifters often would come over the intercom, Feithen recalled.

One night while working, Feithen heard a distress call from a cashier. He and a few other stock boys ran to see what was wrong.

“We get to the front of the store and she tells us, ‘He went that way.’ Being young, we chased him,” Feithen said.

It turned out that an armed robbery had just occurred, and the suspect turned and fired shots at Feithen and his co-workers.

Since becoming chief, Feithen has dealt with other issues, some unrelated to crime.

The department has had to implement use of more computer technology. With both the community and the force increasing in size, they constantly deal with space concerns in their cramped Fourth Street office.

Earlier this month, Feithen went public with his interest in pursuing the opening for the DeKalb city manager. The position ended up being offered to Mark Biernacki, but Feithen said the decision didn’t dampen his spirits.

Feithen also is involved in a variety of community organizations.

Currently, he is involved with the Knights of Columbus and St. Mary’s Parish, among other groups.

People like to have Feithen in DeKalb, Kayes said

“One man can make a difference,” Kayes said. “I know that sounds trite and cliche, but Bill can do that.”