Jim Maurer, high-ranking Chicago police official, dies at 78
Dressed in a wool overcoat over his police uniform, a cigar in his mouth, and his white bull terrier, Margaret Thatcher, trailing on a leash in his hand, Jim Maurer strode onto a training ground near O'Hare Airport.
Hundreds of officers were preparing for demonstrations ahead of a winter gathering of international dignitaries in 2002, and Mr. Maurer was seeking to inspire his troops.
He was chief of patrol and in charge of coordinating the department's plan for responding to protests.
He was also a huge admirer of World War II Gen. George S. Patton, who traveled the European Theater with his bull terrier, Willie.
Neil Sullivan, a police commander, trailed a couple of steps behind Mr. Maurer and said out of the side of his mouth to a colleague "Where'd he get the dog, central casting?"
Several thousand protesters marched through the Loop ahead of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue. Mr. Maurer, walkie-talkie in hand (sans canine), walked at the front of the protest.
"We ended up with one arrest, a guy who punched a horse," Sullivan recalled. "He was one of a kind, a fearless leader, always at the front with the troops."
Mr. Maurer, who was with the Police Department from 1964 to 2005, died Jan. 2 of Alzheimer's disease. He was 78.
On New Year's Eve in 2000, following acts of brazen gunfire by gang members, Mr. Maurer headed up an initiative to flood the Cabrini-Green housing complex with police officers so residents could enjoy the holiday in peace.
"People were out and about and able to enjoy themselves," Sullivan said. "And around 2 a.m., a woman came up to me and said 'Are you in charge?' and I said 'No, he is' and pointed to Maurer. And she said, 'I've never been able to celebrate like this' and threw her arms around him and knocked him backwards and they both fell into a pile of snow, laughing. And I remember his cigar never fell from his mouth."
Former Police Supt. Terry Hillard selected Mr. Maurer for the chief of patrol job, and Hillard's successor, Phil Cline, gave Mr. Maurer an extra star to distinguish his seniority from several others who held the same rank.
"I can't say enough about what a character he was and the respect the troops had for him," Cline said. "He'd say 'I will back you if you're right, and I'll back you if you're wrong, but I won't back you if you're stupid.'"
Mr. Maurer was born Oct. 16, 1946, in Chicago to James and Genevieve Maurer. His father owned a gas station. His mother was a homemaker.
He attended Our Lady of Grace grade school, St. Patrick High School and graduated from Valparaiso University with degrees in history and physical education and where he played football.
Mr. Maurer, who lived on the Northwest Side, had black belts in jujitsu and karate, information he included on his resume.
His business cards and personal stationery included a photo of himself in his police uniform, stogie in mouth, Margaret Thatcher at his side.
The striking visual made Mr. Maurer a memorable figure at points earlier in his career when he'd arrive at murder scenes with his canine in tow.
He also worked for a time under Mayor Jane Byrne as the head of the city's Office of Municipal Investigations, a hybrid CPD/civilian agency that Byrne established to combat employee misconduct.
Byrne asked Mr. Maurer to serve as fire commissioner after the bitter 1980 firefighters' strike to help sort out the administrative mess, but he turned her down.
His retirement party at the White Eagle in Niles was so crowded that the staff had to open up a ballroom to fit everyone in, family said.
Mr. Maurer got his start in the now-defunct cadet program that offered police jobs to high school graduates who were seeking a college degree.
"We did everything the police officers did. We did things we weren't even authorized to do. We were really valued," he told the Sun-Times in 1998.
He said he'd never forget working the overnight desk on a Sunday night in 1965 when a riot broke out on Division Street.
"It was me and a clerk. We were the only ones left in the station. All of the troops were out on the street. I worked 30 hours straight that night. For a 17-year-old, it was the most exciting thing I could imagine."
After he left the Police Department, he took a job as head of security at O’Hare and Midway airports, which he held for four years ending in 2009.
Mr. Maurer is survived by his wife, Candace; his daughters, Erin and Meghann; and his son, Jim, as well as nine grandchildren.
A visitation is planned from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan.7, with a St. Jude service to take place at 7 p.m., at Nelson Funeral Home, 820 Talcott Road, Park Ridge.