The community is invited to the swearing in and badge pinning ceremony of Beloit’s new police chief, Schonella Stewart. The event will be held at 6pm Monday, Dec. 1, in Beloit College’s Eaton Chapel, 700 College St. This is a new location to accommodate all guests.
Due to limited on-campus parking, a free shuttle will be offered by Beloit Transit between the Downtown Beloit Transit Transfer Center, 225 Shirland Ave., and Beloit College. The shuttle will start at 5:30pm and return guests at the conclusion of the ceremony. Information about parking on the Beloit College campus can be found here:
https://www.beloit.edu/visit-campus/parking/.
Members of the media looking to interview Chief Stewart prior to the ceremony will be provided availability between 5 and 5:30pm at Eaton Chapel. Please send media request to Sarah Lock, Director of Strategic Communications, at
bG9ja3MgfCBiZWxvaXR3aSAhIGdvdg== to ensure we can meet all requests prior to the ceremony.
Stewart has served in law enforcement for 19 years in Oak Park, Illinois. She started her career as a police officer and has risen through the ranks at the department. Stewart worked as a patrol officer, juvenile investigator, detective, tactical officer, patrol sergeant, tactical sergeant, detective sergeant, patrol commander, community policing commander and investigations commander. She also served as a homicide task force member, Internet Crimes Against Children task force member, FBI hijacking task force member, and human trafficking task force member.
In her role as commander, she performed a variety of administrative, operation and fiscal oversight of the patrol, investigations and community policing units. She supervised the patrol, investigations and community policing personnel, with the sergeants directly reporting to her. She also has a strong background in community policing, media relations and investigation tactics.
Stewart attended Northwestern University Staff and Command School and graduated December 2023 as the prestigious Franklin M. Kreml Leadership Award Recipient for SPSC 561. Stewart is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP), and National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE).
Stewart holds a Master of Social Work from Chicago State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice graduating with Cum Laude Honors from Barber-Scotia College.
Before starting her career as a police officer in 2006, Stewart previously worked in social work, providing an additional perspective on community policing.
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