Bill Logan was an Evanston native who capped his long career with the Evanston Police Department by serving as chief for three years, becoming the department’s first black police chief.
Logan, who later oversaw security at Evanston Township High School, is remembered by colleagues and family members as a pioneer in local law enforcement.
“He did a lot of work to break up a lot of gangs in Evanston. Back then, instead of just arresting the criminals, he would meet with the gangs and ask them what they needed and if they wanted to go back to school,” said his son, Gilo Kwesi Logan. “He was really about the people, not the mechanics of the police department. He was really about humanizing the department, especially by taking care of the victims. At that time, it was unheard of for police departments to focus on the victims (of crime). He just arrested people, that was it.”
Logan, 92, died of natural causes July 21 at his home in Evanston, his son said. His health was declining, his son said.
William Harold Logan Jr. was born in Evanston to parents who had moved to Evanston from Greenwood, South Carolina, and Muscatine, Louisiana, in the early 1900s. Logan grew up in Evanston’s 5th Ward where he attended Foster School and Haven School and was class president and glee club president.
Logan attended Evanston Township High School where he played football, basketball and baseball. He cemented his legacy there as captain of the boys’ basketball team and the first black captain of the football team before graduating in 1951.
After high school, Logan earned a football scholarship to Western Illinois University. After a year and a half at Western Illinois, Logan left to serve in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. During his four years of active duty, he served as a master sergeant and communications specialist with a top-secret military clearance in Japan and Korea.
Logan returned to Evanston in 1957 and applied to the Evanston Police Department. The department became his home for the next 30 years. Starting as a patrolman, Logan rose through the ranks and the department selected him to protect Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. twice when the civil rights icon visited Evanston in the 1960s.
Logan then returned to school at night, earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Northeastern Illinois University in 1976.
While on the force, Logan served as a motorcycle cop, lieutenant, captain, deputy chief, and finally police chief. He also held other jobs throughout his career, including monitoring cars parked in the parking lot of Fanny’s Restaurant and working as a security guard at the Evanston Public Library.
Logan also co-owned B&J Grocery and Meat Market at the corner of Church Street and Dodge Avenue in Evanston.
Logan was promoted to Evanston Police Chief in 1984. During his three years as chief, Logan initiated an officer-friendly program and negotiated with Northwestern University to help give their security department full police powers so they could develop their own police department.
“It was really a service to his community,” Logan’s son said. “He came from the community and he really liked to humanize law enforcement and he liked to humanize the community toward law enforcement. I think that was part of his legacy — the bridge that he built — just connecting humanity to humanity rather than the police or the criminals or whatever you want to call it.”
In an online biography, Logan’s family described Logan as a “restorative practitioner before the term ‘restorative justice’ existed.”
Current Evanston Police Chief and Evanston native Schenita Stewart praised Logan for his long service to the city.
“I have a deep and unique appreciation for the lifetime of service Chief Logan has dedicated to our community,” Stewart said. “His legacy as a police chief, ETHS safety officer and community elder has paved the way for future leadership opportunities for Evanston leaders like myself. His strength and unwavering dedication have left an indelible mark on the Evanston Police Department, making it a better organization.”
After retiring from the Evanston Police Department in 1987, Logan took a job at Evanston Township High School where he served as the school’s director of security. He was the first in a line of former Evanston police chiefs to serve as the school’s director of security. During his 19 years in the role, Logan implemented video cameras, a security staff certified in CPR, first aid and defibrillator use, and added gatekeepers and a motorized patrol for security personnel.
“Our goal must be to provide the right atmosphere in the school that will allow teachers to teach and students to learn,” Logan told the Tribune’s Robert Enstad in 1987 when he took his job at ETHS.
Logan also worked as a consultant to municipalities across the country to help them select law enforcement officers. After retiring from ETHS in 2006, Logan continued to do consulting work and enjoyed attending Chicago Bears games as a season ticket holder. In retirement, Logan hosted backyard barbecues, worked out five days a week and spent time with his children and grandchildren, his son said.
Outside of work, Logan co-founded the Chessmen Club of the North Shore in 1958. Additionally, in 1968, he co-founded the Fellowship of African American Men youth basketball program and served as a basketball coach for the program.
A portion of McDaniel Avenue in Evanston, between Nathaniel Place and Greenleaf Street, was given the honorary street name “William Bill Logan Jr. Way.”
Marcia “Sissy” Logan, Logan’s wife of 52 years, passed away in 2010. In addition to his son, Logan is survived by another son, Billy III, a daughter, Sheryl, and three grandsons.
A visitation will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Avenue, Evanston. A funeral service will follow at 10:30 a.m.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance journalist.
