RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD Also serving North Riverside
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Vol. 36, No. 23
June 9, 2021
@riversidebrookfieldlandmark
Brookfield’s ‘Meathead’ named BBQ hall of famer PAGE 3
Kayak event coming to Riverside’s riverfront PAGE 9
Brookfield police chief announces retirement Petrak will leave 31-year career in law enforcement on July 12
‘Like someone woke up from the dead’
By BOB UPHUES Editor
Brookfield Police Chief Edward Petrak made it a trifecta of retirements among villages covered by the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, announcing Monday he was stepping down as chief effective July 12 after serving as a police officer for 31 years. He follows in the footsteps of Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel, who retired May 20, and North Riverside Police Chief Carlos Garcia, who confirmed he’s retiring later this summer. “I started young,” said Petrak, 54, who was hired as a Brookfield police officer in 1990 at the age of 23. “I had thought about it last year, but I wanted to wait at least two years after being named chief.” Petrak, a Riverside native, had been promoted to chief in April 2019 after serving as deputy chief under Chief James Episcopo since 2015. Episcopo personally recommended Petrak to be his successor. See PETRAK on page 11
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
By BOB UPHUES
A
Editor
fter testing positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 4, Joe LaMantia quarantined for a time and intended on heading down East Burlington Street from his downtown Riverside home on Jan. 14 to meet with his employees at his business Landmark Kitchen Design.
“I called the doctor, I stayed home for 10 days and I felt great,” said LaMantia, 60, who had gotten tested because he was supposed to fly to Florida on Jan. 7 and was feeling a bit under the weather. “I thought, ‘Good, I got this over with.’” He was a no-show for the meeting. Alex Darling, a kitchen designer for LaMantia, sent him a text message asking what was up. Although he said he’d been feeling better in recent days, LaMantia on Jan. 14 felt
bad. He tested his oxygen level. LaMantia says the digital readout showed it was in the 80s. Darling says he responded in a text that it was in the 70s. Either way, this was trouble. “I told him, ‘You must go to the hospital,’” Darling said, adding that LaMantia resisted, joking that he’d be OK. “I said, ‘If you don’t leave right now, we’re calling 911.’” See LAMANTIA on page 12
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