Robert White, Former Montgomery Police Chief, Dies in Motorcycle Crash

Robert White, who for roughly six years served as Montgomery’s police chief, died in a motorcycle crash in his home state of Michigan last week, according to published reports.

White, 74, was a resident of Galien, Mich. He was born there in 1937, according to his obituary, but his law enforcement career took him all over the Midwest. He served in several police departments in Michigan before coming to Illinois, where he worked for the Sugar Grove Police Department, and finally the .

White was appointed chief of the department in “either 1975 or 1976,” according to former Chief Dennis Schmidt, who worked closely with him. White served in that position until 1981, when Schmidt was appointed to replace him.

White oversaw the Montgomery Police Department during a time of great change. In the 1970s, both the village hall and the police station were squeezed into a small house at River and Webster streets, across from . Even after the village moved to its new home on South Broadway, the police department found the quarters cramped, Schmidt said.

“[Chief White] oversaw the move to 1460 Southeast River Road in 1978,” Schmidt said. “The department stayed there for [nearly] 30 years.”

The current police station, on Civic Center Drive north of Route 30, was completed in 2005.

Additionally, White guided the department through the transition to a 24-hour dispatch service, Schmidt said. Prior to this, when residents called the police station after hours, they were redirected to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

Schmidt described White as “very knowledgeable,” pointing out that he also taught criminal justice at Waubonsee Community College in the 1970s. He added that White was a regular guy who commanded respect.

“Even as police chief, he would still come out to calls,” Schmidt said. “He wasn’t above getting in the squad car and going to work. He’d do that."

After leaving Montgomery, White became a special agent for the Burlington Northern Railroad in Wisconsin. He eventually retired from the La Crosse County (Wisconsin) Sheriff’s Department, and returned to Galien, where he served on the village board, and worked as a security officer.

According to this Rushville Republican report, White was driving his motorcycle shortly before 11 a.m. on June 1 on State Road 244 in Rush County, Ind., when he ran off the road and crashed. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, according to the report, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I think he did a very solid job as police chief,” Schmidt said. “He was a good law enforcement professional.”