LaGrange police chief resigns citing health issues

After 19 years with LaGrange police, Chief Chad Duensing announced his resignation Wednesday, citing health concerns. Duensing, who led the village's small department for six years, had a stroke in January. After months in the hospital and at home, a Facebook post on the confirmed he was leaving the department. His time at the department has been good, he said, and he values all the people he's met through the job. Mayor Kim Strauss said the decision for Duensing to resign was based solely on his ongoing health issues, as he is still recovering. "It definitely was not because he wanted to retire or we wanted him to retire at all. He's been great for the village, for a lot of years, I've known him for a long time and I'm very sad to see him go. But because of a medical condition, he just cannot perform his duties anymore so he had no choice.'' He added later, "We really worked well together and he was very, very good to the village of LaGrange." Lt. Wayne Ramsey will continue to serve as acting chief until a full-time replacement is hired. Strauss said he will look to promote someone from within the department before looking for outside candidates. A LaGrange resident, Duensing said residents still will see him around the village, and Strauss plans to call on him for advice as needed. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.