How serving and protecting Lake Zurich became the family business

Keeping Lake Zurich safe is the Parlberg family business. And business is growing.

Trace Parlberg in June became the third generation of his family sworn to serve and protect the village, following in the footsteps of his late grandfather and former Lake Zurich Chief Wayne Parlberg and his dad, Mike Parlberg, who retired in 2017 after 28 years with the department.

Trace's younger brother, Jacob, could be next, as he recently began testing for law enforcement jobs. Older brother David is the exception, sort of. He's a police officer in Schaumburg.

While a family of cops is hardly unheard of, for the Parlbergs, it came about more by destiny than design.

“I was an engineering student,” Mike Parlberg told us this week when we asked if he'd always wanted to follow his dad into law enforcement.

His plans changed, however, when he landed a job as a police dispatcher in his father's department.

“The opportunity was there because of my dad, and I found that I really enjoyed the work and enjoyed the people I worked with,” Mike said.

Trace followed a similar path to police work. As a kid he was certain he'd join his dad at the LZPD, but he first joined the Marines and found himself serving alongside Navy corpsmen. Their work inspired him to pursue a career in medicine, and he began nursing school after leaving the service.

COVID threw a wrench in his plans, however. He needed to leave school to provide for his family, and ended up in two jobs: one in the medical field and the other, like his father decades earlier, as a Lake Zurich dispatcher. Five months later, he was testing for police officer jobs.

“Dispatch refreshed my memory of what I liked about police work,” he said.

And it appears police work likes him back. According to the department, Trace was at the top of his 79-member class at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage, earning the academic achievement award for having the highest test average (97%) in the group.

“We are excited to keep the Parlberg name associated with the Lake Zurich Police Department,” Chief Steve Husak said.

Mike said he never pushed his sons to follow his and his father's lead, but he's proud they did because “I know they'll all be good at their jobs.” And he's happy to share the wisdom he gained from nearly three decades on the job.

“Advice is continual,” he said. “When (Trace) has any questions, he doesn't have to look far. He knows where to come.”

Jail death triggers $100 million suit

The family of a Texas woman who died last year in the Lake County jail filed a $100 million lawsuit this week against the county sheriff's office, several of its staff members and a host of medical providers.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleges jail officials and its medical staff failed to provide adequate physical and mental health care to Khayla Evans of Grand Prairie, Texas, despite her worsening condition while she was in custody from June 30, 2022, until her death from natural causes Dec. 16.

“Defendants, each of them, were aware that Khayla J. Evans' condition began to deteriorate, and yet took no action to provide or request medical care for (Evans), disregarding obvious risks to her health,” the suit states.

Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli wrote in an email Thursday the office is prepared to defend and justify the actions of its personnel.

“It is incredibly sad for family and friends to lose a loved one due to natural causes or any other cause, and our hearts go out to Ms. Evans' family,” Covelli wrote. “The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy determined Ms. Evans passed from a pulmonary embolism, exacerbated by other various underlying health conditions. An independent investigation by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and internal investigation by our office of professional standards shows our staff followed policy and procedure, and did everything they could to help Ms. Evans.”

Cops, custard and a good cause

If you're out and about and getting hungry Saturday, you could do worse than stopping by Culver's of Huntley to nosh on some ButterBurgers, cheese curds and frozen custard, all while helping a good cause.

Members of the Huntley Police Department will at the restaurant, 12950 Route 47, from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. for a “Tip a Cop” event to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Illinois.

As an added enticement, Culver's will host a Christmas in July party, with Santa Claus taking a break from his summer vacation to greet diners.

They didn't leave it to the pros

Judging by the photos police posted on Facebook, it probably would have been a really good show.

The DuPage County Bomb Squad was called in July 1 to deal with a cache of fireworks Elmhurst police seized when investigating a complaint.

Jason E. Weisz, 44, and Abel Feratovic, 45, both of the 700 block of South Stratford Avenue, now face misdemeanor charges of possession and use of fireworks.

They had names such as “Magnum Tremors,” “Code Red,” “Temper Tantrum,” “Master High” and “Exploding Stars.”

Do you have a tip or a comment? Email us at copsandcrime@ dailyherald.com.