)Command Staff
- Undersheriff Martin Nowak
- Chief Deputy Pat Maher - Enforcement / Patrol
- Deputy Chief David Van Dyke - Enforcement / Patrol
- Chief Deputy Michael O'Leary - Adult Detention Facility
- Deputy Chief John McDowell - Adult Detention Facility
- Deputy Chief Nate Romeo - Support Services
- Deputy Chief Jerry Nudera - Court Services
Undersheriff Martin Nowak
Undersheriff Martin N. Nowak has over 34 years of service with the Will County Sheriff's Office. He has previously served in the Enforcement, Detention, and Administration Divisions. He holds a BA and MA in Business and Public Service from Governors State University, an MS in Social Justice from Lewis University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He has published several articles in professional journals on topics dealing with training, corrections and law enforcement management issues.
Undersheriff Nowak is a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War and an Army veteran of Operation Just Cause in Panama. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve at the rank of Colonel. He and his wife Bridget reside in New Lenox, Illinois and are the parents of two sons.
Chief Deputy Patrick Maher - Enforcement / Patrol
Chief Deputy Pat Maher has been a member of the Will County Sheriff’s Office since 1981. He has worked in the patrol and warrants divisions. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1989 and to Lieutenant in 1996. He began the prototype Community Policing Service Area in the Homer Township Area in 1994. Graduated from Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command in 1998 (Class #115). he is a Certified Instructor of Police Ethics through the Institute of Ethics.
Chief Deputy Pat Maher graduated in 1975 from Joliet East High School. He graduated in 1977 from Joliet Junior College with an Associate Degrees in Law Enforcement and Applied Sciences. He graduated in 1979 from Western Il. University with a Bachelor's Degree in Law Enforcement Administration, with a Security Administration minor.
Chief Deputy Pat Maher is a lifelong Will County, Joliet area native. He Currently resides in Elwood with his wife and two children.
Deputy Chief David Van Dyke - Enforcement / Patrol
Deputy Chief David Van Dyke has been a member of the Will County Sheriff’s Office since 1981. He has served or supervised in Court Services, Narcotics, Patrol, Patrol Tactical Unit, Corrections, and Investigations.
Deputy Chief David Van Dyke is currently in charge of managing the day to day operations of the Patrol Bureau and the Special Operations Bureau.
Deputy Chief David Van Dyke is a graduate of Joliet Junior College with an Associates Degree in Science and an Associates Degree in Arts and Science. He is a graduate of Western Illinois University with a Bachelors Degree in Law Enforcement Administration and a double Minor in Security Administration and Corrections. He is also a graduate of Northwestern Police Staff and Command, Class # 83, as well as a Graduate of Northwestern University Center for Public Safety's' Executive Management Program # 25".
Chief Deputy Michael O'Leary - Adult Detention Facility
Chief Deputy Michael O’Leary joined the Will County Sheriff’s Department in January of 2003 after retiring from the Illinois Department of Corrections with over 29 years of service. While with the Illinois Department of Corrections he served in a variety of posts including Warden of the Stateville Correctional Center, Deputy Director and Deputy Chief of Operations.
Chief Deputy O’Leary holds a B.A. Degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with a specialty area in Corrections from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.
Deputy Chief John McDowell - Adult Detention Facility
Deputy Chief John McDowell has been a member of the Will County Sheriff’s Office since 1988. He has worked in the patrol division and assigned to the Community Orientated Policing Service Areas (COPSA). In 1996, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant while in the enforcement division and then transferred to the criminal investigation division. In 2005, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned to the Will County Adult Detention Facility. Deputy Chief McDowell is currently in charge of Security and Operations at the Will County Adult Detention Facility.
Deputy Chief McDowell is a graduate from Joliet Junior College with an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science. He is also a graduate of Northwestern Police Staff and Command and earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Governor’s State University in Criminal Justice.
Deputy Chief Nate Romeo - Support Services
Deputy Chief Romeo is a 24 year veteran with the Will County Sheriff’s Office. He began his law enforcement career with the Illinois Department of Corrections at the Stateville Correctional Center. He became a member of the University Park Police Department in 1983 before joining the Sheriff’s Office in 1984. He has worked in the patrol division, the correctional division and the narcotics unit. He twice received the Illinois M.E.G. Directors and Task Force Commanders award for his services in narcotics enforcement. He has served as Deputy Chief of Support Services in the Adult Detention Facility and is currently assigned as the Deputy Chief of Support Services in the Sheriff’s administration overseeing the departments Budget, Payroll, I.T Dept; Vehicle Fleet, Training, Crime Prevention and Building Maintenance.
Deputy Chief Romeo is a native of Washington D.C. He received his Bachelor's Degree from St. Martin’s College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command. He and his wife, Vanessa, a Lockport native, reside in Joliet.
Deputy Chief Jerry Nudera - Court Services
Deputy Chief Jerry Nudera began his Law Enforcement career in 1978. He has been a member of the of the Will County Sheriff’s Office since 1989. As a Deputy, he has been assigned to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and Evidence Unit. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1998 and Lieutenant in 2004. He has been a supervisor in the Adult Detention Facility, Crime Scene Investigations Unit and Court Security.
Deputy Chief Nudera is currently in charge of Court Services.
Deputy Chief Nudera received his Associate Degree in Law Enforcement from Morton College. He graduated, with honors, from Lewis University with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal/Social Justice, and received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Roosevelt University. He is also a graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command Class #175.