By Bob Seidenberg

Bill Logan Jr, Evanston’s first Black police chief and a hometown hero to generations of Evanston residents, has passed away, his family announced this morning.

Chief Logan died Sunday, son Gilo Logan reported on Facebook this morning. “We are devastated. We know many of you are too,” he wrote. “We have learned that not only was he our dad, but he was also a father figure, and so much more to other people.”

Services are being planned, he said.

At Evanston Township High School (ETHS), Logan  attained recognition as the first Black football captain, first Black winner of the Myerson award for football excellence, first Black homeroom president, and the first Black senior class vice president.

After returning from service in the Korean War, Logan joined the police department in 1957 and rose up through the ranks. Named Police Chief in 1984, he served in that role three years before retiring to become the Director of Safety and Security at Evanston Township High School where he worked for 20 years.

His lifelong service to the community spans over six decades and includes the founding of two community organizations — the Chessmen Club of the North Shore (in 1958) and the Fellowship of African American Men (FAAM) youth basketball league — that continue to play important roles in people’s lives today.

In 2022, Evanston City Council members officially approved a resolution, designating a portion of McDaniel Avenue between Nathaniel St. and Greenleaf St. in honor of William “Bill” Logan, Jr., the  city’s first Black Police Chief for his service to the community.

In a 2019 tribute to Logan and other Black history makers, the city noted Logan’s dedication  “to the service and protection of others has not gone unnoticed,” the city said. He has been the recipient of numerous other awards, iincluding a citation by President George W. Bush at the 25th anniversary of NOBLE, the “Those Who Excel” award from the State Board of Education, and the Life Service award from Family Focus.