After 35 years in law enforcement, Madison County Sheriff John Lakin announced he will be retiring after his term ends in the fall of 2022.
Lakin explained his wife Amy will be eligible to retire this summer after 35 years with the Illinois State Police. “We talked about it back in February and decided after a combined 70 years in public service, we are ready to turn the page on a new chapter in our lives.”
His career began in 1986 as an adult probation officer with Madison County. He joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1989 as a patrol deputy, moved into investigations in 1997 and joined the St. Louis Area Major Case Squad as an investigator in 1998. In 2002, he became Chief of Detectives and four years later was promoted to Chief Deputy Sheriff. He retired from that position with the rank of Major in 2011 and was appointed Chief of Police of the Village of Glen Carbon.
Lakin was elected Sheriff in 2014, campaigning on restoring integrity to the Sheriff’s Office and winning with 64% of the vote in the primary election. He had no opponent in the general election that fall. In 2018, Lakin was re-elected, without opposition, with close to 77,000 votes.
“I have been fortunate to work with incredibly dedicated and professional police officers throughout my career. The men and women of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office are the ‘real deal’ of law enforcement and I am proud and honored to lead them. Leaving them will be the hardest part of retiring.”
Once retired, Lakin says the only schedule he’ll be on is when the game starts and when he can get a tee time. Asked if he would miss his life in law enforcement, Lakin replied, “Of course I will. It’s what I’ve done every day for 35 years. But to quote Bob Feller, who by the way was throwing a 100 mph fast ball in the 40s, ‘life is like baseball, a new game every day.’ I’m just starting the first inning of a new game.”
