Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
After 39 years as a police officer, Philip Tenerelli continues to serve his community in an abundance of ways. Now happily retired and a proud grandfather, he looks back on his career with satisfaction.
Growing up in the South Side of Chicago, Tenerelli knew a lot of police officers who lived in the area and, after deciding that he didn’t enjoy working in sheet metal like his father, chose to go into law enforcement. “I just thought it was a pretty cool job,” he explains.
After graduating from Leo High School in Chicago, Tenerelli attended Moraine Valley Community College, where he studied law enforcement.
In 1978, he applied for a job as a dispatcher at the Willow Springs Police Department and was hired on the spot. A year later, he took a job as a railroad officer for the Belt Railway Company of Chicago, but found it uninteresting and akin to working as a “glorified security guard,” he says. The following year, the Willow Springs police chief offered him a job to work on the street, which he took. He spent eight more years in Willow Springs before joining the Bedford Park Police Department in 1988.
Tenerelli worked in Bedford Park for 29 years, moving up the ranks to sergeant and retiring as a lieutenant in 2017. When asked what was most challenging about being a police officer, he says he “can’t put a finger on it.” “I enjoyed everything, and I loved helping people every day, in every way,” he explains.
Tenerelli says he is most proud of having worked for 10 years with the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, which provides investigative services during instances of serious violent crime in the south suburbs of Chicago.
“I learned a lot from that position,” Tenerelli explains. “All we dealt with was homicides, so we dealt with some really bad people.” Although gruesome at times, this was the most rewarding part of his career, he says. “I found it very rewarding to find bad guys that actually took a life.”
Over the years, Tenerelli has served on numerous law enforcement organizations.
He’s currently serving his second term as president of the Italian American Police Association, having joined the organization in 1984.
“I was working with a police officer who was a board member of the IAPA and he said, ‘Hey kid, you gotta join this organization’ and I did,” he recalls.
His reason for sticking with the group all these years is simple. “I’m a proud Italian and I like the organization and what they stand for,” he explains.
Founded in 1964, the IAPA organizes and advocates on behalf of Italian Americans in law enforcement, and serves as a social, professional and charitable outlet for its membership.
His plans for his second tenure as president? “To try to generate new members and younger members and continue the great bond that we have as Italian police officers,” he says.
He served as president of the Bedford Park Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 121 from 1993 to 2017, and currently holds the role of secretary there.
He also has held multiple positions with the Illinois State Lodge FOP, which he joined in 1984, including District 8 trustee and sergeant-at-arms.
One of his favorite endeavors is serving as chairman of the Illinois Police Officers Memorial Committee, a position he’s held since 2001. “It’s very rewarding,” he says. “Our saying is, ‘Gone but not forgotten.’ We try to get as many officers to come to our service to see how their fallen brothers and sisters are honored.”
Additionally, Tenerelli has served on the Italian American Veterans’ Museum board of directors since 2013.
Tenerelli lives in Crestwood, Illinois with his wife Margaret. The couple has five children and four grandchildren they love to spend time with, and also enjoys going out to dinner and visiting new restaurants.
In his free time, Tenerelli loves to ride his silver Honda Gold Wing motorcycle. He has been a member of many Law Enforcement Motorcycle Clubs (LEMC), including the Blue Knights, the Defenders, the Legion of St. Michael and Shot Gun, and is currently the president of the Copperheads LEMC Chicago Chapter.
He and his wife enjoy taking long rides to destinations such as Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tennessee, whenever they have the opportunity.
