Chicago's First Female Detective Retires

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Dec 27, 2004 3:55PM

After 37 years on the police force, Chicago's first female detective has retired. In the early 1960s Cindy Pontoriero began working in the Chicago Police Department at age 19 as a stenographer. At that time there were only a few women in the department and none of them were employed as detectives .. until 1972 when the department promoted her to homicide detective and she became the first. Stenographer to homicide detective.. not a bad promotion!

After breaking into the boys' club, Pontoriero says she was harassed some from male colleagues, but not enough to make her want to quit. "For every one person who gave you a hard time, there were six that went out of their way to help me out," she said.

Pontoriero's latest assignment was as a lieutenant in the Albany Park District on the Northweset Side. Last month, at age 62, she spent her last day on the job. She says retiring is the hardest thing she's had to do because she loves her job. But manditory age 63 retirement has left her no choice. "I grew up with the department. I just don't want to say goodbye, so I went out quietly," she said. "When I had to go ... turn in my star, it was the hardest thing I've ever done."

For more information on the history of the Chicago Police Department check out the Chicago Public Library's site.