[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 138 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4724-S4725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO TIMOTHY McCARTHY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Timothy McCarthy has had an amazing career 
in law enforcement where he was at the right place when needed. Whether 
it was protecting Presidents or his hometown of Orland Park, Tim has 
been where people needed him most. After 48 years, he will be retiring, 
and today, I lend my voice to the many who honor him.
  Tim dared to try out for the University of Illinois' football team as 
a walk-on in 1967, even though he had not played the sport at Leo High 
School in Chicago. However, he was so impressive that he was given a 
full scholarship the next year, playing strong safety for the Fighting 
Illini. Injuries cut his football career short, but he found himself on 
another career path, the Secret Service.
  With a father who served in the Chicago Police Department as a 
sergeant, law enforcement was a natural draw for him. He started out as 
an investigator in the Chicago field office for the Secret Service in 
1972. Tim moved to the Presidential protection division for President 
Jimmy Carter.
  On March 30, 1981, Tim was protecting President Ronald Reagan in 
Washington. A coin toss with a fellow agent put him into duty that 
fateful day. He remembers wearing a brandnew blue-gray suit when John 
Hinckley, Jr., stepped out from a crowd with a handgun and attempted to 
kill the President.
  In 1.7 seconds, John Hinckley, Jr., fired six bullets. The first 
bullet hit Press Secretary James Brady. The second hit Washington, DC, 
police officer Tom Delahanty. The third was set to hit President 
Reagan, but Tim, with that extraordinary courage, stepped in front of 
the President and took the bullet in the chest. Another bullet 
ricocheted, hitting the President under the arm. Hinckley might have 
killed President Reagan, but that day, we were lucky to have Tim 
McCarthy doing his duty to protect the Gipper.
  Tim spent 2 weeks in the hospital and was back on the job that June. 
He would never be able to do the 5 to 7-mile runs he used to do, but he 
continued in the Secret Service. Tim received the National Collegiate 
Athletic Association Award of Valor in 1982 for his heroic deed. He 
remained in touch with President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, for the 
rest of their lives. Tim also served in the Presidential protection 
division for President George H.W. Bush before returning to Chicago to 
run the Secret Service office there.
  In 1994, Tim accepted the position of the Orland Park police chief in 
Illinois. Often, police chiefs serve 3 to 5 years, but Tim stayed on 
for 26 years. He led the development of new policing strategies, 
including bike patrol officers, cookouts with police, and community 
meetings with beat officers. Under his leadership, the police 
department launched villagewide initiatives, addressing mental illness 
through a crisis intervention team that focuses on responses to mental 
health-related incidents.
  Tim was a hands-on leader, whether it was back up for a search 
warrant or reporting a crime scene at early hours of the morning or 
packing sandbags

[[Page S4725]]

during a flood. In 2016, he received the very first Chief of Police of 
the Year Award from the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.
  This month, Tim is retiring to be with the center of his life his 
wife, Carol, his three kids, and seven grandchildren. He has more than 
earned it.
  Tim McCarthy did more than make history in saving the life of 
President Reagan. He has dedicated his life to making America a safer 
nation. We were fortunate to be blessed with his courage and his 
amazing record of public service.

                          ____________________