As Waterloo Police Chief Jeff Prosise celebrated his final day with the department Friday, the week began with his deputy chief of the last five years stepping into his shoes.

Waterloo Police Chief Dane Luke enters his position with a substantial amount of experience in law enforcement, something his predecessor said was one of the biggest factors in him earning the deputy chief position.

Luke is originally from Milford, a village northeast of Champaign which he said is comparable in size to Valmeyer.

Luke traveled south for his education, attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale for a degree he would ultimately wind up discarding in favor of law enforcement. It was a profession he’d long been interested in.

“When I was young, I was always interested in that, even in grade school and high school,” Luke said. “Somewhere along the way, when I went to college I wanted to pursue the industrial technology degree, and when I finished it I decided I just didn’t want to do that. I wanted to go back to what I originally wanted to do. I kinda had a passion for it, and it worked out.”

His police career started in 2004 as he began working in Cahokia, where he stayed for nine years.

With the Cahokia Police Department, Luke soon began serving as a field training officer tasked with training brand new officers in department operations. He ultimately wound up training about seven officers, as he recalled.

Luke later served as a detective in the department’s investigative division for six years.

It was during his time in Cahokia that he discovered Waterloo along with his love for the community.

“Prior to leaving there, I had moved to Waterloo,” Luke said. “So I lived in Waterloo for a few years before I started here, and I really just loved the community. And I knew it was the place that I wanted to live and work, so that was my goal, to get hired by the Waterloo Police Department, and fortunately there was an opening and I was able to obtain that position.”

His hiring in Waterloo came on Jan. 6, 2014 – Luke noted he was appointed as chief of police exceptionally close to his 10-year anniversary with the department.

Luke has served in a number of roles with the WPD in the past decade, starting out as a patrol officer as is typical with a new hire, though he soon returned to field training.

In 2017, due to a position vacancy, he was appointed as acting sergeant and later tested and was promoted to sergeant before becoming deputy chief in September 2019.

Luke summarized his interest in police work, noting that the part of the job that’s kept him interested for two decades has been how unique each day can be.

“The good thing about police work is it’s always different,” Luke said. “When I start a shift or come to work, you don’t know what to expect. You kinda have a general idea of what you deal with from day-to-day, but it’s always different. There’s always something different. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. Obviously we don’t like the bad stuff as much, but I enjoy just not knowing what work is going to entail for the day.”

Luke also remarked on his emotions as he takes on the responsibilities that come with his new position.

“I am nervous and excited all at the same time,” Luke said. “Working as deputy chief has laid the groundwork for the chief’s position, and yet that’s an entirely different role altogether. I have an idea, but it’s gonna be different… I’m really excited, actually. Just a little nervous, but really excited. Really, I’m hopeful that I can provide the right guidance and leadership for this department to continue to grow and be successful.”

Prosise offered plenty of hopeful praise for his colleague and successor.

“When he came here and I was appointed chief, I knew he had that experience of investigations and Major Case Squad and stuff like that, so I knew he was a good choice for the deputy chief position,” Prosise said. “I think he has a great relationship with the guys here, and I think he’ll do a great job.”

Waterloo Mayor Stan Darter expressed a similar sentiment, having appointed Luke to the position.

“I have the utmost confidence in Dane Luke’s ability to command Waterloo PD,” Darter said. “Dane has the experience, confidence, and composure under duress to lead the department successfully.”