Retired Illinois State Police captain honored with ISP Achievement Medal

[March 30, 2022]  By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
[e-mail]

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker awarded retired Illinois State Police Captain Donald Norton with the Illinois State Police Achievement Medal Tuesday to honor his 30 years of service to ISP.

Norton, now 91, served from 1960 to 1990 in the ISP Division of Criminal Investigation and Division of Narcotic Control, and was commander of Illinois State Police District 3, now known as District Chicago.

He was previously awarded the Medal for Honor, which is awarded to Illinois State Police personnel who perform a heroic act that “by its nature results in saving a life, preventing a serious crime, or apprehending a person who committed a serious crime.”

Pritzker said Norton remains committed to ISP, providing military guidon flags for each cadet and recruit class for several years. Norton has also developed flags for the office of the ISP director, first deputy director and each division. Pritzker said those flags will be encased at a 100th anniversary ceremony this Friday.

Gov. JB Pritzker awards retired Illinois State Police Captain Donald Norton with the Illinois State Police Achievement Medal to honor his 30 years of service to ISP. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

“A veteran of the Korean War and the US Department of Justice, Captain Norton has spent more than 50 years in service of his community, to his state, and to his country,” Pritzker said. “He is among the very best of Illinois. So without further ado, it is my honor to bestow the ISP Achievement Medal on him today.”

Norton thanked the governor for his efforts on behalf of ISP and for attending ceremonies for officers killed in the line of duty.

Pritzker bestowed the medal in his Capitol office on Tuesday as part of a commemoration of the Illinois State Police’s 100th anniversary.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.