Sisters in Law: Identical Twins Lead by Living Their Truth
Alumni Spotlight
by Caroline Paulison Andrew, NUCPS Alumni Relations
August 29, 2024 – In October 2022, Evanston native Schenita Stewart was sworn in as the first female Chief of Police for Evanston (IL) Police Department. Among the attendees in the packed hall that evening were supporters from the Evanston community and her family, including her identical twin sister, Commander of Investigations Schonella Stewart of the Oak Park (IL) Police Department. The Stewarts are the only identical twin sisters to graduate from SPSC. Chief Stewart is a member of SPSC Class #387; Commander Stewart, SPSC Class #561.
Sitting in the Chief’s office in the 75-year-old Evanston (IL) Police Department and glancing around the room at the various professional commendations, career mementos, and family photographs confirm the impression that one receives while interviewing the Stewarts: these are women of substance who live their truth and lead with their truth; dedicated to their large, tight-knit family and to their communities; and, fully aware of the history and roads that had to be navigated for them to reach their current roles.
Born and raised in Evanston, the sisters graduated from Evanston Township High School and embarked on educational and career journeys that were influenced in part by the loss of a cousin who was violently murdered in Florida just prior to their entering college.
Chief Stewart earned her bachelor’s in Criminology from Illinois State University, while Commander Stewart headed off to Barber-Scotia College, a historically black college in North Carolina, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Criminal Justice. Chief Stewart’s first agency was Lincolnwood (IL) Police Department, where she served for 21 years and moved up the ranks to deputy chief. In 2005, she earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Chicago State University. She also completed the NUCPS Executive Management Program in 2019 and was appointed deputy chief at the East Dundee (IL) Police Department in January 2021.
Following her undergraduate education, Commander Stewart earned her Master of Social Work (MSW) from Chicago State University and worked with such agencies as the Department of Children and Family Services and the Illinois Department of Human Services. “The way law enforcement is now, sometimes I’m relying on that social work background.” She credits both her twin and former Lincolnwood deputy chief, now-retired Glencoe (IL) Public Safety Director Cary Lewandowski, with recruiting her into law enforcement.
And it was Chief Stewart who urged her sister to take SPSC. “Schenita knows that my professional career dream is to become a chief of police and suggested that I take the course. At the graduation ceremony, I spoke about Schenita mentoring me and during my career reiterating to me that everyone is a change agent at their police department, no matter what position they honorably hold.” Commander Stewart spoke at her Class #561 graduation as the Kreml Award recipient – an honor that she and her sister like to playfully tease did not go to Chief Stewart.
At her SPSC graduation, the Commander found herself mistaken for her twin. Neither sister was really surprised. “People from North Shore law enforcement – people who Schenita knows – whom I had never met came up to me thinking I was Schenita,” said the Commander. “People didn’t know I had a twin,” confirmed the Chief. Commander Stewart explained that “we don’t have a problem with people knowing. But when I went from social work to law enforcement, I spoke to Schenita – who already had an awesome reputation in law enforcement – and said I want to make my own name for myself. I want to go somewhere where nobody knows me, and nobody knows you. I didn’t want anyone to say my career was because of my sister. So that’s why I went all the way to Oak Park.”
Whether Oak Park or in Evanston or at agencies throughout the nation, one common thread among police organizations right now is staffing. Commander Stewart views staffing and morale as the predominant issues impacting her agency. “We’ve had numerous officers leave the department, which is causing officers to be held over up to 18 hours just to return later in the day. Specialty position officers have been sent back to the patrol division, and it’s having a negative impact on the culture of the department.” She reported that Oak Park Police Department is “approaching the issue by starting the process of taking lateral hires and paying retired officers to conduct backgrounds on new hires. The retention issue, though, still exists.” Chief Stewart concurred and explained that her agency is working to reduce retention issues by addressing morale. She is currently saddled with a facility built in 1949 and is advocating for a new headquarters to boost morale and attract new recruits.
Chief Stewart also thinks that the public’s “incorrect perceptions [about policing] and assumptions of corruption” will continue to plague police agencies in the future, but she also believes that the situation can be improved through increased communication that “highlights the humanitarian efforts of officers in the communities they serve.” “We get judged and critiqued by things that don’t happen here but happen somewhere else,” added her sister.
Genuine leadership and community relations are key to helping solve the retention and misconceptions issues. Commander Stewart said that the biggest lesson she took from SPSC was to “lead from the front” and model the behavior you want to see in others – a natural for the Stewart sisters. “People know us as genuine individuals that they can relate to,” said the Commander. “What is unique about me and Schenita is that not only do we live our truth, we also don’t run from anything anybody says about us.” “No one is going to bring the same leadership qualities that we have because no one is going to bring that life aspect. Genuine leadership -- that’s hard to explain to some people,” commented Chief Stewart.
The Chief believes in the power of strong community relations to the extent that she even teaches the subject at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy. She views the community engagement that she, her sister, and all officers perform at any rank will lead to success in law enforcement. “Chief is just a different platform. That engagement is why you’ll be successful with investigations, with leadership, no matter where you are in your department -- because of the investments you already made and continue to make,” said Chief Stewart.
“Improvement in community engagement and the reciprocation of efforts from law enforcement and community stakeholders can improve the relationship and commitment to public safety,” agreed Commander Stewart. The commander is frequently out in the Evanston community with her sister and called Chief Stewart’s engagement as “opening the flood gates” for community members who want to talk. “Sometimes you separate life from the profession. Put a face on the people you interact with. It’s completely different if you can see yourself and your family in other people,” suggests Chief Stewart.
The commander explained that “there is sometimes this misperception that we [the police] don’t have the same issues or that things don’t impact us the way it impacts everybody else. SPSC’s leadership week was really good at how we look at those we lead. How empathetic are we to them? We tell the police to be empathetic when they respond to calls for service. But how empathetic are we when they are dealing with something in their own families?” She warns that “People leave people. . . . When people stop talking to you, you’ve got a problem. When people stop walking into your office, you don’t know what type of pot is stewing, but it will burn.”
According to Commander Stewart, “[The SPSC leadership unit] was so instrumental because it confirmed what Schenita was saying about leadership. Staff & Command shows you that you are on the right track. You’ll see that what you are doing is working and now you have something to compare to it.”
“SPSC isn’t the same people all the time. And that’s one thing that I appreciate as I’ve been able to send people to Staff & Command,” said Chief Stewart. “I know there are other options out there for executive management teaching, but I’m sold on what they [Northwestern] produce. They do an outstanding job.”
(Photo: Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart (left) and Oak Park Police Commander Schonella Stewart (right) with a photo of NUCPS founding director and EPD Lt. Franklin Kreml in Chief Stewart's office.)