Kankakee Area Career Center

Michael Johnston, Law Enforcement Instructor was delighted to welcome Kankakee County Coroner Robert Gessner and Chief Deputy Coroner, Eric Cavender for coming in to speak with his students. Mr. Johnston stated the "Students learned a lot about the Office of the Coroner and the massive responsibilities they have serving the citizens of Kankakee County.  Their dedication and professionalism is a testament to how we can all work together for the common good of educating our students and helping them be successful in the future."

This comes as no surprise to Mr. Johnston and Law Enforcement Assistant, Josh Martin.  Mr. Gessner has been our County Coroner since 2003.  He and Mr. Cavender have a great reputation for working with law enforcement and others in our community to fulfill their stated purpose:  "It is the purpose of this office to do professional death investigations.  We want to do this by making a commitment to 'care of the deceased and concern for the living.'" 

KACC Law Enforcement students were engaged and stated the presentation was meaningful.  When asked if they would recommend these speakers for future classes, some of the  comments from students include:

Kayla Williams, BBCHS: Personally, I thought it was very interesting, not only because the subject matter was intriguing for me but, I feel it made the idea of being a polilce officer real, especially the photos of crime scenes and victims. 

Caylee Gibson, Manteno:  Yes, because if you want to go into forensics or any route related, you have to deal with this on a daily basis.  if you listen to this presentation before you go into your major, and you don't like what he is talking about or showing, then you will be able to change your major.

Peter Rokowski, Kankakee HS:  I would recommend this speaker because he knows what he's talking about, he is very interesting adn informative and answers any questions asked to the best of his knowledge.

Alana Hardaway, BBCHS: Yes, He is very passionate about his job. He is a great speaker and keeps his audience interested - gives us interesting facts.I learned a forensic pathologist does the autopsy.

Elara Rickenberg, BBCHS: A lot goes into the investigation process for a death. Great at explaining, has a great personality and I learned a lot and think others will too.

Brandon Cravens, Beecher HS: Very educational and knows what he is talking about. What was shown was cool and not something you see every day. It's unique, which I like.