THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle listens to Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling as he discusses preparations for upcoming Democratic National Convention back on June 4th. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
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DANVILLE — As the investigation of Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump continues, one of those under scrutiny is Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, a 1988 Schlarman High School graduate.
In a statement Monday, Cheatle expressed confidence in the plan to secure the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee, in the wake of an attempt on the life of Trump at a weekend rally in Butler, Pa.
She said the Secret Service is working with federal, state and local agencies “to understand what happened, how it happened,
and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again.”
“The incident in Pennsylvania has understandably led to questions about potential updates or changes to the security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee,” Cheatle said in Monday’s statement. “… I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting.
“The security plans for National Special Security Events are designed to be flexible. As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the city of Milwaukee.
“In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former President Trump’s detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign.”
Cheatle said the security plan will change as necessary to ensure the safety of RNC attendees.
A man identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa., shot at Trump from a rooftop near a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. Trump is recovering and will attend the convention. President Joe Biden ordered a national security review of the incident over the weekend.
Before being chosen by Biden in 2022, Cheatle had served more than 25 years with the federal law enforcement agency that oversees protective operations for top U.S. leaders.
She was serving as senior director at PepsiCo, responsible for managing facilities, personnel and business functions, when she got the call from Biden.
“Kim had had a long and distinguished career at the Secret Service, having risen through the ranks during her 27 years with the agency, becoming the first woman in the role of assistant director of protective operations,” Biden said in 2022.
In a News-Gazette interview last October, Cheatle said her career had surpassed her wildest expectations.
“I probably am in law enforcement today as a direct result of my brother,” who died in a car accident in 1988, she said.
At the time of his death, Cheatle’s brother was in the early stages of becoming a state trooper. The two had discussed his possible career choice, and their conversations planted a seed.
She eventually decided to major in sociology, a field of study that would give her the option of going into law enforcement and social work, and by the time she graduated Eastern Illinois University in 1992, she had already applied for a job as a Secret Service agent.
Cheatle was honored by EIU in 2023 with a Distinguished Alumni award, and participated in a recruiting event in Charleston.
“I use that when I speak to students and new recruits that we have now, that I did not come from a family that was in law enforcement or the military,” she said. “I was hired by the service and trained, and I think that’s one of the things the agency does very well.”
Cheatle had a previous working relationship with Biden, serving on his security detail when he was vice president, just as she’d served on former VP Dick Cheney’s detail prior to that.
Her first job with the agency, though, was far away from the White House. Cheatle was initially turned down by the Secret Service when she applied in college, but two years later, she accepted a position at a field office in Detroit.
In addition to its role protecting current and former presidents, vice presidents, their families and those in the line of succession for president, the Secret Service is also charged with safeguarding the country’s payment and financial systems. Cheatle began her career by working investigations of financial crimes, including bank fraud and counterfeit cases.
After four-and-a-half years in Detroit, she was assigned to Cheney’s detail. Cheatle was in the Executive Building while Cheney was in the West Wing of the White House on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when she watched the first of two planes crash into the World Trade Center on television.
Shortly after, she received a call on her radio notifying her and her team that another plane looked as if it may be headed to the White House.
Along with other agents, Cheatle rushed to the West Wing to shuttle the vice president to a security bunker.
“If you talk to any law-enforcement agency, they will tell you that when crises occur, they fall back on their training,” she said. “During an event like that, that’s what I’ve always done. That sort of calmness sets in and you fall back on your training, and you think about it later. For us, that’s very important.”
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