About

Incorporated within the Township of Worth in 1914, the Village of Worth celebrated it's 100th anniversary in the summer of 2014. During this year the 1st Village meeting was held and the Police and Fire departments were founded. 

When several convicts escaped from the Illinois State Penitentiary in 1906, a posse of citizens was formed and led by law officers to hunt them down. It was felt they were probably hiding in the dense wooded areas of the Township of Worth. This posse was headquartered in Worth in September of 1906.

Early Worth Police Patch
Current Worth Police Patch
Early Worth Police Patch 2

The first Village police chief was Dan Crandall, son of Ben and Harriet Crandall. He held this position in 1921, after returning to the Village of Worth after multiple jobs across the Midwest. He worked on the farms of Piper City, punched cattle in Nebraska, joined the Navy at 18 and became boxing champion of the fleet. When he returned from the services, he bought teams of horses for working the canal. He then left for Milwaukee where he worked as a teamster and then to Detroit to work in the automotive industry. He rode a motorcycle during Capone’s heyday and captured several big beer runners. The old race track at 111th and Ridgeland drew many of these characters to this area.

In 1932, he became Township Road Commissioner and retired in 1953. Dan was still involved in Worth Trucking Company until his death.