Ridgewood Cemetary

Tom Robb/Journal photo)Among those paying tribute to slain Chicago Police Officer Samuel Jimenez as his funeral procession headed to Ridgewood Cemetery were firefighters from several area departments.The 28-year-old Jimenez was killed Nov. 19 while responding to a call of shots fired at Mercy Hospital in Chicago. He ran into the building and was shot by a gunman in the midst of a domestic dispute.Cardinal Blase Cupich was the main celebrant at Monday’s funeral Mass for Jimenez held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Maryville Academy in Des Plaines. Outside the shrine, Des Plaines and Chicago firefighters used tower ladders to make an archway with a large American flag hanging between them. Other archways were made by Mount Prospect and Schaumburg fire departments at East River Road and Central, on the route between the shrine and cemetery.At the entrance to Ridgewood Cemetery on Milwaukee Avenue, Niles and Wilmette firefighters made the last flag draped archway, while firefighters from Niles and Wilmette stood at attention, saluting as the hearse carrying Jimenez’s body drove into the cemetery grounds.Niles and Wilmette Fire Dept. ladder trucks are used to create a memorial archway hanging the American Flag outside Ridgewood Cemetery awaiting the funeral procession for slain 28-year-old Chicago police officer Samuel Jimenez Monday. Tom Robb/Journal photo)Additional fire department honor guards from Arlington Heights and Hoffman Estates were at the shrine East River and Central respectively.Before the hearse entered the cemetery, hundreds of Chicago, state and suburban police squad cars drove the funeral route in silence with lights flashing.Fences along the route between the shrine and cemetery were decorated with blue ribbons. Nearly every driveway along the route was filled with Chicago police in squad cars.Police shut down sections of Central Road and Milwaukee Avenue for several hours Monday to make way for the funeral procession.Des Plaines Fire Chief Alan Wax s...

Tom Wessell/Journal photos)Steady streams of mourners turned out in a steady rain for Chicago police officer Samuel Jimenez’s wake at a Des Plaines funeral home Sunday. Many will return for Monday’s funeral, also to be held in Des Plaines at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.Visitation continues until 9 p.m. today at Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner St. Officers from departments throughout the Chicago area were seen entering and exiting the funeral home shortly after the wake started at 3 p.m. Des Plaines police also maintained a heavy presence in the area of Rand Road and Miner Street. Working officers stopped traffic intermittently on Miner Street so visitors could cross the four-lane road safely.At the entrance to the funeral home, a long tent shielded the line of visitors from heavy rain that was expected to turn into a heavy snow after 6 p.m. To the west, the parking lot of Mystic Waters waterpark appeared at capacity.Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, will serve as Main Celebrant of Monday’s funeral Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the Maryville campus at River and Central roads. Central Road will be closed between River Road and Wolf Road. The shrine’s Chapel of St. Joseph holds 1,000 and is expected to be at capacity.According to the Archdiocese of Chicago, Jimenez and his family attended Mass regularly at the shrine.The 28-year-old Jimenez was killed in the line of duty after a gunman opened fire at Mercy Hospital in Chicago last Monday (Nov. 19). Four people died, including hospital workers Dr. Tamera O’Neal, 38, and Dayna Less, 25.After Mass, the funeral procession will continue east on Central Road to Milwaukee Avenue, then south on Milwaukee a short distance to Ridgewood Cemetery.Blue ribbon in memory of Chicago police officer Samuel Jimenez hangs from street sign on Miner Street in Des Plaines. The ribbons were seen tied all over the area, including along Central Road and Rand Road in Des Plaines.Visitors...