Carl J. Alexander

The Chief has died.

Carl J. Alexander, esteemed chief of the Department of Veterans’  Affairs in Danville from 1992 until 1999 and chief of the Danville police force from 1999 until 2007, died on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the local Veterans Health Administration Medical Center.

Visitation for family and friends will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, and from 10 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 29, at the Second Baptist Church, 940 N. Franklin Street in Danville.  His home-going service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 29, at the church. Eulogist: Dr. Tisa Day. Committal will be at the local Veterans  Administration National Cemetery.

Carl married Patricia Coleman. Their daughter Carla Alexander resides in Suitland, Maryland. He later married Janet Williams on April 9, 1995, in Las Vegas. She survives along with children Carla Alexander, Monica Williams of Atlanta, Ga., Elliott Abram of Hanover, Maryland, and Tim Abram of Atlanta, Ga., and his sister Francine (Ernest) Blanden of Springhill, Tenn.

Grandchildren surviving him are Ajani Young, Anya Young, Mackenzie Smith, and Ielle Abram.

He was preceded in death by his mother Flossie Alexander, father Robert Hillsman Sr. and his siblings Fayette Keys, Saundra Hundley, Robert Hillsman Jr. and Collette Hillsman, and his grandparents.

A Danville native, Carl grew  up in Danville and Champaign. He attended Danville schools, later enlisting in the US Army He  served for more than eight years in Korea, Vietnam and Germany. He later served both his country and his city in honorable ways.

In 1969 Chief Alexander joined the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., serving as an officer for 22-plus years. He retired in October 1991.

In May 1992, he assumed duties as Chief of Police with the department of Veterans Affairs in Danville, managing the police and security forces for three VA Outpatient clinics in Central Illinois.

In 1999 Chief Alexander stepped down from his position with the VA and assumed the duties of Chief of Police for the City of Danville under the honorable Mayor Bob Jones. Under the Chief’s leadership, the department developed a strategic plan and mission statement for the future development of the department that is the backbone of community policing for this city. In 2004 he was appointed the City’s first Public Safety Director under Mayor Scott Eisenhauer, with the total responsibility of managing both the police and fire departments. He retired from public service in 2007.

His commitment to his home city of Danville led him to serve on several community boards, including the Boys and Girls Club of Danville and Danville Housing Authority Board. He mentored boys at the Boys and Girls Club every Monday.

Memorials may be offered in Carl’s memory to the Boys and Girls Club of Danville and Laura Lee Fellowship House.

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