CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago-based Monterey Security is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The company started as an idea in a basement and has grown to become the largest minority-owned security company in the country.
The homegrown security team that protects people at places like Soldier Field and Allstate Arena is very proud of their Latino heritage.
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Over the past 25 years, Monterey Security has been seen at some of the Midwest’s most iconic locations, including Soldier Field, the Field Museum and the University of Notre Dame.
Monterrey founder and CEO Juan Gaitan Jr. started the company in the basement of his Garfield Ridge home after serving 10 years with the Chicago Police Department, wanting to honor his Mexican heritage and the legacy of his parents, Juan and Estela.
“We can provide a safe environment in a different way and hire people who look like me, talk like me, who will do a really good job,” Gaytan said.
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Monterey Security currently has 20,000 square feet of office and training space in Pilsen. The company has about 4,500 full-time and part-time employees, including many law enforcement officials, such as former state police chief Hiram Grau.
“It’s fun,” Grau says. “We get our passion from Juan. He’s like a cheery bunny.”
Former Police Superintendent Anthony Riccio joined the company after 34 years with the Chicago Police Department.
“He’s not one to make decisions from above. He wants input from people like me,” Riccio said.
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The company is also committed to providing opportunities for people of color, as evidenced by a training class for potential new employees held on Wednesday.
“I think not just me, but a lot of the men and women who work here, feel a sense of pride that they’re coming to work every day for a minority-owned business,” said Daniel Ramos, vice president of Monterrey Security.
Gaytan believes in giving people a chance, and he said he has hired hundreds of people who would have been turned down by other companies, and his faith in them has been rewarded.
“Millions of people pass safely through our facilities every day, and it doesn’t make the news because nothing is happening,” Gaytan said, “yet a tremendous amount of resources are being put into it.”
Gaytan said he’s always been driven by the idea of making his parents proud, and after 25 years he believes he’s achieved that, but he also has his sights set on where the company will be in the next 25 years.
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