The man who once worked in the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and with the National Security Agency for the U.S. Department of Defense has been tapped to become the next police chief of Joliet. He attended Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.
The City of Joliet has reportedly hired William “Bill” Evans as police chief. He ran for Cook County Sheriff in 2014, ultimately losing to incumbent Tom Dart. The appointment of Evans, who was a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office, means this will be the first time in more than two decades that the City of Joliet hired someone from outside the department to become chief. Evans is the fourth police chief in Joliet in less than four years since the retirement of Brian Benton in August 2018.
Evans worked for Cook County from 1992 until his retirement in 2016. Prior to his retirement, he served as a commanding officer in emergency services and a lieutenant in traffic patrol field operations. Once he retired, Evans took a job with the NSA for about one year, before accepting a job as corporate banking security manager with a firm, according to his LinkedIn profile. Since 2019, he worked in the security department with Strategic Security Solutions in Chicago, according to his LinkedIn page.
Evans’s appointment comes after Dawn Malec was removed as Joliet police chief by City Manager Jim Capparelli in October. Following her termination, Robert Brown served as interim chief. At that time, Capparelli publicly stated that Brown would only serve in a temporary position as he wanted “fresh eyes” to run the department.
Malec had replaced Al Roechner as police chief in January 2021 after he agreed to retire with a $31,000 raise to increase his police pension. Roechner’s retirement was announced immediately after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said his office would be investigating Joliet Police Department for unlawful police practices. Malec, who remained on the force as lieutenant, was reportedly seeking a $400,000 settlement from Joliet, claiming she was fired because she is a woman.
On his LinkedIn profile, John Mack, chief of office research and development for Illinois State Police, said he was impressed while working with Evans.
“Bill’s ability to strategically develop and tactically execute full spectrum law enforcement activities is unparalleled,” said Mack.
Besides announcing the hiring of Evans, the Joliet City Council Tuesday also appointed the law offices of Sean Connolly to be the inspector general. Connolly currently serves as a United States reservist commander and has been with the Army for two decades.
The inspector general, who is overseen by Mayor Bob O’Dekirk, will have the authority to investigate complaints filed by city officials and employees and investigate contractors doing business with Joliet.
Councilman Pat Mudron was the only member to vote against the appointment, citing lack of information available about Connolly prior to the meeting.
