The Joliet police chief plans to retire May 28 after serving more years than any other chief since 2018 for a department that weathered controversies and leadership instability before his arrival.

Chief Bill Evans’ retirement had been rumored within the past year and Evans himself confirmed on Tuesday morning that he was indeed leaving the top post.

Evans took charge of the Joliet Police Department in March 2022. He said he didn’t want to stay in the position too long.

“This has been one of the greatest experiences in my law enforcement career,” Evans said.

The city of Joliet acknowledged Evans’ retirement in a statement that was sent out almost three hours after Shaw Local published its initial story.

The city’s statement said Evans “provided steady leadership and brought a wealth of experience” to the department, with a “strong focus on public safety, professionalism, and community engagement.”

At the time of Evans’ hire, he was the fifth police chief — permanent or interim — since Brian Benton’s retirement in 2018.

Evans was brought on within the last year of former Mayor Bob O’Dekirk’s controversial second term in office.

Evans has been the chief for the majority of Mayor Terry D’Arcy’s first term in office, which is up in 2027.

Who’s next in line?

When Evans retires May 28, Robert Brown, deputy police chief of operations, will assume the role of interim police chief, according to the city’s statement.

City officials plan to conduct a “comprehensive search” for the permanent police chief.

“The city of Joliet will initiate a formal recruitment process in the coming weeks to identify the next chief of police. As part of this process, all Joliet Police Department staff will be provided with a survey to gather perspectives on leadership needs, morale, operational strengths and areas for improvement,” according to the city’s statement.

An “open recruitment” will then take place, followed by candidate selection and interviews, according to the city.

The city expects to announce the “selected candidate” this summer.

Evans was the first outside hire as police chief since Joseph Beazley, who was chosen as the city’s police chief in the early 1990s after serving as a captain with the Chicago Police Department.

The city has usually chosen internal candidates to lead the department, such as deputy chiefs from the police administration.

Besides Brown, the other deputy chiefs with the department include Sherrie Blackburn, Carlos Matlock and Christopher Botzum.

The permanent leader before Evans was Dawn Malec, the department’s first female police chief.

Malec had been in the role for about nine months until she was fired by former Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli. She was then demoted to lieutenant after city officials realized Capparelli could only remove her as chief.

Before Evans was hired by Joliet, he had been with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for almost 25 years and he was working for a private firm called Strategic Security Solutions.

In 2022, Evans said he felt welcomed at the Joliet Police Department.

“My impression is they are hoping that some of the issues – some of the bumps in the road – that have occurred in the last two or three years will go away. I’m going to do my best to see that they do,” Evans said in 2022.

Evans’ tenure

The police department had already been under a civil rights investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office before Evans came to Joliet.

That investigation led to a report in 2024 that found the department had a pattern of unlawful policing enabled by the department’s “broken accountability systems.”

The investigation was spurred by a letter from O’Dekirk and a few other Joliet City Council members demanding a second investigation into the 2020 in-custody death of Eric Lurry Jr., 37.

In response to the attorney general’s report, Evans said the department fully cooperated with the attorney general’s office and provided them with “unfettered access to all available information.”

“I’ve been chief for two and a half years and have directed the most experienced and diverse command staff to make the changes needed to move the department forward,” Evans said in 2024.

During Evans’ tenure, the city concluded last year with the fewest homicides since 2019. The city also had about a 37% reduction in shootings last year, making it the third year in a row the department had “seen considerable reduction in total shootings,” Evans said.

The department’s investigations division “continues to record higher than a 90% clearance rate on homicide offenses over a three-year period,” he said.

Evan said last year, aggravated batteries were down by almost 50%, aggravated discharge of a firearm was down by about 45%, and robberies were down by about 15%.

Evans credited the department’s commitment to “data-driven policing” to identify “hot spots” for crime. He said good data, proactive policing and an engaged community are helping to keep the city’s streets safer.