Monmouth hires new police chief
on February 7th, 2012 at 8:00 amBy Richard Crockett
The Monmouth City Council met in executive session to consider filling the position of Chief of Police then returned to the council chambers to vote 7–0 to employ William (Bill) Feithen for the position of Chief of Police at an annual salary of $75,000. In a press release following the council meeting city officials disclosed that Chief Feithen has spent the last 37 years in DeKalb, Illinois, “the last eleven as Chief of the DeKalb Police Department.”
“Feithen has a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University in Urban Management. In addition he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Criminology with a minor in Political Science from Northern Illinois University” and “an Associate in Applied Science in Law Enforcement from Kishwaukee College.” Chief Feithen also graduated from the “Northwestern University Traffic Institute Supervision of Police Personnel in 1988 and then from the FBI National Academy,167th Session in 1991.”
“The Council is very excited Chief Feithen has agreed to be the next Monmouth Chief of Police. Chief Feithen is the best person to lead our department at this time given his wealth of experience and knowledge he gained the past 11 yeas as Police Chief in Dekalb. His understanding and vision of how a police department should operate is exactly the type of leadership we were looking for during this search,” said Mayor Rod Davies.
Chief Feithen will begin his duties on February 27, 2012 after relocating to Monmouth.
Lieutenant Joe Switzer, 17 year veteran of the Monmouth Police Department, was promoted to Deputy Chief of Police. Switzer participated in the hiring assessment process, and served to head up the police department during this transition period.
