Villa Park promotes acting police chief to top spot
Villa Park has named acting Police Chief Robert Pavelchik Jr. as the official chief of the department.
Pavelchik was a member of the Darien Police department for more than 33 years, including his final nine as chief, and was named the acting chief in Villa Park on Jan. 20.
Village officials originally intended for a local retired police chief to lead for two or three months during a search for a permanent chief after they removed former Chief John Heidelmeier from the job on Jan. 10. Village officials said they reached “an amicable resolution” with Heidelmeier but declined to discuss circumstances that lead to his departure.
Pavelchik was named the chief on Tuesday.
Pavelchik is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and earned a master's degree is police psychology from the Adler School if Professional Psychology.
He started with the Darien department as a patrol officer, and during his time as a sergeant, he was involved with supervision of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. He also helped create the Darien department's annual budget.