Hainesville taps former sheriff's aide for police chief

The Hainesville village board has named Fred Heidecke, a former Lake County sheriff's administrator, as interim chief of police.

Heidecke replaces Roy McCommons, who held the top spot since November. His contract expired April 30.

"I'm here for an interim period of approximately five months to see how this pans out, if I'm a good fit for the department and if the department is a good fit for me," Heidecke said.

He will head a relatively new police department that is still finding its footing. Hainesville started its own police department in January 2008, after the Round Lake Park/Hainesville police department disbanded.

Initially, he said he will try to put everyone at ease because change can be unsettling, and he will be the second chief in the department's short history.

Limited funding will be another key challenge Heidecke will face.

"We're all going to have to do a status check," he said. "Everyone is very hopeful that we can make a stand-alone public police department work in Hainesville."

Heidecke, a 15-year resident of Hainesville, worked in the Lake County Sheriff's Office for 28 years until he retired in December 2006.