New deputy police chief introduced in Mundelein
Mundelein's newest deputy chief and two other newly promoted officers were introduced to the public Monday.
Police Cmdr. Jason Seeley has been tapped to be the department's second-in-command. He replaces Deputy Chief Patrick Gara, who retired earlier this month after seven months in that role.
Additionally, Sgt. Rick Wilfenger has been promoted to commander and Investigator Mike Bush has been promoted to sergeant.
The promotions were announced at Monday night's village board meeting.
As the officers stood by one at a time, Chief John Monahan read short biographies of each man.
Seeley has been with the department since 1999, starting as a patrol officer. He served as a field training officer and a traffic crash reconstructionist for the Lake County Major Crash Team.
In 2006, he moved to the investigation division. He also worked as an investigator and a team supervisor with the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.
Seeley also was part of the Illinois State Police Ruse Burglary Task Force, the Cook County Regional Organized Crime Task Force and the Illinois chapter of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators.
Seeley was promoted to sergeant in 2014 and to commander this past February, overseeing the investigations division.
Wilfenger joined the department in 2003 as a patrol officer. He moved to investigations in 2012 and was promoted to sergeant in 2017.
He oversaw the field training program and bicycle unit, among other duties.
Bush joined the department in 2006. After eight years as a patrol officer, he joined the investigations division in 2014.
Bush has served with the Illinois State Police Ruse Burglary Task Force, the attorney general's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
After reciting their oaths of office, Seeley and Wilfenger received new stars for their uniforms from their wives. Bush said his oath and then got his star from his two daughters.
Polite applause and handshakes with the elected officials and staffers around the board dais followed.