Des Plaines police chief search nets 51 applicants

In the coming months, Des Plaines city officials will pare down a list of 51 applicants for the police chief's job and begin interviews with finalists, incoming city manager Mike Bartholomew said Tuesday.

The deadline to apply was March 30.

With Acting City Manager Jason Slowinski set to depart, the task of selecting a new chief will fall to Bartholomew.

Slowinski's last day is April 20 after which he takes over as the Lake Zurich village administrator.

The Des Plaines city council recently appointed Bartholomew, currently the city's community and economic development director, to the city manager's post. His first day on the job is April 23.

A majority of the applicants are from the Illinois area. The pool also includes candidates from several states and at least one internal candidate, Bartholomew said.

“We're still going through them and making sure all the ones that applied meet the minimum qualifications,” he said. “At that point, we will develop an interview process and assessment of the candidates. I think we got a good pool of candidates.”

Bartholomew said he is in no hurry to appoint a new chief as interim Chief Mike Kozak has been working out well. Kozak was tapped after longtime Chief Jim Prandini retired in December.

Bartholomew said his preference is for a candidate who has command experience and has the respect of the officers.

“I need someone that has that level of self confidence, has an impeccable reputation and their ethics are beyond reproach,” he said.

The manager will pick the chief from among the top five candidates, subject to ratification by the city council. The salary range for the job is expected to be between roughly $113,000 to $147,000. As a department head, the selected candidate would have 12 months to relocate to Des Plaines, per city code.