Jeff Stevens is sworn in as Washington chief of police June 10. Stevens brings more than 24 years of experience in various roles within the Washington Police Department. (City of Washington photo)

Jeff Stevens was sworn in as the Washington chief of police June 10 after the City Council amended its residency requirement for chief.

A 1991 city ordinance had required the Washington chief of police to live within the city limits within six months of appointment. That wasn’t a problem, until former Chief of Police Mike McCoy retired. McCoy, a Washington resident,  spent the last eight years of a 48-year career in law enforcement as Washington’s police chief. 

Stevens, who served as deputy chief under McCoy, was appointed interim police chief. However, under the previous ordinance, he had to either move to Washington within six months or be ineligible to remain in the position.  

The newly approved amendment allows a police chief who has been on the force for at least 15 years to reside within 25 miles of the city limits. 

After an executive session, the City Council approved a four-year contract for Stevens, with a $140,000 annual salary. 

Stevens is a 25-year veteran of the Washington Police Department, who was appointed deputy chief in 2015. He lives 15 miles outside of Washington. 

Washington police officers other than the chief of police have always been allowed to live outside the city limits. 

Tazewell County State’s Attorney Kevin Johnson had called Washington’s residency requirement for its chief of police “an outlier.” In recent years, numerous departments around the state have changed their residency requirements for police and other municipal employees. 

The Peoria Journal Star reported recently that the Washington Police Department “received 22 residency responses from Illinois towns of 15,000-40,000 people, and none of them required their police chiefs to live in the city.” 

A previous “straw poll” was 7-1 in favor of altering the city ordinance. However, the city council is required to have two readings of any proposed ordinance. A motion to waive the second reading requirement failed on a 5-2 vote, falling one vote short of the 75 percent needed. 

In previous comments to the media, Washington Mayor Llija Stevens (who is not related to Jeff Stevens) pointed to numerous improvements in cellphone and other computer technology, as well as increased police staffing as supporting the ordinance being outdated and needing amending.  

At the city council’s May 12 meeting, she called Steven’s case a “once-in-a-lifetime situation.” 

“I don’t want to lose Chief Stevens,” the mayor told the Peoria Journal Star. “The department really needs that stability. He has the respect, he’s got the professionalism needed and again, he has proven his dedication.” 

“He’s been with the department for over 20 years, he’s very knowledgeable, and he has been acting chief in the past,” Carr said of Stevens. “He has proven he can do the job. The only thing in the way of it was this minor residency requirement.”