Elgin police officer Jason Lentz has been fired over social media posts he made last fall about immigration enforcement.
The city announced the termination in a news release Friday.
In a Facebook post on Oct. 15, 2025, Lentz suggested places where immigration agents could find undocumented immigrants, tagging the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the end of the post.
Lentz was placed on administrative leave the following day. The department then launched an independent investigation that ultimately found that the posts had violated departmental policies and standard operating procedures.
Elgin’s Civilian Review Board recommended termination after the investigation.
A statement from the city said Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley’s decision to terminate Lentz was approved by the city’s corporation counsel and city manager.
“Lentz’s termination for misconduct is warranted and necessary to uphold standards the community expects and deserves,” Lalley said in the statement. “His actions do not reflect the standards of this agency. I ask the Elgin community to not judge our current and future officers based on the actions of one individual.”
It’s the second time Lentz has been fired over social media posts. In September 2014, he was terminated by the department after Facebook posts that appeared to have racial connotations.
An arbitrator ruled that the termination should be reduced to a six-month suspension after a grievance was filed by the police union.
City Manager Rick Kozal expressed support for the decision to terminate Lentz in the city’s statement. He said he was “among those in the city administration” who demanded Lentz’s firing in 2014.
Despite an arbitrator overturning the 2014 firing, Kozal said the city “succeeded in establishing precedent for holding police officers accountable for inflammatory social media posts before such disciplinary action became the norm.”
Lentz, who had been working in a light-duty assignment following an on-duty injury in 2023, applied for a disability pension with the Elgin Police Pension Fund on Oct. 16, the same day he was suspended by Lalley.
The pension board, which operates independently from the city under state law, held a hearing on Lentz’s application on Feb. 24 and determined that he qualified for a disability pension following medical evaluations conducted by three physicians selected by the board.
His disability pension is not affected by his termination.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260320/news/elgin-police-officer-fired-for-social-media-posts-about-immigration-enforcement/