Wonder Lake deputy fire chief resigns

A deputy fire chief at the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District resigned Aug. 8 after he was placed on administrative leave in late June pending a department investigation.

Christopher “Chris” Weber handed the fire chief a letter of resignation, said Todd Rishling, president of the Wonder Lake fire board of trustees. Weber was put on administrative leave June 27.

Weber’s letter did not give a reason for the resignation, Rishling said. The fire board, he added, accepted the resignation at its subsequent meeting.

“It was a surprise to us,” Rishling said. “We just didn’t expect that.”

The district’s chief is Mike Weber, Chris Weber’s father.

The investigation stems from a Wonder Lake woman, and fellow firefighter, being granted an emergency order of protection against Chris Weber on July 12. Chris Weber and the woman had been involved in a romantic relationship, according to the petition filed at the McHenry County courthouse.

Rishling said the investigation will continue even though Weber resigned.

Weber’s resignation was one of five for the part-time-only department in August, Rishling said. Resignations included those from employees who moved out of the state and one who was hired full time at another department, among other reasons, Rishling said.

Chris Weber, who has been a full-time firefighter at the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District since 2006 while also working part time in Wonder Lake, previously resigned from the Wonder Lake department in 2018, according to records provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The documents did not detail when he was rehired.

According to McHenry County court records, a judge on Aug. 22 quashed several subpoenas from Weber’s attorney that sought employment records for the female firefighter and limited a future subpoena to the Wonder Lake department only.