A huge source of pride for Joliet’s outgoing police chief are the relationships and bonds he’s developed during his time leading the police department.

Bill Evans retires on Thursday after a roughly four-year run that makes him the longest-serving police chief in Joliet in more than seven years.

Evans said during his tenure, the police department has reduced violent crime, increased the homicide clearance rate above the national average and implemented new technology.

He said he also believes he brought stability to the department, which had been under a state civil rights investigation before he arrived.

But Evans said he’s most proud of the relationships he’s forged in Joliet.

“The professional relationships, the personal relationships have been to me a huge source of pride. And I think when you talk about accomplishments, that is probably my greatest accomplishment for me here,” he said.

When Evans arrived in 2022 in Joliet, he was the first leader of the police department who was not an internal hire in about 23 years. He previously worked for Strategic Security Solutions and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Evans once challenged Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart in the 2014 election.

‘Bittersweet’ retirement

Evans said he came to Joliet from Chicago but the residents were nevertheless welcoming toward him.

“I talk to people on the street all day long, just walking my dog or just being out in the public. And some of these people I’ve never had a chance to meet personally before. And I have these great conversations with them,” he said.

Evans said he was recently approached by a resident who recognized him as he walking with his dog. She asked to tape him saying “Happy birthday,” for her sister’s 60th birthday.

“I thought it was kind of neat that she would see me and want me to wish her sister a happy birthday. She said, ‘I’m getting a bunch of videos together, it’s her birthday, I want to make it special for her,’” Evans said.

When it came Evans’ decision to retire, he said he’s approaching 60 and he’s spent 32 years in law enforcement.

Throughout Evans’ career, he said he’s seen people stay in high profile positions too long and he didn’t want to end up the same way.

“It is very bittersweet. I will miss this place far more than you can even imagine. But at the end of the day, you have to understand that there’s a shelf life in these jobs. And you can’t stay here forever. Not a place that is this busy and this big,” Evans said.

‘The right support’

Evans said one of his main objectives when he became the police chief was to bring stability to the police department.

In 2022, the department was under a civil rights investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. The department was also the subject of clashes between former Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk and retired Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner.

Evans said he’s hopes he was part of changing the culture of the department by improving morale, improving equipment and letting his officers know they’re valued.

“My job is to get them in the right mindset and to get them the right equipment, the right training and the right support. They’ll do the rest. And clearly, they have,” Evans said.

The officers are feeling more supported now, he said, citing the defund the police movement for “at least a couple of years here nationwide.”

“I think we’re kind of past that,” Evans said.

Evans cited the following technology that has helped the department:

• License plate readers known as Flock cameras, which he said has been “instrumental” in solving major cases.

• Axon body cameras for officers that provide real-time voice translations in more than 50 languages.

• Peregrine Technologies data platform to enhance and accelerate investigations.

Evans said the department is developing a “real-time crime center” with the use of drones to provide officers and detectives “real-time information” as they respond to incidents.

During Evans’ tenure, the department was involved in “Operation Triple P,” which led to indictments against 25 people accused of defrauding federal COVID-19 relief funds.

There was also “Operation New Year’s Resolution,” which led to the arrest of 10 people with outstanding arrest warrants.

In 2024, the department initiated “Operation Streetsweeper,” which led to the arrest of 21 people, several of whom were suspected of being involved in a spate of nonfatal shootings.

Evans said he believes the latter operation helped “slow down our violent crime rate a little bit.”

One case that always come to Evans’ mind when he thinks of the professionalism of the Joliet Police Department is the investigation of the 2024 mass shooting carried out by Romeo Nance, 23, who died by suicide after fleeing to Texas. Eight people died in a 24-hour period in January 2024.

Evans said there were officers in the department volunteering to help.

“The way they performed throughout that night was fantastic and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Evans said.

He said his officers and detectives worked with county and federal agencies to make the tragedy “make a little bit more sense.”

Department challenges

In 2024, the attorney general’s office released a report on a three-year investigation that found the department had “patterns of unlawful policing” enabled by the department’s “broken accountability systems.”

Evans said he didn’t “particularly agree with all” of what was said in the report. He declined to elaborate further, citing legal concerns.

The city and the attorney general’s office have a confidentiality agreement signed in 2025 for the “success of the negotiating process” between them, records show.

“I will say that there are certain things that were included in that [attorney general] report that we either are doing now or that we have plans in the very near future to do,” Evans said.

When it came to challenges of leading the department, Evans said they’ve had to terminate some employees.

“We haven’t been a perfect police department but we are trying and we are succeeding in a lot of areas,” he said.

It’s also a challenge to keep “so many different factions” of the city happy with the productivity of the department, Evans said, from the business community to activists to people from VFWs and neighborhood associations.

Evans said he receives a lot of calls, emails and handwritten letters.

“A good 80% to 90% of them are complementary towards our people. I don’t get a lot of complaints from the citizenry. And I think that says a lot for the way the guys are performing on the street,” he said.

Evans said he’ll still be around Joliet after he retires.

He said he’s developed “too many close friendships and bonds” with some people in the city to “just to walk away and not see them ever again.”

“The citizens of Joliet have treated my people fantastically, and they’ve treated me wonderfully. I will be eternally grateful for that, because it’s hard coming from someplace else,” Evans said.