The chief of the Fon du Lac Park District Police Department in East Peoria was fired last Friday at a special board meeting.
Chance Barlow was on paid administrative leave prior to his termination on Friday, park district director Craig Weigle said on Monday.
He declined to comment on the reasons for the termination, citing personnel matters.
Barlow became chief after the retirement of longtime park district Police Chief Mike Johnson in Jan. 2023. Prior to his employment in East Peoria, Barlow was a firefighter with the Peoria Fire Department.
The interim police chief is Glen Neil, a retired Peoria Heights officer who's worked as a park officer for four years.
Weigle said 20-year East Peoria Police Department veteran Dale Orr will be the interim chief starting next Wednesday.
The Fon du Lac Police Department is perhaps best known regionally for its riverboat patrol and rescue teams. The department regularly works with public safety agencies up and down the Illinois River for incidents on the water.
