The months long search for a new Chief of Police is winding down as the selection committee has narrowed its choice to two finalists.
Col. Jamal Simington currently serves as the Deputy Director for the Illinois State Police. A graduate of Kankakee Community College, Governors State University and the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Staff and Command, Colonel Simington also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. His career in law enforcement started in 1991 at the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department where he served as a correctional officer, tele-communicator, and then sheriff’s deputy. He was a member of the Region II Crowd Control team for ten years and lead investigative teams during criminal interdiction activities. Later assignments included the Ops Commander in District 21, the District Commander in District 10, and the Region III Commander for the State Police overseeing 2 investigative zones and 6 patrol operations in Central Illinois. Simington was appointed as the Deputy Director for the Division of the Academy and Training in March 2021.
Chief Kenny Winslow was named to the top spot of the Springfield, Illinois Police Department in 2013. The same department where he started his career in 1995. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois,Springfield along with an associate degree from Lewis and Clark Community College. Winslow is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Executive Management Program and School of Police Staff and Command, Southern Police Institute’s Chief Executive Leadership Course among other executive and management courses. He has also completed the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute. In 2018 he received the President’s Award from the NAACP for Minority Recruitment and Community Engagement. Most recently, the native of Alton, Illinois was named the 2021 Chief of the Year by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP).
“It’s been a careful and detailed process to get to this point,” said City Manager Tim Gleason. “Both these candidates are skilled and possess the ability to bring an already great department to an even higher level.”
The public will have the chance to Meet & Greet the candidates on Monday, August 16, 2021, from 4:00 – 5:15 p.m. at the Government Center, 115 E. Washington St., Room 400, Bloomington, Illinois.
