St. Charles Police Chief to resign in March

Keegan has been on leave of absence since November 2024

(Left to right) St. Charles City Administrator Heather McGuire, Mayor Lora Vitek and Police Chief James Keegan, at the open house event for the St. Charles Police Department's new Public Safety Training Center on Oct. 14, 2024, at 3825 Karl Madsen Drive in St. Charles.

St. Charles Police Chief Jim Keegan will resign on March 19, after having been on a personal leave of absence since Nov. 6, 2024, the city announced in a news release Thursday, Feb. 20.

Deputy Chief Eric Majewski has been serving as interim Police Chief in Keegan’s absence since November.

St. Charles city leadership praised Keegan in the release.

“When I joined the City, I was impressed by the Police Department’s commitment to serving the community and the exemplary initiatives underway,” City Administrator Heather McGuire said. “With Chief Keegan’s guidance, those initiatives were successfully realized and have further enhanced the department’s service to the community.”

Mayor Lora Vitek said the city will look to move quickly on the search for Keegan’s replacement.

Vitek said while a timeline is still unclear, the city plans to conduct a national search with a third party agency’s assistance and will consider both internal and external candidates.

“This is one of our most important position for keeping the community safe,” Vitek said. “It’s going to happen quickly because it’s such an important role...During Jim’s years here, our community has been safe and we want to continue that path forward.”

Vitek said she could not comment on Keegan’s reasoning for his resignation or leave of absence due to its personal nature.

Keegan has served as Chief of Police in St. Charles since 2014 and was Chief of Police in Streamwood before then.