JPD Deputy Chief John Perona Leaves After 7 Months In Job

JOLIET, IL - Joliet Patch has confirmed that John Perona is no longer Joliet's deputy police chief of administration. Perona lasted seven months in the job. He worked for the Joliet Police Department for approximately 30 years and was one of four people in the department who were introduced by Chief of Police Al Roechner as his new deputy chiefs in mid-December.

The city of Joliet's human resources department informed Patch that Perona's last official day with the city was Thursday, July 18. Perona's departure is considered a retirement. In 2018, as a police patrol sergeant, Perona made $151,762 with the city of Joliet,payroll records show.

Joliet Patch reported in June that interim city manager Marty Shanahan, before he was ousted by the City Council's Mudron Five, planned to demote Perona and return him to sergeant. A meeting involving Shanahan, Perona and the city's human resources staff took place to discuss the topic.

Patch also reported one of the other Joliet Police Department deputy chiefs who may have been reshuffled was Darrell Gavin. He is a relative of Bettye Gavin, the recently re-elected City Councilwoman from the Forest Park area.

However, in the weeks following that discussion, Bettye Gavin joined forces with Pat Mudron and three others on the council to remove Shanahan as the city's interim manager. Their move halted efforts to shake up the Joliet Police administration. A number of city officials have remarked that the administration is in disarray under Roechner's leadership.

At no point in time has the Joliet's Police Department issued a press release and the department has not posted any information about Perona's departure on its regularly updated Facebook page. Joliet Patch previously reported that Perona was considered Roechner's right-hand man in terms of carrying out Roechner's administrative initiatives.

The human resources department told Patch on Friday that it will now be up to the Joliet City Council to decide whether to fill the empty deputy chief of police vacancy created by Perona's retirement.

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