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City of Aledo, residents react to police chief's arrest, vacant positions

The arrested Chief, Christopher Sullivan, also worked as Aledo's City Administrator, and the City has yet to appoint anyone to either position in response.

ALEDO, Ill — The City of Aledo faces a challenge following the arrest of Police Chief Christopher Sullivan: filling both of the positions he held.

Sullivan was arrested on Monday, Aug. 29 after state investigators collected enough evidence to indict him with battery and official misconduct charges after an accusation made against him in 2021.

In addition to his role as police chief, he also served as the city administrator. and his arrest left both of the crucial positions open.

The City has remained quiet on its plans for the positions, with no appointments made to fill the vacancies on the day following the arrest.

However, city officials did release a statement late Tuesday morning:

"The City of Aledo Administration was made aware that Chris Sullivan was charged with criminal offenses yesterday (8/29). At this time, we are gathering facts to better understand the situation. We will be working with Elected Officials and our legal team to determine the best course of action. We will have more information to share with the public once we complete our information-gathering process."

The local government's relative quietness left citizens to voice their varying reactions to the incident.

"Pretty disturbing. They're the people taking care of us. And when we do something wrong, you hear about it.," said Janice Young.

"I know Chris personally. I think he's just a nice guy. So I'd like to hear more of the story before I make any judgments. And I hope that everybody else will, will wait till the full story comes out to make any decisions about how they feel about that," said Ashley Weeks.

"I was totally shocked... but innocent until proven guilty, I guess," said Ashley Thomas.

According to the Mercer County Circuit Clerk, there is currently no set date for Sullivan's first court appearance. 

Sullivan has been released from jail after posting bond.

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