Joliet Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Meeting - January 12, 2026
Joliet Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Meeting - January 12, 2026
The Board of Fire and Police Commissioners met on Monday, January 12, 2026, at 5:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order at 5:45 PM due to technical difficulties and adjourned at 6:31 PM. All five commissioners were present. The board approved police promotions, reappointed officers, approved a lateral eligibility list, and voted on the hiring of firefighter/paramedics, with 10 conditional hires approved and 6 candidates rejected.
Secretary’s Report
- Fire Department: Applicant #56 Aron Jaime was removed from the list on December 13, 2025 for failure to meet requirements.
- Police Department: Five candidates were removed or withdrew: #63 Jake Dohney withdrew on January 7, 2026; #65 Brian Phlamm removed January 8 for failure to meet requirements; #69 Eduardo Torres removed January 8 for same reason; #73 Lloyd Van Lissum removed January 8 for failure; #76 Miriam Medina withdrew on January 9, 2026.
Discussion Items
- Police Promotions: Police Chief Evans reviewed the work histories of both candidates and found no cause to prevent promotion. He noted Sergeant Candidate James Kilgore had a “very thick file” with numerous awards, including two Officer of the Year recognitions, and no disciplinary record in the last five years.
- Closed Session: The board entered closed session at 5:47 PM to discuss specific employee matters (appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal) under 5 ILCS 5/120/2(c)(1). The meeting reconvened at 6:20 PM.
- Reappointment of Chairman: Commissioner John Stefanski nominated Quinn Adamowski to remain as Chairman. The motion carried 4-0-1 (Adamowski abstained).
- Reappointment of Secretary: Commissioner Tomas Ponce nominated John Stefanski to remain as Secretary. The motion carried 4-0-1 (Stefanski abstained).
- Police Lateral Eligibility List: A list of candidates eligible for lateral hire was presented and approved unanimously.
- Firefighter/Paramedic Hiring: The board considered 16 applicants individually. For each, Chief Evans provided background (not specified in minutes). Some hires were conditional upon successful completion of vision and medical examinations.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Promotions:
- Ronald Vironda promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant (unanimous).
- James Kilgore promoted from Master Patrol Officer to Sergeant (unanimous).
- Reappointments:
- Quinn Adamowski reappointed as Chairman (4-0-1, Adamowski abstained).
- John Stefanski reappointed as Secretary (4-0-1, Stefanski abstained).
- Police Lateral Eligibility List: Approved unanimously.
- Firefighter/Paramedic Hires (conditional): Approved unanimously for applicants #49 William Niedzwiecki, #50 Dakota Meek, #52 Jordan Brown, #54 Donald Kraz, #60 Ariel Ruiz, #64 Mark Stromberg, #65 Ryan Brannigan, #68 Sean Florian, #70 David McCullough, #73 Zachary Mellen, #76 Marcus Stone. Hires were conditional upon successful completion of vision and medical examinations.
- Firefighter/Paramedic Hires (unconditional): None were approved outright; all successful motions included conditional language.
- Rejected Hires: Motions to hire applicants #48 Dakota Ibrahim, #58 Troy Herath, #72 William Cranley, #75 Matthew Harris, #77 Angelina Maschietto, and #79 Ryan Galvan all failed by unanimous 5-0 votes.
- Adjournment: Unanimous motion at 6:31 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I'll call the City of Joliet Board of Fire and Police Commissioners meeting to order. Today is Monday, January 12th, 2025 at 5 45 p.m. For the record, the meeting started late due to technical difficulties. With that said, we'll go to roll call. Chairman Adamowski. Here. And Commissioner Coleman? Here. Commissioner Potts. Here. Commissioner Strocha. Here. And Commissioner Stefanski is present. We have a quorum. First up on the agenda is approval of minutes from November 10th, 2025. Is there a motion to approve said minutes? I'll motion it. Second. You have a first and a second. Chairman Adamowski. Aye. Commissioner Coleman. Aye. Commissioner Potts. Aye. Commissioner Strocha. Aye. And Commissioner Stefansky. Aye. Motion carries. Next up on the agenda is citizens to be heard on agenda items. Is there anybody who would like to speak to the board? See none, we will move on to the Secretary's report. Secretary's report for 112 of 26. On the fire department side, uh applicant number 56. Jamie Aron was removed from the list on 1213 of 25. On the police department side, applicant number 63. Jake Donney withdrew on 17 of 26. Applicant number 65, Brian Flam, removed for failure to remit requirements. That was on 18 of 26. Applicant number 69, Eduardo Torres was removed for the same reason. Failure to meet requirement 18 of 26. Applicant number 73, Lloyd Van Lissum was removed also for failure to meet requirements. 18 of 26. And number 76, Miriam Medina withdrew on 19 of 26. And that completes the Secretary's report for this meeting. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Further down of the agenda, there are two promotions for the police department.
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