Village President: Shannon’s Police Chief resigned voluntarily despite intent to fire

SHANNON, Ill. – Village of Shannon President Ryan Shaner maintains Police Chief Mike Lewis voluntarily resigned last month despite his intent to fire him.

Read the latest update below.

Village of Shannon releases closed session minutes regarding former police chief

On Sep. 17, Shaner announced he had accepted Lewis’ resignation as Chief of Police. Adding, there was also an ongoing criminal investigation, but he could not provide any details about the case.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Shaner spoke to elaborate more on the meeting he had with Lewis on Sep. 16 when he resigned.

“On that night, I asked another trustee to come with me, as well as an individual from the Sheriff’s Department, because I intended on terminating Mr. Lewis’ employment. I think that was the direction I received from the board, and that was my intent.”

After sitting down and talking, Shaner says Lewis told him multiple times he would send in a written letter of resignation, but he never received one. Adding, a termination letter was never given either.

“His termination letter was never given to him because he declined it as he was resigning. And that’s essentially what happened in a nutshell. And I know there’s some people who aren’t going to believe that. And I know there’s certainly people online who are saying that’s not what happened. And there’s nothing I can do to change some of those people’s minds.”

In an attempt to validate his statement, Shaner announced he had, ‘prepared, signed and swore to an affidavit,’ stating he never told Lewis to resign or be fired. And that Lewis resigned from his position as police chief of his ‘own free will.’

Beyond the ongoing criminal investigation, Shaner said, ‘I think it’s very clear that this board had great reservations about Mr. Lewis’ work performance.’

Following his statements at Tuesday’s board meeting, Shaner said he would be asking the board to release, ‘all of the executive session minutes as it relates to Mr. Lewis.’

Watch full statement below:

^{Village President Ryan Shaner speaks on Police Chief’s resignation at Oct. 7 board meeting (Village of Shannon)}

The board voted 5-0, with one absent, to formally accept Lewis’ resignation.

Several possible solutions for police coverage were discussed by the board.

The options include contracting with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, joining surrounding municipalities, hiring a new police chief or part-time officers.

The board approved a motion to seek the hiring of an interim police chief.

After an executive session, the board approved a motion to release minutes for closed sessions regarding Lewis on Sep. 2, July 2 and 17, June 3, Mar. 4 and Dec. 3.

On Wednesday, Shaner released the closed session minutes for the board’s discussions surrounding Lewis and job performance, dating back to December 2024.

Click here to read the latest.

This is a developing story. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Help hold public agencies and officials accountable by giving a small donation to support my continued work as an independent journalist. Thank you!