Chief Simington started his law enforcement career at the Kankakee County Sheriff's Department in 1991, where he served as a correctional officer and telecommunicator. In 1994, he was commissioned as a Sheriff's Deputy. Chief Simington was assigned to patrol, investigations where he was an undercover narcotics officer, and the traffic unit. Simington joined the Illinois State Police in 1999, where he first served on patrol in District 21-Ashkum. He later transferred to investigations where he served as a Special Agent working homicides, financial crimes, gang and gun crimes, as well as illicit methamphetamine laboratories. Chief Simington earned the ranks of Sergeant and Master Sergeant while in investigations. He later returned to patrol as a Lieutenant/Operations Commander in District 21-Ashkum. Chief Simington commanded his first patrol district in Pesotum, District 10, the largest geographical district in the state police. He was later appointed as a Major and the Region Commander of Central Illinois leading 6 patrol districts and 2 investigative zones. Chief Simington then became the Lieutenant Colonel of Field Operations in the Division of Operations, leading the statewide intelligence center, special weapons and tactics team, statewide weapons of mass destruction team, crash reconstruction team, commercial motor vehicle team, and air operations, amongst other responsibilities. Director Leo Schmidt later appointed Chief Simington as Colonel to serve as the agency's Deputy Director of Internal Investigation. In March of 2021, Chief Simington transferred to the Division of the Academy and Training. He retired from the Illinois State Police in September of 2021 to become the Police Chief of the Bloomington Police Department.
Simington is a graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command. He also earned a bachelors degree in Criminal Justice and a masters degree in Public Administration from Governors State University. Simington holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida.
Chief Simington's 2024 Goals:
1. Reduce crime and the fear of crime, with a continued high priority on violent crime offenses.
2. Maintain community engagement output and add a public safety education officer to the Community Engagement Unit to vastly increase public safety education.
3. Increase employee and family wellness through training, employee services, and the creation of a Chaplains Unit.
4. Reduce traffic crashes by 5% through the four Es: Enforcement, Education, Engineering, and Emergency Medical Services.
5. Add an additional five police officer positions and increase department diversity.
6. Create a Real Time Information Center and add two Criminal Analysts.
7. Secure grant funding to enhance technology, public education, and enforcement strategies.
8. Increase DUI enforcement by 5%.
9. Host a Citizens Police Academy.
10. Build 2025-2029 Strategic Plan through community collaboration.
