Police Administration

Rich Wittenauer was appointed Chief of Police on September 25, 2017. Wittenauer grew up in the Belleville and Millstadt area and graduated from Althoff Catholic High School in 1986. After High School he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in the Marine Corps Reserves until 1994. During this time Wittenauer served in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991.

In 1994 Wittenauer graduated from the 54th session of the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy and served the communities of Cahokia and Collinsville as a Police Officer, serving 23 years with the Collinsville Police Department. While at the Collinsville Police Department Wittenauer held several positions, including Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Detective, Patrol Commander, Detective Sergeant, Patrol/Administrative Lieutenant and Assistant Chief of Police. Some other responsibilities included Juvenile Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor and Public Information Officer. From 1998 – 2001 he served as an Investigator with the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force. Wittenauer also served with the Greater St. Louis Area Major Case Squad of from 2002 – 2017 as an Investigator, Deputy Report Officer and Deputy Commander. He formerly taught as an Adjunct Professor at Lindenwood University in Belleville. In 2003 he was awarded the Medal of Valor by the Illinois Association of Chief’s of Police.

Chief Wittenauer attended Belleville Area College (SWIC) from 1988 – 1989 and graduated from Western Illinois University in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement Administration. In 1999 he received a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development from Webster University. He is a 2006 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command in Evanston, IL and a 2012 graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.

Jesse Phillips was appointed Deputy Chief of Police on May 28, 2018. He grew up in McLeansboro, Illinois where he graduated from McLeansboro High School in 2001.

Phillips attended McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with Criminal Justice Emphasis in 2005. He was hired as a Patrolman for the Village of Shiloh on January 27, 2006 and graduated from the 97th session of the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy. He served as Juvenile Police Officer, Field Training Officer, Senior Officer, and Crime Prevention Officer assisting the Neighborhood Watch groups and organizing the annual National Night Out event. He was the Shiloh Police Department Officer of the Year in 2009 and 2012, and has received numerous Chief’s Letters of Commendation for his service to the Village of Shiloh.

In January of 2013, Phillips was assigned as a Detective in the Shiloh Police Department Criminal Investigations Division. He was promoted to Detective Sergeant on March 1, 2015 and began supervising the Criminal Investigations Division. Phillips has previously served as an Investigator, Deputy Report Officer, and Deputy Commander for the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis. He has received training in Advanced Interview and Interrogation, Crime Scene Processing, and is certified as a Lead Homicide Investigator and Public Information Officer. 

In 2016, he received the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis Certificate of Merit for his work in a homicide investigation that occurred in the Village of Shiloh.
Phillips finished his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration in 2019 from Lindenwood University in Belleville. He lives in Shiloh with his family and is excited to serve the citizens of the Village of Shiloh as the police department continues to grow.