Bio - Brian Benton

Since 2021, Brian Benton has served as the Chief of Police for the Village of Mokena,
Illinois. Mokena has a population of just over 20,000 and is located approximately 20
miles southwest of Chicago. The Mokena Police Department has an authorized staff of
35 sworn officers. For the past three years, Chief Benton assisted in managing the design
and construction of the brand new, state-of-the-art police station complete with a firing
range, defensive tactics room, virtual reality simulation training room and physical fitness
center.

Chief Benton previously served on the Joliet Police Department for over 28 years, retiring
after 5 years as Chief of Police in 2018. The City of Joliet is the third largest city in the
State of Illinois with a diverse population of just over 150 thousand residents. The Joliet
Police Department has an authorized staff of over 280 sworn police officers and an
additional 65 civilians whose duties include staffing an independent public safety dispatch
center.

Chief Benton served in many positions throughout his career including uniformed patrol,
plainclothes tactical and in an undercover capacity with a multi-jurisdictional narcotics
task force. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2000 where he led the department’s narcotics
unit. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2006 where he served as Watch Commander in
the Operations Division. In 2008, Chief Benton was promoted to Division Commander
and served in the Administration Division overseeing the department’s budget
management and policy compliance. In 2011, he transferred to the Investigations Division
where he served as Division Commander overseeing several high-profile investigations
until his appointment to Police Chief in 2013.

Chief Benton served for 20 years on the department’s Special Operations Squad (SWAT)
eventually as the team’s Commander. He also served as an Active Shooter Instructor,
Firearms Instructor and as the department’s Range Master.

Chief Benton earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal/Social Justice with highest
honors in 1998 and his Master’s Degree in Public Safety Administration in 2009 both from
Lewis University. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety
School of Police Staff and Command (2003) and the Police Executive Research Forum’s
Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP-Boston University - 2006). Chief Benton is
also a certified Police Chief through the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (2017) and
has received the Illinois State Crime Commission’s “Award of Excellence in Law
Enforcement” in 2016.