Kewanee city officials have begun the process of finding a successor to Police Chief Nicholas Welgat.
Welgat has been diagnosed with State 4 lung cancer which has metastasized to his brain.
In a memo to the City Council, City Manager Gary Bradley wrote that the application process for internal candidates closed Friday.
“After the initial review, interviews will be scheduled and the selected replacement will be announced,” Bradley wrote.
He added, “If no internal candidates are selected as a suitable replacement, an external search will be conducted until the position is filled.”
A GoFundMe campaign was launched by the Welgat family to help defray the costs of Chief Welgat’s treatments.
Welgat has served as Kewanee’s police chief since 2020. He joined the department in 2006, and was integral in starting the department’s street crimes unit two years later. He also served as an undercover officer for the Black Hawk Task Force.
