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Austin Zenis sworn in as interim Peoria Heights fire chief as board debates civility emails and Peoria aid
Summary
The Village of Peoria Heights swore in Austin Zenis as interim fire chief and held an extended debate over a civility pledge and recent emails from a town fire official. Public comment raised concerns about automatic aid with Peoria and the wisdom of contracting for paid fire services.
Austin Zenis was formally sworn in as the interim fire chief at the Peoria Heights Village Board meeting on Oct. 7, taking the oath before trustees and residents and receiving a badge from the mayor and clerk. The mayor and multiple trustees described Zenis as a veteran of the department who trained under former chiefs Dan Decker and Tony Artist; Zenis replied, "I will give it my best shot to firmly uphold the office of fire chief and do my due diligence to serve everybody fairly in this community."
The swearing-in was followed by public comment and an extended board discussion about a proposed Illinois Municipal League (IML) civility pledge and an email from Chief Artist that trustees described as antagonistic. Trustee Simmons said she received an email she called "unwarranted and disrespectful," and that it felt retaliatory after a board vote; Administrator Sutton and Chief Artist were asked to respond. Sutton advised trustees that if they believed the emails rose to the level of a criminal threat they should consult the county state's attorney, but he characterized the message tone as not criminal. Trustee Simmons said the issue was the tone and implied threat to undermine trustees, not a request for criminal proceedings.
During public comment Jody Ford urged the board to consider how mutual‑aid and the state's MOBIS/automatic‑aid systems operate, disputed various staffing claims cited in public debate, and warned that charging for automatic aid could destabilize regional mutual‑aid arrangements. Ford said, "Mobis is a standardized manner of requesting and distributing resources throughout the state of Illinois," and argued that automatic aid typically is provided without charge under MOBIS rules.
After debate the board approved resolution 2025‑17, the IML civility pledge, by roll call. Trustees also discussed but did not finalize any changes to intergovernmental agreements with the city of Peoria during the meeting; several trustees said they want public input and more data before altering the village's emergency services contracts. The board directed staff to collect additional information where requested and noted options for nonbinding referendum language on Peoria‑related contracts would be discussed on a future agenda.
The board moved on after the vote; next steps identified included staff follow‑up on the email record and continued outreach to residents and stakeholders about intergovernmental fire service options.
