Village Names Interim Police Chief

TINLEY PARK, IL — Village of Tinley Park officials on Friday appointed an interim police chief as Chief Matt Walsh wraps up his time in the role.

Officials named Thomas Tilton as Interim Police Chief following the resignation of Matthew Walsh on Sept. 15. Walsh moves on to the role of police chief in Indian Head Park.

Tilton joined the Tinley Park Police Department as Deputy Police Chief of Administration in September 2021. Prior to joining the Village, he served with the United States Secret Service for 26 years as a leader in law enforcement, security and investigative operations.

"DC Tilton has been an integral part of the Tinley Park Police Department since he joined us two years ago," Mayor Michael Glotz said. "His professionalism and natural leadership abilities will help ensure the police department continues to operate efficiently while we search for a permanent Police Chief."

Tilton has held various vital operational roles, overseeing and managing numerous large-scale operations. He served for more than 10 years as the Deputy Director of Operations for the Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security, overseeing tactical response operations within a critical agency comprised of 134 municipalities, 30 townships, 5.4 million residents and 945 square miles of territory.

Tilton has certifications from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) as a Certified SWAT Operator, as well as the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) as a Certified Professional Emergency Manager and the Illinois Tactical Officers Association (ITOA) as a Certified Tactical Patrol Officer.

"It’s an honor to serve such a great community," Tilton said. "This is a great place to live, and we’ll continue to work diligently to keep everyone safe and serve the residents of Tinley Park."

Tilton served as Residence Security Coordinator for President Obama and was an operator in the U.S. Secret Service’s elite Counter Assault Team for four years. He was also an instructor for an additional three years.

Tilton also was a Senior Special Agent for the Chicago Organized Crime Task Force and designed and implemented protective operations training standards for the State Police, Secretary of State Police, Chicago Metropolitan Police Executive Protection Units, and Illinois State Police Tactical Response Teams.

More recently, Tilton was Incident Commander and led security for Tinley Park Ribfest, the two-day Tinley Park Block Party, and the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce’s Oktoberfest event.

"Ribfest was the most significant public event ever scheduled in Tinley Park, and Tom did a spectacular job," Glotz said.

Tilton has been honored several times, winning the Commander’s Award of Excellence for the South Suburban Emergency Response Team in 2010, 2013 and 2016, and the Director's Award in 2019. He received the Cook County Crime Stoppers Award for Law Enforcement Excellence in 2006 and 2009 and was nominated Chicago District Federal Executive Board’s Federal Law Enforcement Employee of the Year in 2009.

Village Manager Pat Carr said he and the entire Village wish Matthew Walsh luck in his new role as Police Chief in Indian Head Park.

"Matt is a great guy and I know he’ll serve the residents of Indian Head Park with the same dedication that he served us," he said.