City Manager

Form of Government

The City of Pekin operates under the Council-Manager form of government with a seven-person City Council consisting of a mayor and six council members.  The City Council appoints a professional city manager to be the chief advisor to the City Council, to put the Council's vision and goals into action, and to provide leadership to the City organization of over 300 employees and an approximate budget of $62 million.

Biography

John Dossey was appointed city manager in November 2023 after having served as interim city manager for 7 months and as the City's chief of police for over 8 years before that. Before coming to Pekin, John held many operational and administrative positions over his 27-year career in law enforcement, including Lieutenant in Command of Investigations in Hanover Park. John's formal education includes a Masters in Criminal Justice from Columbia College, a Bachelors in Business Management from Illinois Benedictine University, and completion of the Police Staff and Command program through Northwestern University.

John serves as chair of the Tazewell Pekin Consolidated Communication Center Board, and he is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Illinois Chiefs of Police Association, Tazewell County Chief's Association, Tazewell County ETSB Board, and the Pekin Heroin Initiative.

John was born and raised in Danville, Illinois, and he graduated from Danville High School. John has three adult children with his wife of 33 years.