The revolving door of Winnetka’s top administrative staff continues to turn. Police Chief Joseph De Lopez has announced he is stepping down at the end of the week to accept a job in Chicago.

De Lopez was appointed Winnetka’s top cop in March 2002. He had previously spent more than 30 years with the Chicago Police Department where he retired as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

He has accepted the position of Vice Chancellor for Safety and Security for the City Colleges of Chicago, according to a press release. His new position will entail the coordination of all safety and security at eight primary City College sites as well as seven satellite locations.

Deputy Police Chief Patrick Kreis will become Interim Police Chief on Jan. 28, the release said.

Winnetka Village Manager Rob Bahan said De Lopez tendered his resignation last week. He couldn’t speak to the relative quickness of his departure, but said there was a small window of opportunity for him to accept the new job.

“We certainly appreciate the time that he’s been here and while we’re sorry to see him go, we wish him well in his new endeavor,” Bahan said.

De Lopez’s departure means that both the police and fire department are without a top administrator.

Fire Chief Scott Smith retired in November before assuming a consulting role to the village three days later. Until Smith’s replacement can be found, Winnetka is paying Glenview $14,688.83 per month for the use of their deputy fire chief, Ralph Ensign.

Bahan himself is a recent hire, having started as village manager Nov. 29.

Replacing Smith was one of Bahan’s first priorities upon arriving in Winnetka.

“That’s reaching its final stages and as soon as we’re done with that we’ll determine how we’ll approach the position of police chief,” Bahan said.

He said Kreis has been deputy chief of the department for nearly five years and “handles many aspects of the day to day operation of the police department. I have every confidence that Deputy Chief Kreis will make sure the operations continue to run smoothly.”

Bahan acknowledged the difficulties of so much top-tier turnover in a relatively short amount of time.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity,” he said.