Police chief fights to keep license

After Leland Grove Police Chief Dan Ryan was arrested for domestic battery and driving under the influence earlier this month, his lawyer argued Ryan’s driver’s license should not have been suspended.

John Sharp, Ryan’s attorney, filed a motion to rescind the statutory summary suspension, a state law that automatically suspends anyone who tests over the legal limit, or refuses to test, for substance impairment while driving a motor vehicle. The law, which is a civil penalty rather than a criminal charge, automatically leads to a driver’s license suspension for a minimum of one year should the driver of a motor vehicle refuse chemical DUI testing.

“The arresting officer failed to properly warn the defendant,” Sharp wrote in a Feb. 9 filing. “Secondly, the officer had no probable cause to stop or arrest in this cause. Thirdly, the defendant did not refuse and/or fail the breath test.”

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser filed a sworn report by Illinois State Police into the case record Feb. 13. It indicates Ryan’s license was suspended because of refusal to submit to substance testing after Robert Hoecker, the arresting officer, noticed signs of impairment in Ryan’s demeanor and speech.

The ISP report also indicates Ryan did not have his driver’s license on him when he was stopped by Hoecker. A citation from ISP entered into the court filing noted that Ryan was driving a 2016 Dodge with a police license plate.

“Ryan was observed driving a motor vehicle. Ryan had glossy eyes and slow and slurred speech,” Hoecker’s report reads. “I could smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from Ryan. Ryan admitted to consuming whiskey prior to driving. There was a half-empty bottle of whiskey in (the) back seat.”

Based on the timeframe outlined in the ISP officer’s report, Hoecker warned Ryan about his license being suspended at 1:28 a.m. before giving him the notice of statutory summary suspension. A space for Ryan’s signature to acknowledge the warning is blank beyond an “X” noting where to sign. According to the report, Ryan refused a breathalyzer at 1:38 a.m., about one hour after being arrested.

Following an initial hearing Feb. 20 about the license suspension, Sangamon County Judge Sierra Senor-Moore decided to continue the statutory suspension hearing until March 6. 

Sangamon County Judge Rudolph Braud granted Ryan pretrial release the day after his arrest. During the Feb. 6 hearing, Braud did not mandate an alcohol and drug evaluation that prosecutors argued is typically required for pretrial release following a DUI charge. However, Braud ordered Ryan to wear an ankle monitor that tracks any alcohol, marijuana, or illegal drugs in the body.

The Circuit Clerk lists DUI as the sole charge for Ryan, though a Feb. 5 ISP report viewed by Illinois Times notes that Ryan will “be charged with domestic battery.” The battery charge has not been filed by the State’s Attorney’s Office. 

The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Illinois State Police, due to a professional conflict of interest involving Ryan, for a disturbance at a residence in the 1000 block of West Elliot Street in the early morning hours of Feb. 5.

According to an Illinois State Police report of the incident reviewed by Illinois Times, an officer who entered Ryan’s residence, “noticed the window blinds were heavily damaged and laying (sic) on the floor, and the television was turned upside down hanging off of the stand it was previously sitting on.”

The police report states the victim, a 28-year-old woman, told officers that she lives at the same residence as Ryan, 53. She explained that the two got into an argument around 9 p.m. Feb. 4 that turned physical when Ryan “grabbed her and shoved her down on the couch and pulled her hair, making physical contact in an insulting or provoking nature.” He then, according to the ISP report, “left the residence in his department-issued patrol vehicle.”

Sangamon County deputies later conducted a traffic stop on Ryan near the corner of East Madison Street and North Second Street, according to the report.

In a statement given at 12:40 a.m. on Feb. 5, the victim wrote: “I never expected to (sic) things happen as they did. Dan is not like this. I promise.”

Ryan has been with the Leland Grove Police Department for more than 25 years, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, and was hired as a full-time officer in August 1999 after about six months of part-time work.

The city of Leland Grove placed Ryan on administrative leave pending an investigation.  

This article appears in February 26 – March 4, 2026.