Mark Bozik, formerly the village of Roselle’s fire chief, has been chosen to lead Aurora’s fire department.
Although Aurora Mayor John Laesch has appointed Bozik to the role, City Council still needs to approve the appointment. The vote is set to take place at the City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Aurora’s former fire chief, David McCabe, retired near the end of last year after nearly three-and-a-half years in the role and 28 years at the fire department in total. Since McCabe’s retirement, Deputy Chief Kevin Nickel has served in the position as an interim.
When Laesch was asked why he chose an outside candidate instead of an internal one, he said in a statement that he was “most impressed” with Bozik’s experience, perspective on fire service and proven leadership skills.
“I look forward to having an experienced voice with a fresh perspective leading one of the strongest fire departments in the state of Illinois,” Laesch said in the emailed statement.
Bozik’s resume, which is included online with the Tuesday City Council meeting’s agenda, shows that he has over 34 years of experience in fire service. He retired in early 2025 from his role as Roselle’s fire chief, and after he served as the village’s fire marshal and emergency management agency coordinator.
While at the Roselle Fire Department, Bozik “rebuilt the structure and morale of the department” through careful planning, creating a “great relationship” between labor and management, offering “robust education opportunities” and creating external relationships, he wrote in his resume.
A letter from Roselle’s local firefighters union, included online alongside Bozik’s resume, expressed full support of his candidacy. He always worked closely with the union, including it in decisions so that there was a true collaboration on the direction of the fire department, Professional Firefighters Local 4051 President Timothy Dopita wrote in the letter.
“Having worked closely under Chief Bozik’s command during his tenure with the Roselle Fire Department, our membership has seen first-hand the caliber of leadership, integrity and professional expertise he brings to the fire service,” the union’s letter said.
In his resume, Bozik wrote about both internal and external relationships he helped built. Not only did he gain the trust of the village board, he said, but he also participated in things like the West Suburban Fire Rescue Alliance.
He’s also served on the executive committee for Du-Comm, been a member of the DuPage Fire Chiefs Association and served on the DuPage School Safety Task Force.
If Bozik’s appointment to fire chief is confirmed by the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, he’ll be joining an organization that’s currently undergoing an expansion of its physical presence within the city. Two new fire stations opened up earlier this year, and a new fire department headquarters is currently under construction.
And, Aurora Mayor John Laesch, who picked Bozik, has not always seen eye-to-eye with the city’s firefighters.
When flags were ordered lowered by President Donald Trump and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year, Laesch told city leadership to raise them instead. However, all of the city’s fire stations seemingly disobeyed the mayor by lowering their flags.
Then later in the year, the International Association of Firefighters Local 99, which represents Aurora firefighters, publicly opposed a 2026 budget proposed by Laesch’s administration because it cut firefighter positions. City officials argued that cuts across all departments were needed to stabilize the budget, but that public safety departments saw the smallest percentage reductions.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
