Moweaqua, IL (WAND) – Every officer for the Moweaqua Police Department has resigned, leaving empty squad cars and an unstaffed office.

While the village figures out next steps for the police department, deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will handle law enforcement responsibilities for the village.

“There will be a larger demand on the limited staff I have,” said Shelby County Sheriff Brian McReynolds. “It’s a large county. If that call comes in and we’re in the opposite corner of the county, it could be a displayed response time from us.”

Generally, the Sheriff’s Office has two deputies working in the county at a time. The county is more than 750 square miles. That means if they are in Stewardson and need to respond to a call in Moweaqua, they have an almost 50-mile drive ahead of them. But the Sheriff said he does have deputies who live near Moweaqua who may be able to respond in an urgent situation.

“Sometimes we might reach out to Christian County if they have a unit closer to respond,” McReynolds said. “We work out mutual aid partnerships with surrounding agencies, also to get help when needed.”

Shelby County deputies can help with police reports and other non-urgent matters in Moweaqua as well.

WAND News reached out to the mayor of Moweaqua to determine what comes next for the future of the department and if they plan to hire more officers. The mayor did not respond.

“If they staff their police department, it will assist us with not having to respond to as many calls there, and they would be able to provide assistance to my deputies at times, too,” McReynolds said. “But in the meantime, we will continue to respond to any of the calls for emergency services that are needed.