The city of Champaign held a news conference Monday afternoon to introduce R.T. Finney, the city's new chief of police. Finney will officially take over for interim chief John Murphy on Nov. 17.

City Manager Steve Carter began the conference by talking about the long search process the city went through to find a qualified chief, which ended with extensive background checks of the final candidates.

"We know everything about (Finney) except what shoe he puts on first in the morning," Carter said.

With his family in attendance, Finney talked about his excitement in getting what he considers to be a prestigious job.

"I'm honored to get the opportunity to lead this department," Finney said. "You don't get this kind of opportunity every day."

Finney will leave his position as the chief of police of the Carbondale Police Department — the home of Southern Illinois University.

He said he thinks the transition to a new department should be easy because he is acclimated to a university system. He said he understands the importance of cooperating with University police in order to control campus issues.

He hopes to develop a good relationship with the University Police Department, as well as the Urbana Police Department and other departments in the area.

Finney said he would not discuss the specifics of what he will do as the new police chief as he is not yet familiar enough with Champaign.

One thing Finney said he does know is that the police department is already "outstanding."

"I'm not interested in making big changes to the department," Finney said.

He said he instead wants to learn from others in the department and help maintain the department's quality — if he happens to improve the department in the process, that would be even better, he said.

Finney also talked about the transition of moving his family to another community for the second time in four years. Finney took the job in Carbondale more than three years ago after working in the Quincy, Ill., police department for 15 years.

Between now and Nov. 17, Finney will be traveling between Champaign and Carbondale, looking for a home in Champaign and trying to sell his home in Carbondale.