Former Hinckley police chief charged with eavesdropping, misconduct

HINCKLEY – Former Hinckley Police Chief Kimberly S. Everhart has been charged with eavesdropping and official misconduct after Illinois State Police say she illegally recorded a conversation with the village president in 2017.

DeKalb County court records show that on June 21, 2017, Everhart, 51, of the 500 block of Creek Road in Plano, used an eavesdropping device to record a conversation with Village President Nancy Nelson without Nelson’s consent.

A conviction for eavesdropping is typically punishable by one to three years in prison. Official misconduct can carry a sentence of two to five years in prison.

DeKalb County Judge William Brady signed a warrant Tuesday for Everhart’s arrest, and it carries a bond of $5,000. She was arrested on the warrant Tuesday in Kendall County, posted $500 bail and was released about 3:30 p.m., according to Kendall County jail staff. She’s due in DeKalb County court at 9 a.m. March 27.

Nelson won election over fellow write-in candidate Marci Ramsey by 22 votes in 2017. Everhart was appointed before Nelson took office, and became the first female police officer for the village. She was fired in late 2018, and former Chief Gregg Waitkus, who served as Hinckley chief from 2012 to 2015, was appointed interim chief.

“[Waitkus] will be assisting the village of Hinckley in searching for a replacement chief, and will be in that position until a new candidate can be located, interviewed and processed,” Village Board Trustee Chuck Riforgiate said in December.

Everhart was only the second woman to serve as chief in DeKalb County, after Berna Popenhagen, who retired as Kingston's chief of police in 2009.

Village Board Trustee MIke Constant declined to comment, and Nelson and other trustees did not return requests for comment.

– Daily Chronicle reporter Kelsey Rettke contributed to this report