Joliet council to vote on outside firm for ethics investigation

The number of ethics complaints being filed at Joliet City Hall appears to be growing as an outside law firm is brought in to investigate.

The City Council on Tuesday will vote on a professional services agreement with Ancel Glink, a law firm that specializes in municipal government services.

The firm would at least look into circumstances surrounding Mayor Bob O’Dekirk’s accusations in September that a police sergeant was drunk while serving on security detail at a downtown street festival.

Sgt. Lindsey Heavener filed ethics complaints against O’Dekirk and council member Jan Quillman after taking blood and urine tests that showed he had no alcohol in his system that night.

Interim City Manager Steve Jones’ council memo on the Ancel Glink proposal indicates that more complaints have been filed.

“Certain ethics complaints against various city officials and employees have recently been filed with the ethics officer [city clerk],” according to the memo.

Jones in response to The Herald-News would not comment on what employees may have been the subject of ethics complaints or whether more elected officials are involved.

City Clerk Christa Desiderio, the city’s ethics officer, would not provide information on what ethics complaints are filed with the city.

An Ancel Glink letter describing the scope of services the firm will provide states that it will advise Jones and Desiderio “regarding matters pertaining to pending ethics complaints and various complaints that are currently pending in the city of Joliet, conducting investigations, and reviewing issues related to the pending complaints.”

The letter also states that the city’s legal department and inspector general “could possibly have a perceived conflict as they may be fact witnesses to some of the issues that are pending.”

In the aftermath of the Heavener incident, Jones retained Ancel Glink to investigate conflicts between City Hall and the police department.

Jones said Friday he was submitting the services agreement to the council for a vote to “formalize the relationship” with Ancel Glink.

Ancel Glink would be paid at a rate of $220 an hour for work by attorneys and $115 an hour for paralegal work.

The agreement also allows either the city or Ancel Glink to terminate the firm’s services at any time.