Cullinan: Mayor trying to take my power to name police chief

Oglesby commissioner Jim Cullinan said he could be stripped of his authority to appoint a police chief at the Monday council meeting.

In a Friday morning post on his Facebook page, Cullinan said Mayor Dominic Rivara, “for a reason still never announced to me” informed him midweek “that (Rivara) intended to revoke my ability to appoint the chief of the Oglesby Police Department at Monday’s upcoming meeting of the Oglesby City Council.”

Though a council agenda had not been posted online as of 2 p.m. Friday, Rivara confirmed in a telephone interview that such a measure had been proposed.

Rivara said the council was going to introduce an ordinance that would make the appointment of the police chief a recommendation by the mayor, subject to city council approval. Friday evening, Rivara said he will propose on Monday reshuffling assignments among some of the commissioners, with council approval.

“We were looking to avoid exactly what happened Thursday,” Rivara said.

Thursday, of course, was when Cullinan installed Michael Padilla as police chief, replacing Jim Knoblauch. Cullinan has insisted that Knoblauch was not fired or removed, as Knoblauch can remain on the force in a lesser role.

“What I perceived as a lack of communication, department morale, action, and the respect of political boundaries by the mayor ultimately resulted in me making a decision to appoint a chief to lead the Oglesby Police Department into the future,” Cullinan wrote on his Facebook page.

“This was not a decision that I was longing to make,” Cullinan wrote. “I knew this decision would not make me the most popular man in town, as I promised that I would retain former Chief Knoblauch during the 2019 municipal election. While I have kept my end of the bargain thus far, circumstances outside of my control have unfortunately forced my hand on this matter.”

Whether the council votes Monday to transfer the authority to name a police chief remains to be seen; but some type of action is expected because Knoblauch’s removal as police chief is not final.

Cullinan, however, argued this week that Knoblauch’s term expired along with the previous mayor’s term and that he had not been reappointed. However, meeting minutes from May 6, 2019, show that Knoblauch was part of a slate of appointments to which all five city council members voted yes, including Cullinan,

According to Illinois law and Oglesby city code, Cullinan has the authority to appoint a police chief. However, state law requires that a chief can only be removed for cause and “the removal or discharge shall not become effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the corporate authorities.” (Illinois Compiled Statues 5/10-2.1-4)

That would means Cullinan needs a 3-2 vote Monday to finalize his action replacing Knoblauch with Padilla. And despite social media reports to the contrary, Oglesby is not a home rule community and remains subject to the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Does Cullinan have the votes? Rivara has condemned the Thursday decision as “unjust” and “undignified.” Other city commissioners were silent. Carrie Lijewski and Jason Curran deferred comment until Monday’s meeting. Commissioner Tom Argubright said Thursday he had no comment.

Oglesby’s city attorney likewise has been silent on the matter. Jim Andreoni, when asked if Cullinan had the authority to act, said he can only discuss the topic in closed session, citing the attorney-client privilege between him and the city council.

Cullinan, in his Friday post, confirmed reports of a rift between him and Knoblauch. He also said he increasingly was at odds with Rivara, citing “weeks of recent criticism of my performance as commissioner of Public Health and Safety” by the mayor. Cullinan said the two sparred over department policy and the need to replace an officer who retired in 2019.

“I am sorry if my actions yesterday disappointed you,” Cullinan told his social media followers, “but I am confident that I made the best decision for both my officers and the people of Oglesby.”

Tom Collins can be reached at (815) 220-6930 or TCollins@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_Court.

CULLINAN STATEMENT IN FULL

Due to the touchy nature of yesterday’s decision, it was my intention to say quiet about it until Monday’s regular meeting of the Oglesby City Council.

This was a mistake and I apologize for leaving the community wondering. People clearly desire answers as to why I exercised my legal right to appoint a chief to lead the Oglesby Police Department.

I got elected, as WLPO’s Tom Henson noted, by championing transparency and I would be wise to remember it. Allow me then to inform you, as much as I can, as to why I appointed a chief to lead the Oglesby Police Department.

For starters, I refuse to allow Mayor (Dominic) Rivara to pull the rug out from underneath me and further strip my position of its legal duties.

For a reason still never announced to me, Mayor Rivara decided this Wednesday to inform me that he intended to revoke my ability to appoint the chief of the Oglesby Police Department at Monday’s upcoming meeting of the Oglesby City Council.

This follows weeks of recent criticism of my performance as Commissioner of Public Health and Safety by Mayor Rivara.

This criticism has been based primarily on two issues:

1. Mayor Rivara’s desire to see policies enacted in May and fought over in August reversed

2. The need to hire another police officer to replace one who retired last year

In regard to issue 1, I verbally informed former Chief Knoblauch, at least a month ago, that he had my approval to reverse the May policies. He did not follow through on this until Jan. 14.

In regard to issue 2, I informed former Chief Knoblauch on Oct. 28 to start the process of hiring another police officer. He did not follow through on this, with me never so much as receiving an email back about the matter. I had to personally approach the police and fire commission back in December to get this started — a month later than it should have been started. I additionally had to go to Chief Knoblauch’s office earlier this month to get a definitive answer on how to even start the process.

Additionally, I informed former Chief Knoblauch countless times that he needed to place himself on the department’s schedule like every other officer. To this date, that order has still not been heeded, despite having the supposed support of the Oglesby City Council.

It turns out that I did not have much support, from the majority of the Oglesby City Council, to run my department whatsoever. From what I am aware, former Chief Knoblauch was regularly approaching one or two other council members about our department’s issues (even going so far as to pull certain commissioners downstairs after city council meetings), while I was hard pressed to even receive as much as an email from him unprompted.

What I perceived as a lack of communication, department morale, action, and the respect of political boundaries by the mayor ultimately resulted in me making a decision to appoint a chief to lead the Oglesby Police Department into the future.

This was not a decision that I was longing to make. I knew this decision would not make me the most popular man in town as I promised that I would retain former Chief Knoblauch during the 2019 municipal election. While I have kept my end of the bargain thus far, circumstances outside of my control have unfortunately forced my hand on this matter.

But maybe it was time for this decision to be made regardless, as perhaps the humiliating spectacle that was last spring’s municipal election showed that tensions and ill will run too deep among different factions in this city. I don’t know.

Whatever the case, the entire situation is a sad one. I am a believer, however, in doing what is best even if in the short-term I have to deal with threats and being called things such as a “liar,” an “idiot” or a “real piece of work.”

I am sorry if my actions yesterday disappointed you, but I am confident that I made the best decision for both my officers and the people of Oglesby.