Joliet Junior College board to vote on interim police chief

The Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees will vote next Wednesday on the appointment of an interim police chief and the resignations of three college administrators.

JJC police Cmdr. Melvin Cornelius has been asked to serve as the interim police chief effective July 5, the college’s spokeswoman Kelly Rohder-Tonelli said. Cornelius has served as the watch commander at JJC since 1999, she said.

Cornelius is expected to replace JJC Police Chief Pete Comanda, who is scheduled to retire on the Fourth of July.

Comanda said he has talked about retiring from the college for the past two years and it had nothing to do with a college investigation in which several employees substantiated allegations that he made "racially-based statements" and engaged in bullying, intimidation and threats, according to a memo from Rob Galick, the college's vice president of administrative services.

The Board of Trustees plan to vote on a resolution honoring Comanda and five other retirees, according to the agenda.

Rohder-Tonelli said the college has engaged GovHR USA to serve as an external search firm for the police chief position. She said the position is posted nationally.

“This is critical to develop a broad candidate pool. GovHR also has specific experience in law enforcement recruitment, which is an absolute necessity considering the specific skills required to be successful in this position and field,” she said.

The trustees will also vote on accepting Galick’s resignation, as well as the resignation of Malinda Carter, human resources executive director, and Randall Fletcher, vice president of academic affairs.

Fletcher accepted a position at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida, and his last day was June 12, according to Rohder-Tonelli. Galick will work for Harper College and Carter will work in the Virginia Community College system, she said.

“As you can see, these individuals are leaving JJC for other professional opportunities, and in an unintentional way, all opportunities were offered and accepted within the same month,” Rohder-Tonelli said. “Because we are so close to the end of the fiscal year, this is a rather typical hiring cycle for many institutions and organizations. Without question, they will be missed — they’ve had an amazing impact on the college during their time with us.”

Amy Gray will serve as interim academic affairs vice president, Pat Van Duyne will serve as interim administrative services vice president and Judy Connelly will serve as interim human resources executive director, Rohder-Tonelli said.