Hebron extends contract with sheriff for policing as incoming mayor calls for change

To approve an extension of its contract with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office to provide patrols in Hebron, outgoing Village President Robert Shelton had to vote Monday.

That contract, which charges the village $70 an hour per officer, was approved on a 4-2 vote, with Shelton and Trustees Jonathan Mindham, Mark Shepherd and Shirlee Correl voting in favor. Trustees Josh Stevens and Dawn Milarski voted no.

Shelton typically only votes to break a tie, but as the agreement would spend village money, it needed four votes to pass, village attorney Michael Smoron said.

The contract now extends to May 31. It offers sheriff’s deputies the opportunity sign up for one total four-hour patrol in Hebron each day, either from 6 to 10 a.m., 2 to 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. to midnight.

Hebron Chief of Police Peter Goldman remains the only working officer at the department, as a sergeant is on injury leave. Goldman has not had an applicant for the advertised officer positions since February, Goldman told the board.

The department’s future is unknown. According to the apparent winner of this month’s Hebron village president election, Steve Morris, he would like to appoint an interim chief of police after he is sworn in.

“I want this to be more than just my decision,” Morris said prior to Monday’s Village Board meeting of a potential new chief of police, adding that he had not spoken to Goldman but has asked he attend the May 12 swearing-in meeting.

Morris said he plans to put together a committee, including trustees and residents, to interview candidates for the chief’s job “and present me with whoever is the best candidate,” Morris said.

He has spoken with former Hebron Chief of Police Juanita Gumble as well, Morris said, adding she may be the person appointed as interim chief.

Gumble was dismissed following a contentious meeting last July at which many residents protested the vote. She was the third Hebron chief of police since late 2022.

Morris said he had hoped the county contract would be voted down.

“We have spent a half-year’s normal police officer’s salary on this contract. We cannot sustain that,” he said.

According to village records, Hebron was charged by the county $6,440 on March 18 for 92 hours of patrol, $735 on March 21 for responding to 10 dispatch calls and one “sex offender” call that month, $7,350 on April 3 for 105 hours of patrol, and $4,410 on April 4 for 62 dispatch calls and two sex offender calls. The contract charges Hebron $70 an hour per officer for the patrol hours, and $70 per call for dispatch calls when an officer is not available in Hebron.

There is more to do in Hebron to fix its problems, Morris said, adding “Hebron has been a hot mess” since 2005. That was when Hebron chose to build a new $4.5 million wastewater treatment plant rather than spend $2 million to update the old facility. Kennedy Homes was set to bring 300 new houses to Hebron before that builder went bankrupt during the Great Recession. Sewer bills in the village “went from $40 to $50 to $200″ to pay off that loan, Morris said.

“I think the next administration could not do worse unless we find a jackhammer and dig ourselves further into the hole we are trying to dig ourselves out of,” he said.

Former Village President Frank Beatty – who also ran again for the position this month against Shelton and Morris – was followed by John Jacobson and Kimmy Martinez. Jacobsen had pending drug charges when he was elected, and opponents said Martinez overstaffed the police department. Shelton ran on a platform of defunding Hebron police.

“This is not normal,” Morris said of the past 20 years of Hebron governance. “We can’t keep digging and digging. There has to be a bottom here.”

Morris said he wants to advocate for change in Hebron, including enforcing property maintenance codes and business regulations, but without causing any of the pushback from swings too far in either direction.

“We are 100% at square one. We need the trust back in trustee,” Morris said, repeating his campaign slogan. “We need to make our village reputable again and not the laughingstock of McHenry County. We need to have ethics and honesty brought back and, eventually, civility brought back to village politics.”