Retired Joliet cop charged with felonies still seeking Kendall County veterans court entry

A retired Joliet police lieutenant is still fighting to get his criminal case moved to veterans court and has requested intervention from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

On April 30, 2019, Dennis McWherter, 56, was indicted in Kendall County on several charges of official misconduct and possession of a controlled substance. He allegedly took an opioid from a police drop box at the Joliet Police Department’s west substation, which is in Kendall County.

McWherter, a U.S. Army veteran who according to court records achieved a Bronze Star in his military career, has applied to participate in the Kendall County veterans court program on April 13, 2021 but he was denied entry.

Prosecutors have objected to his participation because he does not meet the criterion that requires him to reside in Kendall County. McWherter resides in Lake County, according to his attorney, Jeff Tomczak.

McWherter’s case is set for a July 7 hearing on the issue.

Tomczak has filed a motion to declare the Kendall County residency requirement unconstitutional. He sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office on Sept. 9, 2021, asking Raoul to review the matter and join in his motion.

“Under the present scenario, veterans charged in one county and residing in another would be deprived of treatment and services, simply based upon residency,” Tomczak wrote to Raoul’s office.

Drew Hill, Raoul’s deputy press secretary, told The Herald-News that their office received Tomczak’s letter and is reviewing it.

The veterans court program in Kendall County is called Kendall County Veterans Treatment Court and it was established in April 2021, said Melissa Moore, a problem solving court coordinator.

The aim of the program is to reduce military veterans or service members charged with crimes from continuing to commit them by giving them mental health treatment and intensive judicial supervision in a “therapeutic court setting,” according to the program’s website.

Under the Veterans and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act, the successful completion of the program could result in a judge dismissing the charges against participants, terminating their sentence or otherwise discharging them from “any further proceedings against him or her in the original prosecution.”

In a motion, Tomczak contended state law has no restrictions on eligibility to a veterans court program based on the residence of the defendant.

Tomczak said Kendall County’s local rule on residency “significantly frustrates and eliminates the possibility” of veterans from receiving not only the services provided from a veterans court program but “also eliminates this potential sentencing alternative.”

“If the Legislature intended to limit veterans from receiving services only within the county where they reside, it would have had every opportunity to include consistent language in the statutory act,” Tomczak said.

In response, Kendall County Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Shlifka argued the local rule is consistent with state law.

Shlfika said state law allows the chief judge in the 23rd Judicial District — which covers DeKalb and Kendall counties — to restrict participation of defendants from all counties within the judicial circuit.

“This language is, in fact, a residency requirement, which expressly limits participation to defendants within the circuit,” Shlifka said.