No vote on Joliet citizen police board, but plans for future meetings set

While a proposal to form a Police Department Citizen Advisory Board didn’t get a vote during a Joliet City Council committee meeting Monday, those involved with the process made plans for future meetings with hopes of a vote in early January.

Members of the Land Use and Legislative Committee and leaders from two unions representing Joliet police officers aired their concerns about the proposal to give citizens a bigger say in police policies during Monday’s meeting.

“I just don’t think we are there yet,” Councilman Joe Clement, a retired Joliet police officer, said during the meeting.

Clement said that the city has yet to install a new police chief after the ousting of former Chief Dawn Malec last month, and that he or she should have input on the formation of the advisory board.

He and Council member Jan Quillman said they also took issue with a provision in the proposal to pay board members for their time and travel to meetings, since most members of other city commissions aren’t paid for their service.

Matt Breen, a sergeant with the Joliet Police Department and the vice president of the supervisors’ union, said his members have several questions about the proposal to form such a board.

“We are one of the major stakeholders and parties that are directly affected by this board,” Breen said. “Yet, we were never consulted or included in the creation of this new board.”

Breen added it might be appropriate to wait until the conclusion of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s civil investigation into the Joliet Police Department to form an advisory board.

He also said an attorney for the union would need to review any final plan laying out the duties of an advisory board to ensure their actions won’t come into conflict with the collective bargaining agreements between the unions and the city.

Several citizens who have been pushing for the formation of a citizen advisory board appeared frustrated with the lack of progress.

Christine Bright, the vice chair of the Will County Progressives, said this was the first time she had heard any input from police union members, even though she and other advocates have met several times with city staff and police leaders over the past year.

She said proponents of the advisory board have been actively engaged in the process and have even changed their proposal based on concerns from council members. For instance, Bright said her group wanted a budget for the board, but instead were willing to agree to a per diem to pay members for their time attending meetings.

Bright recalled Quillman admonishing her group for not being aware of a previous committee meeting and that keeping up with public meetings was up to residents.

“Same goes for the police union,” Bright said.

While Bright said she didn’t understand why the union representatives hadn’t engaged with the process until Monday’s meeting, she said she was “happy that everyone is finally here and showing up.”

All sides said they would try to organize a sit-down meeting with proponents of the advisory board, city staff, and the unions to hash out a mutually agreeable plan.

They said they aim to have that plan ready for the Land Use and Legislative Committee to vote on in early January.