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Des Plaines aldermen push for investigation of police department

Des Plaines Alderman Jim Brookman is pushing for an outside investigation of the city police department, saying that several questionable incidents in the last few months could mean systemic problems with the department.

Brookman, chairman of the city council's legal and licensing committee, has scheduled a public meeting of the committee for 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall to interview two firms who specialize in such investigations.

Brookman and other aldermen are upset about a shouting match that allegedly occurred when Police Chief Bill Kushner confronted a Forest Park auxiliary police officer he accused of leaking internal police information to the press. They've also questioned why four officers were dispatched to arrest Alderman Dick Sayad after a resident pressed a criminal trespassing charge before the recent election; why a derogatory photo depicting Sayad was allowed to be posted on the walls of the police station; and how two Department of Defense rifles loaned to police went missing.

Meanwhile, Alderman Denise Rodd said the council has already directed City Manager Mike Bartholomew to present them options about a potential investigation of the police department, and she'd be open to hiring an outside firm if that's what he recommends.

“(Brookman) appears to have gone rogue and taken this on himself,” Rodd said.

Brookman said he wants to move the process along.

“I don't need staff to think for me. I want the information directly from the companies that do the work,” Brookman said. “It was supposed to be a discussion in executive session but Alderman Rodd was at a party.”

Aldermen have been discussing police issues behind closed doors this month, but Brookman said he decided to call Thursday's public meeting after some council members “boycotted” an executive session before Monday's council meeting.

He said he believes it was a deliberate attempt to prevent a discussion from occurring that may have led to the hiring of a private investigative firm. Only Brookman, Sayad and Alderman Mark Walsten were there for the meeting, and Alderman Patti Haugeberg phoned in via conference call — but Brookman was told they needed more people in person for a quorum.

Rodd said she and the other aldermen missed the closed session because they were at a ceremony for outgoing Des Plaines Elementary District 62 Board President Brenda Murphy.

When Brookman tried to go into executive session at the end of Monday's meeting, however, it failed on a 4-4 vote.

Rodd, who voted against the closed session, said she'll oppose all future executive sessions until aldermen who have publicly revealed details about previous closed sessions step forward.

She says it's against the council's code of ethics, and those who violate the code should be subject to penalties.

Aldermen began closed door discussions about police department conduct this month after Kushner's visit to the Forest Park Police Department.

Then, on Feb. 27, four officers picked up Sayad on a criminal trespassing charge, following an incident two days before when the alderman walked into a house and up a flight of stairs, thinking the building was divided into apartments.

Soon after, a picture of a toad, with the words “I thought it was a two-flat!!” was posted on a wall in the police station. It was later removed.

Meanwhile, in February 2014 the department was cut off from the federal military surplus program because a pair of missing M-16A1 rifles given to the department disappeared and have yet to turn up.

Kushner said he has told aldermen that his department is open to scrutiny, even if they want to call in the FBI or U.S. Department of Justice.

But by asking for an outside firm Brookman says he wants a wider scope departmental assessment — where the firm might recommend rule changes, training or best practices.

“It's not a witch hunt,” Brookman insists. “I think there may in fact be problems and things that need to be assessed.”

At the committee meeting, aldermen are expected to hear about the services offered by investigators Michael Siegel and the firm Hillard Heintze, which complied a report about the Schaumburg Police Department in 2013 after three officers were arrested on drug conspiracy charges.

The three-member legal and licensing committee is composed of Brookman, Sayad and Haugeberg, though other council members are welcome. The committee cannot set policy, but make recommendations for the full council to consider.

Kushner said he doesn't know if he will be able to attend the meeting if he is still handling street detail for Cardinal Francis George's burial at All Saints Cemetery.

“We have nothing to hide,” Kushner said. “We have definitely turned the corner in terms of policies and procedures and attitudes and we are trying our best to win back the public trust.

“It's an ongoing process. Things didn't get screwed up overnight, and they're not going to get fixed overnight.”

“We have an awful lot of very good, honest, dedicated personnel that work in this police department. For the most part, not 100 percent, but by and large the majority of officers are doing the right thing on a daily basis for the right reasons.”

Bill Kushner
Denise Rodd
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