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Ex-Hinckley police chief charged with misconduct, eavesdropping

The former police chief of Hinckley, Kimberly S. Everhart, has been charged with official misconduct and eavesdropping for secretly recording a meeting with the village's president, Illinois State Police said.

Hinckley's interim chief, Gregg Waitkus, asked state police to investigate after discovering a recording in February on a department-issued cellphone that formerly was issued to Everhart.

The recording took place June 21, 2017, at Hinckley's village hall, according to charging documents filed in DeKalb County Circuit Court. The documents say she recorded the conversation without the permission of President Nancy Nelson.

Nelson had been elected president two months earlier. Everhart, 51, who lives in Plano, had been police chief since 2015.

Nelson could not be reached for comment Thursday.

On Dec. 3, 2018, the village board appointed Waitkus as an interim chief. DeKalb and Kendall County media outlets, including radio station WSPY, obtained a letter from the president to Everhart, dated Dec. 3, 2018, saying Everhart was being terminated. The only reason given was “a change of direction.”

The radio station also posted a copy of a complaint sent to Everhart, regarding a towed vehicle in November 2018. The complainant said it had not heard back from Everhart, despite leaving at least four voicemail messages, nor had any other officer replied to messages left daily for six days.

Minutes of a Nov. 28, 2018, village board meeting indicate that Everhart was still employed by the village as of that date. The same minutes indicate, however, that Nelson said she had tried to contact Everhart repeatedly the previous weekend about a matter, but the chief had not responded.

Everhart had worked for the village since 2013, first as a lieutenant, according to WSPY.

A 2015 DeKalb Daily Chronicle article reported that she had previously worked in Cortland and Genoa, and for the DeKalb County sheriff's office.

The charges against Everhart are felonies.

Her next court date is at 9 a.m. March 27 at the DeKalb County courthouse in Sycamore.

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