Sheriff recommends jail officer be fired
A Kane County corrections officer and former jail director should be fired, Sheriff Pat Perez is recommending.
Todd Exline, a 25-year department veteran, is slated to appear before the sheriff's department merit commission next month or October.
A date has not been set, but Perez has recommended the commission fire the 46-year-old Aurora man and current lieutenant.
"As a result of the investigation, (Perez) found sufficient evidence to recommend to the merit commission to terminate Mr. Exline's employment," said sheriff's department Lt. Pat Gengler, who would not elaborate on Perez's findings or recommendation. "All of it will come out at the hearing."
Exline was suspended without pay Friday after being on paid administrative leave since Aug. 9.
He was charged with driving under the influence three days after a June 29 incident in Geneva.
A witness called police to report Exline's Chevy Suburban driving erratically that night.
A Batavia police officer who followed the vehicle did not notice anything wrong but pulled Exline over to investigate at 11:26 p.m. on Bennett Street south of Mill Race Inn in Geneva. Exline failed field dexterity tests but did not take a breath test, police said.
Tim O'Neil, the attorney representing Exline in the disciplinary matter, could not be reached for comment Friday.
David Camic, an attorney representing Exline in the DUI case, has argued it was inappropriate for Perez to order an internal investigation by the department's Office of Professional Standards before his client had his case heard in court.
"We're shocked that Sheriff Perez, who claimed to be a champion of justice, would act before the courts," Camic said Friday.
Exline's next court appearance is Aug. 28.
If the Office of Professional Standards determines Exline was in the wrong, punishments could mean suspension, demotion or termination, officials said.
A punishment would be meted out by the merit commission, which also would hear an appeal.
Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Kelly Orland was a passenger in Exline's vehicle and was suspended for a week for the incident.
State's Attorney John Barsanti said she was suspended because of poor judgment, not because she broke a law.
In June, Barsanti formulated a formal policy for drinking off duty, telling prosecutors and their support staff they can be fired if caught drinking heavily and then driving.
The policy followed the May 11 death of a DuPage County prosecutor who was killed in a crash after drinking with fellow off-duty prosecutors.