Was Gilberts police chief demotion political?

Halfway through a closed-door meeting Tuesday to decide the future of longtime Gilberts Police Chief Mike Joswick, one of his supporters had a wishful thought.

"I'm hoping they come out and say 'We're going to agree to continue working together for the good of the village,'" said resident Sue Corbett.

But it was not to be.

In a 4-3 vote, Joswick was demoted from police chief to lieutenant. Three of the four votes to demote Joswick came from officials elected in April, raising questions of whether the move was political.

But Trustee Everett Clark, a former village president who was among the officials voting for the demotion, said the decision was neither personal nor political.

"This was basically a management issue," Clark said, "It evolved to almost really like battle lines. It reached the point of no return."

Clark was joined by trustees Nancy Farrell and Jesse Garcia, and Village President Rick Zirk, in voting to demote Joswick. Clark, Farrell and Zirk were elected to their posts in April.

Zirk attributed the change to "philosophical differences," saying Joswick refused to develop criteria to evaluate officers and the department to help them better serve residents.

Joswick said he did that, but received no feedback from the board.

Garcia and Farrell could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Zirk in April knocked off incumbent village president Tom Wadja, who had Joswick's support.

Two months later, Zirk decided to re-advertise the chief's position, saying Joswick could still apply. The village received 47 applications, including one from Joswick.

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police is reviewing the applications. In the meantime, Zirk is hopeful the group can recommend an interim chief, perhaps someone who is retired, until a full-time replacement is found.

Residents have rallied around Joswick, who had been with the department for 27 years, including the past 13 as chief.

Trustee Bruce Erbeck, one of three who backed Joswick, said he took into account the 620 homeowner signatures gathered by the residents supporting the now former chief.

Erbeck said he believes Joswick was open to change, and that finding a new chief could be costly.

"I voted my conscience based on the individual I know," Erbeck said. "This is no knock on him, but from my standpoint, we're looking for ideas, we're looking for ideas on how to change the perception of the police department from a non-nonsense police force to a friendly, neighborhood police force."

Village Administrator Ray Keller said the newly created lieutenant's position will earn $82,800 a year. Joswick earned $92,340 a year as chief.

Joswick said he has no plans to resign.

"We're past this," he replied when asked if his demotion was politically motivated. " It's hurting the village. We have to move on."