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Elgin police chief, city manager ask for details behind no-confidence vote

Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley on Friday asked for a sit-down meeting with her rank-and-file officers to discuss why they supported a no-confidence vote against her this week.

On her weekly radio show, Lalley expressed support for her officers and posited as to what may have led to the no-confidence vote; she was unaware of it until she received an email from the police union while she was at a training session.

"I have not had an opportunity to sit down privately to answer their questions, to clarify and, also, if there are things that need to be apologized for, that is something that I think needs to take place in a private forum," Lalley said. "I, and the members of the command staff, will continue to support (the officers), even during times of conflict like this. We are here for them. Our hearts have always been there for them. I want them to know 'I hear you. I'm listening.'"

The union board meets with Lalley monthly and, at the last meeting in October, there were several discussions about officers feeling overworked due to others being out because of comp time, sick time, long-term illness, administrative leave and military leave.

There also still may be ill feelings around an emergency directive she put in place regarding work hours from May to September 2021, Lalley said, to make sure shifts were covered.

Shortly after that, she agreed to experiment with 12-hour shifts for patrol officers. It could have led to longer work days but also more full days off. The union rejected that plan. Since then, the city's community task force on policing has recommended hiring more police officers to balance the workload for existing officers. That plan is in Lalley's 2023 budget.

There have been difficult conversations over the past four and a half years about various reform measures, Lalley said. For example, not every officer was on board with body-worn cameras, but she now believes that has been resolved. Elgin's community task force on policing and the state's SAFE-T Act also will continue to fuel sometimes difficult changes.

More recently, Lalley fired an officer, Doug Neff, for having sex with another man's wife while on duty. Neff, who was nearing retirement, was fired for violating department policy, Lalley said, and if that played any part in the no-confidence vote, then that's just something she and the officers will continue to disagree about.

"My decision on that is unmovable for the sake of the department, the integrity of the department, the integrity of the officers and, most importantly, to not erode the trust and confidence of the public that we've been working so hard on over the past four years to build," Lalley said.

City manager Rick Kozal joined Lalley on her show and pointed out that, while he supports previous and current police reform efforts, they could be a source of possible tension.

"I have complete confidence in Chief Lalley and her command staff to navigate the difficult work that needs to be done going forward with the full recognition that this is a police department that stands above the rest," Kozal said, adding that the union threatened a similar vote of no-confidence against Lalley during tense negotiations on the current police contract.

"Magically, when we came to an agreement on that last contract, any of those threats for a vote of no confidence disappeared," Kozal said.

Negotiations are beginning on the next police union contract.

"We are not going to be offended by it," Kozal said. "It's an unfortunate bargaining method. We are going to go back to the table. We are going to collaborate. We are going to reach an agreement like we always do."

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