Burr Ridge Police 'Appalled' By Trustee's Comments

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge officials, including the police chief, took a village trustee to task last week for asserting Burr Ridge was suffering a crime wave and suggesting that the police themselves were behind some crimes.

They were referring to an opinion piece that Mottl posted on the Burr Ridge Patch website on Aug. 6. He said he repeatedly tried to get answers from Police Chief John Madden and Village Administrator Doug Pollock about what they were doing to stop the "crime wave."

"More transparency from village officials about a plan of action would not only help reassure residents but end the speculation that organized crime, or even the police themselves, are behind some of the crimes," Mottl wrote. "It's happened before. Back in the early 1980s, some members of the police department were caught running license plates of cars parked at local restaurants, and notifying their partners in crime of the home addresses of those dining."

At last week's Village Board, Chief Madden said Mottl's comment was baseless and without merit.

"That comment is also personally offensive to me and the men and women of the Burr Ridge Police Department," he said. "Our officers do not deserve the speculation that they are somehow involved in criminal activity. Frankly, his comments disgust me."

Burr Ridge detective Mike Cervenka acknowledged what happened in the early 1980s, calling it a "sad chapter" in the village's history. But he said the criminal activity happened more than four decades ago and that not a single member of the department from back them is still on the force.

Noting Mottl's call for transparency from the police department, Cervenka said he asked for the same from Mottl.

"Is he insinuating that there is police corruption or some type of connection to organized crime in our current police department? As a public official, he is obligated to bring it to the board's attention immediately, so it can be corrected," Cervenka said.

He said no department member is involved with organized crime.

"The insinuation that any member of this police department is behind any crime is totally asinine," Cervenka said. "The members of the police department are shocked and appalled by this article."

Like other trustees, Mottl was connected to the meeting remotely. He said the chief should have answered his questions in March.

"If you are offended, the offense is on yourself and your failure to take action. Now as far as your work in the village, I have never said your officers aren't doing a fine job," he said.

He said the chief hasn't presented a new plan to combat crime, only talking about the "same ol', same ol'."

The mayor, other trustees and members of the police and fire commission spoke at the meeting in support of the police department.

Chief Madden presented numbers that he said showed the village wasn't suffering a crime wave.

In 2019, Mottl lost to Mayor Gary Grasso in the mayoral election. He has since tangled with the mayor and the other trustees. He has been censured three times, twice for calling Grasso a "mobster," which was considered an ethnic slur against the Italian American mayor. Mottl denied it was an ethnic slur.