56 JPD Supervisors Got $8,466 Avg. Pay Hike On Jan. 1

JOLIET, IL — At the same time Joliet residents are paying more at the gas pump to fund the city's 2020 operating budget, a total of 56 Joliet Police Department supervisors are getting an average pay increase of $8,466, a Joliet Patch analysis found.

In January, the Joliet Police Department's captains, lieutenants and sergeants all received a significant across-the-board salary increase. The agency's four captains each got raises of $9,947. Ten Joliet police lieutenants got raises of $9,065. Three police supervisors got raises of $8,664 and 27 police supervisors received raises of $8,263.

A dozen Joliet Police sergeants received pay increases of $7,881 each.

The salary increases could impact the police department overtime budget moving forward because any hours worked above 40 hours is paid at the employee's overtime rate.

According to Joliet Patch's analysis, the following 14 Joliet Police Department supervisors all received pay increases in January of greater than $9,000:

• Capt. Jeff Allbert, $9,947 salary increase, new salary $152,046
• Capt. Bruce Larson, $9,947 salary increase, new salary $152,046
• Capt. Les O'Connor, $9,947 salary increase, new salary $152,046
• Capt. Rich Demick, $9,947 salary increase, new salary $152,046
• Lt. Steve Breen, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Robert Brown, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Bob Desiderio, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Joe Egizio, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Gregory Jordan, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Jeremy Harrison, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Kevin LaBolle, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Dawn Malec, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Tom Stein, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563
• Lt. Joe Rosado, $9,065 salary increase, new salary $138,563

These days, Joliet's Police Supervisors Association is led by Sgt. Patrick Cardwell. He and his management union are becoming a more powerful and influential force in City Hall politics. On June 18, 2019, Cardwell and three other off-duty Joliet Police Sergeants attended the Joliet City Council meeting for the vote on removing Marty Shanahan as interim city manager.

When City Councilwoman Jan Quillman asked for a show of hands in the crowd from people who wanted Shanahan gone from his job, Cardwell raised his hand, as did Sgt. Tom Grutzius, Sgt. Dave Harris and Sgt. Larry Collins. Sgt. Lindsey Heavener was also at the June 18 meeting in his uniform, and he had been working the phones calling several council members prior to the meeting encouraging them to get rid of Shanahan, Joliet Patch reported last summer.

Last summer, Patch reported that Cardwell has made at least $150,000 in total compensation every year since 2015. On Jan. 1, the 7-percent pay raise for Cardwell and his Joliet Police Supervisors Association took effect.

As a result, Cardwell's base salary increased by $8,263 to $126,306. Like Cardwell, Grutzius, Harris, Collins and Heavener all received identical $8,263 pay raises on Jan. 1.

Heavener subsequently retired at the end of January.

As part of the negotiated salary increase, the four police captains will not be replaced when the four current ones all retire. The first departure came in late January when Capt. Rich Demick retired after 28 years with the police department.

The city of Joliet has maintained that despite the 7-percent pay raise for the Police Supervisors Association, the city would recapture the savings in the long term when the four captain positions are no longer on the payroll.

Joliet's City Council approved the pay increases for the Joliet Police Supervisors Association on Jan. 15, 2019. For more information about the three-year contract, you can scroll through the entire 84-page document here.