Deputy Reilly Sues Will Co. Sheriff Mike Kelley Claiming Retaliation

JOLIET, IL — Will County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Reilly, who lost by 1 percent of the vote in November's Will County Sheriff's race, has filed a federal retaliation lawsuit against his boss and political foe, Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley, according to another Joliet Patch exclusive.

The lawsuit informs the federal judge that in 2022, Reilly ran against Kelley for Will County Sheriff, narrowly losing the race and that "during that campaign ... Kelley revealed the politically motivated reasons for repeatedly passing over Reilly for promotion to sergeant."

The lawsuit noted that on July 13, 2022, the Will County Sheriff’s Police Deputies’ Labor Union hosted a debate between Kelley and Reilly at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 738 meeting hall in Joliet.

"At that debate, when asked why he had never promoted Reilly to the position of sergeant, Kelley admitted that his decision was not based on merit but instead upon campaign statements made by Reilly which had allegedly placed Kelley in an unfavorable light," the lawsuit states. "Kelley added, 'Why would I promote him? Who would do that?'"

"Kelley’s July 13, 2022, admission made clear that his decision to bypass Reilly for demonstrably less qualified individuals in the Sheriff’s Department had nothing to do with merit, but was solely in retaliation for Reilly exercising his constitutional rights by running against him in the elections for Will County Sheriff and making protected political statements in the course of a campaign," the plaintiff's argued.

According to Reilly's federal lawsuit:

• Reilly joined the Will County Sheriff’s Office in 2013.
• By 2016, he was routinely receiving exemplary marks on his yearly performance evaluations.
• That year, he met or exceeded all performance standards and was named Deputy of the Year.
• In 2017, Reilly outperformed his 2016 evaluation, achieving a perfect score and exceeding the standards in all categories.
• In 2017 Reilly and several other Will County deputies were eligible for the sergeant promotional exam. Reilly finished top of his class and was placed first on the Sergeant Promotional List.
• Over the next several years, Kelley declined to promote Reilly to the position of sergeant, promoting six other individuals instead, including deputies with far lower scores on the promotional exam. One such deputy was promoted to sergeant even though there was not a vacancy at the position.
• To date, Kelley never documented any legitimate reasons for selecting other candidates for promotion over Reilly.

The Will County Sheriff's Office did not return phone calls seeking comment for this article about Reilly's lawsuit against the sheriff.

Three lawyers filed the lawsuit on behalf of Reilly: Paul K. Vickrey, Patrick F. Solon and Dylan M. Brown of the South Wacker Drive law firm of Vitale, Vickrey, Niro, Solon & Gasey.

"The Will County Sheriff, Michael Kelley, repeatedly passed over Deputy James Reilly for promotion to sergeant, even though Reilly is highly decorated veteran in law enforcement and was previously the highest scoring applicant on the certified sergeant promotional list," the federal lawsuit argued. "In July 2022 that Kelley admitted that the reason why he passed over Reilly was not due to merit, instead it was because of campaign comments that Reilly made when the two were opposing candidates for Will County Sheriff. Kelley’s punishment of Reilly was for Reilly’s protected political speech, made on his personal time as a candidate in an election campaign. Plaintiff Reilly brings this action to redress an unlawful First Amendment retaliation."

The lawyers for Reilly are asking that a federal jury trial and a judgment against Sheriff Kelley and the Will County Sheriff's Office:

• Declaring that Kelley's conduct violated Plaintiff’s constitutional right to due process
• Compensatory damages for Plaintiff’s lost employment opportunities
• Compensatory damages for the mental anguish, humiliation, degradation, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and damage to reputation;
• Punitive damages as allowed by law as against Kelley;
• An award of reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and litigation expenses.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Kelley Will Remain Sheriff For 3rd Term After All, GOP Loses 3 Races

Reilly Expected To Win Will Co. Sheriff: 'I Could Not Be Happier'