Joliet Shells Out $100K On 2 Officers It Wants To Fire

JOLIET, IL — Under the administration of Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, the city of Joliet's efforts to terminate Joliet Police Officers Lionel Allen and Brian Nagra have moved forward at a snail's pace this year. In the meantime, the taxpayers of Joliet have shelled out nearly $105,000 to pay the two police officers who haven't worked a day on the job since early January.

In another exclusive watchdog public spending story, Joliet Patch tracked down the city of Joliet's payroll records for Allen and Nagra since January, when the city reported both officers had been fired by Chief of Police Al Roechner for completely different reasons.

However, both officers appealed their terminations to the city's five-member police and fire commission, which is appointed by Mayor O'Dekirk. January came and went, so did February, March, April, May and the first half of June.

The city of Joliet has yet to schedule a termination hearing for Nagra or Allen.

According to the payroll records, Nagra has had 13 regular paydays since he appealed his dismissal from the Joliet Police Department.

Patch totaled up his payments, and they top $52,000.

This week, as Joliet Patch previously reported, Nagra celebrates his 20th anniversary on the force; meaning he can submit his retirement papers and obtain his retirement pension and the city can't stop him from doing so.

As for Joliet Police Officer Lionel Allen, the 30-year veteran of the Joliet Police Department, he has had 13 regular paychecks totaling more than $52,350 since he notified the city that he was appealing his termination by Chief Roechner in January.

Like Nagra, the current city administration has let the past six months pass without scheduling a termination hearing for Allen in front of the police and fire board as well.

In sum, the taxpayers of Joliet have now paid out at least $104,000 in total to Allen and Nagra even though neither officer has been working at all this year, which also means the city is down two regular officers on regular patrol.

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On a side note, Monday's pre-council meeting and Tuesday's regular meeting of the Joliet City Council are expected to be heated and City Hall is certain to be packed. A city council coalition, led by Joliet Catholic High School alumni and insurance agent Pat Mudron, apparently has enough votes to get rid of Marty Shanahan, as interim city manager.

Some members of the council, who are being called "The Mudron Five,"believe Shanahan is too closely aligned with Mayor O'Dekirk and they prefer to have their own person as city manager, someone they can control, city of Joliet observers informed Patch.

This week's city council meetings involving Shanahan's fate may be reminiscent of the movie scene at the church where the town is forced to take a vote on whether or not to fire Gene Hackman as the small-town Indiana basketball coach, in the classic movie, "Hoosiers."