Pat Cardwell, Dawn Malec, Tim Powers Leaving Joliet Police

JOLIET, IL — Two prominent members of the Joliet Police Department who both started on the same day, July 8, 1994, Joliet Police Sgt. Patrick Cardwell and former Joliet Police Chief Dawn Malec, are finishing up the final days of their career, Joliet Patch has learned.

Cardwell and Malec will be retiring in the early part of July. A third retiring Joliet police supervisor, Tim Powers, brought his Joliet police career to an end this week.

Malec, a lieutenant in traffic patrol, was promoted to Joliet's police chief in January 2021. She lasted only nine months on the job. After Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli realized he could not fire Malec, based on city statute, Malec's termination turned into a demotion and a salary reduction.

Joliet let Malec return to her previous rank as a traffic patrol lieutenant.

"Privately, Capparelli had nothing but disdain for Chief Malec," former Joliet Police and Fire Board Chairman Toldd Wooten told Joliet Patch last October. "In the two private conversations I had with Capparelli, he referred to Malec as dumb, an unmotivated lump, in over her head, and as always having an expressionless look on her face.

"He also stated, the only reason she got the job was because (City Councilman) Herb Lande was on some kind of liberal tangent," Wooten said at the time.

On Dec. 30, Joliet Patch broke the news that Malec was willing to leave and retire in 2022 if Joliet gave her a lump sum payout of $400,000 "to compensate her for the damage to her reputation," according to a proposed settlement submitted by Malec's attorney, Naomi Frisch of the Chicago law firm of Asher, Gittler & D'Alba.

In addition to $400,000, Malec's proposed settlement expected Joliet to let her retire with the job title of Joliet police chief "one year after the date the agreement is signed."

The Joliet City Council did not approve Malec's settlement proposal.

Malec spent most of her Joliet police career in patrol operations. She was promoted to sergeant in 2009, lieutenant in 2014, and she spent nine months as police chief in 2021.

A 1988 graduate of Joliet Catholic High School, Cardwell has been a Joliet police sergeant for more than 16 years.

He became a sergeant in March 2006.

During a period of heightened turmoil for the Joliet Police Department and Joliet's City Hall, Cardwell was a close ally of Al Roechner, who was eventually forced into an early retirement as Joliet's police chief in January 2021.

"Al's a good friend.· I've known Al since I was in the police academy," Cardwell testified during a federal lawsuit in late February. "I went to his retirement party."

In May, Joliet Patch reported that Cardwell was ordered to pay $500 of his own money and undergo a second deposition in Joliet Police Detective David Jackson's racial discrimination lawsuit against the Joliet Police Department, Roechner, Joliet Police Lt. Joe Rosado and a host of others.

Over the past four years, Cardwell served as president of the Joliet Police Supervisors Association. In that role, Cardwell thrust himself into the spotlight on a number of controversies, including the unpopular 2019 ouster of interim city manager Marty Shanahan.

Cardwell also spearheaded last October's expulsion of Joliet Police Sgt. Javier Esqueda from the Joliet Police Supervisors Association.

In February, Cardwell was asked during Jackson's lawsuit deposition about the removal of Shanahan as city manager in the summer of 2019.

"I attended a meeting, a council meeting before with several other board members where there ·were people there that were supporting Marty Shanahan and people that were speaking on his behalf," Cardwell testified. "I believe it was Councilwoman Quillman that asked if there was anybody here that is not in support of Marty Shanahan.· After she gauged the room, and she asked who was not in support of Marty Shanahan, I raised my hand."

During that deposition, Cardwell was asked by Jackson's lawyer whether he ever spoke with any City Council members about the removal of Shanahan outside that meeting.

"I'm going to, again, take union privilege. Anything between myself as a union president, in speaking with council members in regards to any type of collective bargaining issue, I'm not going to answer that," Cardwell testified.

In addition to Malec and Cardwell, Joliet Police Sgt. Tim Powers is retiring. This marked his final week on the job with the Joliet Police Department, officials told Patch.

Powers got promoted to sergeant in January 2016. He joined Joliet's police force in June 1997.

In January, Joliet Patch reported that 123 city of Joliet employees made more than $150,000 last year. From that list, Malec was 38th highest, making $168,590. Cardwell was 49th highest at $165,149 and Powers was 62nd, making $162,232.