'Wrongly Accused' Joe Clement Blasts Ex-Joliet Chief, Deputy Chief

JOLIET, IL — Joliet City Councilman Joe Clement, who was falsely accused of providing Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk with a photograph of Don "Duck" Dickinson's private parts to use for blackmailing purposes, spoke up at Tuesday's meeting. Clement's comments came on the heels of the 49-page inspector general's investigation recommending felony charges for former Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner and former deputy chief, Marc Reid.

"I have read the entire 49-page and it was a lot worse than I could have imagined," Clement announced at Tuesday's council meeting. "In addition to alleged criminal acts, the Inspector General and the Illinois State Police believe there should have been charges after their lengthy investigation.

"The reported collusion of former Police Chief Al Roechner and Deputy Police Chief Marc Reid in this scheme will reflect negatively on each and every honest Joliet police officer. If citizens of Joliet believe that high ranking police officers can frame our mayor or any mayor of this city for a crime that was never committed, then why would our citizens ever believe they can get a fair shake in our criminal justice system?"

Interim city manager Jim Hock rescinded Clement's entire 25-day unpaid suspension from his personnel file, and Clement was being reimbursed $10,266 for the 25 days of lost wages from earlier that year. Clement agreed to accept a written reprimand from the city for a code of conduct violation.

During Tuesday night's meeting, Clement remarked that "like many other police officers and city employees, I was also targeted by Roechner and Reid for disciplinary action for invented statements and offenses that were later overturned. Rather than continue to be targeted, I retired only a few months before this alleged conspiracy began in November 2020.

"I told the newspaper back then, 'When you have a police chief who is more interested in settling scores and covering up his actions than maintaining public safety, it's time for a drastic change."

Clement's comments were published in the Joliet Patch in the 2020 article headlined,"Suspension Overturned: Joe Clement Gets $10K In Back Pay."

Before concluding his comments Tuesday night, Council Clement told everyone: "I think a federal investigation will shed a lot of light on other actions Roechner and Reid were involved in that harmed our great city, our police department, our hard-working citizens and the overall safety of the residents of Joliet."

Mayor Bob O'Dekirk announced the City Council will have a special public meeting at 5:30 p.m. next Monday, March 13 to discuss Inspector General Connolly's 49-page report.

O'Dekirk said he will recuse himself from participating in the Council's discussions. The city hopes to have Connolly and the Illinois State Police on hand to answer any questions.

"What I will say is that I knew what was going on, probably back in early 2021, meeting with the state police and some other people involved ... what I didn't know was the scope of this conspiracy and some of the individuals involved," O'Dekirk said Tuesday night. "I also know, from my involvement in this, what's been released to the public, is not everything and that there is more coming. So, to those involved and those that think they're going to lie their way out of this, they're not. The truth is going to come out, the whole truth, about what happened here's going to come out. And I welcome the day that that happens.

"I think the people of Joliet need to know what their elected officials and other department heads are doing. I want to commend the inspector general and his investigator and thank the Illinois State Police public integrity unit for shining a light on what happened here in our city."

As for Monday's special meeting, "I would encourage people to come out and see the Council at work. This is a thorny issue, but it's something that needs to be done," O'Dekirk said.

In his March 1 inspector general report, Westmont lawyer Sean Connolly recommended that Attorney General Kwame Raoul bring five felony charges including evidence tampering and official misconduct against Reid and two criminal charges including official misconduct against Roechner, who agreed to retire as Joliet police in January 2021.

Connolly determined that Reid and Roechner orchestrated a false police investigation accusing the mayor of felony intimidation regarding supposed photos of Councilman Don "Duck" Dickinson's genital area.

According to Connolly's report, Dickinson supposedly had exchanged compromising photos with a woman, and Dickinson was later told by former Joliet Councilman Jim McFarland, of Frankfort, that O'Dekirk had the naked photos, and O'Dekirk received them from Clement.

"As of Nov. 1, 2020, there was no evidence photographs of Dickinson's genitals were in anyone's possession, let alone Mayor O'Dekirk's possession," Connolly announced last week. "The group knowingly and speciously used Dickinson's trust to destroy him. Dickinson is, by his own admission, not a sophisticated politician ... Dickinson was one of the victims of this conspiracy.

"Regarding James McFarland, he lied about being told ... that Mayor O'Dekirk had photos of Dickinson's genitals. The rest of the cabal used this lie as the basis for the phony incident prepared by Reid."

After Tuesday's meeting, Clement told Patch that "I just want every citizen to read the report for themselves to make their own conclusions. My statement is statement. My statement is supporting myself, other employees and other police officers that were wrongly accused."

The inspector general's report focused on Reid and Roechner can be viewed on the city of Joliet website in its entirety.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Ex-Chief, Ex-Deputy Chief Conspired To Damage Mayor: IL State Police

Mudron: Dickinson Wanted To Get Ahead Of Private Parts Photo Scandal