Joliet Inspector General Connolly seeks to move lawsuit case to another county

Joliet’s inspector general is seeking to move his lawsuit seeking Illinois State Police investigation records to another county, following the Will County state’s attorney’s motion to intervene and dismiss the case.

On Wednesday, Joliet Inspector General Sean Connolly told Will County Judge John Anderson of his plan to file a motion for a change the venue where his lawsuit case would be heard.

Connolly’s lawsuit is seeking Illinois State Police records for his own investigation into allegations that retired Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner, his deputy chief Marc Reid and several others were part of a “cabal” who pressured former Joliet council member Don “Duck” Dickinson into filing a false police report against outgoing Mayor Bob O’Dekirk.

If Connolly’s motion is granted, it would move his case to another county other than Will County.

After Wednesday’s hearing, Connolly declined to comment on the motion, which he plans to file in the coming week.

The next hearing for the motion is slated for May 12.

Connolly’s plan to change the venue for his lawsuit case follows a motion from Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow to intervene and ultimately dismiss the lawsuit.

Connolly filed his lawsuit because Illinois State Police did not comply with his subpoena for its records into the Dickinson investigation. The agency instead treated the subpoena as a Freedom of Information request and provided him with police reports.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Meyers told Anderson he was ready to argue the motion to intervene. After hearing of Connolly’s planned motion for change of venue, Meyers said it was “premature” and Glasgow’s motion to intervene should be addressed first.

Anderson said he thought Connolly’s motion for a change of venue should be addressed first.

In Glasgow’s motion to intervene, he contends Connolly’s office is unconstitutional and as such he does not plan to comply with any requests or subpoenas from Connolly for his investigation into the alleged conspiracy against O’Dekirk.

By contrast, Connolly argued Glasgow is using his office to shield himself from questioning after his name came up in Illinois State Police reports that apparently show he was in contact with Dickinson. Glasgow himself has not discussed his communications with Dickinson or explained what they were about.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s Office has filed its appearance in Connolly’s case on behalf of Illinois State Police.

Assistant Attorney General Ashley Lonski said at Wednesday’s hearing that Illinois State Police does not take a position on either Glasgow’s motion to intervene or Connolly’s motion to disqualify the state’s attorney’s office from representing Glasgow.

Since the public release of Connolly’s March 1 report into allegations of a conspiracy against O’Dekirk, Connolly has filed a complaint with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to take away police certification of Roechner and Reid.

Connolly’s report also has also been forwarded to the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and Raoul’s office as well.