Judge Upholds Mokena Police Board Decision To Reinstate Officer

MOKENA, IL — A Will County judge Monday affirmed a 2020 ruling by the Village of Mokena Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (BOFPC) to reinstate and "make whole" a commander on the Mokena Police Department.

Will County Circuit Judge John Anderson, in his 22-page decision, ruled that former Mokena Police Chief Steve Vaccaro "exceeded his statutory authority" by firing Mokena Police Commander Christoper Carlson on June 30, 2020, without first filing charges with the board.

Anderson ruled that Carlson is entitled to back pay, reimbursement for insurance premiums, post judgment interest and credit for sick time. Additionally, Anderson wrote that the BOFPC's decision to reinstate Carlson "is affirmed in its entirety."

Assistant Village Administrator Kirk Zoellner said the Mokena Village Board of Trustees is "considering its options" in regard to Anderson's ruling.

Carlson's job performance "outstanding"

Carlson was hired in 1993 as a patrol officer with the Mokena Police Department. He was promoted to the rank of commander by way of appointment by Vaccaro July 20, 2018, according to court documents.

Anderson wrote that Vaccaro later testified that Carlson's promotion was "a very positive time in the police department" because it was "promoting from within."

Vaccaro characterized Carlson's job performance at that time as "outstanding," according to court records.

At the time of his promotion, the Village required Carlson to move within the Village limits within one year.

On March 1, 2019, Carlson requested a one-year extension on the residency requirement by the Village, according to court documents. That extension was granted by Vaccaro June 30, 2019. The extension was good through June 30, 2020.

Vaccaro, in granting the extension, wrote that Carlson "would be terminated from employment" if he did not establish residency by the new deadline, according to court documents.

Carlson did not meet that requirement by the new deadline, and Vaccaro later testified that he fired Carlson by way of a memo June 30, 2020.

Carlson appealed his termination with the BOFPC July 2, 2020. The Village objected to the BOFPC's jurisdiction on the matter Aug. 18, 2020, according to court records. The BOFPC decided it did have jurisdiction, and hearings on the Carlson matter were held Sept. 10-24, 2020.

Anderson ruled — as did the BOFPC after its hearings when they reinstated Carlson Sept. 24, 2020 — that, according to state law, the Village could not impose a stricter residency requirement than what was in place at the time of a police officer's initial hiring.

The Village in 1993 required police officers to live within 10 miles of the Village limits, according to court documents. Carlson had lived within 5 miles of the Village limits throughout his time with the Mokena Police Department.

State law also prohibits making a residency requirement a condition of promotion, court records showed. Therefore, the 2018 and 2019 residency requirements were "unenforceable as a matter of law because the Village is prohibited from executing contracts that violate state law," Anderson wrote.

The Fallout

Following the BOFPC's decision to reinstate Carlson — and after Mokena Mayor Frank Fleischer was reelected for another term in April 2021 — Fleischer began to quickly remove the commissioners who reinstated Carlson.

Mike Moran, who served on the BOFPC for more than 30 years and was one of its founding members, said he was the first to get notice from Fleischer in 2021 that he would not be reappointed for another term.

Moran was replaced July 26, 2021, by Village of Burr Ridge Police Chief John Madden.

Ron Brannan, who was the chairman of the BOFPC at the time, was removed from his seat via a unanimous vote by the Mokena Village Board of Trustees during a special meeting July 14, 2021. Brannan had been a member of the BOFPC for 13 years.

Brannan was replaced Aug. 9, 2021, by Mark W. Anderson, a retired Air Force major general.

The Board of Trustees accused Brannan of "violating his oath of office by communicating with an officer prior to the officer's hearing before that board, creating the appearance of impropriety and for providing incomplete or misleading information to the Village during its review of the matter," according to Village documents.

Brannan, in an interview with Patch Friday, called the allegations "bogus."

He said the real reasons he was removed were because the BOFPC "was too autonomous" from the Village and the Mokena Police department under his chairmanship, that he wasn't "a team player," and that both he and Moran supported one of Fleischer's opponents in the last election, all of which irked Fleischer.

Brannan said that in a meeting with Fleischer, Village Administrator John Tomasoski and Trustee George Metanias prior to Brannan's removal, Fleischer demanded his resignation, which Brannan did not comply with.

The third BOFPC member, Secretary Christopher Surdel, resigned just one day following Brannan's ousting.

Surdel was replaced Dec. 13, 2021, by Mark Long, a retired Willowbrook police officer.

In the 10 months since Fleischer gutted the BOFPC, Village records show that the current BOFPC has canceled multiple meetings, including three consecutive this year in March, April and May. No minutes from any of the new BOFPC meetings have been made public.

"Based on the law"

Both Brannan and Moran told Patch Friday they feel "vindicated" following Anderson's ruling, but there was still anger that they had to fight a legal battle with the Village in the first place.

"As volunteers, to be shunned, to be canceled out like that, it should never have been done," Moran said. "It's deplorable."

Prior to speaking with Patch Friday, Moran addressed the Board of Trustees during the public comments portion of its Monday meeting to talk about Anderson's ruling.

Moran lambasted the trustees during his comments. He called for the board to fire Village attorney Carl Buck and said each board member should resign "for incompetency."

He said "it was clear" the BOFPC "rendered our decision [to reinstate Carlson] based on the law."

"And you folks all disregarded that, never spoke to us, never discussed it with us, never asked us our opinion, but went to your attorney Carl Buck and appealed it to Will County court," Moran said. "It took two-and-a-half years for Will County court to make a decision that we made after three short hearings."

Things turned contentious when Metanias, who was once again filling in as mayor pro tempore in Fleischer's absence, attempted to cut Moran off, telling him his three minutes allotted for comments were up.

"You're finished," Metanias told Moran. "Your three minutes are up. That's our ordinance."

"You didn't even follow your own ordinance when you fired that police officer," Moran shot back.

You can read Will County Circuit Court Judge John Anderson's ruling in full below.