Breaking: Mokena Hires Former Orland Park Police Chief To Serve In Interim Capacity

Mokena IL

24 November, 2020

4:47 PM

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From the Richard Free Press: By Jon DePaolis MOKENA, Ill. – Former Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy's retirement is being put on hold after the Village of Mokena Board of Trustees voted 6-0 Monday, Nov. 23, to hire the former U.S. Secret Service agent to serve as interim police chief. The vote – which came after an hourlong executive session to start the meeting – installs McCarthy as the temporary police chief, effective Tuesday, Nov. 24. He will be paid the prorated equivalent of a $130,000 salary for the time that he serves as interim police chief, and his agreement with the Village does not specify an exact end date. "We don't have an exact timeline," Village Administrator John Tomasoski said after the meeting. "For all parties involved, the shorter the better." McCarthy will be serving in the role in relief of current Mokena Police Chief Steven Vaccaro, who was placed on administrative leave earlier this month after the Village Board received a letter from the Patrol Officers and Sergeants of the Mokena Police Department expressing a vote of no confidence in the chief. After the Nov. 23 meeting, Mayor Frank Fleischer said the Village needed someone to serve in the interim role who would immediately command the respect of the officers on Day 1. "People have a lot of respect for Tim," Fleischer said. "We feel that he is somebody who when he walks into that building, he's going to get respect from the officers. That was very important for us to do." Tomasoski also pointed to McCarthy's reputation as a factor in the decision. "He has a proven track record of success," Tomasoski said. "He's local and knows the area in coming from Orland Park. We were fortunate that he was [available], as he retired in August 2020. "We are very happy and honored to get somebody of Chief McCarthy's ability and experience." While McCarthy will be expected to handle all the regular responsibilities and duties of the Mokena chief of police role, Tomasoski noted that the Village will not be asking the former Orland Park top cop to "come in and make fundamental policy or wholesale changes." "But he has the full authority of the police chief [role] to act over the operations and any issues he needs to attend to," Tomasoski said. Earlier this month, the Village Board members voted 6-0 during a special meeting to hire an independent legal firm – Hauser, Izzo, Petrarca, Gleason & Stillman, LLC – to handle the internal investigation into the claims made against Vaccaro. "The investigation is ongoing," Tomasoski said. When asked if the timeline of the investigation might be delayed due to the holidays and the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tomasoski granted that might be a factor. "With an investigation, you've got to talk to people and meet with them," he said. "I'd say with anything that we are doing right now, COVID is making it longer." Fleischer said the Village wants to be transparent about the investigation process. To do so, he said the Village "got the best doing both things." "We got the best for the special counsel, and we got the best as far as we're concerned to be the interim chief," Fleischer said. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.