The Oakbrook Terrace Police Department controversy in a west suburban town continues as the top two leaders, who were put on administrative leave last month, are set to return to their roles next week. The city’s mayor disclosed this information in a letter obtained by the ABC7 I-Team.
Despite this decision, the police force members express deep-rooted concerns, stating that the situation remains unchanged, and the department is facing a crisis of confidence.
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The Metropolitan Alliance of Police (MAP) Chapter 519, representing the police force’s union, has accused Police Chief Casey Calvello and Deputy Chief David Clark of fostering a “toxic work environment.” This environment has resulted in a lack of structure, staff shortages, and a significant decline in morale among Oakbrook Terrace Police Department personnel.
Calvello and Clark’s attorney said the allegations are lies, rooted in politics.
It was a surprise show of force at the Feb. 25 Oakbrook Terrace city council meeting when the police union cast a vote of no confidence in Chief Calvello and Deputy Chief Clark.
According to the union, all but one of Oakbrook Terrace’s 14 police officers on active duty signed their names to a letter, accusing the chiefs of creating a “toxic, hostile, and unhealthy work environment with a record-low officer retention rate since 2007.”
The police force writing to the city council, “Please become involved in an increasingly dire situation in your police department, we need your help.”
The following day, the I-Team reported that Mayor Paul Esposito placed both Calvello and Clark on paid administrative leave.
In a statement, Esposito said, “The city intends to conduct an inquiry regarding the allegations.”
Attorney Terry Ekl represents Calvello and Clark.
“It’s baseless, every single accusation,” Ekl said. “The fact that that the majority of the officers of the department signed up means nothing whatsoever to me, because their allegations aren’t true.”
Officers have told the I-Team it was no easy decision to speak out about their concerns.
“Nobody really likes to air dirty laundry,” said Police Sergeant Michael Hylton, one of the officers who signed that letter of no confidence.
Hylton said for years, he and others have tried to raise these problems with the department leadership, and the city’s mayor, but their concerns fell on deaf ears.
“When people call us, we come immediately,” Hylton explained. “And as police officers, the members of 519, we were looking for help to address these concerns with morale, culture and manpower, and they weren’t being addressed.”
We want an investigation to be held and let the facts bear out what they may. The facts, at least from the union’s position, will speak for themselves.
Michael Hylton, Oakbrook Terrace Police Sergeant
Among the allegations raised by the union include police leadership retaliating against officers who share concerns.
Both Calvello and Clark are named in a lawsuit filed last year against the city of Oakbrook Terrace by a former police officer who claims she was retaliated against after filing complaints with the city, including sexual harassment by a superior.
Calvello and Clark said the case is meritless, and Mayor Esposito, who is also named in the lawsuit, did not respond to the I-Team’s requests for comment on that pending case.
On Thursday, Calvello and Clark received notice that they would soon be returning to the force.
The I-Team obtained an email from Mayor Esposito to both Calvello and Clark stating he’s re-instating the police chiefs effective March 31, a little more than a month after he placed them on paid leave.
“Chief Casey Calvello and Deputy Chief Dave Clark will be reinstated for active duty, pending the outcome of the independent investigation of the allegations levied in the Union’s February 25 letter,” Esposito writes. “There has been no conclusive evidence produced around the allegations made at this time.”
The police union told the I-Team it’s unaware of any independent internal investigation taking place, looking into the concerns that were raised last month.
“It is disappointing to hear that Mayor Esposito has decided to re-instate the Chief and Deputy Chief without ever conducting a formal investigation into the claims and allegations of our Vote of No Confidence,” said Nicole DeMario, a spokesperson for MAP 519 and Oakbrook Terrace Police Sergeant.
DeMario added that earlier this month, the union was informed an independent investigator had been hired, and interviews with the entire police force were scheduled to take place, but those interviews were canceled last minute.
“The Union was informed that the investigations were canceled and that the investigator that was hired was no longer providing any services to the Oakbrook Terrace Police Department,” DeMario said on Friday. “MAP Chapter 519 still stands ready to defend its members and still looks forward to an investigation being conducted.”
When asked how Calvello and Clark plan to return to and lead the police force after the past month’s events, Ekl said they are ready.
“Knowing Chief Calvello and Deputy Chief Clark the way I do, they will go back to that department and they will run it the best possible way they can,” Ekl told the I-Team.
Hylton said the police force is counting on the facts that would come out in an independent internal investigation.
“We don’t want them to be gone, we want an investigation to be held and let the facts bear out what they may,” Hylton said. “The facts, at least from the union’s position, will speak for themselves.”
“We want an investigation to be held and let the facts bear out what they may,” Hylton said. “The facts, at least from the union’s position, will speak for themselves.”
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