Officer Bill Busse No Longer With City of Joliet

JOLIET, IL — Joliet police officer Bill Busse, who faces two separate criminal trials at the Will County Courthouse accusing him of attacking and harming his ex-wife, is no longer on the city of Joliet payroll, Patch has learned.

City officials told Patch this week that an agreement was recently put in place to bring an end to Busse's employment with Joliet. In May 2019 and in December 2019, Busse got arrested by New Lenox on domestic violence charges, landing him in the Will County Jail.

Busse is tentatively set to go on trial next month for one of his domestic battery cases, although that particular criminal case was previously supposed to go to trial in February, only to get delayed for several months at the last minute.

The Joliet Police Department administration of Chief Al Roechner informed Busse in February 2020 that he was being fired.

As allowed under the terms of his Fraternal Order of Police union contract with the city, Busse appealed his termination to the city's police and fire board. Doing so allowed him to remain on the city payroll and continue to collect his regular pay, every two weeks.

At no point in 2020 did Roechner go to the police and fire board to present his case justifying why Busse's firing was justified. In January, Roechner stepped down as chief of police.

Meanwhile, as long as Busse remained at his home in Homer Glen, collecting regular city pay, the Joliet Police Department remained down another patrol officer.

Now that Busse has officially severed ties with Joliet, the police administration can move forward in filling his position.

Last December, Joliet Patch reported that Busse filed a Will County lawsuit against the Joliet Police Pension Board, contending that the board made an improper decision in June 2020 when it voted to reject Busse's request to obtain a disability pension as a result of a hand injury he suffered on Feb. 23, 2017.

According to his lawsuit, Busse was 36, divorced and the father of two small children when the Joliet police pension board considered Busse's request for a disability pension last June 29.

A current Homer Glen resident, Busse joined the Joliet Police Department in June 2013 and before that, served on the Park Forest Police Department where he was on the SWAT team.