Joliet Police Lieutenant Who Isn't Coming To Work Will Retire

JOLIET, IL — For the past eight weeks, the Joliet taxpayers have paid demoted deputy police chief Marc Reid the highest salary at the entire Joliet Police Department to stay home from work, but that will end after April 4. That is Reid's final day of employment with the city after 26 years of service, Joliet Patch has learned.

A lieutenant in rank, Reid will officially retire one day after he turns 50 years old, according to a police department document obtained by Patch. On Thursday, Joliet police officials were notified of Reid's upcoming retirement.

Reid will be retiring at a much higher salary than what he made in 2019 and 2020, thus allowing him to “spike” his retirement pension from the city of Joliet.

Joliet Patch has left a voicemail message on Reid's work cell phone seeking comment about his retirement. He has not returned phone calls to Patch for any previous articles about his double-digit salary increase in January or his demotion around the same time.

Reid received a salary increase of nearly $18,000 during the same week of his demotion by the new chief of police. The raise was approved by new City Manager Jim Capparelli, who gave another demoted deputy chief, Darrell Gavin, the identical raise, an increase of 11.5 percent in pay.

Reid joined the Joliet Police Department in January 1995. With 26 years of service, Reid can expect to collect a city police pension at 65 percent of his final salary. That means Reid's starting pension could be least $111,478.

Even though Reid had an exemplary attendance record, Reid has not worked at the Joliet police station since new Chief Dawn Malec demoted Reid from her upper command staff effective Jan. 15.

Reid was reassigned to a lieutenant night watch commander position, but he has not worked once in his new assignment, according to police.

Within days of being demoted to a lieutenant, Reid obtained a doctor's note to remain home from the Joliet police station indefinitely.

Joliet Patch has previously reported that Reid is not believed to be ill. Patch saw Reid in the crowd at a Joliet City Council candidate's political fundraiser, at a Joliet bar on West Jefferson Street, in February.

City payroll records confirm that Reid, along with fellow demoted deputy police chief Gavin, both received pay raises of nearly $18,000 during Capparelli's first week on the job as city manager. That was also the same week that Reid, Gavin and Joe Rosado learned of their demotions from their positions as deputy chief. They had been made deputy chiefs during the administration of now-retired Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner.

Unlike Reid and Gavin, Rosado accepted his demotion and took a salary reduction of around $13,000, and he continues to come to work.

The city's fourth deputy chief under Roechner, Mike Batis, was kept in his position as deputy chief of technical services by the new city administration. Unlike Reid and Gavin, Batis was not the recipient of any salary increase, however.

Gavin retired within days of his pay hike after 22 years at the department, while Reid got a doctor's note allowing him to use up his extensive sick-leave bank and get paid to stay home from work at his new salary, which is now the highest in the department.

Since January, Reid has made a higher salary than all four current deputy chiefs, and he's making about $10,000 more than Malec, the new police chief.

In early January, Roechner negotiated a $31,045 raise with outgoing City Manager Jim Hock. The city's financial incentive convinced Roechner to accept a voluntary retirement rather than take the risk the city would fire him. Roechner had hoped to stay in his job until July, which would have marked his 30th anniversary with the department.

The double-digit raises for Gavin, Reid and Roechner were done to help them increase their retirement pensions from the city of Joliet.