Will County Gazette

A retired veteran of the Frankfort Police Department, Scott Potter, has voiced serious concerns about the state of the department following years of management issues under the current village administration. Calling for change, Potter supports Justin Ozinga’s challenge to Frankfort Mayor Keith Ogle in the April 1 election. 

"I’d like to see some fresh blood in the village administration,” he said. 

Potter, who served his entire 29-year law enforcement career with the department—beginning at age 21—before retiring in October 2023, expressed disillusionment at the decline in the department’s morale and effectiveness under the village’s current leadership.

Potter’s frustration with the situation runs deep. 

"It’s heartbreaking. I worked for 30 years in this town, and now I have no emotional connection to it," he told the Will County Gazette. "It’s really been ruined. They’re not getting the service they’re paying for."

According to Potter, responsibility for failures in the Frankfort Police Department fall squarely on the shoulders of Ogle and Frankfort Police Chief Leanne Chelepis.

"I do see that Mayor Ogle put out some sort of public statement," Potter said. "He’s basically bragging that he hired 14 police officers during his first term. What he doesn't mention is that these 14 officers were hired because 14 others left. Three of us retired, and the rest left because they were unhappy with the micromanaging that was going on with the new police chief. All these departures happened from August 2021, when Leanne was appointed chief, to just this past fall."

According to Potter, the impact of the turnover has been devastating, not just in terms of lost personnel but also the financial burden placed on taxpayers. 

"It's thousands of dollars, many hours of training, and uniform costs that the taxpayers are footing the bill for," he said. "And the mayor knew about the issues and failed to address them. Instead, they just kept throwing money at a lost cause."

Potter also questioned the village’s upper management about why they failed to address these issues and take action, while noting that poor morale had become a major concern within the department.

"You look at any business when you start seeing a high use of sick time, that's usually indicative of low morale," he said. 

Potter pointed out that much of the exodus occurred because of management's “micromanagement” style. 

"They rule through fear, intimidation and retaliation," he added. “When you combine those two, it's completely counterproductive.” 

Potter also noted the high cost of constantly training new recruits who ultimately leave for other departments. 

"When you send someone to the basic training academy, it’s 12 to 16 weeks of training, followed by another 16 weeks of field training," Potter said. "You’re paying two salaries during that period. And it’s not just about the salary—it’s the cost of outfitting them and the hours of training. Over and over, you’re spending thousands and thousands of dollars for officers to leave for other agencies."

The underlying issues go beyond officer turnover, according to Potter. He criticized the village leadership’s failure to effectively manage personnel issues. 

"There were probably upwards of 150% more legal fees for labor management purposes since the new leadership took over," Potter said. "Many things could have been resolved by just sitting down and talking with the involved parties, but instead, everything went to attorneys and unions. It’s just another waste of resources."

Potter also cited problems with sick time abuse.

"When you see a high usage of sick time, that’s usually indicative of problems among the officers," he said. “We were having to force people to come in because of manpower shortages, and people were just calling off sick because they didn’t want to be there. Again, that’s costing taxpayers money — paying overtime for officers who aren’t productive when they’re there."

Another issue raised by Potter is the way the village’s administration has been handling personnel matters. 

"The village administrator and assistant village administrator are both former police chiefs," Potter said. "There’s this pipeline, a good old boys club, where if you rub elbows with the right people, you’re guaranteed a job in village hall. But neither of them are professional village administrators. They don’t have the expertise needed to run the village effectively."

This problem, Potter believes, has led to some serious missteps, including a high-profile legal case. 

"The Jennifer Keough sexual discrimination case," Potter remarked. "The village refused to make accommodations for a pregnant officer. They wouldn’t adjust her uniforms, and they wouldn’t take her off patrol. It ultimately led to a federal case, which cost the village hundreds of thousands of dollars and generated bad publicity nationwide."

Potter also raised concerns about the misuse of village resources, citing instances where the village administrator allegedly misused village personnel and equipment. 

"I've been told that the current village administrator used a village trailer to move his son to college somewhere in Indiana,” he said. “I also heard that the village mechanic was, let's say, volunteered—or told—to work on the village administrator's personal vehicles and his son's personal vehicles using village equipment."

He also questioned why both the village administrator and assistant administrator were provided with take-home vehicles, noting that the village administrator receives a new vehicle every 18 months, which could be a misuse of taxpayer funds.

Potter also touched on the state of the police department under the current leadership, describing it as a shadow of its former self. 

"The village is not getting the level of service they’re entitled to," he said. "Officers are being hired with minimal qualifications, and it’s affecting the quality of service being delivered to the community. I heard just today about a new officer responding to a death at a nursing home. The officer insisted that the nursing home director was responsible for notifying the coroner, which is completely wrong. The police should handle that, as they always have."

Potter’s comments provide a window into the challenges facing the Frankfort Police Department, where management issues, officer departures, and a lack of resources have created a crisis. 

While it’s clear that the department has faced significant challenges, Potter hopes for one thing. 

"It’s time for a change, Frankfort deserves better,” he said.