Crowley was on BOFPC - really?

While reading 2012 Minutes of the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners today, I came across Janelle Crowley's name in the Minutes of the June 4, 2012 regular meeting.

Why did this surprise me? Crowley was the Human Resources Director of the City of Woodstock and left her employment position in 2011. She serves on the Merit Commission of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, where she chairs that Commission. Surely, the City could have found a third member of the public who didn't already hold a similar committee position elsewhere.

Her name appears in the Minutes of only that one meeting, and I understand she has moved from Woodstock and no longer can serve on the BOFPC. Does she still live in McHenry County? She is still listed as a member of the Merit Commission, where her term expires April 30, 2015.

The BOFPC has had a number of scheduled meetings that were not held (it is supposed to meet quarterly). The previous three Commissioners were Ron Giordano, Tom Schroeder and Larry Howell. Crowley must have succeeded Schroeder. Now Crowley is gone and the BOFPC is down to two members.

The September 10, 2012 Minutes of the BOFPC reflect that Crowley was absent.

The Minutes of the next meeting, September 16, 2013, indicate that Giordano and Howell were present, and no member was absent. So Crowley was gone by then.

Why hasn't a third member been appointed? Has the City published the vacancy? Not to my knowledge. Couldn't the City identify an interested person and approach him or her?

I'm an interested person, but there is obviously no way that the Mayor, City Council or Police Chief would want me on the BOFPC. After all, I'm a person who thinks the police should be the first to obey the laws, not the last.

What if there had been a third person on the BOFPC who wasn't too cozy with the police chief? It's certainly okay to be friendly and polite. But what if the third member held the view that he or she represented the People of the City of Woodstock as a Board commissioner? Would Mayor Sager appoint an outspoken person who would hold police officers to a higher standard?

Who wants to be on the BOFPC? Be sure to contact the Woodstock City Manager right away to express interest. Then do some lobbying among the City Council members. How about a woman with children on the BOFPC?