By Stephen Nelson
At its Tuesday, April 11, meeting, the Kankakee County Board participated in an award presentation to Kankakee County Sheriff’s Detective Joni Hart.
Hart has been named Officer of the Year, as a member of the U.S. Marshal’s Great Lakes Fugitive Apprehension Task Force. During the presentation, it was noted Hart left a family vacation in December 2021 to return to Kankakee to participate in the manhunt for the suspects involved in the killing of Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, as well as the shooting that critically wounded officer and now Sgt. Tyler Bailey. Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said that sacrifice was “just one example of Hart’s level of dedication.”
In other business, the Kankakee County Board voted to abate all county property tax for residents for a general obligation bond issued last year to pay for building and moving costs for the animal control facility, now located in Bourbonnais.