Nokomis council hires interim chief

NOKOMIS — The City of Nokomis hired an interim Chief of Police during its Monday, July 27 meeting. Meanwhile, city leaders continue to work through weeks of turmoil in the police department and increased scrutiny of area law enforcement finances.

The council unanimously approved the hiring of Christopher Hale of Mt. Zion to lead the department on an interim basis. Hale could eventually be named the city’s permanent chief of police.

City officials spent about 90 minutes in closed session Monday before reopening the meeting and approving Hale’s hiring. Roughly half of that time was spent interviewing Hale, and the rest was used by the council to deliberate after excusing him from the room.

He will be paid $72,000 per year, plus a commuter stipend. One provision stated before approval was that there would be no overtime. It is still subject to approval pending a background check.

Hale brings more than two decades of law enforcement experience to the role. He spent 25 years with the Decatur Police Department before retiring in 2021. He would later serve as Chief of Police in Moweaqua before resigning from that post in March.

New hire is not without controversy

Hale’s hire is not without controversy, having left a previous management position in law enforcement more than five months ago.

Hale would resign from the Moweaqua Police Department in March following a scandal surrounding approval of excessive pay for police officers. It would become a matter of concern for village board members.

It was discovered via an audit that budgets for comp time and overtime were well overspent over 21 months. The village’s auditor, Kevin Buckley, stated at the time that the board would need to make budget cuts to avoid financial disaster.

The scandal and the scrutiny surrounding it would force the resignation of village president Shawn Conklin.

The village’s financial report showed that $45,000 was spent on overtime. However, the village only had $20,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal budget for overtime. The additional $20,000 in approved overtime would exceed the budget line by 69%.

A public commenter during a February village board meeting noted that Hale received 625 comp hours, earning $23,339. These were for comp hours accrued in 2023, 2024, and 2025. However, there are an additional 359 hours Hale accrued that are not accounted for.

As of March 4, the village was still working on fixing its budget shortfall, having to borrow $30,000 from the TIF fund to put in the general fund. The village will have to pay that sum back in the future.

It is not known how this impacts the 2026-2027 fiscal budget.

Hire comes amidst many issues within the department

The hiring comes after several recent staffing changes inside the Nokomis Police Department.

FIRED: Nathan Brookshire

On June 17, K9 Officer Nathan Brookshire walked into Casey’s General Store. Witnesses would notice that Brookshire was visibly intoxicated. While reaching for his wallet, he instead grabbed his Taser. He would be removed from duty for the remainder of his shift. The following day, Brookshire would be placed on supervisory oversight, pending the outcome of an internal review.

Shortly after Chief Earin Land’s resignation, an external investigation was triggered with the Illinois State Police.

On Friday, July 17, the council voted to terminate Officer Nathan Brookshire following an internal review of the incident.

RESIGNED: Chief of Police Earin Land

Two weeks later, Chief of Police Earin Land resigned. His resignation letter, effective July 1, would note multiple severe issues that he could not correct in the six months he was there. The council would approve his resignation letter at the July 8 meeting.

Land would further stipulate that the situation inside the Nokomis Police Department was “too far gone and unsalvageable.” He would also note that he recommended no one as an interim successor. He would recommend that the City of Nokomis seek out an outside application of law enforcement.

RESIGNED: Racheal Ehrhardt

Ehrhardt’s sudden resignation came immediately after the July 13 meeting. This likely stems from Commissioner Michael Glenn nominating Ehrhardt for interim chief, with the provision that she abandon any plans for a week.

That provision was objected to by City Attorney Chris Sherer, which required Glenn to remake the motion. It would fail without a second.

QUIT: Benjamin Lomprez

Benjamin Lomprez was one of Chief Land’s final hires during his tenure.

His hire was approved by the Nokomis City Council during the June 10 meeting.

Lomprez was hired to work part-time for code enforcement matters, evidence custodian, and other duties as needed. The hire was also contingent on completing the part-timers academy. This would coincide with existing duties as a dispatcher for the Christian County Sheriff’s Department.

However, Mayor Dylan Goldsmith would note that Lomprez no longer works for the department. He believed that Lomprez also left his position with the sheriff’s department.

Department remains short-staffed

With the Nokomis department short-staffed, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department has been seen providing increased patrols in Nokomis in recent weeks.

Jake Leonard, Executive Editor-In-Chief

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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