In the case of Rodney Blisset versus The City of Chicago, filed in the Appellate Court of Illinois (First District) under case ID 1-23-0734 on March 25, 2024, the plaintiff alleges violation of the Whistleblower Act. The plaintiff, Rodney Blisset, a retired police officer from the Chicago Police Department (CPD), is represented by an unknown attorney while defendant, The City of Chicago, is represented by attorneys Melanie Neely and Johner Wilson.
Rodney Blisset served for 30 years in CPD and held various ranks including commander of detectives for Area South until January 31, 2020. He was demoted to captain in late January 2020 and retired seven months later. In February 2019, Isaac Lambert, a detective under Blisset's command was transferred out by Melissa Staples, then chief of detectives for CPD. Lambert subsequently sued the city alleging wrongful retaliation.
Lambert's lawsuit claimed his transfer was due to his refusal to draft false reports to cover up misconduct in a police shooting incident involving an off-duty sergeant and a young autistic man. During discussions about Lambert's case with Neely and Wilson in July 2019, Blisset denied any involvement in Lambert's transfer. However, during another meeting in September 2019, Neely and Wilson suggested that Staples had implicated Blisset as having problems with Lambert which led to his transfer.
Blisset seeks judgment based on alleged violations of the Whistleblower Act (740 ILCS 174/1 et seg. (West 2020)). He asserts that he never expressed dissatisfaction with Lambert's performance or indicated any issues with him which could have justified his transfer.