Arresting the Sheriff

Sheriff Carl McNutt, center, is shown entering a courtroom at the Kankakee County Courthouse during his 1962 trial on misconduct charges. At left is Kankakee County State’s Attorney Edward Drolet. (Kankakee County Museum Photo Archive)

By Jack Klasey February 22, 2025

On Friday, November 3, 1961, Kankakee County Sheriff Carl McNutt was arrested and charged with a number of criminal offenses. The charges, contained in 13 indictments, included misconduct, permitting prisoners to escape, making unauthorized claims against the county, and conspiracy to keep “disorderly houses” (houses of prostitution).

The arrest took place at the Kankakee County Courthouse in the chambers of Judge Victor Cardosi, with an arrest warrant being served by Kankakee County Coroner Dr. Claire Sledge. The Coroner was assisted by two Illinois State Police troopers.

Two of the 13 indictments against the sheriff were for misconduct. They charged that he used jail prisoners as drivers on personal overnight trips to other states. Two more indictments charged McNutt with allowing the escape of a prisoner (two prisoners at the jail had been released before serving their full 30-day sentences). Eight indictments charged that the sheriff made unlawful claims for reimbursement of expenses on trips to a number of cities.

The conspiracy indictment alleged that McNutt and six other defendants had conspired, beginning in 1960, to “keep disorderly houses” in Pembroke Township and rural Momence. The other defendants were Aaron Greenly, Lee Caldwell, Joan Bird, Rebecca Jackson, Teslar Gibbs, and Margaret Patton.

In addition to voting the 13 indictments, the grand jury recommended that the sheriff voluntarily “suspend himself from office” until the charges were resolved. Calls for McNutt’s removal from office caused the county board to seek a legal opinion on how to proceed. On November 14, State’s Attorney Edward Drolet advised the board that it had no authority to conduct impeachment proceedings against an elected county officer. They could not declare a county office vacant until the holder “is convicted of a crime.”

Citing an apparent breakdown in law and order in the county, Drolet issued an ultimatum to Sheriff McNutt on November 20, 1961, giving him 24 hours “to consider offering his resignation.” The sheriff announced that he would remain in office until the end of his term in December 1962.

Drolet responded to McNutt’s refusal by asking Illinois State Police Superintendent William H. Morris to “assign me a sufficient number of officers, on continuous call, to supersede the local police authority and to exercise  full police power in Kankakee County, in order that law and order may be enforced.”

On November 22, the Journal reported, “State police today were ordered to give …all the aid needed to enforce law and order in Kankakee County.” The newspaper observed that, “The assignment of state police to enforce the law in place of a sheriff is unprecedented in Illinois history.”

One month later, there was a major change in the judicial personnel involved with the McNutt case. The court administrator of the Illinois Supreme Court announced, on December 21, that Circuit Judge Albert O’Sullivan of Belvidere had been assigned to preside over all future proceedings. The action was taken after three local Circuit Judges —Victor N. Cardosi of Kankakee, David E. Oram of Watseka, and James V. Bartley of Joliet — disqualified themselves and requested assignment of an outside judge.

Judge O’Sullivan’s first ruling in the McNutt case came on January 3, 1962, when he denied motions by the sheriff’s attorneys to quash (void) the 12 indictments that named only McNutt. A motion to quash the conspiracy indictment naming McNutt and six other defendants was taken under advisement.

On January 17, Judge O’Sullivan ruled on the conspiracy indictment, agreeing to a defense motion to quash it. The defense attorneys had argued that the indictment was invalid because a conspiracy conviction carried a greater penalty than conviction for the commission of the crime (operating houses of prostitution) on which the conspiracy was alleged.

“In quashing the indictment, O’Sullivan released the other defendants from arrest,” reported the Journal. “McNutt still must stand trial on 12 other indictments returned by the …grand jury. O’Sullivan …set Feb. 5 as the date for starting a trial on the first of these indictments after McNutt entered an innocent plea to all indictments.”

The first of 12 trials (one for each indictment) began on Monday, February 5, 1962, when a jury of seven women and five men was chosen. In the indictment, McNutt was charged with “allowing a prisoner to escape” by releasing him from custody before his sentence was completed.

After hearing two days of testimony and arguments, the jury began its deliberations on Tuesday afternoon. Eight hours later, after eleven ballots, the jury announced its verdict: Carl McNutt was not guilty of the charge of allowing a prisoner to escape. McNutt’s attorney, Wayne Dyer, told newsmen, “We are very happy with the verdict.”

One month later, McNutt was again in court, on trial for the second of the “allowing a prisoner to escape” indictments. The March 5, 1962, edition of the Daily Journal reported, “In a surprise move in Kankakee Circuit Court, Sheriff Carl McNutt pleaded guilty to two indictments charging him with misconduct.” The charges to which McNutt pleaded guilty involved the use of jail inmates as drivers for overnight out-of-state trips. As a result of McNutt’s guilty plea, the remaining indictments were dismissed.

Judge O’Sullivan announced McNutt’s sentence on Wednesday, March 7. “The term of Carl R. McNutt as sheriff of Kankakee County will end by March 21 as a result of action early this afternoon in Kankakee Circuit Court,” noted the Journal. “McNutt was removed from office on the order of Judge Albert O’Sullivan….The order was part of a sentence for McNutt’s conviction on two charges of misconduct in office. O’Sullivan also assessed a $1,000 fine.”

The Kankakee County Board of Supervisors, at a special session on the morning of March 21, 1962, declared the office of Kankakee County Sheriff to be vacant as a result of McNutt’s conviction. The supervisors quickly filled the void, naming Y. L. Marcotte, a retired electrical contractor, as the county’s acting sheriff. He would hold office until December 1, when McNutt’s elective term would have expired.

Less than three years after he was removed from office, the former sheriff’s name appeared for the final time in the Kankakee Daily Journal. “Carl R. McNutt, 41, 520 Park Avenue, Bradley, died Sunday evening at his home following a lingering illness,” read his obituary, which appeared on November 16, 1964. He was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery.

————————————————————————————————————Jack Klasey is a former Journal reporter and a retired publishing executive. He can be contacted at jwklasey@comcast.net.