Resident Deanita Flores alleges disability-based mistreatment by village attorney and police; board says legal counsel will follow up

Deanita Flores, a Montgomery resident, told the village board she and her husband moved to Montgomery after his military service and that the village has failed to provide equitable access to public services. Flores said an interaction with the Montgomery Police Department on Jan. 7, 2025 included an officer allegedly smirking and saying, "But you are not disabled. You're not in a wheelchair," and that the department and village attorney have failed to investigate her formal complaints.

Flores said she filed a formal complaint on April 17 and that written correspondence from the village attorney characterized her contacts with police as "disruptive, inefficient use of village resources, and burdensome to village operations." She asked the board to confirm that her rights under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act are not being restricted and requested "a clear statement identifying the proper channel for formal complaint submission and evidence for review." Flores asked whether the village had asserted any limitation on her ability to directly contact law enforcement and for the legal basis, including statutes or policies, for any such limitation.

Flores also said she was concerned about leadership responses, pointing to a Commander (transcribed as "PCL") and Chief Smith's handling of past complaints and alleging a pattern of dismissing credible misconduct claims. She asked for "a lawful review of my complaints, and a corrective action consistent with your legal obligations." Flores said these failures were "systematic," not incidental.

A board member responded that the meeting was not the forum for a legal debate but said village legal counsel would reach out to Flores "in response to this evening." The board did not take additional public action at the meeting and did not conduct a hearing into the allegations.

What the board heard and next steps

- Allegations: Flores alleged disability discrimination during a Jan. 7, 2025 police contact and said subsequent complaint handling by department leadership and the village attorney was inadequate. She also asked for confirmation that her FOIA rights were not restricted and for the legal basis of any limits on direct contact with police.

- Board response: The board declined to debate the matter at the meeting and said legal counsel will contact Flores; no formal investigation or vote was announced at the meeting.

- Unresolved: Flores's requests for statutory citations, a clarified complaint channel, and a determination on limits to direct police contact remained unresolved on the record.

Accuracy notes and transcript ambiguities

The transcript spells several names inconsistently; the village attorney is transcribed as "Brandy Quent" in one passage and "Brandy Quins" in another, and an officer mentioned is transcribed as "Officer Man" in one line and "Officer Maym" elsewhere. These variant spellings are quoted as they appear in the meeting transcript and should be verified against official records before relying on a single spelling.

The meeting transcript also references a "Commander PCL," which appears to be a transcription of a name or initials; that reference and other similarly transcribed names were left as in the record and flagged for confirmation.

The board’s pledge to have legal counsel follow up is the only on-the-record next step reported during the meeting.