Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza Friday used her tent at the Illinois State Fair to honor four Springfield police officers, one of whom cracked a hit-and-run case in which a woman was seriously injured and her dog killed.
The other three honored addressed mental health cases; for example, talking people out of suicides.
On Aug. 13, 2021, Dusty Rhodes, a former Springfield journalist now working for the state, was walking her dog, when she and the dog were victims of a hit-and-run driver caught on a neighbor’s video camera. Thanks to the work of Det. Dan Weiss, a repeat hit-and-run offender is now accused.
It’s not all a good story, though, as Rhodes said the penalties for the actual repeat hit-and-run are less than the other charges he’s facing – drug and gun charges. She says that frustration surpasses her personal pain and even the loss of Rosie, her Shar Pei.
Mendoza, who said she can honor whomever she wants despite this not being a state financial issue, said, “Det. Weiss immediately got to work fielding tips and reviewing the surveillance video.”
The other three law enforcers honored are Sgt. Steven Termine and Offs. Timothy Day and Taylor Sullivan.