Former Kane County Sheriff’s Deputy of the Year Keith Gardner continues to battle his own set of medical issues, not to mention a complex Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund system that he insists is keeping him and his Yorkville family in financial limbo.
A year ago I wrote about the trials of Gardner, a decorated detective who’s struggled physically, mentally and financially as the result of an injury from a 2000 SWAT training exercise that led to 10 surgeries for nerve damage, along with chronic and at times excruciating pain, he said.
Gardner was injured again in the line of duty in 2010, he said, but was still able to perform as a Kaneland High School resource officer until a 2015 change in administration mandated full uniforms for SROs, an extra weight his body could not tolerate, according to Gardner.
Denied a desk job, Gardner said he had no choice but to stop working, eight months shy of the 20 years he needed to receive full retirement benefits.
Over the years he’s battled the system to receive partial disability, which has to be granted before applying for full disability. Gardner scored a big win in October when, acting as his own attorney because he could not afford otherwise, the Third District Appellate Court overturned DuPage County’s 18th Judicial Circuit Court decision and ordered IMRF to pay for 30 months of temporary disability, with instructions to reconsider total and permanent disability.
“I knew that if I could get someone to look at all of the circumstances surrounding my case that I would win,” Gardner said.
In February, the longtime deputy says he finally received $90,000, however, the process for full disability benefits continues to drag on, with IMRF yet to make a decision on his claim. But Gardner, who turned 50 in June and would have been eligible for his full retirement pension, is not giving up this fight.
In addition to the chronic pain he struggles with, Gardner’s wife Shauna underwent radiation, chemo and a lumpectomy in 2019, only to have the breast cancer return in December. In June, she had a double mastectomy and began proton therapy radiation earlier this month, all of which only adds to Gardner’s “guilt” that he can’t provide more for his family who have had to foot much of this emotional and financial toll as the complex process plays out.
For example, Gardner says, he’s had to rely on a still-active GoFundMe account, and has also borrowed more than $200,000 over the past nine years from other family members, money needed to help his family keep its home and cars. And his outlook, he insisted, continues to be bleak.
“I have a constant feeling of pins and needles, and if I’m standing or walking, it feels like someone is sticking a knife through my foot,” he said. “I get the same feeling in my butt when I sit in any type of chair. And the longer I sit the more intense the pain gets.”
Gardner is concerned that one reason the IMRF – and Social Security – continues to fight his claims of disability is because he is a youth and Yorkville High School basketball and football coach, a volunteer position that requires an hour or two a day and leaves him in pain.
“Coaching is something I am passionate about, and I love the relationships I have with my players … and more importantly with my own children.”
Gardner has received high marks from Yorkville School District 115 leaders who praise his dedication to coaching, and from Kane County administrators, including retired Sheriff Pat Perez, who described him as an “excellent law enforcement officer” who got the raw end of circumstances.
Gardner’s also grateful the current Kane County Sheriff’s Office has his back and refused to terminate his employment, and that the Kane County Board last year voted to approve the service credit he needed to receive full disability.
As he continues to wait for an answer from the IMRF board, Gardner is concerned that it could take up to three more years before a final outcome is determined. In the meantime, he is more than willing to talk about another toll this waiting game has taken – one people are often reluctant to discuss.
The physical pain, the guilt, the loss of a career and that tight bond with fellow officers, he admitted, has “changed who I am” and left him dealing with depression and anxiety.
“I’ve always been on some form of pain medication since 2000. It helps me feel better through the day but taking them is not living your life,” Gardner said, adding that he had no choice but to cut back on the prescriptions that left him feeling “like a zombie.”
But it’s no surprise that decision has led to more pain, which in turn means fewer activities with his wife and four children.
Dragging out these claims, Gardner insisted, has a “ripple effect” on families who are “innocent victims … making sacrifices that are beyond unfair.” And that, in turn, only leads to more stress, more anxiety, more anger.
“It’s a system,” he said, “that does not seem to remember the human beings left behind.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
