Township Trustee Arrested

Did you read last week that McHenry Township Trustee Vince Nett was arrested in the McHenry Township offices just before the February 14th township meeting was to start? Credit Johnsburg PD with great investigation skills and timing. Yeah, sure… Happy Valentine’s Day, Vince.

According to the Northwest Herald a warrant for Nett was issued on December 11 (almost TWO months before) for resisting a police officer in Grundy County.

Now, the huge question is, Just exactly why did it take Johnsburg PD two months to “discover” this warrant??? Is resisting a police office not a pretty serious crime in Illinois? Even in Grundy County? Why would Grundy County authorities not notify Johnsburg PD immediately of the outstanding warrant? Or did they?

And why would Johnsburg PD select a township meeting as the place to pick up Nett and take him away in handcuffs? This action, on its surface, appears rife with political meanness. Did they not know Neff? Hardly! Of course, they know him. Didn’t they know where he lived? Even know his phone number? Was he a flight risk? Probably a phone call and, “Vince, come on down to the station; we’ve got a warrant here for you from Grundy County.” That probably would have taken care of that.

And as for Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Christopher Thompson’s being able to confirm a outstanding warrant but having no other details? What a laugh! Of course, he had further details! Or was his computer out-of-order? If he doesn’t know the details, then he doesn’t have a warrant.

If the police show up at my door and say, “We think there is a warrant out for you, so come with us,” I’ve got some news for them. I hope they aren’t in the way when I slam the door. If they can’t show me the warrant (or know the date issued, by whom and the exact charge), then they don’t have one!

I don’t know Vince Nett. Is he really a bad apple in the barrel, or are folks just out to get him?

Take, for example, the way in which an April 2006 complaint was reported by the Northwest Herald:

“Police also investigated Nett in April 2006 when a township employee said Nett painted awnings outside her McHenry wine shop without permission.” This short sentence opens a panorama of questions.

What McHenry County Township employee is running a wine shop on Township time? We’d all better hope that no such employee is doing that. It is more likely that the Township employee owns or manages the wine shop completely outside the scope of her Township duties and devotes NO time during normal township operating hours to the business of her wineshop. This means no phone calls, no consultations with employees, no deliveries, no orders to suppliers, no visits to the store during daytime business hours to do the books or make bank deposits. Zilch, nada, zero, nothing. The Township pays for her time and gets all of her day time.

Why did the article state that police investigated a complaint by a “township employee”, instead of referring to her as the owner or manager of the McHenry wine shop and omitting reference to her township employment? What did her township employment have to do with the wine shop or the alleged painting of an awning?

Why did Neff paint the awning, or did he?

What was the result of the investigation? By what police department? McHenry Police Department? Since no charges are reported, one must assume that no crime was committed. So why was this even mentioned in the article?

And just who is the wine shop owner/manager who is also a township employee?