Comment on MCSD pay article

I frequently receive comments from readers who do not wish their names associated with their comments and whose UserIDs would be recognized. The following was received and offers a perspective on pay ranges of law enforcement around here.

"Why not do a fair comparison. What about Lake County SO and their pay? To answer the squad question, NO a MCSO deputy can not live outside the county and take the squad home. LAKE, COOK, BOONE, DeKALB, and KANE all allow their deputies to take the cars OUTSIDE of the County. Usually a mileage limit of 12 miles except for Cook. They have some living in WISC. Notice there is a Lake CO Squad on Bull Valley Rd near Curran Rd, Several COOK Cty Squads are in LITH and Algonquin. There is a Kane CO Squad parked in his home in Sycamore which is DeKalb Cty. AS for take home squads. I don't know of a Sheriff Dept in Northern Illinois W/O take home cars. Study after study has proven the cost effectiveness of it. Cars last longer, have less maintenance, and as the primary law enforcement agency, they can field cars quickly in emergencies. I believe they get twice the odometer mileage as do city cars and the cars last 3-4 years.

"Illinois State Police. ( also take home cars) A trooper living in Harvard may drive 50 miles to their patrol. Check pay. You'll see that an ISP Trooper chasing tail lights (no rank)has a base TOP pay around $100,000 without OT. I know one trooper on the tollway (Dist 15) that worked as many available OT details as possible and made over $140,000 last year. Toll evasion details, ( sitting by toll booths looking for people that blow through w/o paying) Shift coverage details, hiring back on holidays. ISP Sgt's make more than MCSO Captains. Also consider this. To be a Sergeant or LT you should be paid higher than the rank that is being supervised. These are SENIOR OFFICERS to have been promoted. Most have BA degrees and several have MA degrees. Eight ( or more) are FBI Academy graduates.

"Check the NWH for their pay comparison of Chiefs. See what Linder at CLPD makes. Wales at LITH collects over $100k as the retired CHIEF and then they hired him back as the Director of Public Safety at over $100K. So he is well over $200,000 as Chief (or should I say Director) of LITH.

"I personally don't have a dog in this fight as I only live up there PT. I still stay in close touch and have many friends in the area. but none the less, this seems an unfair shot at hard working deputies that have NOTHING to do with the politics of the county."