Case thrown out!

The Daily Herald reports that a woman arrested by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department fugitive apprehension unit in Bourbonnais, on a 1996 warrant, was sent away a free woman by Judge Sharon Prather.

I questioned this arrest, when it first hit the news. The Sheriff's Department was apparently trying to improve stats and sent a flying squad 100 miles to grab somebody who had been right in plain sight the whole time. Did they talk to the State's Attorney first about what was likely to happen in court, in view of no action since 1996?

Judge Sharon Prather dismissed charges against Michelle Abbeduto, 33, today, according to the paper.

Also, according to the paper, "Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney David Johnston said authorities were unable to determine for certain whether police actively looked for Abbeduto before her arrest last year."

What's that mean? Of course, they could have determined whether "authorities" had looked for her. There would be notes, records, documents. Methinks he was just trying to be kind to the "authorities" who, in this case, wear badges from the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

This is one of the messes that I intend to clean up, if I am elected Sheriff of McHenry County. How many thousands of unserved warrants are there? There should be a spreadsheet or a grid or a chart on the wall. If they have some others that are 13 years old, somebody had better be finding out if the wanted person is prosecutable, if arrested. If not, a whole box, cart or wagon of them will go to a judge for cancellation.

How do I intend to clean up this mess? I intend to ask the deputies and clerks who work there for their ideas. Usually, no one knows better how to clean up a mess than the people standing in it. Unfortunately, too often the good ideas come from the new members of the department or a team, and they get squashed by the more-senior employees - the bosses.

Starting December 1st, good ideas will be rewarded!