The press release today from Mike Mahon, Democratic candidate for sheriff in McHenry County, details what happened when one of his volunteers attempted to personally deliver a FOIA request to the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.
Well, he certainly found out that, indeed, Keith Nygren is in Woodstock, rather than hanging out at his winter home in Cape Coral or his summer home in Minocqua, Wisconsin. I suspect that campaign volunteer might have preferred to have been told that Nygren was out of town.
You can read the full text of Mike's press release on www.mchenrycountyblog.com The release came to me as a .pdf file, and I don't have a converter. Rather than re-type the release, just go to Cal Skinner's blog and read it there.
The summary? Sheriff Nygren had time (made time?) to personally greet (well, sounds more like "confront") the volunteer. The release says that Nygren "ordered" the volunteer to sit down and then Nygren berated him about the campaign and the volunteer's own professional background, and then he told him that his office was "too busy" to handle FOIA requests.
Hello? Too busy to handle FOIA requests?
But the real kicker is that Nygren apparently threatened to retaliate against Michael Mahon by filing FOIA requests with Mahon's employer, the Cook County Sheriff's Department.
Gosh, I feel kinda lucky now that I got off with a "glaring."
And maybe it's also lucky that Nygren hadn't read this morning about the Congress (Arizona) Elementary School District, which is fed up with FOIA requests from four parents and is suing them to prevent them from filing further FOIA requests. Watch out for that one, Mike.
Is FOIA going to need CPR right here in Woodstock, as well as in tiny Congress? I never went through Congress, when I lived in Phoenix and Sedona. Congress is 70 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Gus, is there a 'time frame' that the FOIA law provides for a respondent to 'deliver' this info requested. What if there is an 'ongoing' internal investigation when a FOIA request is asked for?
Mr. Mahon's 'statement' is vague so its hard to tell what is going on? Im not casting judgment Im not sure what to make of this.
Thank you.
I don't know anything about the FOIA requests that Mike Mahon has presented.
However, the sheriff's response is totally out of order, and his threat to file retaliatory FOIA requests at the CCSO is absurd.
The ONLY thing Nygren can do with a FOIA request is process it and respond within the law. Otherwise, he can have the legal eagles all over him, which he probably will have as a result of his action.
If the State's Attorney goes after him, then the MCSD will get to blow more money on lawyers, since the SAO can't prosecute and defend him at the same time. I'm sure Nygren's outside lawyers will be happy for the fees.
And, yes, there is a time-frame for response. I think it was lengthened a little by the new law, but not much. Might be seven business days.
The MCSD FOIA Officer is good and complies quickly with requests.
Not sure how Nygren ended up in the middle, unless it was an appeal to a denial of information by the FOIA Officer.
The MCSO has a FOIA officer that attends to the FOIA requests and does a good job keeping them promptly answered. FOIA release is specific to information requested. Nothing is stated about WHAT the information requested was. Nygren does not, nor would any Chief Executive, answer or handle FOIA requests personally. I’m sure that this “volunteer” reported an unbiased account of this meeting ( WINK, WINK)
So far I have seen Mahon blow smoke about concealed carry by Correctional Officers when clearly Sheriff’s are not empowered to grant such gun carrying actions by Illinois State Law. The problem is that the public is not sufficiently informed and basically has many misconceptions of what and what isn’t permissible. Like other politicians do regularly, Mahon can spout half truths and outright lies under the guise of a campaign and people pile on. I would not give too much credit to this one sided account. I’m sure we will see more smoke and mirrors as the days go on.
For all I know Mahon may be a diligent Cook County employee and all around nice guy. Rather than try and resort to gutter politics, why not tell the people what he would do differently that the incumbent sheriff.. I’m asking for LEGALLY justified changes not some empty campaign promises. Mahon can promise a squad in every subdivision and all the services in the world, but the reality is there are budget issues that must come first. I want to hear ISSUES not RHETORIC . .
"Nygren does not, nor would any Chief Executive, answer or handle FOIA requests personally. I’m sure that this “volunteer” reported an unbiased account of this meeting" ( WINK, WINK)
Why was there any kind of meeting at all?
Does Nygren come out of the office and personally say hello to everyone? (wink wink)
Initially, a FOIA Request goes to Jan Weech, the FOIA Officer of the McHenry County Sheriff's Dept. She handles these promptly and capably.
If she denies the request or doesn't respond fully, based on an exception in FOIA law (or if she should be directed to deny the request), then an appeal goes to Keith Nygren.
This could be why Mahon's volunteer went to Nygren's office, not to Mrs. Weech's counter.
The next appeal can go to the Public Access Counselor at the Illinois Attorney General's office.
After that, it's off to Circuit Court.
It's only a guess on my part.
Gus, let these two fight it out. Steer clear of their bickering and focus on your message. The best thing about a third-party candidate is to let the two parties get into a spending war. When the time is right, pop up with your message. And highlight the differences between you and the Bickersons. But, do not stick your nose into this fight. Just sit back, watch, and learn. Remember, politics is like a game of chess.
Post a Comment