Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Promotions at the Sheriff's Department

A comment just posted has attracted my attention, especially since I inquired about the Sergeants' and Lieutenants' Eligibility Lists this morning at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission monthly meeting.

Three promotions were publicized in the morning paper yesterday, just about three weeks before the eligibility lists expired. At this morning's Merit Commission meeting, there was a comment that the lists were in alphabetical order. I didn't hear what question prompted that comment.

But a comment tonight to a article mentioned that "the deputies that pass the test are not taken by top score first, they are placed on a list and hand picked by the sheriff."

Why wouldn't deputies be ranked by test scores and performance reviews and then prioritized with highest score in the #1 position, so that the Department (and the public) would believe they might see the best qualified candidate get the promotion? The ratings should be all figured out in advance of openings and open for public inspection.

If the sheriff is going to get to pick the deputy to be promoted, why not just save a lot of money and skip the testing?

If you drop in at the Woodstock Police Station, you can examine the eligibility list for WPD that is posted on the public bulletin board right in the lobby. You don't even have to go into the inner sanctum to see it.

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