There have been some good comments posted to the recent article about the Woodstock police presence all day at Grace Hall yesterday. I commend them to your reading.
But so that comments might relate more directly to the article, here's a new article, and I invite your comments about the upcoming sheriff's race here.
OK, six months to go. It's time for the race to begin heating up, but it still has a long time to run.
Here's what I've got to offer. I am a citizen first, cop second. I think like a citizen (first); not like a cop, first. This results in a huge difference in approach to law enforcement.
The door to my office will be open. What I mean is that communications with me from any employee will be welcomed and safeguarded. I appreciate that few deputies will at first be willing to call for an appointment and then be seen walking into my office. I shall be proud of those with the guts to do that. All I'd like for them to do is inform their supervisors that they wish to talk to me and get it set up.
Having said that, I foresee situations when a deputy will not want to go through his supervisor and up the food chain to the big office. He may have something significant to say to me about his supervisor. And I shall want to hear it.
Oh, about the big office? I'll bet there is a lot better use for a big office than a place for me to hang up my coat. You can count on me not to be "hiding out." And I won't be in Florida or Wisconsin. You'll see me in the office every day. My calendar will be public, to the extent it can be.
And, if I am out-of-town, people will know it and will know when I'll be back, and the department will be run competently in my absence.
If you are reluctant to walk into my office, there will be ways for you, the deputies, to call or contact me.
If everyone is doing his or her job, nobody is going to have a thing to worry about. If somebody is not doing his job, pretty quickly s/he is going to have a lot to worry about. And the least of the worries might not be just finding another place to be employed.
The opinions of the employees, whether deputies, corrections officers, courthouse security, other staff or custodians, will be valued. Any yelling you hear from my office will be, "Good job!"
The best ideas for organizational improvement come from those in the organization. Who would know better what's broken and what needs to be fixed than those who work there?
Here's what the very first communication to all employees is going to look like. You, the employees, are going to receive a letter that asks you to complete this sentence:
"If I were Sheriff of McHenry County, I would ______________________."
This idea comes from Buck Rodgers' book, The IBM Way.
The motto of the Sheriff's Department will be "To protect and to serve", not "To deflect and to swerve."
What I shall bring to the Sheriff's Department is a fresh approach that stands on the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Illinois. Honesty and integrity will be lived, not just talked about. The deputies will take leadership roles and be among the first to obey the laws, not trailing along somewhere in the dust. All the laws.
OK. Comments?
But so that comments might relate more directly to the article, here's a new article, and I invite your comments about the upcoming sheriff's race here.
OK, six months to go. It's time for the race to begin heating up, but it still has a long time to run.
Here's what I've got to offer. I am a citizen first, cop second. I think like a citizen (first); not like a cop, first. This results in a huge difference in approach to law enforcement.
The door to my office will be open. What I mean is that communications with me from any employee will be welcomed and safeguarded. I appreciate that few deputies will at first be willing to call for an appointment and then be seen walking into my office. I shall be proud of those with the guts to do that. All I'd like for them to do is inform their supervisors that they wish to talk to me and get it set up.
Having said that, I foresee situations when a deputy will not want to go through his supervisor and up the food chain to the big office. He may have something significant to say to me about his supervisor. And I shall want to hear it.
Oh, about the big office? I'll bet there is a lot better use for a big office than a place for me to hang up my coat. You can count on me not to be "hiding out." And I won't be in Florida or Wisconsin. You'll see me in the office every day. My calendar will be public, to the extent it can be.
And, if I am out-of-town, people will know it and will know when I'll be back, and the department will be run competently in my absence.
If you are reluctant to walk into my office, there will be ways for you, the deputies, to call or contact me.
If everyone is doing his or her job, nobody is going to have a thing to worry about. If somebody is not doing his job, pretty quickly s/he is going to have a lot to worry about. And the least of the worries might not be just finding another place to be employed.
The opinions of the employees, whether deputies, corrections officers, courthouse security, other staff or custodians, will be valued. Any yelling you hear from my office will be, "Good job!"
The best ideas for organizational improvement come from those in the organization. Who would know better what's broken and what needs to be fixed than those who work there?
Here's what the very first communication to all employees is going to look like. You, the employees, are going to receive a letter that asks you to complete this sentence:
"If I were Sheriff of McHenry County, I would ______________________."
This idea comes from Buck Rodgers' book, The IBM Way.
The motto of the Sheriff's Department will be "To protect and to serve", not "To deflect and to swerve."
What I shall bring to the Sheriff's Department is a fresh approach that stands on the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Illinois. Honesty and integrity will be lived, not just talked about. The deputies will take leadership roles and be among the first to obey the laws, not trailing along somewhere in the dust. All the laws.
OK. Comments?
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