Zinke talks to Republicans

Did newly-appointed Undersheriff Zinke make his first blunder already? Was it approved by the sheriff himself? To whom else would he go for permission to give a public talk?

Cal Skinner reports on the McHenry County Blog (http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/) today that "Nunda Township had the pleasure to have the new Undersheriff Andy Zinke for his first Public Presentation as Undersheriff.

"He spoke about how the Sheriff Department needs the Precinct Committeeman/ Captains to be their eyes and ears in the community."

Of course, it is political season in Illinois. And in the first contested race for County Sheriff in a long time, even a newly-appointed senior command officer at the sheriff's department is hitting the political trail, subtly of course, on behalf of his boss, the sheriff.

You would have thought he might have picked a non-political meeting for his first public talk. Or you might have thought that the undersheriff shouldn't be out making any public presentations at all. He ought to be in the office, taking care of business.

If you want someone to go out and make "good neighbor" talks, why don't you send the beat officer (as Woodstock PD tried for a very short time) or the deputy assigned to the district?

Of course, the Republican precinct captains and committeemen don't want to hear from a foot soldier. They want to meet the man who might be appointed by the County Board to the office of sheriff, if Keith Nygren is lucky enough to win the November election and then retires to Florida, where his real estate property takes the Homestead Exemption on its $620,000 home.

Heaven help us if we have the foxes watching the chicken coops.

Oh, don't miss the glass of what looks like wine on the table in the photo. Liquor is served at precinct meetings in Nunda Township? Who has the liquor license? Where was the meeting? When? What's the policy on liquor in a public meeting facility? Presumably, it wasn't Zinke's glass of wine. He would have been armed; right?