Tuesday, June 8, 2010

OK to use to Dept. dumpster?


Early yesterday morning an employee at the Sheriff’s Department garage on Russel Court may have been dumping what appeared to be left-over garage sale junk, including a TV, in the dumpster at the vehicle garage and that the junk might have been transported to the garage in a County-registered pick-up truck.

Any truth to it?

I was interested because of rumors a while back of a County official who had dumping his personal trash regularly in a Sheriff’s Department dumpster. It was reported that that official did not have private trash service at his residence and routinely brought household trash to the dumpster at the sheriff’s department headquarters.

I left a message for the patrol shift sergeant just after 8:00AM, asking for a deputy to go to the garage and inspect the dumpster. In 45 minutes there was no response. Perhaps I should have called Dispatch, but I did not consider it a crime against the public. It would more likely be a violation of Department and County policy; possibly a crime to use a non-owned or non-contracted dumpster for private disposal, but maybe not.

The public is generally discouraged from dumping personal trash in a dumpster off their own property, but I don’t know what the law is on that point. I can't imagine that regular line employees would do that; they would inherently know it to be wrong. So, how do the majority of employees feel, when they know someone one is doing it?

Was there any response at the direction of the shift sergeant? What was learned, if anything?

Undersheriff Andy Zinke's email address is hard (impossible?) to find. It would probably be A(MiddleInitial)Zinke, but his middle initial is nowhere to be found. Even the first newspaper articles and announcement of his promotion carried his name as Andy Zinke, rather than a formal announcement as Andrew (middle initial) Zinke.

It could have been a busy day at the sheriff’s department, because no shift sergeant has returned my call yet. But it’s still early (the next day) Twenty-four hours … is that too long to wait for a response?

Even the courtesy of a quick return call to say “Thanks for calling; we’ll check into it” would have been appreciated. Should any citizen expect less?

6 comments:

rommel said...

That's how you know when you've been marginalized, I guess. Folks don't return your calls, ignore your e-mails, refuse to comment on your blog posts.

Have you noticed how few responses your posts/rants/speculative innuendos garner these days?

You've burned yourself out like a flaming... Too much smoke, not enough fire and substance.

Time to say goodbye!

Gus said...

Welcome, Picket. Thanks for reading and for commenting.

Granted, cheating on dumpster use isn't as important as racial profiling or false accident reporting or injuring senior citizens or refusing to leave a residence after the purpose of the response has been fulfilled or failing to investigate thoroughly an injury to an employee or failing to obtain written reports from the three most significant persons involved in an employee injury incident.

Picket, what do you know about any of these?

Another Lawyer said...

Cheating on dumpster use? What if the dumpster wasn't going to be full that week?

I am trying to think of a "crime" that would fall below, putting stuff in a dumpster that's not yours.

Nope, can't do it.

Mike said...

I suspect that stuff came from some office or the evidence room. Items that can't be sold on the auction get deep sixed and that often included old TV and stereos. I have seen maintenance throw solid oak doors in there when redoing an office. Some have been yanked out by employees and used as table tops etc.

Go to the county auction and then go the next day and see the stuff thrown away. Stuff that did not sell or was not taken away.

Notawannabee said...

The CRIME if one was actually committed is "Theft of Services", but I seriously doubt a crime was committed. Just the ramblings of a lonely, wretched old man.

On Rte 31 south of Rte 14 was a bar called the 'BROKEN DRUM” It was a good place to eat and drink. The sign out front said "The BROKEN DRUM...you just can't beat it"

Gus you're like a broken drum. The noise is not worth listening to. No substance, not useful, just useless noise.

You keep beating the same BROKEN DRUM over these non issues over and over.

Racial profiling...INVESTIGATED/ NOT TRUE…only ZANY people concocted that

False accident reporting... Figment of your imagination, you are trying to make up issues where none exist.

Injuring senior citizens or refusing to leave a residence after the purpose of the response has been fulfilled. ISP investigated and NO CRIME COMMITTED.

Failing to investigate thoroughly an injury to an employee or failing to obtain written reports from the three most significant persons involved in an employee injury incident....Again here’s an issue wherein Gus can't find his smoking gun so he'll blow his own smoke.

It must be terrible knowing that you live such a miserable existence that you need to associate with the dregs of society and hole up writing endless meaningless dribble every day.

Gus said...

It took some digging and some help from others, but it turns out that discarding junk into a dumpster not owned by the "junker" is illegal.

Check out 415 ILCS 105/4. The "junk" falls within the definition of "litter". Putting it in someone else's dumpster, without permission of the person/entity in control of the dumpster, is illegal.

If the Sheriff pays for the dumpster, you need his permission.

If the County pays for it, bother the County Administrator for permission.