NW Herald gets it right - almost

Yesterday's online edition and this morning's print edition of the Northwest Herald finally gave some small measure of a positive nature to Deputy Zane Seipler of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

The headline? "Sheriff loses appeal in firing case".

And the sub-headline (there must be a correct name in the newspaper world for the headline under the headline)? "Court rules Seipler should be reinstated."

Yes, Sheriff Keith Nygren lost in the Illinois Appellate Court - Second Division, which is located in Elgin. That's the same court that ruled in favor of Deputy Bob Schlenkert and against Sheriff Nygren.

The laughable part of the article was Nygren's having apparently told the reporter that "he would speak with an attorney before making a decision on what to do next." Since when do attorneys run the Sheriff's Department. I thought that was the sheriff's job. What about the HR Department at the County?

Now, will he speak with his official attorney, who is Lou Bianchi, McHenry County State's Attorney? Or will he run off to an out-of-county attorney (for appropriate fees, of course)? We'll never know whether that attorney told Nygren to abandon his appeal and just take Seipler back - months ago.

But the laughing isn't over. The paper actually quotes Nygren. "Until we get some advice, we don't have a next step. I need to find out what our options are."

Out of respect for rules of civility and my regard for the women and men reading this, I'll refrain from a candid expression of Nygren's statement. You can probably guess what that would be.

Unless Nygren is a worse administrator than I've thought (and I'm not sure there is a lower category), he has already gotten that advice, and he knows exactly what he must do. He doesn't like it, and he will drag it out (and continue to throw away taxpayer money) by refusing to make the only decision he has. And that "only" decision is how soon to put Deputy Seipler back to work.

Nygren should have had a Plan B for months, if not for more than a year. He had to have always known that the Court could, might or would rule against him. And he would have, or should have, asked his attorney long ago the "What if...?" question. If he didn't and if he never asked "What if I lose?", then is he really capable of running a 400-employee operation? Shouldn't he clear his desk before the end of the week?

As a matter of fact, is he preparing to bail? Isn't there a fundraiser be planned for Undersheriff Andy Zinke? Zinke is an employee at the Sheriff's Department, appointed by an elected official. He's not in an elected office. Could Nygren be planning to clear out? Could Zinke's friends be collecting signatures to put him on the ballot for a November 2012 election for Sheriff? If not, it seems a little early to be raising money for Zinke to run in 2014.

The condensation in the article of the legal folderol in this case hid the true extent and expense from the public. First there was the hearing before an arbitrator. The sheriff did not like the arbitrator's decision and appealed in McHenry County Circuit Court. The judge made the right decision. After months of court time and expense Nygren lost there, too, and he didn't like Judge Meyer's decision. So he appealed to the Appellate Court, which took months to make its decision. And Nygren won't like its decision. Will he head for the Illinois Supreme Court? Why not? It's not his money.

Someone asked me why I just don't let go of my dislike for Keith Nygren. Here's why.

If he hadn't pulled that dumb stunt in the Jewel-Osco parking lot, when he attempted to intimidate me, and which I  immediately reported to the Woodstock Police Department, I would have put my dislike for him aside on Election Night 2010.