"The field is going to be crowded"

Who wants to be the next sheriff of McHenry County?

Why is the word out already that the field is going to be crowded, when (if?) Keith Nygren retires (resigns)?

When would be a good time for him to bail out? Not before July. If he bails right now, then there will be an election in November 2012 and the voters would have a chance. Not a big chance, but at least a chance.

Why should he wait until July? Because, if he leaves office within 28 months of the end of his term of office (November 30, 2014), then the McHenry County will appoint a successor to serve out his sentence (err, term...). That's how he got to be sheriff in the first place. The County Board appointed him. Nygren was Chief of Police of Crystal Lake at the time he was tapped for the big kahuna's job in McHenry County law enforcement.

It probably looks to him right now like a "sentence". All he can do is stay out of sight. He seems to be doing that, pushing his undersheriff into the limelight and keeping his name out of announcements and press releases.His heart rate might have returned to somewhere near normal after Judge Meyer decided that he (Judge Meyer) could not legally appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Nygren.

The question now is whether McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi will decide that maybe he can investigate, indict and prosecute Nygren.

Any public official suspected of theft, official misconduct, misappropriation of funds (and maybe even murder-for-hire solicitation, trafficking of illegal immigrants, and fraudulent loan documents) should be investigated. The question is, who will do it?

Okay, so who is in the running for appointment as the next sheriff?

The candidate has to be 18 years old, a one-year resident of McHenry County, not a felon, and a Republican. You'll notice that law enforcement experience is not a requirement or qualification.

Minimum additional qualifications should be honesty, integrity and a desire for transparency in government. A pair of sturdy work gloves will be needed, if the right person is chosen. He will need to make a stop at ACE Hardware and purchase a big pushbroom. A good housecleaning at MCSD is needed. The new commander-in-chief at the sheriff's department ought to bring in an out-of-county person to be Undersheriff,

By cleaning up the shop there, many future lawsuits can be avoided and maybe even a lot of the existing ones can be settled a lot cheaper than forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside legal fees and ultimate settlements. Many lawsuits happen to force unwanted change on a public agency; it's often not about the money.