In December the McHenry County Sheriff's Department added Legal Affairs Officer to the title of the Equal Employment Opportunity position. And so Nygren and the Sheriff's Department end up with a lawyer on its staff.
Is this what the taxpayers had in mind? Is this what the County Board wants to pay for?
The EEO position was primarily a clerical position and paid for at that level. When the previous occupant of the office retired, Nygren wanted to hire a lawyer, so he added some language to indicate that a law degree was preferred - even though it was a clerical position. And then he hired a lawyer away from the State's Attorney's Office.
Pete Gonigam, publisher of www.FirstElectricNewspaper.com, is trying to get the report of the investigation by the Sheriff's Department into the actions and behavior of Undersheriff Andy Zinke, when Zinke outed a confidential DEA investigation to a close friend and important financial political supporter of Sheriff Keith Nygren - that person being Brian Goode, president of RITA Corp., of Crystal Lake.
The "investigation" includes a 100-page report and two audio interviews with deputies. Nygren said that Zinke didn't do anything wrong. The Sheriff's Department denied Gonigam's FOIA request. Gonigam appealed to the Public Access Bureau of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. The PAB told Nygren to release the report. Nygren didn't.
So Gonigam has hauled Nygren into court. The Defendants are the Sheriff's Department, Nygren, FOIA Officer Jan Weech and Legal Affairs Officer Don Leist.
You can read all about on FirstElectricNewspaper.com
Leist was in Judge Meyer's courtroom as an attorney, claiming that Lou Bianchi is prejudiced against Nygren's position in this case. And (here comes politics) "Leist's written motion claims Bianchi supports Bill Prim who's challenging Nygren's chosen successor when he retires."
So who says that Nygren gets to pick his successor, when Nygren retires. He doesn't. The People do! What part of that does Nygren not understand? Or Leist?
The Sheriff's Department has an attorney - the State's Attorney Office. By statute, the SAO represents the Sheriff. I guess the sheriff doesn't like the legal advice he is getting. Gee, now why would that be?
"He (Lou Bianchi) apparently disagrees that the documents can be withheld," said Gardner." Mary Gardner is the attorney for FirstElectricNewspaper.com
Should Nygren have gone outside MCSD for an investigating officer? Of course. It was Nygren No. 1 who allegedly breached the confidentiality of the DEA investigation. To ensure complete transparency and thoroughness, Nygren should have selected a totally independent investigator.
Gonigam returns to Judge Meyer's court on Friday, July 19, 9:00AM. That's Room 201 at the Government Center. Judge Meyer is supposed to expedite this legal matter. Will it happen?
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