Beth Bentley - 170 weeks

Beth Bentley vanished 170 weeks ago.

From where did she disappear? Has it ever been conclusively determined that she was at the Amtrak station in Centralia, Ill., where her friend, co-worker, financial beneficiary, traveling companion and sometime-alibi, says she dropped her off about 6:00PM on Sunday, May 23, 2010?

What would a careful investigation in the Mt. Vernon, area, even now, uncover? Could there be those who would say absolutely that she was (or was not) in the Frosty Mug on Friday night, May 21?

Or that she went on a rental-boat ride on one of the big lakes in the Mt. Vernon area on Saturday, May 22?

Would anyone remember her at any gas stations, grocery stores, liquor stores, shopping areas?

Maybe, just maybe, some careful questioning, even now (more than three years later) could uncover information that would lead to her whereabouts.

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll ...

Is this what is happening in McHenry County?

On Thursday at 3:00PM the McHenry County Ethics Commission will convene a hearing. Perhaps by now they have learned how to conduct a hearing...  If they have, perhaps they should back up a month and actually conduct the hearing sought by Cal Skinner, publisher of the McHenry County Blog, in the proper form and manner.

As it stands right now, there wasn't any hearing worthy of being considered a "hearing", and Mark Gummerson's attempt to stick it to Cal Skinner to the tune of $5,000 should be tossed out through the second floor window of the Administration Building. And send Mark's client, Undersheriff Andy Zinke, the bill.

To come up to speed on Thursday's meeting, see the Northwest Herald article today. Also, read the McHenry County Blog and FirstElectricNewspaper.

The Commission, through inexperience and legal advice that didn't help it, totally dropped the ball when Skinner's complaint was scheduled to be heard.

The Commission was run over by Zinke's attorneys, Mark Gummerson and Rebecca Lee. It was a pitiful example of government. The Commission let Gummerson go on and on, as if it was afraid to tell him to sit down and wait for the hearing to be convened.

Then the Commission quickly ran into closed session and, shortly thereafter, returned to open session (without following Open Meetings Act rules) and threw out Skinner's complaint.

Gummerson tossed a foul ball at the Commission, just as he did a few years ago when the McHenry County Election Commission held a hearing, when a Marengo resident filed a complaint against Perry Moy, who was running against Jack Franks. At that time, and before the recent Ethics Commission meeting, Gummerson said that the person bringing what he called a "frivolous" complaint ought to be fined $5,000.

The Chicago attorney at the Election Commission hearing back then said that would have a "chilling" effect on any citizen who considered bringing a complaint. And it is just as true today, as it was then.

Now Gummerson wants Skinner fined $5,000 for a "frivolous" ethics complaint against Zinke. There was nothing "frivolous" about it. Skinner should file a complaint against Zinke and Gummerson for their frivolous action. If there is any frivolity here, it is the complaint against Skinner.

How is it going to be possible to get the Ethics Commission to re-convene and conduct a legitimate hearing on Skinner's complaint against Zinke?

If Skinner's complaint does get a re-hearing, Skinner will need an attorney to remind the Commissioner's that Zinke's attorneys' statements are not testimony. You know - like at trial? Attorneys flap their arms and their jawbones, make a lot of accusations, speak in loud voices, but what they say is not "testimony" or "evidence."

The Ethics Commission should have put Zinke and Nygren under oath and then asked them, out of the hearing of each other, whether Nygren really told Zinke to send that e-mail to the County Board via the County (official) email system and while on Department compensatory time.

Do I believe that Nygren told Zinke to send the email that way? Absolutely not.

But Gummerson said that's how it happened, and the Ethics Commission wasn't smart enough to say, "Prove it."

Leave keys in your car "just for a minute"

Check out this humorous video from the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Police Department, which found that most stolen cars had the keys in them. Watch it all the way to the end. Did you have the same thought I did, before the final scene?

Have you ever run into a store, or even into your home, and left the keys in the car, even "just for a minute"?

Handheld cell phones, PDAs - illegal when?

Have you been wondering when the law will change in Illinois about using handheld cell phones?

The legislature and the governor decided, in their infinite wisdom, that it really won't be that unsafe until January 1, 2014.

Why it's safe now, but not after January 1, is beyond me. Does anyone else wonder?

You can read the law, Public Act 098-0506

Still have a CB radio? Guess what? You can use that, good buddy.

And you'll want to read Exclusion 9: "a driver using an electronic communication device by pressing a single button to initiate or terminate a voice communication." Think that means the "Start" and "End Call" buttons? Tell it to the judge...

And right now, watch out for those special Zones. Using a handheld cell phone in Work Zones, School Zones, and maybe the Park speed limit zones will cost you big bucks.

Let's all go back to school

Watch this. Anyone else want to go back to school?

How far down the road is this technology? I'm still trying to program the remote for my VCR!

Greg Pyle - "Continued" (again and again)

Will the State case against former Deputy Sgt. Greg Pyle of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department ever get to trial?

Last week's court date (August 13, which never even made the Northwest Herald) passed with yet one more "routine" continuance. At issue now is a Motion to dump the judge (just a stalling tactic) and a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Last time I checked, Pyle was still residing in the Boone County Jail, where he has been for almost a year, when his MCSD pay and benefits ran out.

What will happen in this case? Pyle is charged with ten felonies of criminal sexual assault against a child. Will the game of musical judges be played so long that, when he finally tried, convicted and sentenced, he will get credit for "time served" and walk out the door?

What's going on with the Federal charges against him? Is the State's Attorney's Office just hanging out, waiting for the Feds? Why not proceed with its own case.

McHenry County Circuit Court Case No. 12CF00020 was filed January 9, 2012. It is important to note that the "Charge Date" for each of the ten charges is 9/11/2006, more than five years earlier. But didn't something happen in January 2012 that attracted the attention and arrest of Pyle? Why is (are?) no case filed for 2012?

I haven't read the Complaint filed in Federal Court against Pyle. Pyle was out on bond from McHenry County, and Sheriff Nygren reportedly told the media that it was a "coincidence" that Pyle's benefits pay ran out on the day that the Feds grabbed him.

Anyone who believes that probably still believes in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

Pyle's next local court date is September 12.

The Federal Case in being handled in Rockford.

MCSD - Crime and Punishment

An article in the Northwest Herald this morning about workers and sick pay caused me to think of this situation.

Maybe the McHenry County Sheriff's Department will read that article and review how it handles disciplinary matters with deputies who fall out of favor. When a deputy commits a crime, is not arrested, is not disciplined internally, and is allowed to take months of sick leave (is he really sick, or just "sick of work"?), and then allowed to resign instead of getting fired, does this really serve the taxpayers of McHenry County, for whom some still think the Department is supposed to protect and to serve?

Doesn't the Sheriff (we are still paying over $12,000/month for a sheriff elected in November 2010) owe responsibility to the public and to the other employees to treat all employees fairly?

And "fairly" means that, when a deputy commits a crime, that deputy should be investigated, charged, and prosecuted, whether or not he is part of "the A-team". 

The morale at the Sheriff's Department continues to sink under the current administration.