Merit Commission Goings-on - 2007

All this business re-surfacing about the aftermath of the Red Mill Inn drinking party got me thinking more about the delay in the approval of the October 21, 2008 Minutes of the Merit Commission, and I went back through online Minutes of Merit Commission meetings from February 2007. If there are any other nit-pickers out there who follow things from A-Z, you’ll enjoy reading what follows.

It’s obvious that members of the public never read those Minutes or ask questions. Where do you find the Minutes? Go to co.mchenry.il.us and scroll to the bottom of the homepage. Click on “Board Calendars”. Select the year and then the month, and click on that. In that monthly calendar, choose the Commission you’d like to examine (e.g., Merit Commission) and then click on Minutes.

OK, so to go back to February 2007, as that could have been the earliest Merit Commission meeting after the uproar following the drinking party at the Red Mill Inn at the end of January (the one the Woodstock Police were not called about).

February 7, 2007 Canceled

March 14, 2007. Decision in Executive Session to hold a hearing in Deputy Schlenkert matter on April 11.

April 11, 2007. No quorum present, yet Minutes were approved. Bills were authorized for payment. Schlenkert matter scheduled for May 9. HOW DOES A PUBLIC BODY TRANSACT BUSINESS WHEN NO QUORUM IS PRESENT?

May 9, 2007. Canceled

June 13, 2007 Under the Minutes link, the Agenda is posted again (not the Minutes). NO MINUTES are posted for the June 13th meeting.

June 30, 2007 (Saturday; Special Meeting scheduled at 3:00PM) Meeting opened at 2:18PM. Payment of bills authorized. Eligibility list matters. Adjourned at 2:20PM. ANY PROBLEM ABOUT MEETING EARLY, BEFORE PUBLIC OR MEDIA COULD ARRIVE?

July 11, 2007 Canceled

August 8, 2007 Minutes of July 13 and July 20 meetings were approved. WHAT JULY 13 AND JULY 20 MEETINGS? THE MEETINGS ARE NOT ON CALENDAR. NOT ANNOUNCED? NO MINUTES are posted online for these two meetings. What business was conducted on those dates? Why weren’t the Minutes posted??? Deputy Schlenkert and his FOP attorney, Gary Bailey, were present on August 8. New Business: Special Assistant State’s Attorney (SASA) Susan Connor informed the Merit Commission of a new complaint filed by the sheriff on July 19, 2007. SASA Connor, the regular attorney for the Merit Commission, stated she cannot represent the Merit Commission in the complaint because she had been asked to defend the County. She recommended Vito LoVerde to be retained as independent council. He was present and was appointed. The Merit Commission tabled the sheriff’s request to suspend Schlenkert without pay until September 12.

September 12, 2007 County Board member and member of the Law & Justice Committee James Kennedy attended. Merit Commission voted to suspend Schlenkert without pay and to hold a status update hearing on the judgement issue on November 14.

October 10, 2007 Additional funding to be requested from County Board

November 14, 2007 An Agenda is shown for this meeting, but NO MINUTES ARE POSTED. Remember? On September 12 a status update hearing in Schlenkert’s case was to be held on November 14. Was it? What decision was reached?

November 20, 2007 An Agenda is posted for this meeting, but NO MINUTES ARE POSTED.

December 5, 2007 Canceled

December 12, 2007 The Merit Commission was informed of “a considerable number of failures on the Sergeant and Lieutenant promotional exams." There was no problem with the testing instrument. The majority of failures occurred on the oral presentation.

December 21, 2007 An Agenda is posted for this meeting, but NO MINUTES ARE POSTED.

Why did I start through this? I’ve forgotten. Oh, yes, trying to find record of the disciplinary actions taken following the Red Mill Inn drinking party. I guess there is no record with the Merit Commission.