Get it in writing!

When Bob Schlenkert won his job back as a deputy of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department, he became eligible to receive his back pay.

Remember back in March when the three judges in the 2nd District Appeals Court in Elgin took only three days to announce their decision in Bob’s favor?

The judges and the attorneys probably thought the Sheriff’s Department would act honorably and cut Bob a check for his back pay. That was back at the end of March. By now, Bob's attorney might be wishing he had asked the judges to order payment within 21 days.

Let’s see; how many months since then? April, May, June, July; it’s August now.

Maybe they’ve been busy cutting checks at the sheriff’s department for garage employees to receive overtime pay for seven hours of parade duty. Does anyone else think it strange that almost all the payroll authorizations are for seven (7) hours of overtime (just how much is that???), regardless of whether the parade was in Marengo or Algonquin or Hebron?

But back to Bob’s check… Has he been paid yet?

As I wrote last week, I did not intend to ask Bob. His pay is his business. Plus, if they put him under the glaring, white lights at work and wanted to know if he had talked to me… He hasn’t.

Whether he got paid is our business; i.e., the taxpayers’ business. And today I received the FOIA response from the Sheriff’s Department:

“The Sheriff’s Office does not have documentation of a financial settlement with Deputy Robert Schlenkert.”

So I guess that means that Bob hasn’t been paid yet. Why not???

Is it just one more form of harassment of Bob? Will it ever end? Yes. It will end on November 30, 2010, when Keith Nygren packs up his office and clears out.

In what shape will he leave it? Will there be an orderly transition? My guess is there won’t be anything left but the dust.

Bob, you’ll get your check in the first week of December.

And, Lisa, you’ll get the $5,300 for the damage to your vehicle caused by a deputy on 7/13/08.