If taxpayers are upset with the nearly one-third of a million dollars already billed by the Special Prosecutor in the Bianchi case, just wait until lawyers start filing lawsuits against the Sheriff's Department and the County, when they realize there may be no sheriff in office.
State election laws require that a sheriff be a resident of the County of his elected office. Sheriff Keith Nygren may not have had a legal residence in McHenry County since mid-December 2010. When he sold his Hebron house to Bryan Krause on December 3, he may have been permitted to stay in the house for a "couple of weeks" after the sale. After that he needed his own residence and address.
But he didn't move. In fact, he may have refused to move out. If he refused to move out, was he occupying Krause's house illegally? Did he pay fair market value for rent for three months, until he may have finally moved out this week? Did he have a rental agreement with Krause?
If Nygren did not have a legal residence in McHenry County since mid-December 2010, did he then abandon the Office of Sheriff as of mid-December? Has McHenry County been without a sheriff since that time?
Has Nygren been paid his $12,000/month salary since being sworn in and taking office on December 1? How many days "vacation" has he used since then? Should the County demand repayment? Can the County cut off further pay until the issue is resolved?
Will lawyers on cases involving those already incarcerated in the McHenry County Jail start filing lawsuits for the release of their clients, since there is no "keeper of the jail" in the Office of the Sheriff? Will lawyers start filing for dismissal of all charges by deputies since mid-December 2010, if the County had no Sheriff?
According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, it is the responsibility of the County Board to investigate issues of vacancy in the Office of Sheriff. A public hearing should be held without delay. The County Board should convene in a Special Meeting and address the issue of whether the Office of Sheriff has been intentionally or unintentionally vacated. If the Office is vacant, then the County Board Chairman is to appoint a successor, with the consent of the County Board.
This issue cannot wait for the next County Board meeting on April 19. A Special Meeting can be called on 48 hours notice. If Chairman Ken Koehler won't call a Special Meeting, there must be a provision for Board members to call a Special Meeting.
Will he (or they) do it?
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3 comments:
Wow....what more can I say? You are either off the meds or chewed on way too much lead paint as a child.
March up to the County Board and demand a hearing. Let’s see how “committed” you are. ( I’ll leave the obvious pun slide)
I can here it now, instead of Clara Peller shouting ‘Where’s the beef? Gus can be shouting “Where’s Keith?”
Wait I have a better idea... You have so much interest in missing person Beth Bentley; maybe you should file a missing report on the Sheriff.
OK, Sam, you tell us ... what do you think would be the legal consequences to a County, if the Office of Sheriff were vacant and the County Board did nothing about it, especially after having been put on notice of the potential problem?
Do you think all 24 members of the County Board might become personally liable? All it takes is one "innovative" attorney to think so, and from there springs at least one expensive lawsuit.
Until and unless you can offer up some CREDIBLE evidence that he is ineligible to hold the office, there are no consequences to the county or the board to be considered.
The state election laws - as we've read elsewhere concerning other matters - PRESUME a candidate to be qualified to hold the office until and unless there is PROOF to the contrary as alleged by an objector. The county board on its own cannot, I don't think, declare the office vacant absent a resignation, conviction or death, The state's attorney may, on presentation of sufficient evidence, file what is known as a Quo Warranto action (means roughly, "by what right do you hold office?") to force the office holder to prove he's qualified to remain in office but again, there must be substantive evidence that the requirements to hold office have been violated.
What do you have in this regard? Nothing other "He sold his house, he sold his house!" "He's living in Brian's house, he's living in Brian's house." Just that and "IF, IF, IF, IF, IF, IF, BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT's Chicken Little is alive and well and living on Lake Avenue in Woodstock only this Chicken Little is rarely right. How about that bounty payment for warrants served, Gus? How about the demand letter you claimed was sent to the sheriff by Krause, how about all the other things you've stated that exist, apparently, only in your tortured mind.
IF you had any evidence we wouldn't be having this conversation! BUT you don't so we have to humor this senile obsessed old man so that he doesn't progress beyond merely stalking the sheriff!
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