McHenry PD vs. MCSD

Officers around the county are praising McHenry Police Department Chief John Jones for his handling of the mess generated by the alleged crimes committed by Ofc. Dale Hojnacki. Honjacki has resigned. That didn't take long.

Maybe Chief Jones asked him, "You going to resign today; right?"

And you've probably seen the letter that Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs sent to the President of the McHenry County Bar Association, Jaime Rein. I wonder if he mailed it to her or just walked it down the hall, since she is also an Assistant State's Attorney. Combs is concerned that many cases brought by McHenry Police might be in jeopardy, because of Hojnacki's alleged dishonesty.

All arrests won't be in jeopardy. Many don't involved evidence, but no doubt there are many, perhaps hundreds, of cases that defense attorneys here in the county will be scrambling to have dismissed or retried.

Thanks for Chief Jones for standing up and speaking out about the tarnishing of the image of McHenry Police officers (and officers everywhere).

Now this brings to mind the charges against McHenry County Sheriff's Sgt. Greg Pyle. Pyle was arrested early in January and charged with ten counts of criminal predatory sexual assault of a child under 13.

Where is Sheriff Keith Nygren (or Undersheriff Andy Zinke) with their public comments and outrage about tarnishing the image of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? For FOUR months they've been silent.

Deputies are smart enough to keep their opinions tightly guarded and their mouths shut. But tell us, Keith, why haven't you condemned Greg Pyle? Why haven't you stood up for the men and women of the Sheriff's Department?

Sure, every person, even a cop, is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

When was Hojnacki ever connected to the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? From several sources I am hearing that there was a connection. Was he on the McHenry County Drug Interdiction Task force? Was he stationed at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? Did he have access to the Evidence Room at the Sheriff's Department?

Who has been in charge of the Evidence Room at the Sheriff's Department during the past 5-6 years?

With whom at MCSD did Hojnacki work? Who ran the Task Force?

Are cases filed by deputies (those in which Hojnacki was involved) now at risk? Is Sheriff Nygren exploring similar concerns to those of Chief Jones? Let's see; you probably have to be in town to be personally involved in serious issues within the Department. Is Nygren in town?

Is an inventory underway of all property in the Sheriff's Department Evidence Room? In fact, was that inventory started way back in January, when Sgt. Pyle was arrested? It would seem to me that prudence at that time would have dictated that the Department quickly explore whether there were any misdeeds related to employment. Let's hope there weren't. But there is only one way to find out, and that's to dig.

Did anyone at MCSD start digging?