Sheriff's Merit Commission - tomorrow 10:30am

Will he or won't he?

The Sheriff's Merit Commission is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, June 13, at 10:30am at 667 Ware Road, 2nd floor.

The big question on the lips of many in McHenry County is how much longer will Sheriff Keith Nygren continue to pay indicted Sgt. Greg Pyle. Pyle was arrested early in January on ten felony counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child (under age 13). He was placed on paid administrative leave.

What's that? It's sort of like a paid vacation. You get paid; you don't have to go to work. Pyle earns about $7,000/month, plus benefits. I think there is something in the MCSD General Orders about staying in McHenry County and being "available".

Nygren was wrong in a recent case where he fired a deputy who the arbitrator and all reviewing courts said should have gotten only three days' off without pay. But Nygren didn't like that deputy, who had been complaining about racial profiling. See what happens when you complain about something that is tolerated by superiors in a department? You get fired. Your pay stops. And you have to sue to get your job back and your back pay.

And that deputy will get it. He should have been working those four years for his pay. He wanted to be working those four years for his pay. Instead, he got a four-year paid vacation. And Nygren must pay that deputy all his back pay.

But in Pyle's case Nygren just continues to pay him. Pyle's next court date is Thursday, June 14, 9:00am, Courtroom 302, with Judge Condon. Pyle's attorneys are Jim Ryan and John F. Donahue.

A reasonable person asks, "Why?" Why does Nygren continue to pay a deputy charged with ten felonies? Ten felonies involving a child under 13. Over a four-year period, 2006-2010. Why doesn't Nygren just chop off his pay? Fight about the pay later, should such a fight ever start.

Will anyone show up to see if Nygren asks the Merit Commission to back him on lopping off Pyle's pay? My guess is that tomorrow Nygren won't even take such a request to the Merit Commission. He could do what's right, knock off the pay, change Pyle's status to unpaid administrative leave, leak it to the Northwest Herald (for brownie points), and get the stamp of approval tomorrow from the Merit Commission.