Merit Commission - no October meeting

The regular Monthly Meeting of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission has been canceled. It was scheduled to meet Thursday, October 11, at 9:30AM, its new meeting time.

The announcement of the cancellation notification carried the wrong time. It was addressed to All Interested Parties - it's interesting (to me) that it was not sent to me. No surprise there, though.

The cancellation of this meeting means that Greg Pyle's termination will not come up, and no other major disciplinary problems are apparently lurking within the walls of the Sheriff's Department.

Did the Sheriff investigate any criminal offenses against Det. Jason Novak, such as whether a witness (a Confidential Information) was coerced in any way to participate in the oral sex with the detective that is reported to the Court in a recent Motion to Suppress Evidence. The C.I. was allegedly at Det. Novak's residence within hours of her boyfriend's release from McHenry County Jail.

Not only was that sexual involvement between the detective and the C.I. handled quietly, Novak got only a ten-day suspension (and then reportedly got substantial over-time, which would have made up for some, if not all, of his lost pay) and was taken off the detective list and put on patrol.

Had Nygren given Novak 31 days off or fired him, which is what he should have done, the matter would have gone to the Merit Commission over a year ago. Instead, it stayed under the covers until the defendant's attorney put it before the Court. Now Judge Prather, after she is done blushing from reading the graphic description in the Motion, will rule on the Motion on October 18.

The Merit Commission used to be there to protect the public. That language in the Mission of the Merit Commission was changed recently, apparently without the knowledge of the Commission itself.

Who re-wrote the Mission or Purpose of the Merit Commission?