Listen carefully; read carefully

Be sure to read this morning's Northwest Herald article (Page 1C) about the Nygrens' homestead exemption in Florida. It sounds pretty good, if you don't know any more about it.

"On Tuesday he denied any wrongdoing..." wrote the NWH reporter after speaking to Sheriff Nygren.

Is he speaking only for himself or for his wife and him? She signed an affadavit on 1/29/07 that she knew that they could not have more than one residency-based homestead exemption and that they were responsible for removing any other homestead exemption. Did she read it? Did she forget to tell him? Is he saying that he didn't do any wrong, but she did?

"political mudslinging"? I don't think so.

In the same article (10/28/09) Nygren told the reporter that "he asked to have the homestead exemption for the house in Florida removed after his wife became a Florida resident and sought a homestead exemption for a house they own in Cape Coral, Fla."

Did his lawyer write out that statement for him? Just examine how carefully it is constructed.

Mrs. Nygren sought the homestead exemption on January 29, 2007, when she signed the affidavit for the Florida homestead exemption on that date. In March 2009 the Lee County (Fla.) Assessor's office contacted the McHenry County Assessor about the Hebron residence homestead exemption and wrote to the Nygrens.

So, it is true that Keith asked to have the Hebron house exemption removed "after" Marge filed her affidavit. But he asked 26 months "after" and apparently only after the Lee County Assessor wrote that it intended to cancel the Florida homestead exemption!

I loved this morning's headline on Page 3C: "Candidate questions tax exemption." Thank you, NWH, if you are referring to me, but I don't want to take credit where none is due.

It was the Lee County Assessor who questioned the Illinois homestead exemption, and after they got a tip that the Nygrens had the exemption here on their home in Hebron. And that was back in March. All I did was write about it and then only after I read about it elsewhere, where another sharp blogger had pulled the issue into public view.

Nygren told the reporter, "My wife spends probably seven months of the year there. If I spend a couple of days there a year, that's it."

If that's true, then who ate all the meals and drank all the booze purchased in Florida by Nygren's political campaign funds between January-June, 2009? Expenses were listed on this blog, after first being published on www.mchenrycountyblog.com/

How does Keith get to Florida and back? Commercial airline (tickets would verify how frequently he traveled and how long he stayed); private aircraft from political friends? drive the Tahoe?

What would the mileage log for the Tahoe show for 2009? It's only 9.8 miles from home to office, so that's 20 miles/day. Twenty-three days a month, and that's 460 miles, and those are all "commuting" miles and should be taxable to the employee. In six months? 2,760 miles, less "a couple of days there (in Florida) a year." How many miles were put on the Tahoe in the first six months of the year?

It's a County vehicle, so the records should be publicly available.

When I'm Sheriff, I plan to continue driving my "basic undercover car" and save the County some big bucks. And I won't even gas up at the County pump for my 4.4-mile commute.

Nygrens to lose Florida homestead exemption

The Nygrens will lose two years of homestead exemption on their Cape Coral home, says the Office of the Lee County (Florida) Property Assessor.

In March that Assessor's office received an anonymous call that alerted them that the Nygrens might be receiving homestead exemptions in two states. The Lee County Assessor's Office contacted the McHenry County Assessor's Office to confirm the exempt status in McHenry County, and the Lee County Assessor's Office mailed an Intent to Cancel Notice to the Nygrens, informing them of the intention to cancel their homestead exemption on the Cape Coral home.

Keith Nygren contacted the Lee County Assessor's office on March 16 about the Intent to Cancel Notice he had received. And on that same date, March 16, Donna Mayberry wrote to the Lee County Property Assessor about the Nygrens' homestead exemption on their Hebron residence. (How's that for top-speed service out of the McHenry County Assessor's Office???)

That is what triggered Donna Mayberry's March 16th letter. You can read that letter on www.mchenrycountyblog.com Notice that Assessor Mayberry's letter is careful not to reference the letter from the Lee County Assessor's Office, which prompted her reply!

The Lee County Property Appraiser today wrote, "The application process in Lee County requires that, in addition to the exemption application, the exemption applicant also complete an affidavit affirming their [emphasis added] Florida residence, and acknowledging they were informed that not more than one residency based exemption be allowed any individual, or family unit. They further acknowledge they are responsible for removing other residency based tax credits/exemptions. This affidavit was signed by Margarete Mygren [sic] on 1/29/2007 under penalty of perjury."

Because the Nygrens did not request removal of the Illinois homestead exemption from their Hebron home prior to March 2009, the Lee County Assessor considers that Mrs. Nygren did not verify the exempt status "of any properties owned by either her and/or her husband."

Today's letter from the Lee County Assessor's Office continues, "Because Mrs. Nygren was informed of her responsibility in this regard, but did not remove the other exemption, she did not qualify in Lee County for tax year 2007 and 2008. Lee County will take action to remove the 2007 and 2008 homestead exemption and back tax accordingly."

So, according to the Lee County Assessor's Office, Mrs. Nygren affirmed their Florida residence on January 29, 2007. Doesn't this make them Florida residents since that date?

If Keith Nygren is a Florida resident, by virtue of his wife's applying for the homestead exemption on their home, the deed for which is in both names, then can he file a valid petition to run for the elected office of Sheriff of McHenry County?

The Daily Herald carries a photo of Keith Nygren as he filed his papers on Monday morning at 8:00AM. Did he swear (or affirm) that he is a qualified voter in McHenry County (you must be a (legal) resident to be a qualified voter)? Did he swear (or affirm) that he is legally qualified to hold the office of Sheriff of McHenry County (you must have been a resident for 30 days).

To be elected to the office of Sheriff, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of McHenry County for at least one year, and not be a convicted felon. Two out of three isn't quite good enough.