Ticket Quotas - Yea or Nay?

The question was, Should cops have ticket quotas?. The results of this survey?

No 26 (46%)
Yes 31 (54%)

Thanks to the 57 readers for participating in this survey.

Early in the week-long survey, the Yes's ran ahead in the voting. Then the No's pulled even, and at the end the Yes's moved ahead again.

Having performance standards is one thing; having quotas is another. With my bent toward traffic violations, I see a lot of them. So writing traffic tickets often seems to me to be a no-brainer. And yet I remember the days when I had time to "hide behind billboards" (that sort of "dates" me, doesn't it?), just waiting for a speeder or a driver to roll through a stop sign or a driver to pass illegally in a no-passing zone.

Where did they all go? Was there a spotlight on my car? Was some kid standing down the block with a sign reading "Cop ahead"?

Seeing traffic violations and not taking action is a "performance" problem and can be corrected through supervision and training.

Coming up to the end of the month 4-5-6 tickets short of your quota is a problem, because it means the cop or deputy then has to write tickets to stay out of his supervisor's crosshairs. And that's where the quota requirement goes awry.

Sometimes a little "roadside counseling" gets the job done, and the cop knows it. The driver understands and acknowledges the error, the cop doesn't believe it to be a "habit", and a Warning will suffice. Then there are times when a driver "cops" an attitude and a situation that might have resulted in a Warning becomes one in which a ticket is issued.

Discretion should be just that. Not favoritism (because the driver flashes his badge at the deputy or because he has an LE or FF license plate or a "police association donation" decal in the back window or because the driver says "my wife (or husband or brother or sister-in-law or best friend's niece's father-in-law's second wife) is a cop in (name the local town).

And discretion must not be taken away from the officer, just because it's the end of the month and he "has to" make his numbers.

Mining Plan Gets Green Light - 6-1

As one man put it, "Why rush to judgement?" Because it works.

In spite of an incomplete application to the Woodstock Plan Commission for a special use permit and in spite of solidly-based requests for delay in decision, late Tuesday night the Woodstock City Council voted 6-0 and gave a green light to the Merryman group for a special use permit to mine the east end of a tract roughly across the road from Memorial Medical Center and toward Lily Pond Road.

Many who spoke urged the City Council not to rush into its decision, and they gave good reasons for delaying. One important environmental report was not received by the City until yesterday. When one speaker asked for the report to be summarized by a staff member, the mayor refused to allow it. It may have been one of the reports which should have been submitted to the Plan Commission before a decision was made there. Points of law were raised and ... well, more about this another time.

More later today...

Shoo, Bush!

One has to wonder whether Dubya got the "message", when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi threw his shoes at him in Baghdad.

al-Zeidi reportedly shouted, "This is a farewell kiss, you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

A courageous man, that journalist.

According to Associated Press reporter, Robert Reid, "Shoes hold a special place in the Arab lexicon of insults as a show of contempt - effectively saying, you're lower than the dirt on my shoes. Even sitting with the sole of a shoe pointed at another person is seen as disrespectful." (AP, December 16, 2008)

U.S. news has never continually reported the number of deaths and injuries of Iraqi citizens resulting from the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Opinion Research Business survey (2003-2007) places the number of violent deaths in Iraq at 1,033,000 as a result of the "conflict." OVER ONE MILLION. And that doesn't include 2008.

Bush's actions and "leadership" (a word I hesitate to associate with him) have resulted in the United States being hated in Iraqi.

Maybe it's time to re-read The Ugly American.

Stadium - What's the rush???

The Woodstock City Council meets tonight. Number 1 on the agenda is the proposal for a gravel pit near Memorial Medical Center. They don't call it a "gravel pit"; it's "excavation" to prepare the lot for a multi-purpose event venue. A Northwest Herald says the developer will "mine gravel." I'll bet she hit the name on the head.

The Plan Commission approved the plan earlier this month with 48 conditions. That's FORTY-EIGHT conditions. How many have been met so far? Ten? Five? One?

How did this thing get greased up so well that it slid onto the Agenda on such short notice?

A search on the Northwest Herald website last year revealed the article after the December Plan Commission meeting. This morning it cannot be found. Good thing I printed it last night.

PC Member Carlos Acosta, according to the Northwest Herald said "voting against it (the plan) was futile because of the political climate." PC Member Doreen Paluch also questioned the proposed plan; "How can we proceed with an incomplete application?"

And then the PC passed it unanimously. That's how. So much for dissent... Why didn't at least those two have the guts to stand up and vote against it?

Crystal Lake just rejected such a plan. Go to http://www.nwherald.com/ and search for "Woodstock stadium". You can read articles about the rejection in Crystal Lake.

What about environmental studies? Where is IDOT in this project? U.S. Highway 14 is one lane in each direction. Does anyone in his right mind think IDOT is going to widen Highway 14 to four-six lanes for sufficient distance to accommodate an entertainment venue and do it in 2009? Give me a break! Make that, give me a brake...

There is something else going on here, for this thing to move so fast.

Why did the Plan Commission approve the project with 48 conditions, rather than establishing the conditions and telling the developer to come back after he has accomplished most of them?

What consequences (penalties!) will be placed on the developer, should he not complete the project? We're in a recession, and a project like this floats onto the table?

The project hasn't even reached the City Council yet, and Councilman Webster is all for it. Seems to me that he ought to be withholding eager approval until he has heard the scoop AT the City Council meeting AND has heard from the public.

Sheriff's Dept. Legal Fees

Just how much is it costing McHenry County taxpayers for legal fees being paid on behalf of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? Whether the State's Attorney's office is representing the sheriff's department or a private law firm, what is the cost? Most of it is probably money that could be better spent on law enforcement activities.

A case in court this morning is a good example. Deputy Bob Schlenkert's case against the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission was scheduled in Judge McIntyre's courtroom this morning. They'll be back in court on December 23rd at 9:00AM. Judge McIntyre's courtroom is 201, if you're not busy that morning.

As I understand it from information provided to me, Deputy Schlenkert fought successfully to get his job back and then he was required to attend the 12-week academy - even though he was an experienced deputy for quite a few years. Schlenkert missed one small portion of the physical agility/strength testing and, based on that, the sheriff's department declared him unfit for duty.

Now I ask you. If you miss one small portion of that testing, should you be tossed to the wolves?

Next time you are up at 2200 N. Seminary, look around you. Check out the beer bellys (or is it bellies); anyway, guts! Size up the deputies from toes to head. Are they fit? Many - most - are, and many of them work hard at their physical conditioning, because they never know when they will need all the physical strength they can muster. Include the supervisors and the command personnel. Are they in good physical condition?

Are there age-appropriate standards? Does a man 50 years old have to meet the same physical standards as a man 25 years old? If you can't walk up half a flight of steps without huffing and puffing, you should get a certain period of time to improve your stamina or find a new job - if that's what the standard is. It should apply to all - evenly.

And the requirements should be applied across the board without discrimination against any one or a few. How many deputies have been out of service for over a year but, when they came back, they did not have to participate in re-training or go through the Academy before returning to duty?

The sheriff's department must be spending a bundle on defense in the Gauger case. That one is written about elsewhere. I knew a man in Colorado who was falsely accused of rape. The victim told police that his wasn't the truck involved and that he wasn't the rapist. Yet they kept after him. He eventually won $1,100,000 from two sheriff's departments, two District Attorneys and one police department.

School Bus Delays

This morning I got stuck behind a school bus in Woodstock on northbound Seminary Avenue at Jackson, which was stopped for a long time with its red lights flashing. When I pulled up behind it, I could see no students boarding, but there were 4-5 women (parents?) milling around the front door of the bus.

After a minute of two the parents walked away. It was bitter cold and the wind was blowing, making the windchill factor about -10 degrees F. And still the bus did not move. I missed the class on Patience, and I honked the horn to let the driver know that cars were waiting behind the bus.

And still the bus didn't move. And the red lights continued to flash. Not being one who wanted to be the recipient of a $250 ticket for passing a stopped school bus (and the court costs and the 90-day loss of license), I waited. Then I honked again.

Finally the driver turned off the red lights, and oncoming traffic passed. And still the bus didn't move. Perhaps the driver was being passive-aggressive and making me wait longer, as retaliation for my impatience. So be it. There was no opportunity to pass, because the bus was stopped in the traffic lane, out from the curb, and right at the intersection with East Jackson Street.

I suspected that a disabled or wheelchair-bound student had boarded this bus. In a call to the D200 Transportation Department I was told that the bus must remain stopped until the disabled student's wheelchair has been secured, because the State says so. Also, that the red lights must continue to flash until the student's wheelchair has been secured.

The bus could remain stopped, as the driver is probably the only person on board to secure the student. But the red lights could be turned off and the yellow lights activated, which would allow motorists to pass the stopped bus. Apparently, the State Board of Education doesn't like that, but it makes sense to me.

Huge traffic delays also occur on Route 47, when a bus stops for a disabled student to board or get off. There is no reason in the world to halt traffic while a student in a wheelchair is assisted off the bus. The student is not going to run out in traffic and get hit by a passing car!

I shall be first to want the student and the bus driver to be safe. But common sense needs to prevail. Bus routes should be slightly adjusted to accommodate not only students, but also motorists. The bus for the student on Route 47 could pull around the corner on Grove Street. Or, at the least, shut off the red lights after the student is on the bus, and leave the yellow lights flashing for the time it takes to secure the wheelchair. If the student is leaving the bus, turn on the red lights only during the time that the student is leaving the bus.

Any thoughts on this?

Woodstock Police - Still no contract

I wonder how many Woodstock residents realize that the officers of the Woodstock Police Department continue to work their shifts and perform their duties, in spite of having no contract with the City. The officers "organized" a while back; that is, they formed a union and hoped to benefit from collective bargaining.

Their contract expired about a year ago, and no agreement has been reached on a new one. Apparently, police officers cannot strike, so we still see police cars around town and occasionally hear their sirens and see the overhead lights in operation.

What if we had a Republic Windows & Doors sit-in right here in Woodstock? Just picture this. Officers show up in uniform for their shifts, go to roll call, sit and listen to the non-union sergeant drone on and on about responsibility and duty and obligation and shutting off the engines (even though it's 10 degrees outside) and so on. Then the sergeant tells them to go out, check the equipment in their cars, test the lights and sirens, and get to work.

But this day the officers just sit there. They'd like to go to work, but there is no contract. The dispatchers get swamped with calls, and the sergeants are running all over town, trying to handle all the calls themselves. What if they get hurt on the job? What if there is a disagreement with a supervisor? What if they are threatened with discipline while merely doing their jobs? Will the union's lawyer represent them, if there is no contract? What are they paying their dues for, if there is no contract?

"You know, sarge, if we had a contract, we'd all be happy as clams and be glad to go out on the streets of Woodstock and chase jewelry store robbers, speeders, break up fights, investigate accidents involving cops and let them go - why, we'll do our duty. We'll protect and serve. All we need is the contract, sarge..."

No one even takes Brinx outside. He sits in the rollcall room for eight hours with the rest of his officers. Kind of hard on the kidneys, but life is tough.

So, where is the contract? Why hasn't it been completed, accepted and put away for another 1-2-3 years? Where is the good-faith bargaining?

Cops are reasonable employees, just like the rest of the City employees. If there really is no money for pay increases and benefits (and no other employees are getting pay increases or benefits), I'll bet they will accept that and wait for better times.

OK, officers, weigh in here. Post your comments. What do you think are the reasons that no new contract has been signed? How long will you continue to work without a contract?