Drugs in the MCSD Jail? Again?

Rumor has it that drugs have shown up in the McHenry County Jail again. And it's being kept very quiet.

So quiet, in fact, that patrol wasn't even being informed of a previous day's search in the jail.

How do drugs get into a jail? There are several ways:

A prisoner being booked into the jail might have secreted them in a body cavity.

A Corrections Officer or civilian employee at the jail might bring them in. Horrors!

Big Bird might fly over and drop them.

Or maybe a drone delivery.

Prisoners are supposed to be searched when they are booked into the jail. Are search procedures the same for all prisoners? But if a driver in a wreck, who does not have a driver's license, is booked in, does he get a strip search and a search of body cavities? Probably not.

Or could jailers be taking the drugs in? Let's say a particular jailer happens to be "cozy" with an inmate. Maybe an inmate who had suspected or known drug-related activities on the "outside". Could the jailer bring in drugs and get them into the inmates' areas?

Is there any reason that they is not random drug testing for all MCSD employees, deputies and jailers and civilian employees? Do they collect hair samples from time-to-time? Or just urine specimens? Or not even those?

Why were detectives called recently about drugs in the jail, but no canine units were used? Surely, one or two departments in the County could have had their arms twisted to send an officer with his dog for an interior search of the jail.

This is not the first time that the full staff of corrections officers and deputies has not been notified of drug suspicions in the jail.

Sleeping on the job

When is it okay to sleep on the job, if you are an employee of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department?

Is there a particular reason that the command staff, starting with Nygren and Zinke, don't discipline a deputy or corrections officer (supervisor) who sleeps on the midnight shift?

Hey, I know it's tough to stay awake all night. I've tried it. Staying on my feet helped. Sitting in a car, with the heat on full-blast (with the vehicle in Park), is not conducive to staying awake. Sitting in a chair at 2200 N. Seminary Ave. and nodding off? Take a lesson from the operator of that "L" that left the tracks when the operator dozed off.

When your subordinates know you are catching a few zzz's, do they dare say anything? Maybe they could just drop a stack of books and say, "Oops, sorry, Lieutenant".

Any chance that Nygren might drop in on the midnight shift and make the rounds of "his" department? Not likely... But where is the Undersheriff or the Deputy Chief of Corrections (or even the Chief) or a Captain?

Is it true that the maximum disciplinary duration for jail personnel is now ten days? If you get that for leaving a door open between the men's and the women's jail sections, what penalty will be dished out when they figure out how the drugs got into the jail?

Is sleeping on the job considered as bad as falsifying timesheets? In my opinion, if it's a supervisor, it's worse.

Harrison fundraiser this Saturday

Jim Harrison has announced a fundraiser for this Saturday, April 5, in Crystal Lake. Here are the details. (His flier looks much nicer than what I've been able to re-produce here.)

Citizens to Elect Jim Harrison

Sheriff of McHenry County

Cordially Invite You to a Special Event to Support

JIM HARRISON

Independent Candidate for McHenry County Sheriff

Saturday, April 5, 2014 • D’Andrea Banquet Center

4419 U.S. Route 14 • Crystal Lake • IL • 60014

Tickets $100* • Cocktails 6:00 p.m. • Dinner 7:00 p.m.

Awesome Live Music

    DAVE AND DONNA DUO     

And Special Musical Guest Appearance By

MR. JOHN FORBISH

Music • Dinner • Cash Bar • Contests • Auctions • Fun

…………………………………………………………………………………….......................

Reserve your ticket by April 2, 2014: CarolynHarrisonsDesk@gmail.com or 

Call 815-575-4111

*Precinct Committeemen: Buy one, get one free.

     Yes,                  will attend the April 5, 2014 Citizens to Elect Jim Harrison Sheriff Fundraising Dinner.              Enclosed is a check for $                   payable to “Citizens to Elect Jim Harrison Sheriff.”

Credit/Debit accepted by phone or online at www.JimHarrisonForSheriff.com 

(Tickets $100.00*)

 

            I’m unable to attend, however, I wish to contribute $                         to support the campaign.

Citizens to Elect Jim Harrison Sheriff • Post Office Box 10 • Ringwood • IL • 60072

Name/Organization:                                                                                               

Address:                               ________________________________________

City-State-Zip:                                                                                                       

Phone:                                                            

Email:                                              

Paid For By Citizens to Elect James T. (Jim) Harrison Sheriff of McHenry County.  A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections is (or will be) available on the Board’s official website  (www.elections.il.gov) or for purchase from the State Board of Elections, Springfield, Illinois.

Beth Bentley - gone 201 weeks now

Well?

Who wants to be the first to spill the beans about what really happened in (or near) Mt. Vernon, Ill. after Jen Wyatt and Beth Bentley arrived there early Friday morning, May 21, and before the time when Jen says Beth got out of the car in Centralia on Sunday afternoon near the Amtrak Station?

Beth was reported missing late Monday night, May 24. The Woodstock (Ill.) Police took the report. Woodstock is more than 300 miles from Mt. Vernon.

At least three people know.

Woodstock Property Tax comparison

McHenry County Blog carries an article this morning that shows this graph, comparing municipality property taxes.

As a 2011 graph, it is out-of-date. You have to wonder how Woodstock compares with other communities in McHenry County for 2012 and 2013. You can bet this graph won't appear in any Woodstock community publications.

The McHenry County Blog article carries a letter this morning from the Village of Lakewood president. In the letter, she mentions the retirement of Lakewood Police Chief Larry Howell. Howell, a Woodstock resident, is one of two members of the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. The Board in Woodstock has been short one of its three members since September 2013. The letter also has a graph comparing 2011 property taxes for McHenry County's municipalities.

Why would little ol' Woodstock's property taxes be 129% higher than those in Crystal Lake? Not just 100% higher, but 129% higher.

Perhaps residents should turn up at the April 1st (no foolin') Woodstock City Council meeting and ask:

1. Why were 2011 property taxes 129% higher than Crystal Lake's?
2. Why hasn't the City Council appointed the third member to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners?

Illinois law (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-1 reads, in part, "This board shall consist of 3 members".

Not may, might, could, should. "This board shall consist of 3 members."

"Shall" is a powerful, commanding word in state statutes. It's an order, a direction, a requirement.

Has not the City Attorney explained this to the Mayor, City Council and City Manager? What's the reason that the City of Woodstock has failed to appoint a third member?

Woodstock: Why no 3rd BOFPC member?

Another Woodstock City Council meeting will occur when they do not appoint a third member to the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

What's the delay???

The Board is supposed to have three members. Will it be necessary to file a lawsuit against the City of Woodstock to force them to appoint a third member?

The Board is the citizens' committee of residents to control the police department. There is one long-time member who is the chairman, and a second member, while a city resident, is the police chief of Lakewood, Illinois.

Would a fully-independent third member last October have raised the battle cry, when the Police Department and the City hushed up the disciplinary matter involving Sgt. Amati? A Chicago Tribune reporter caught wind of the trouble in mid-October and talked to Chief Lowen. The Board met on October 28 and doled out a 30-day suspension.

As a public body, the Board made its decision in the public portion of the meeting; yet the Board, the Police Department and the City all failed to release any information about the matter. Finally, on the day before Thanksgiving, the Chicago Tribune broke the story.

Of course, there won't be a "fully-independent" resident ever appointed to this Board. Such a person would be a high risk for the City Council and Mayor. They'll appoint a follower - someone who will know from where his marching orders come.

And that's wrong.

Diabetic Alert Dogs - for real?

Several years ago I began driving to Columbia, South Carolina, from Woodstock. When I got to Indianapolis, I began thinking constantly of a family in Richmond, Va., where I had lived from 1993-1996 - so much so that I called them. I reached the mom, and she sounded stressed to the max. When I asked what was going on, she told me that her husband and she had been virtually living at the hospital for a week, while their 9-year-old daughter was receiving intensive treatment for Type 1 Diabetes.

They had three other children at home, and I asked if I could help. My offer was taken up quickly, and I went east from Indianapolis, instead of southeast to Columbia. For a few days, I was the house-helper and watched the other children continue with their own home-schooling and household chores.

On the day before the mom, dad and young daughter returned home from the hospital, I offered to take their laundry to the laundromat because, as chance would have it, the washer had quit and was awaiting the husband's expertise to repair it. My VW bug was so full of laundry that there was barely room for me.

The family has had a diabetic alert dog now for several years. No, the dog doesn't have diabetes! Its keen sense of smell can detect rises and falls in the daughter's blood-sugar levels, and the dog "alerts" the child and the parents, so that immediate attention can be given. The dog goes everywhere with the child. I mean, everywhere.

When they visited me in Woodstock, we went to the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Oak Park, the Art Institute, and Lou Malnati's in Lakewood. When the dog is wearing his service vest, he is allowed everywhere - by law.

A new book about diabetic service dogs was published in February. The title is Lifesaving Labradors: Stories from Families with Diabetic Alert Dogs. To read about the book on Amazon.com, just click on the link, or go directly to Amazon. The book is available in paperback and Kindle versions. Net proceeds of the book, after the publisher is paid, will go toward training more diabetic alert dogs.

If you have diabetes, you'll want to read this book. If you know someone with diabetes, consider giving them a copy of the book.