Mike Mahon Points to Crime Statistics for Reason to Change Sheriffs

The Democratic Party candidate for McHenry County Sheriff, Mike Mahon, has sent the following press release:

MAHON NOTES CRIME UP IN MCHENRY, DOWN IN NEIGHBORING COUNTIES
DESPITE HEAVY SPENDING HERE

Candidate for McHenry County Sheriff Mike Mahon Wednesday said that Illinois State Police figures show McHenry County posted an overall increase in indexed crimes from the years 2000 to 2008 while surrounding counties improved their public safety records, some by significant margins.

Crime Index for McHenry County, 1990-2008.

“Under Sheriff Keith Nygren, McHenry County showed an increase of 141 reported serious crimes in 2008 as opposed to year 2000. Lake County posted a drop of 963 reported crimes over the same years, a drop of almost 6% compared with our increase of 2.5%,”

Mahon said.

Crime Index for Kane County, 1990-2008.

“Meanwhile, Kane County went down 24%, almost a quarter of all indexed crimes. Our neighbors seem to know how to reduce crime.

“I wish they would let Sheriff Nygren in on the secret. It can’t just be spending more money, because the Sheriff’s Office budget has ballooned more than 100% in the intervening years.”

The Illinois State Police compiles data on reported crimes. Indexed crimes include Murder, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Assault/Battery, Burglary, Theft, Vehicle Theft and Arson.

According to ISP figures used in a Northern Illinois University statistical catalogue, over the years between 2000 and 2008 (the most recent year available), indexed crimes went down statewide and in many neighboring counties.

  • Kane County: down 24%
  • DeKalb County: down 12%
  • Lee County: down 17%
  • Ogle County: down 18%
  • DuPage County: down 2%

Crime Index for DuPage County, 1990-2008.

“The Sheriff is the principal law enforcement officer in the County,” Mahon said.

Mike Mahon

“While not directly responsible for those crimes committed in various municipalities, he does set the tone for the county as a whole and should be able to identify and marshal resources to combat crime trends.

“If he were doing a better job, we’d be part of this good news, not lagging behind.

“It all points to a failure to effectively target the serious amounts of money the Sheriff’s Office receives from hard-pressed taxpayers.”


Comments

Mike Mahon Points to Crime Statistics for Reason to Change Sheriffs — 19 Comments

  1. Oh fun with spinning numbers, no wonder we all hate politicians. Off course if Mahon has any knowledge in studying crime rates he knows you don’t simply look at the raw numbers you look at the crime rate as it relates to the size of the population.

    That is what the study he is “short” quoting did in the next step of the process. Yes, that study goes on to show with the same pretty charts that the crime rate per 100,000 residents is significantly down in the County over that same time period.

    The real “Crime Rate” numbers that Mahon neglects to mention from the study he “short” quotes can be found at:
    http://www.illinoisdata.com/dbs/crime/crime_rate/mchenry.htm

    Not sure if neglecting the relevant data is an attempt to deceive or simply lack of experience/education but the numbers he quotes certainly don’t tell the true story of Crime Rate numbers.

  2. The same study shows that on average in Illinois municipalities have an average of 426 law enforcement personnel per 100,000 residents.

    It additionally shows that McHenry County only averages 314 law enforcement personnel per 100,000 residents.

    So to summarize the Crime rate is trending down and the county using 25% less Law enforcement personnel per 100,000 residents than the state average to do it.

    Sounds like doing more with less to me.

  3. Just Curious: Good point.

    Also thought it was obvious seeing how much population increased.

    McMahon doesn’t help himself when he shows himself as another Dem willing to mislead people. He has a large enough contrast to run on.

    If he doesn’t want to invest enough of his own money in his campaign to get the job, that says plenty.

    If Dems don’t believe in McMahon to support him with enough money to get his message out, then this says plenty more.

    Dem Rep. Jack Franks could give McMahon enough money to get the message out.

    Why won’t he?

    Because Franks knows its a bunch of Dem baloney?

    I thought McMahon was better than giving out misleading statistics.

    Not a Nygren fan but on its own merits this is sad.

    Nygren should be supporting John O’Neill but instead he is giving money to Jack Franks.

    Why is Nygren with a Republican label giving money to a Dem?

    Is he getting Franks promise to not help McMahon?

  4. Have to agree with Just; the growth in McHenry County from 2000 to 2008 was tremendous-I understood that we were the fastest growing county in the state!

    Crime, small or large would have to grow due to the population growth.

    When you don’t have anything to rail against, there’s nothing like a good snow job to make the unknowing get afraid of nothing that unusual

  5. Even the graphics he sent for Cal to put up are massively misleading.

    If you look at the “blue lines” on the 3 charts for 2008 the line for McHenry county is like 5 times as big as the others…yet if you follow it over to the left to look at the number it represents…that much larger blue line actually represents a much smaller number of crimes in this county as opposed to the others.

    What a complete hatchet job.

  6. Thats what inexperience as a POLICE OFFICER will get you. Like I have asked before, What academy other than a correctional officer academy has Mike attended? Any schooling in criminal justice? I will wait for an answer.

  7. Figures lie and liars figure. Seems that Mahon has part of the equation down pat.

    Looking at just the raw figures in the first chart can be deceiving but even if you don’t bother to consider the rest of the facts common sense (which typically isn’t – common, that is) would beg one to consider the population growth in the county over18 years. Then one would also think of the expansion of municipal boundaries (and responsibilities) during the same period.

    Then you could look at the raw numbers again and see that even without considering population growth, the crime rate has remained relatively static since 1999 and has, in fact, decreased over the last three years reported.

    Remember too (as someone else pointed out) that crime in the municipalities is just that, CRIME IN THE MUNICIPALITIES! Anyone wish to hazard a guess just where the bulk of the McHenry County population resides? Here’s a clue… It’s within the corporate limits.

    Apparently Mahon, by his own press release wishes to charge Nygren with the overall responsibility for the crime rate in McHenry County. Okay, let’s figure that’s fair – NOT! How about showing us the crime stats for Cook County. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

    Let’s see what the correctional officer, of sorts, can do with that?

    As I initially stated: “Figures lie and liars figure!”

  8. He was a Crystal Lake Police Officer. You have to attend a state approved academy here in Illinois to be a police officer. So I would say earthmother you are incorrect.

  9. I am not incorrect. HE NEVER WENT TO THE ACADEMY. The Illinois Police records show this. Go to the MCSD and friends blog. Zane has the official copy. email him and he can scan it and send it to you. It specifies approved (which means grandfathered). When you attend, it says completed. Also shows some little weekend thing he attended and got a pathetic 82 as a grade.

  10. Nygren greased his way through with friends to get the CL job. At the time they were not too thorough when hiring. It was in the 70″s and a much smaller town.

  11. So, Mother, why not have your friend Mahon scan and show us a copy of his certification showing that he graduated from the Police Training Institute or any academy other than a correctional officer academy? I think you give Nygren much more credit than he deserves. A kid from DeKalb County moving and shaking his way into a job he wasn’t qualified for in the early 70’s? Damn, he really is as good as they say. As others have posted much earlier, PTI was NOT required when Nygren was hired. IIRC, Crystal Lake officers and others attended a police academy in the Des Plaines, Mt Prospect area. Comparing his training and experience to someone like, say, Seipler, is pretty funny. Nygren was making arrests when Zane was still trying to get that foul smell out of his diapers. Get real and focus on an argument that you MIGHT be able to win with that kind of logic.

  12. Nygren was a kid from Cook, not DeKalb. Missing years would bring him to an area that I know well. HE NEVER ATTENDED THE ACADEMY!!!!

  13. “just” of many names, you have much to learn. But, I think you already know and you are a “do boy” and want to deflect for him. Time will tell.

  14. Mother, I, like you, have a lot to learn.

    When will we see the highly vaunted credentials of your boy Mahon?

    My guess is that we won’t since you have nothing to show, you can only throw dirt.

    Can we see Mahon’s diploma from the FBI National Academy?

    Nah, didn’t think so.

    Talk about deflection.

    What can we see for him?

    Oh yeah, we can see a complaint that he harassed a female subordinate (granted this was not based upon her gender, only that he didn’t have the stones to go after her husband who, in his defense, was the one he wanted to hurt) by telling her in front of witnesses that he wanted to have sex with her 14 or 15 year old daughter.

    You’ll have to do better than that, moms!

  15. When, like me, you have a lot of relatives in law enforcement, you know what the FBI academy that he attended is about.

    It is about networking and eating and partying.

    Much like corporate conventions. Wearing lampshades on their heads.

    An old politician once told me that “it is all about creating an illusion and people will believe it”.

    Nygren along with the Northwest Nygren Herald, Daily Herald and his connections have created an illusion and people have believed it. No substance and a lot of problems are what we have.

    Waitresses from a former local restaurant and other places have a lot to say about your guy

  16. I wouldn’t listen to anything Zane says.. He is a proven liar and irresponsible cop. He was fired. Also, Mahon is a jailer… nothing wrong with that, but doesnt and cant understand the ways of cops. Check out his law suit about sexual harassment and his drunk driving record. I don’t care if you don’t like nygren, you cant like mahon for sheriff…

  17. I have asked for Mike Mahon to tell us all about how many homicide investigations he has conducted. Or how about a robbery or a burglary investigation. How many times has Mike conducted a traffic stop? What crime prevention programs has he implamented or worked on?

    While his work in the fugitive apprehension unit is honorable, it does not give him the insight to run a department of POLICE OFFICERS that would look to him for leadership.

    Mike is running his campaign on the fact that Nygren has one pension and will be collecting another. And the fact that Nygren has more than one property. Mike you will be doing the same thing if you get elected. Also many people in this world have summer homes, Thats what people work for. Whats your point.

  18. I think you’re all full of crap.

    Mahon can’t produce credentials.

    He talks out his rear end and can’t produce any analyzed data. Raw data is worthless and that’s why we have intelligence anaysts, which by the way the county would do very well to employ these skills.

    I offered these intelligence and counter-intelligence skills to Nygren upon return from active duty and he looked at me sideways and offered me a job riding around in a patrol car.

    There are many ways to fight crime without ever leaving an office, if you understand information manipulation and exploitation.

    Nygren is finished.

    There is a need for new talent.

    Someone who embraces advanced crime fighting ideas and new technology.

    Gee wiz, I’m a graduate of both the corrections adcademy and the police academy and many counter-intelligence schools and several department of defense schools and an FBI school, so perhaps I should run for Sheriff and smoke all of you.

    Can I get an AMEN?

    I’ve been approached to run, and perhaps I should give it some thought.

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