McHenry County Blog

Crystal Lake’s Scott Milliman wasn’t happy at all that McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren fired him for testifying under oath in former (new re-hired) Deputy Zane Seipler’s wrongful termination suit.

Milliman, contends in a May 29th filing:

• Excessive force [is] used by McHenry County Deputy Sheriffs
• Retaliation [has been] suffered by Milliman and other Deputy Sheriffs for reporting unlawful conduct of other Deputy Sheriffs
• Allegations that Nygren was directly involve in ticket fixing in McHenry County
• Nygren’s acceptance of bribes intended to influence his actions as Sheriff
• Nygren’s involvement in a scheme to fraudulently procure SBA [Small Business Administration] loans for individuals and share in the proceeds of the loans knowing that the loans were going to default

Below is what his attorney, Thomas Crooks, filed in the following third amended brief.

He asks for an injunction putting Milliman back to work immediately.

Getting to the Bill Prim for Sheriff fundraiser on Friday night was a challenge.

We knew he lived in Johnsburg, but after tuning on Johnsburg Road we saw that it was one-way in the other direction.

Maybe there was a detour sign on Route 31, but I didn’t see it.

We circled around and finally found Spring Grove Road.  No detour signs to provide assistance, though.

As we walked from the parking area to Gary Rabine’s home for the event, we crossed a little stream running from a pond.

We seemed to be late because no one was manning the ticket table.

As we reached the tent, soon-to-be-announcing for the Republican nomination for Governor Dan Rutherford was speaking.

I heard him talking about where he was going to be announcing for Governor on Sunday.

I arrived at the end of the talk, but was told Rutherford made quite complimentary comments about Sheriff’s candidate Bill Prim.

There was a bit of irony in his appearance, because he is strongly supported by any number of people who are supporting Sheriff Keith Nygren’s chosen replacement, Andrew Zinke.

19-year old Charlie Kirk spoke after Rutherford.

He founded a college student group called Turning Point USA.

It’s members turned out in numbers.

Next up was the candidate himself, Bill Prim.

Prim downplayed his speaking ability in comparison to Rutherford’s and Kirk’s, but did quite well.

He spoke from notes but didn’t overly refer to them.

Prim talked of the “inherent distrust” people and even members of the department have of the Sheriff’s Department. (There were members of the department present who didn’t want me to take a photo.)

Prim spoke of the arrogance of the department.

“It’s definitely time for a change,” he asserted.

The former Des Plaines Police Commander told of some of the high profile cases he had worked on, including ones in cooperation with various Federal agencies which led to national awards for his service.

“I think people should know there’s something known as ‘a working boss,’” Prim said bringing to mind the common designation of Keith Nygren as a “cell phone sheriff.”

“The residents deserve a sheriff they can trust and be inspired by,” Prim continued.

Among current and former public officials attending the Prim fund raiser were

• State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi
• Newly-elected Algonquin Township Trustees Melissa Sanchez and Larry Emery
• Newly-elected McHenry County College Board member Tom Wilbeck
• Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Thorsen
• Hebron Village Trustee Mark Shepherd
• McHenry County Board members Nick Provenzano and Diane Evertsen
• Former State Representative Rosemary Kurtz
• Johnsburg School Board member Steve Rooney
• East Dundee Village Trustee Allen Skillikorn

Other luminaries included Irene Napier, mother of the McHenry County Right-to-Life movement, Helene Walsh, representing her husband Joe, who was broadcasting his show on WIND Radio and numerous precinct committeemen, male and female.

On the wall of the garage, which was behind the tent, was the following banner:

A press release from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department:

Outdoor Cannabis Grow Operation

McHenry County Sheriff’s Office announced today the seizure of approximately 2,000 cannabis sativa plants from a wooded area in unincorporated Hebron, Illinois. On May 11, 2013, Sheriff’s Deputies were called to the area of Nichols Rd. and Hillside Rd., Hebron for a trespassing complaint.

A concerned citizen had stumbled upon a campsite in the middle of the woods and startled two unidentified Hispanic males who then fled the area on foot.

Sheriff’s Deputies were unable to locate the offenders, but did locate two cleared out areas in the dense woods that were being prepared for the planting of this illicit crop.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was called in to process the scene and recovered approximately 2,000 cannabis sativa seedlings, fertilizer, soil, hoses, food, water, and camping equipment.  Undersheriff Andrew Zinke estimates the street value of the plants at $1,000,000 (if harvested).

The Undersheriff would like to inform residents that as summer approaches, persons involved in growing cannabis head into rural areas to tend to crops of cannabis plants. In recent years the Narcotics Unit has recovered over 20,000 cannabis plants from outdoor cannabis grow operations. Typically these illicit crops are located in areas such as: swamps, corn fields, wooded areas, along rivers, and on rural rental properties with large acreages. Cannabis crops can be harvested as early as August and as late as the beginning of October.

Common indicators of outdoor cannabis grow operations include:

• Abandoned vehicles parked on side roads or trails
• People observed walking in remote areas for no apparent reason
• Bags of fertilizer, planting trays or chemicals located in remote areas
• Well trampled trails in wooded or swamp areas
• Cleared out areas in swamps, wooded areas or corn fields
• Numerous signs appear out of nowhere indicating “No Trespassing”

Be aware that in some cases outdoor cannabis grows are guarded or protected by “booby” traps. If discovered, contact law enforcement immediately.

Do not enter the grow location, turn around and immediately leave the area the same way you came in.
Residents are encouraged to contact your local law enforcement to report suspected narcotic activity and other suspicious activity. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact McHenry County Crime Stoppers at 1
-800-762-7867 (STOP).

= = = = =

Read about the 2008 unsolved marijuana plot on McHenry County Conservation District land here.

Read about the 2009 unsolved marijuana plot on McHenry County Conservation District land here.

Federal District Court Judge Fredrick Kapala refused to dismiss a second case brought by two men fired by McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren, this time the one brought by Scott Milliman.

Milliman was fired by Nygren for testifying in a required deposition in the case of now-reinstated Deputy Zane Seipler.

In his testimony, Milliman, to put it in the words of Monday’s decision, “alleged

1. excessive force used by other deputies
2. retaliation that Milliman and other deputies faced for reporting unlawful conduct
3. Nygren’s involvement in ‘ticket fixing’
4. Nygren’s acceptance of bribes
5. Nygren’s involvement in a fraudulent scheme to procure SBA [Small Business Administration] loans and then share the proceeds while permitting the loans to go into default
6. ‘general corruption’ within the Sheriff’s Office”

“Milliman also accused Nygren of soliciting him to commit two murders on Nygren’s behalf and of receiving payment to smuggle illegal aliens into the country.”

Retaliation up to and including firing are alleged by Milliman in his request for reinstatement and damages.

The Judge dismissed three of six counts, gave permission to explicitly name Undersheriff Andrew Zinke in another county and denied permission to include, along with Nygren, Zinke, John Miller, Steven Schmitt and Ken Nielson in two deprivation of First Amendment rights counts.

The Court also refused to rule out the possibility that Milliman might be reinstated in his job as Sheriff’s Deputy.

“Defendants boldly state, without further explanation or citation to any particular portion of the complaint, that ‘reinstatement would not be reasonable or feasible under the facts pleaded in the complaint,’” the decision reads.

“The court is not persuaded,” the next sentence reads.

“The command structure at the MCSO could change in the interim during this litigation…Nygren is an elected official who could be voted out of office, or choose to retire, prior to any order of reinstatement being issued…that portion of defendants’ motion is denied.”

= = = = =
Article one is here.

Article two is here.

Article three is here.

When the announcement was made to the Northwest Herald that Underheriff Andy Zinke had been cleared of wrongdoing when he told a subject about a Drug Enforcement Administration probe, it sounded more than a little fishy.

Pete Gonigam, who publishes The First Electric Newspaper, filed a Freedom of Information request with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department asking for the report.  He didn’t get a copy of the report exonerating Zinke so he appealed to the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Division.

This Friday article gives the details of Gonigam’s quest.

To no one’s surprise, Sheriff Kieth Nygren himself decided Zinke had done nothing wrong.

Nygren, of course, is supporting Zinke for the Republican nomination for Sheriff next spring.

Will Nygren provide the documents the Attorney General says are warranted by the Freedom of Information request?

I’m sure The First Electric Newspaper will keep us informed.

A commenter calling him- or herself “Truth” made some provocative statements beneath the story about how only one Independent out of five have beaten a candidate on the Republican Party slate during the last five months.

I thought more people might be interested in Jim Harrison’s reply than would read it in the comment section. It is reproduced below:

Jim Harrison

“There is no need to speculate about my reasons for running as an Independent candidate for Sheriff; my reasons are clearly stated in detail on my website at http://www.JimHarrisonForSheriff.com. Just click on the tab marked “An Independent Sheriff” and read them.

“I will not run as a Republican in name only (RINO), like so many other politicians in McHenry County have done over the years.

“I’m putting my cards on the table. For the record, I am not a Democrat, nor a Republican; I am an Independent.

“I have always voted for the person who I believed was best suited for the job, regardless of their political party affiliation.

“I encourage McHenry County voters to do the same.

“It is true that I have said many times that, if I am elected Sheriff, I would be glad that I would no longer have to record and bill people for my time spent helping them.

“What an ugly twist you have put on this statement!

“You call yourself ‘Truth’ but your comments are a contradiction.

“I have accomplished everything I set out to accomplish as a lawyer [see my resume on my website] and I am ready for a new challenge.

“That being said, I still enjoy my work as an attorney and I look forward to putting all of my skills to work as Sheriff.

“The damage caused by the Nygren/Zinke administration has left the Sheriff’s Office with many significant challenges.

“Remember, I’ve already served 12 years as a Special Assistant State’s Attorney resolving hundreds of legal problems for the Sheriff’s Office.

“And now, more than ever, it is clear that the Sheriff’s Office needs my help again, only this time as the Sheriff.

“And whatever your problem is with Gary Pack, take it up with Gary Pack.

“McHenry County incurred no liability as a result of my 20-years of public service in the Sheriff’s Office and the State’s Attorney’s Office, and my work as a Special Assistant State’s Attorney provably saved McHenry County millions of dollars.

“And for the record, the Sheriff’s job is a 24/7 job; Nygren is just a poor example.

“I am fortunate that my profession allows me the option of continuing to hone my skills practicing law, or to apply my skills to a different endeavor – like the Sheriff’s Office.

“What I am sick of is the politics behind the Sheriff’s elections.

“I am sick of politicians who want the title without the work, who want the power without the responsibility, and who want to control without accountability.

“The party’s over.

“It’s time to raise the bar.”

= = = = =
Harrison plans to run against the winner of the Republican Primary, where Undersheriff Andy Zinke will face off against former Des Plaines Police Commander Bill Prim

With Jim Harrison deciding that he is going to run as an Independent in the McHenry County Sheriff’s race next year, it’s time to look at what has happened in the recent past when Independents ran against Republicans.

The most prominent was when State Rep. Mark Beaubien’s widow Dee.

In that contest, Republican David McSweeney was the Republican.

Each spent heavily to demonize the other.

Coming off a contentious three-way GOP primary, McSweeney won 58% to 41%.

Grafton Township’s most recent election had a well-publicized slate of Independents running for election against winners of the Republican Party primary election.

On the top of the ticket was Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender facing off against Independent Jim Kearns.

Republican Fender, who won a hotly-contested three-way primary election with 39% of the vote, spent about $2,500 in the first quarter of the year. This does not include the week before the election, so more may have been spent.

Independent Kearns won by just under three-quarters of one percent (1944-1877). Kearns has not filed a report with the State Board of Elections. Such reports are required if one raises or spends over $3,000 in an election.

The third recent example also occurred in Grafton Township.

In a two-way race, Al Zielinski beat incumbent Bill Ottley 55% to 45% in the Republican Primary Election.

Zielinski spent a bit over $6,200, filing his report after the required deadline. I can find no campaign disclosure report for Ottley. [Looked again after a commenter said he could find it. The only way I could find it was by using the search word "Huntley" in the name of the town. He spent spent $2,461.21, but reports a negative balance of $461.21, something I believe the State Board does not allow. All the money came from Ottley and his wife.] No report has been filed by Jensen either, but as mentioned earlier, one is only required if the $3,000 threshold has been exceeded.

In the general election, Republican Zielinski edged out Independent Terra Jensen by 5.8 percentage points (1,998-1,774).

There was also a race against Republican nominee for Grafton Township Road Commissioner Tom Poznanski. He won the GOP Primary against Richard Dvorak by 63% to 37%. Poznanski is the Chairman of the Grafton Township Republican Central Committee.

In the April General Election, Poznanski was challenged by Independent Tim Hoeft. Poznanski won by 54-46.

Over in Nunda Township Independent Leda Drain ran against Republican Lee Jennings.

Jennings had a hot primary with three people running. One withdrew her candidacy, but too late for her name to be taken off the ballot.

Jennings barely beat Bridgette Provenzano, but Provenzano endorsed his candidacy in the General Election.

The result was that Jennings got over 57% of the vote. It was Jennings 2,614 and Drain 1,937.

So in the five most recent examples, those on the Republican Party ticket four out of five contests.

If I were Harrison, I would be hoping that the GOP Primary would be so heated that the backers of Bill Prim, if Andy Zinke won the primary, would back me.

Conversely, if Prim emerged victorious, I would be hoping that Zinki’s supporters would rally around my candidacy.

That did not happen, however, in the cases of

• McSweeney
• Zielinski
• Poznanski

It apparently did occur in the case of Jim Kearns victory over Pam Fender.

This is too small a sample from which to draw a conclusion, but it does indicate that when a primary contest in contentious, supporters of those who lose can rally to the campaign of an Independent.

In the case of Independent Jim Kearns’ victory, however, his Republican opponent Pam Fender was opposed by over 60% of the Republican Primary voters.

Since Jim Harrison decided to run as an Independent, there is a two-way race for the Republican nomination for McHenry County Sheriff.

It’s between Undersheriff Andy Zinke–Sheriff Keith Nygren’s choice–and former Des Plaines Police Commander Bill Prim, who has live in Cary for the last two decades.

Zinke started the year with $21,632.70

He now has $19,545

Zinke raised $240 during the first three months of the year and spent $2,327.56.

Here’s what he spent his money on:

• $300 – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mchenry County for a sponsorship
• $425.44 – On Target Range – Gunlocks
• $240 – Rotary Club Of Woodstock, Ticket Purchase
• $124.70 – TEC Communications, Crystal Lake – Yard Signs
• $79.25 – TEC Communications, Envelopes
• $300 – TEC Communications, Marketing
• $180.72 – Think Ink Inc, Crystal Lake, Campaign Shirts

Prim, on the other had, started out with $702.85, raised $50,100 and ended up with $40,802.69.

Where did the money come from?

Primarily from the Bull Valley Country Club featuring Newt Gingrich.

• $10,000 – Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Schaumburg
• $5,000 – Merryman Construction, Woodstock
• $4,000 – Gary Rabine, CEO, Rabine Group, Johnsburg
• $2,000 – Bulk Lift International, Carpentersville
• $2,000 – Tom Cooper, retired from Scott Forge approx 20 years ago, Wonder Lake
• Citizens to Elect Lou Bianchi, Crystal Lake
• $1,500 – Michael Miller, Michael, owner, M.J. Miller & Co., Barrington
• $1,500 – Ed Zeman, President, Zeman Homes, Chicago
• $1,000 – Joseph and Mary Alger, President, JAFrate, Crystal Lake
• $1,000 – Lou Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, Crystal Lake
• $1,000 – Intren, Union
• $1,000 – Tanza Kubacki, retired, McHenry
• $1,000 – William Lewis, CEO/self employed, Advanced Flexible Composites, Lake in the Hills
• $1,000 – Patrice Owens-Gutiere, Director, The Advantage Group
• $1,000 – Ray Scarpelli, Self-employed, Johnsburg
• $1,000 – Robert Wagner, owner, Land, Air, Sea Systems, Inc, Woodstock
• $500 – Cary Chessick, Arlington Ht
• $500 – Paul Darley, Itasca
• $500- Fifth District Ward Pac, Schiller Park
• $500 – Joe Franzone, Richmond
• $500 – Brian Furlong, Chicago
• $500 – G3 Construction Group, Willowbrook
• $500 – Raymond Gobberg, Cary
• $500 – William Graham, Kenilworth
• $500 – Keith Griffin, Mundelein
• $500 – Robert Hanlon, Woodstock
• $500 – Mark Herbick, Buffalo Grove
• $500 – Blake Hobson, Lakewood
• $500 – K-FIVE Construction, Lemont
• $500 – Donna Kelly, McHenry
• $500 – William Kennedy, Barrington Hills
• $500 – Jeffrey Ladd, Jeffrey, Woodstock
• $500 – Jerome Majewski, Crystal Lake
• $500 – Eileen Marhoefer, Crystal Lake
• $500 – Nicholas Mathey, Woodstock
• $500 – Michaels Subforu, Inc, Ingleside
• $500 – Jack Pease, McHenry
• $500 – Jonathon Pease, McHenry
• $500 – Plote Construction, Hoffman Estates
• $500 – William Riordan, Glenview
• $500 – Kevin Thompson, Gurnee
• $300 – Richard Harris, Hinsdale
• $300 – Ryan Laughlin, Pleasant Prairie, WI
• $250 – Joseph Fell, Belvidere
• $200 – Zane Seipler, Woodstock
• $200 – Trotter and Associates, St. Charles
• $200 – Eric Wasowicz, Palatine

$650 was unitemized by Prim like the $240 given to Zinke.

Prim gave $275 to the McHenry County Republican Central Committee, although $175 of that shows up under “expenditures,” rather than “transfers.” Zinke also gave $100 to some political committee, but did not reveal its identity.

All of Prim’s expenditures can be seen here.

The ones over $500 are

• $1,468- Carey International, Fredrick, DE, car rental
• $1,034.55 – Blue Soda Promo, Vernon Hills, promotional items
• $840 – Just Buttons, Branford, CT, promotional items
• $699 – Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce Expo booth & State of the Community Luncheon
• $534.07 – Eventbrite.com, San Francisco, CA, website event fees and credit card processing
• $644.90 – 4AllPromos, Centerbrook, CT, promotional items
• $566.07 – Tiger Direct, Hoffman Estates, computer
• $500 – Patriots United, Woodstock, unity breakfast

Tomorrow: How is Independent Jim Harrison faring?

A press release from candidate for McHenry County Sheriff Jim Harrison.

Assuming he gets enough signatures to get on the ballot, he will face off against either Andy Zinke or Bill Prim.

Harrison Announces Independent Candidacy for McHenry County Sheriff

More than 150 people filled the Edgetown Bowl in Woodstock Friday night, to support McHenry County Sheriff’s candidate Jim Harrison and to participate in his “Bowling Fun-Raiser.”

During the event, Harrison announced that he has decided to run as an Independent candidate for McHenry County Sheriff in November of 2014.

“When I launched my campaign in the fall of 2012, given the number of Republican voters in McHenry County, my thought was to seek the Republican nomination in the March 2014 primary.

“However, since that time, I’ve come to realize that McHenry County desperately needs a candidate for Sheriff who is independent of the political influences that permeate the Sheriff’s Office.

“Legitimate government envisions ethical public officials making choices with the best interest of the people in mind; but far too often, what’s in the best interest of the people is traded for what’s in the best interest of a political party, (or for what’s in the self-interest of a party politician).

“Party affiliation acts to divide, separate, and exclude one group of people from the others.

“When a candidate for office affiliates with one party, he excludes everyone else. Exclusion is inconsistent with the philosophy of my campaign.

“My campaign seeks to include and unite all of the citizens of McHenry County ~ regardless of their political affiliation, to wrest control of their Sheriff’s Office from the clutches of countless political stakeholders, and to entrust administration of the Sheriff’s Office to an Independent Sheriff who will give first priority to the interests of the people and no priority to special interests and party politics.

“In the end there is only one Sheriff and he must serve and protect all of the citizens of McHenry County.

“Sometimes the path we choose in life that is most beneficial is the less-traveled path.

“I believe that my choice to be an “independent” candidate for Sheriff, albeit the less-traveled path, is the most beneficial choice that I can make for myself, for the employees of the Sheriff’s Office and for McHenry County as a community.”

Jim Harrison was a McHenry County Deputy Sheriff from 1981-1989, a Special Assistant State’s Attorney in McHenry County from 1992-2004, and from 1991 to the present, he has been the principal attorney at Harrison Law Offices in Woodstock, concentrating in employment law, labor union law, and constitutional civil rights cases. Harrison is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. Visit Jim’s website at www.JimHarrisonForSheriff.com.

A press release from McHenty County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi:

Deputy Sheriff Sergeant John Koziol brought forth allegations that Undersheriff Andrew Zinke committed a crime when he violated multiple General Orders of the McHenry County Sheriff.

The allegations were presented in a Petition, with a supporting sworn Affidavit, to appoint a Special Prosecutor. It was filed in the McHenry County Circuit Court by and through his attorney, Jonathan D. Nye, on October 30, 2012, alleging that the violations of multiple general orders constituted the commission of Official Misconduct, a Class 3 Felony (720 ILCS 5/33-3) (b) (c) which carries a term in the Department of Corrections from two to five years and a maximum fine of $25,000. Subsequently, on November 2, 2012, the Petition was heard before Judge Thomas Meyer and denied.

We immediately initiated an investigation and requested the Office of the State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor to make themselves available for assistance and/or consultation.

After an investigation and review, it is the conclusion of the State’s Attorney’s Office that even if all of the facts as set forth in Sergeant Koziol’s Petition and Affidavit were true (that is, the purported leaking of the DEA investigation by Undersheriff Zinke), such conduct is not illegal under Illinois law.

While some may consider the dissemination of what would appear to be highly confidential and sensitive information an alarming and problematic matter, such conduct does not violate the Official Misconduct Statute.

Accordingly, the question of whether the allegations were true and whether the information was disseminated is a question for Sheriff Nygren to investigate and make a determination.

In short, whether or not the Undersheriff violated the general orders of the Sheriff is a question for the Sheriff to resolve.

The Supreme Court of Illinois, in People v. Williams, 239 Ill.2d 119, 940 N.E.2d 50 (2010) made it clear that a police department’s rules and regulations (i.e. Sheriff’s General Orders) are not laws and therefore any violation of such rules do not and cannot support a charge of Official Misconduct.

In Williams, a police dispatcher was accused of leaking information to another person about a drug investigation.

The Supreme Court stated:

“[ ] we emphasize that our holding should not be interpreted as an approval of defendant’s conduct. The conduct here is certainly troublesome and unjustifiable. We hold that defendant did not commit the offense of official misconduct only because the confidentiality rules at issue here cannot be construed as ‘laws’ under the statute.” Williams, 239 Ill.2d at 134.