From left to right, Gus Philpott, Mike Mahon and Keith Nygren.
The final question from the moderator for the three candidates for McHenry County Sheriff inquired about the biggest problem facing the department.
“Traffic” was the reply of 13-year incumbent Keith Nygren.
I admit to being stunned by his reply. I’d have thought he would have said something relating to a more significant aspect of law enforcement.
Nygren finished his explanation by telling how hard it was to get out of McHenry County College. Funny, I’ve never had a problem when I used the entrance with the traffic signal. Certainly not after a meeting that went until after 9 PM.
Democrat Mike Mahon was sitting next to Nygren and got second shot at the question.
“Heroin” was his reply.
He explained that the drug had been brought to his attention when he was canvassing neighborhoods.
I can attest to being told by acquaintance that his child had been incarcerated in the McHenry County Jail on a drug charge, placed in a cell with a heroin addict and, when released, turned from, I think it was cocaine, to heroin.
We’re talking Crystal Lake here.
Green Party candidate Gus Philpott went third and waxed enthusiastically about traffic enforcement, but said his highest priority would be getting deputies out of their cars, in contact with people and in the schools with children.
Mahon scored one other point, although he did not stress it. When asked about saving money in the department, Nygren said he wasn’t going to lay off anyone, especially those on the street, that if more money were needed he would find additional revenue.
Is one of the highly paid employees on Mike Mahon's list of positions which would be eliminiated driving Keith Nygren's car in this year's Algonquin Founders Days Parade? Anyone know the identity of the driver?
Mahon did score one good point while answering the question of how the candidates would save money. Nygren went first, vowing not to fire anyone, especially those on the street. He said if he needed more money, he would find a way to raise more revenue.
Mahon has issued a press release about how he would save $1 million a year [37 comments on that article] by eliminating positions in the department. He cited for the audience a $90,000 a year assistant supervisor of the vehicle maintenance part of the Sheriff’s Department, whom he said Nygren paid overtime (although hedging his answer suggesting it might be compensatory time off) to drive his car in parades.
Philpott brought up how one employee is apparently paid for commuting to and from work. You can read about it here. He says he learned through a Freedom of Information request that Patrick Firman, Deputy Chief of Corrections, receives a $350 per month “Vehicle Compensation Package.”
The forum was sponsored by the Illinois Policy Institute and the McHenry County TEA Party.
Go to http://mcsdexposed.blogspot.com/
I read about how to really save money in the department.
Sheriff Nygren has been an outstanding financial steward for McHenry County. Nygren has brought in $61 MILLION DOLLARS in reveune through his innovative jail leasing program to federal immigration authorities. This program has put the entire McHenry County government on solid financial ground without burdening taxpayers.
Too much noise and controversy surrounding Nygren and his leadership. It’s time for a change — vote Mahon!
Also, Mahon is absolutely wrong about heroin. Unadulterated fear-mongering by Mahon, nothing more. We do not have a heroin epidemic in McHenry County. Good Grief! A few anecdotal story about a guy who told me his kid was in the county jail with a guy who was a heroin addict does not an epidemic make.
Cal, why don’t you figure out how many traffic fatalities and serious injuries occur each year as opposed to heroin deaths? By reading the local newspapers, I am confident that heavy traffic usage on overcrowded McHenry County roads is a far greater problem to public safety.
Get the bag off of your head ef — we have heroin problems as well as other drugs.
Heroin is on the rise. Stop trying to cover for this idiot. That is why the NWH did not quote him.
Sheriff Nygren is aggressively attacking all drug trafficking in McHenry County as exemplified by the Sheriff’s Dept participation in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s regional task force. Through this partnership, Sheriff Nygren is bringing the resources of the federal government to bear upon drug dealers in McHenry County. We are fortunate that McHenry County has the lowest crime rate in the Chicagoland area. But, Mahon lies about the crime rate statistics to perptuate fear. Same with the heroin “scare”….fearmongering.
The greater threat to our citizens are DUI and traffic accidents. Traffic fatalities in 2006 = 23 2007 = 24 2008 = 18 2009 = 8. Thankfully, Sheriff Nygren recognized the disturbing traffic fatality rate and aggresively pursued traffic safety in partnership with municipal police agencies.
http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/sheriff/Press%20Releases/03-08-1009%20traffic%20fatalies%20drop.pdf
E Mom. TIme to quit making up “facts” about the crime rate and heroin. Let trained POLICE OFFICERS do the policing.
Again, E MAMMA, how many heroin deaths in McHenry County last year? How many heroin criminal cases? You and Mahon have no facts to back up your claims that heroin is a growing problem. Sure, there is heroin, but it is being addressed and is not at epidemic proportions as you and Mahon suggest. That is just silly! And, most of the McHenry County residents who use heroin travel to Cook County….you know the county Mahon “protects”. That’s where the serious heroin proble…Cook County.
earth father, you need to go back to your daddy nygrn and get your bottle re-filled.
Mahon is correct…Herion is on the rise in Mchenry county, taking the lives of many younger residents of mchenry county.
This is why this county needs Mahon, he can see and understand the problems here in mchenry county, . Im not knocking nygrn but its time for change, and Mike Mahon will be that change this county needs to keep up with the times.
Mahon has a great idea to join heads with North Central drug task force, and his plan to cut the budget by $1 million dollars makes alot of sense, alot .
Thank you, and Mr Mahon you have my vote.
See this blogs article titled “Heroin Use in McHenry County Skyrockets” dated 7-06-10.
ef – get a life.
p.s
Dont your remember this northwest herald video from Lt Zinke of the mchenry county sheriffs office explaining the rise in herion here in mchenry county back in jan 2009,…yet no aggressive attack by the police to get rid of this drug, ..Mahon spoke of drug awareness programs, medical, etc..just not ignore it..
So earth father, pull up the video on the northwest herald site, review it, and lets see
again, Mr Mahon has my vote
Here are the statistics on the increase in heroin deaths in McHenry County, the source of which can be found in the article cited below:
“In just three years, heroin deaths in McHenry County increased by 150 percent, from 6 heroin overdoses in 2006 to 15 in 2009.”
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2010/07/06/heroin-use-in-mchenry-county-skyrockets/
Last time I checked, the Sheriff’s Office was more than just a police department. In fact, Corrections consists of a higher percentage of staff than the police department.
We’re electing an administrator NOT a road deputy! Before Nygren was elected the first time, what corrections experience did he have?
Mahon does have Law Enforcement experience, in the corrections field!
Nygren had no corrections experience but had policing experience.
Let’s call a spade a spade in this one
Mahon has waited far too long to get out some of these points. Unless he can get a mass mailing out with the Tribune’s independent endorsement and a boiler list of these points, it’s too late.
Hopefully Nygren has learned a thing or two about ethics and will change.
He has lost repeartedly in courts over personnel issues. He has politicized the MCSO by putting his name on everything. Busses, vans, buildings boats trailers snowmobiles.
Nygren has set the department back to days gone by when everyone had a deputy badge. Badges meant votes.
Also Nygren didn’t broker that INS deal that brought in the millions, that was Tom Svobada the Jail Chief.
How did Nygren thank him, he fired him.
Cal’s heroin death stats, up here 150% in just a couple of years, represent the just the tip of the underlying problem we face: for each individual who dies of a heroin overdose, larger and larger numbers are experimenting with the drug. EF has obviously not been in much contact with high school or college kids.
Folks say that for every one person who takes time to write a letter of complaint or of compliment there are 10 people who think the same, but don’e take the time to follow through. While EF may believe that 6 dead – or 15 dead – is statistically ‘nothing’ in this county of some 380,000, that increase in deaths from heroin is a stunning statistic.
Even if it means that “most of the McHenry people who use heroin are traveling to Cook County” to get the heroin, that does not excuse Nygren’s total failure to be proactive in stopping it? And exactly how does EF know these heroin users and their routes? You lost it there, EF. I’ll gladly give an experienced jailer a chance to show what he can do. Enough of the politician and his cronies. I’m for Mahon.
It just occurred to me that if Nygren is so devoted to traffic issues, he should be stopping all those “McHenry residents who travel to Cook County for their heroin”.
Maybe you should suggest that to Keith when you see him tomorrow, EF.
Each and every death in this county is a tragedy and should never be diminished.
All drug activity is on the rise.
Anyone with contact with real people will experience gangs, drugs, youth alcohol abuse, youth sexual activity, beatings and bullying.
This is all over the world.
It is tragic.
There is no getting around this emotion of frustration and anger.
The blessing is this county does not have an endemic problem…. Yet.
There are still good people out here who don’t wait for law enforcement or the government to help.
The crime rate statistics in McHenry County are more testament to YOUR activity than any law enforcement.
To rely explicitly on law enforcement or the government to do anything is foolish in the extreme.
Their hands are tied in ways yours are not.
Mahon will not do anything but eviscerate a highly functional Sheriff’s office.
I’ve heard your emotional personal rants against Nygren but, in spite of your personal hurts which I wish never happened, Mahon is a disaster walking.
Anyone who attacks women for any reason should be dragged behind a horse til they are dead. Not given the top spot in the Sheriffs office.
The job protects ALL the citizens, not just those Mahon doesn’t have a problem with and he has shown himself to be a petty monster who hates women.
More to the point, the question at the forum was what was the top law enforcement issue in McHenry County and the answer of “traffic” is absolutely the empirically correct one.
This does not diminish the other issues, it was merely the truth and to suggest otherwise is dead wrong.
Charles, all illegal drug trafficking and use are an important issue, not just heroin. But what are you more likely to be killed from 1) a heroin overdose or 2) a DUI or reckless driver in a traffic collision?
The overwhelming majority of Mchenry County residents, including yourself, would answer #2.
From 6 to 15 heroin deaths, but is it an anomaly or a trend….that remains to be seen. Also, heroin usage is a failure of that person and their family/friends, not police. That is their personal choice. Education and treatment must be implemented by family, schools, doctors, and professional counselors. Police cannot stop a heroin overdose any more than they can stop a suicide. What police can stop is drug trafficking and that is what Sheriff Nygren is doing.
So the Mahon crowd points out that their is a growing trend of drug users traveling to cook county to purchase heroin and bring it back to use in our county…and they feel the answer to stop the cook county heroin from leaking into our county is to bring a cook county employee here? Really???
Just – We do have a Cook County guy for a sheriff.
The driver of the parade vehicle is the super oil change expert Brian [characterization deleted] kruass.
He also plows the sheriffs snow on company time and drives a county vehicle to the bars.
i wouldnt let this clown check the air in my tires
BRIAN KRUAS IS GOOD FRIENDS WITH NYGREN.
THATS THE ONLY REASON HE HAS A JOB.
HE SURE IS NOT A GOOD MECHANIC.
I THINK JIMMY IS RIGHT.
HE CAN SURE CHANGE OIL THOUGH ANY MORON CAN DO THAT.
MOST DEPUTIES SAY THEIR SQUADS RUN LIKE CRAP, HE HAS NO CLUE WHAT HE’S DOING
EF – statistically one is more likely to die from a botched medical procedure than a traffic accident. The priority in this county is directly related to the growth of the gangs: gangs bring drugs.
And “priest”: an aggressive anti-drug education program and pro-active law enforcement is needed in McHenry before the problem become “endemic”.
By the way, priest, what seminary taught you that dragging anyone behind a horse until dead is just when no court or administrative sanction was meted out. Man, you sound more like an imam than any priest I know. Sweet and peaceful until you perceive a violation of Sharia law, then, without lawful merit, its an execution.
I would suggest that you rabid nygrenites show a measure of restraint before somebody on one of the other teams brings up a pile of garbage from Keith’s pre-Crystal Lake days.
It was interesting that Keith provided the Tribune with extensive responses to their editorial board, yet Mahon, who did not respond, is endorsed by the Republican paper. Hmmm. Wonder what will come out next…
HEY EVERYBODY! I JUST GOT A CALL.
KEITH MEANT THAT DRUG TRAFFIC IS THE BIDDEST PROBLEM WE HAVE HERE.
Yeah, that’s the ticket, as Tommy Flanagan used to say…
7 is all i have to say.