McHenry County Deputy Sheriff Bob Schlenkert
McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren
Today, the Northwest Herald reports a settlement has been reached.
I decided to see whether the money owed has been paid.
Guess what?
It hasn’t.
McHenry County Auditor Pam Palmer, in response to a Freedom of Information request, writes,
“In response to your FOIA request for copies of any documents submitted to my office for a court settlement payment to Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Schlenkert, I am informing you that nothing has been submitted through the Accounts Payable process performed in the Auditor’s Office.”
Where’s the holdup?
Since the agreement is apparently with the Sheriff’s Department, I would guess an official sign off has not yet been obtained.
No sign off, no settlement, it would seem to me.
Where’s the holdup?
Hey Cal, when you contact the Auditor’s office and submit a FOIA request, do you do it by e-mail? I’ve e-mailed the Auditor in the past and I received absolutely no response. In total I e-mailed her three times and I never received any kind of acknowledgement. If you are utilizing the Auditor’s e-mail maybe you can publish the address. I’m concerned that the address I have used in the past, the one I copied from the county website, may not be accurate.
When the time comes for the county to issue me a check for my back pay I will be prepared. My lawyers and I have already discussed the options available that would force the Sheriff or Under Sheriff (who ever actually is in the office) to produce the check within 30 days of reinstatement.
I would hate to be burdensome to my immediate supervisors and continuously bother them with memo’s regarding my backpay.
Shift supervisors have so many things to worry about and I am sure that the dimensions of a wrongfully terminated deputy’s restitution is a burden that they would prefer not to be involved in. That’s why I will ensure prompt payment by having my lawyers calling the Sheriff or Under Sheriff directly as a way of keeping the lines of communication open and resolving the issue in a more timely fashion.
The fact that the Sheriff managed to drag out such a process for a full year shows one of two things.
1. The Sheriff is vindictive.
or
2. The Sheriff is incompetent. Nygren ran a campaign on “EXPERIENCE COUNTS”. Is it possible that he is not as experienced with balancing budgets, adjusting revenue flow and managing the fiscal aspects of the department as he lead the public to believe?
Maybe it’s a little of both.
Perhaps the auditor was too busy running over to Winnebago County on personal matters she was trying to conceal from the public when Zane sent his FOIA’s.
Here’s the email address I used:
pkpalmer@co.mchenry.il.us
Although some local governments still try to convince people they have to fill out a specific form, my understanding is that is no longer the case. I file all of my Freedom of Information requests by email.
I figure any government that doesn’t want to consider them adequate will get a black mark when I appeal to the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor. That email follows:
PAccess@atg.state.il.us