Go along to get along? |
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Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
August 8, 2010
Is that a good philosophy?
What kind of sheriff does McHenry County want?
One that doesn't rock the boat? One that lives by, "You've got to go along to get along?"
One of my traffic crusades right now is the illegal use of lights and sirens on emergency vehicles in the County. Examples? Funeral and memorial processions; military recognition escorts; processions to parades.
Will the incumbent Sheriff make a few phones this week and start off the conversations with "Bob (or Dave or Jim), we've got a little problem here in McHenry County, and I need your help..."
Will they (the chiefs of certain police departments) say (or just think), "Hey, Sheriff. Butt out. I'm the top dog in the police game in my city, and I'll run my town the way I want." They are gentlemen, and I'd like to think that they won't do that. Will they acknowledge the errors and correct them? I hope so.
But when you have a Sheriff who doesn't obey traffic laws himself, what can you expect?
In a face-to-face conversation with Sheriff Nygren in his office one day a couple of years ago, he told me about how fast drivers travel in Wisconsin. He told me he had to drive 85 "just to keep up." I wondered, but was polite enough not to ask, "Why are you driving 85, when the state speed limit is 65MPH?"
I now realize he probably would have been heading to Minocqua, but the question is still a good one. If he had gotten stopped for speeding, would he have "badged" the trooper? Would the trooper have ignored the badge and written the ticket, anyway?
On July 26 I wrote to Undersheriff Zinke, in part:
"I am writing to ask if it is illegal for a squad car to use overhead emergency lights and siren to lead a group of approximate 30 motorcycles on a private convoy for 10 miles on a state highway. ...
"Will you please let me know what section of the Illinois Vehicle Code permits this?"
When a citizen, taxpayer and voter in McHenry County writes to the #2 law enforcement administrator in the County, you'd think he'd get a reply; right? Perhaps he is still searching the IVC for the answer.