Zinke blames Philpott over u/c car

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
October 19, 2010

Undersheriff Andy Zinke of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department slipped into the attack mode this afternoon, when he made rash and improper statements to Northwest Herald reporter Jill Duchnowski.

Earlier today I wrote about the fueling of a black Kia Amanti at the Sheriff's Department garage. The car was clean, trash was removed from it (quite a bit, too, or else trash from the car was added to other trash already in the bag), and then the car was parked in the sheriff's department parking lot.

Jill correctly identified my description of the car as a "privately-owned luxury car."

Several readers (most likely deputies?), such as Hans, But Seriously, Toa, Notawannabee and Just commented on the possibility that it was an undercover car; I had not.

It was Andy Zinke who gave the word to the media that the vehicle was, indeed, an uncover car. Now, what publication has more readers? The Woodstock Advocate or the Northwest Herald?

But I'll tell you what is really stupid. Gassing up a snazzy undercover car at the sheriff's garage fuel pump. Zinke told the Northwest Herald that they are "rethinking" their fueling policy. Well, duh... Why didn't somebody over there earning over $100,000/year think ahead that fueling an undercover car at the County gas pump might appear suspicious??? It's quite easy to gas up at Citgo and file a statement with the State of Illinois to recover the gas taxes.

I wasn't the one who "outed" the car. Hans, But Seriously, Toa, Notawannabee and Just all did their parts, and Undersheriff Zinke confirmed it.

Had they all kept their mouths shut and their fingers off their keyboards, the car would have remained a "privately-owned luxury car" and a one-shot story.

By the way, aren't there General Orders that direct sheriff's department employees how to refer to the public? Calling a citizen "ignorant, self-serving" is probably a violation of the GOs.

Be sure to read the Northwest Herald article at www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/10/19/23901761/index.xml