$122,658/yr for non-resident police chief?

I've known Police Chief Bill Brogan for many years; ever since we used to meet and talk on occasion at Saint Patrick's Church in McHenry. He was an is a lifelong resident of the City of McHenry and McHenry County and has spent 27 of his 31 years in law enforcement at that department. He worked his way up through the ranks and got to where he is the hard way: he earned it by living and working every day and night in the county. He stated according to the Northwest Herald in Sunday, July 26th edition that " I feel blessed to be able to be the chief in the town I grew up in," said Brogan whose salary is $109,422 and is within minutes of being available if needed by his community.

As a resident of McHenry Brogan "knows the culture of McHenry and what people expect of their police force". "He knows the nooks and crannies and niches." On top of all of this he has always been a nice guy and someone who always put the welfare of the city and his fellow police officers before his own.

In contrast we have the City of Woodstock who decided to hire a new police chief from outside the department from outside the county and from outside the city. Chief Robert Lowen Jr's salary is, according to the Northwest Herald, $122,658. According to the information I have he has still not moved into McHenry County, as previous chiefs had to, much less the City of Woodstock of which he is the chief of police. I wonder if he knows the culture of McHenry County? I wonder is he knows all the nooks and crannies and niches of his city like police chief Brogan does? Does not living where you are the Chief of Police tell you anything about the man?.....I don't know...do you?

Put your name where your opinion is!

The NWHerald "welcomes original letters on public issues." You must however include your full name, home address, and day and evening telephone numbers; a prudent policy. But why don't they follow their own policy? In the Opinion section under "our view" I see an opinion but I see no names under the opinion. I find it hard to believe that the Editorial Board which includes six individuals all wrote and subscribe to the same opinion. Is it the big man himself who holds sway and can hire and fire or are they all simply like minded. If we are held to the policy of name, address, and day and evening telephone numbers why are they not held to the same standard. Could it be that the opinion is not unanimous and only the commentary of a powerful minority? If you don't sign your name to something you have written I personally don't believe its worth the paper its written on.

Justices rule for whistle blowers

In a 9-0 decision, on Monday, January 26, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States stated that employees, workers who cooperate with an investigation regarding uncouth behavior by a supervisor are protected from retaliation under the civil rights laws. So now not only is the person who filed the complaint protected but any witnesses who might corroborate the truthfulness of the complaint are also now protected against retaliation by the employer. Justice David Souter said that protection "extends to an employee who speaks out about discrimination not on her/his own initiative, but in answering questions during an internal investigation."