Sheriff’s candidate Ed Sindles, a cop for more than a quarter of a century, smells a deal. Incumbent Sheriff Clinton Grinnell, a cop even longer, thinks Sindles’ nose is out of joint, affecting his ability to smell.
Sindles says he suspects Grinnell has cooked up a scheme to resign two years into a new term and then use his clout to grease the way for Undersheriff Willie Smith to succeed him.
“Nothing to it,” Grinnell said of the scenario conjured up by his primary election opponent.
And Smith, who has asked to be replaced as undersheriff and returned to his civil service rank of captain, said Sindles’ forecast doesn’t make sense in light of that decision.
“I don’t understand this,” said Smith, who continues to serve in the No. 2 spot while Grinnell seeks a replacement. Smith also says he will work for Grinnell’s re-election.
In accepting the endorsement of the Republican township committeemen earlier this week, Grinnell first answered the rumors he would turn over the reins to Smith within two years, by promising to serve all four years if re-elected.
He repeated that pledge Wednesday.
“I will serve the full four years,” Grinnell promised.
Sindles still isn’t convinced.
“I still think he’ll do it (resign early),” said Sindles, a lieutenant assigned to the Lake County Jail.
Grinnell has also denied Sindles’ claim that the upcoming election is why the sheriff recently abandoned a time clock used by patrol officers at the Libertyville station to record the amount of hours they work.
According to Grinnell, the decision was based on the fact that the clocks were faulty. “Until we can get proper equipment, we’ve gone back to manual system where they write out their time,” Grinnell said.
Sindles said, however, that the change might have been ordered because of his campaign-issue complaints about manpower waste.
“Officers had to drive in (to the station) at the beginning of a shift and the end of a shift to punch this clock. I’ll bet that it wasted 30-40 manhours a week,” Sindles said.
Another court Judge Victoria Rossetti, who presides over Lake County’s Misdemeanor Court, told a recent meeting of the Lake County Chiefs of Police Association that officials are considering opening a courtroom to hear domestic violence cases exclusively. The number of domestic violence cases mushroomed to 1,800 last year from 780 in 1989, said State’s Atty. Michael Waller. Both Waller and Rossetti were part of the task force that recently drafted a manual on how police and prosecutors should handle domestic violence cases.
Firefighters’ Friend The Highwood Fire Department is considering replacing its air tanks and masks with a system that city officials say has a distinct advantage over the current equipment: It will be completely fireproof. The straps that currently hold firefighters’ air tanks to their suits can burn, said Ald. Jacqueline Schechter, who proposed the replacement. The new equipment, which will cost the city about $44,000, will have microphones so firefighters can directly talk with each other while wearing masks. City officials also think they can save about $5,000 a year with the new equipment because the firefighters can maintain it themselves.
