Sheriff hopeful's suit against Nygren may proceed, judge says

A McHenry County Sheriff's candidate can press ahead with his lawsuit accusing Sheriff Keith Nygren of firing him last year for complaining about racial profiling by his colleagues.

In a seven-page ruling issued this week, U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Kapala determined that, based on the evidence so far, the accusations by former Deputy Zane Seipler qualify as constitutionally protected speech and, therefore, his lawsuit may proceed.

Kapala's ruling does not weigh in on the validity of the claims - only whether Seipler has a right to pursue them.

The suit, levied against the department, Nygren and four other ranking officers, claims Seipler repeatedly was passed over for promotion, removed from the department's SWAT team, threatened and ultimately lost his job for accusing other deputies of unlawfully targeting black and Hispanic drivers for traffic stops.

The lawsuit seeks undisclosed monetary damages, but Seipler is seeking an even bigger prize next year: Nygren's job. The Woodstock resident is challenging Nygren for the Republican party nomination for sheriff in the Feb. 2 primary.

Nygren has denied the profiling allegations, saying an internal investigation found them to be untrue.

The sheriff says he fired Seipler last year after an investigation revealed the four-year deputy had twice allowed men driving without a license to swap seats with a female passenger, then issued traffic citations to the woman.

An arbitrator in October overturned the firing, ruling that Seipler should have been suspended instead. His status today is in limbo while Nygren makes plans to appeal the arbitrator's finding.