Sheriff challenger says he'll save $1 million

After making references to cuts for several weeks, Mike Mahon on Wednesday released his plan to eliminate $1 million from the McHenry County Sheriff's Office budget if he is elected.

Mahon is pushing for the removal of 10 supervisory positions, and he says the cuts will not hurt public safety.

Mahon is the Democratic candidate trying to unseat longtime Republican incumbent Keith Nygren. Green candidate Gus Philpott, a local blogger, is also running.

Nygren said Mahon's plan points to inexperience and his ignorance of the way the sheriff's office runs. Out of the 10 positions Mahon mentions, Nygren says he wouldn't cut a single one.

"They wouldn't be here if they weren't absolutely necessary," Nygren said. "They are absolutely critical to running a $32 million a year organization with 425 employees."

Mahon combined salaries and estimated benefits for the positions he targeted, adding up to a grand total of $1,097,037 in annual savings. He said these cuts are just preliminary and, if elected, he likely would be able to eliminate more positions.

At the top of Mahon's list of supervisors to cut is the Equal Employment Opportunity officer, who is in charge of ensuring the office complies with federal laws against discrimination, and the person who oversees the department's pursuit of accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement.

"CALEA was a luxury when there was money," Mahon said. "There is no money anymore."

Nygren has continued to defend CALEA throughout his campaign, saying it is a coveted program law enforcement agencies throughout the country strive to complete. And the EEO officer serves not only the sheriff's office but departments throughout the county, he said. Nygren views that position as equally critical.

In addition to these two positions, Mahon would cut a police captain, deputy chief of corrections, court security chief, business manager, mechanic supervisor and three other supervisors n the department.

Mahon acknowledged the cuts may upset some within the department, but he says his loyalties are with a public that he hopes will elect him to get a job done.

"In tough times tough decisions have to be made, and that is why we elect our officials," Mahon said.

Though Philpott said he didn't know enough about the staff lists to comment, Nygren said the cuts would surely have negative effects on the organization.

"To gut the leaders and the supervisors who have those skills shows just how little he knows about running an organization and about law enforcement," Nygren said.