McHenry Co. sheriff says opponent's claims baseless

McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren on Monday brushed off a litany of accusations leveled by his primary opponent as politics as usual.

Deputy Zane Seipler, who will face Nygren in next year's Republican Party primary, said Monday he has contacted the Illinois attorney general's office, the McHenry County state's attorney's office and the Illinois State Board of Elections with complaints about the conduct of Nygren and his department.

Among Seipler's claims:

• Nygren used official letterhead for campaign purposes.

• A sheriff's detective encouraged officers to attend a fundraiser for failed McHenry County state's attorney candidate Dan Regna, implying they would get promoted if they did.

• Nygren used his office to take pictures in support of Regna's campaign.

• Nygren used the annual "Shop with a Cop" event, in which officers buy gifts for needy children, to promote his campaign.

Nygren denied all of the allegations, saying, "It's without merit or any factual basis. It's just a smear campaign."

The sheriff said he took particular offense at Seipler's suggestion that he used the Shop with a Cop program for political gain.

"That infuriates me that he would somehow try to give the impression that that's political," Nygren said.

Seipler's status with the sheriff's department has been in limbo since Nygren fired him last year for allegedly letting male drivers who lacked valid licenses off the hook, issuing tickets to their female passengers instead.

An arbitrator said Seipler, who claims he was dismissed because he complained about racial profiling by his fellow officers, must be reinstated. So far, Nygren has refused to do that.