Ongoing investigation by the Edgar County Watchdogs is leaving no stone unturned in Effingham County, and that includes looking into improper disposal of weapons.
John Monnet and his current gf, Adrianna Moore
Many in Effingham County are familiar with a peripheral investigation into the death of a local firearms dealer, questions about which are by and large what prompted some examination into just what’s going on with guns in the county. And at the center of it all is, of course, Sheriff John Monnet, whose actions and motives behind them as regards a LOT of specious occurrences in the county have come under fire in recent months.
Here’s coverage of one of these occurrences, “Sheriff defends his practice of giving away public property despite laws prohibiting it,” your next Read the Lead for the January Special Edition of Disclosure.
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EFFINGHAM CO.— It appears the Edgar County Watchdogs have uncovered yet another case of official wrongdoing and even criminal activity.
The Watchdogs have discovered that Effingham Sheriff John Monnet has handed out public property, paid for by taxpayers as gifts.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking “a copy of the statute that permits giving guns away at retirement,” Sheriff Monnet’s office responded by saying they were not aware of any State of Illinois Statute that specifically allows or prohibits the retirement of a duty weapon and presenting it to a retiring officer.
Not unlike many other public bodies responding to FOIA when trying to sidestep the issue by playing word games, Sheriff Monnet’s response had little or nothing to do with the original question.
“We asked for the statute that allows giving guns away at retirement,” said a spokesperson for the Edgar Co. Watchdogs. “Note, we didn’t call it ‘retirement of a duty weapon.’ Since there is no statute for the ‘retirement of a duty weapon’ one must wonder what other public property has been ‘retired’ and given away.”
It also begs the question of who determines who gets the public property paid for by taxpayers.
“We openly ask was the recipient of that gun any more entitled to it than the common citizen down the street who paid for it,” the spokesperson said.
Many of the sheriff’s critics wonder aloud if one of the top law enforcement officials in the county even bothered to check to see if it was legal.
“There is no statute that allows his actions and I suspect he knows that,” the spokesperson said. “Instead of making it right, the path of justification has been taken, which only makes matters worse in light of all the other wrongdoings coming to light under sheriff Monnet’s watch.”
Watchdogs have been credited with painstakingly explaining for taxpayer’s benefit “Dillon’s Rule.”
Dillon’s Rule is commonly referred to as the cornerstone of American municipal law.
In short, Dillon’s Rule explains that if the law is silent, if it does not specifically say a municipal government has the authority to act in a specific manner then it not only does not but cannot.
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