Macomb, IL – The Republican challenger in the McDonough County Sheriff's race is calling for higher standards when hiring new deputies. The Democratic incumbent says the department staff is too small to make such measures cost-effective. Rick Van Brooker would like to administer medical and psychological tests before new hires go to the state's police training institute. He believes there should be listed standards and that pre-hiring interviews should be conducted by a panel. Eventually, he would like to see all new deputies have an associate's degree. Sheriff Mike Johnson says the testing is too expensive for a department of his size. He says he prefers to watch would-be deputies work in some other area of the department to give him an idea of how they might work out as a deputy.
Candidate Calls for Deputy Standards
