McHenry County Blog

I don’t know whether DeKalb’s Daily Chronicle’s headline said everything about last week’s hearing about the Kishwaukee Water Authority court hearing or not, but it’s worth reading:

Lots of anti-water-authority testimony heard.

Reporter Dana Herra writes that only one of 24 people who spoke…was in favor.”

Attorney John Countryman, a former state representative and DeKalb County judge, representing A-LAW, the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water, objected to each of the opponents testimony.

Why?

The reasons ranged from not living in the proposed district to content.

Here’s an interesting objection by Countryman:

Unless they all want to show me that they took a vacation day today, I would move their testimony be stricken.

Of course, they could have been acting in their official capacities, appearing to protect what most municipalities believe is a manifest destiny to grow.

The lawyer for the DeKalb County Building and Development Association said,

It looks like a piece of Swiss cheese. The majority of voters who are affected by it can't vote on it.

Reporter Herra explains that representatives of the municipalities left out of the district—those whose residents would not be able to vote on the formation of the tax district and, of course, who would not be taxed if the new government were approved—strongly objected.

Genoa Alderman Jay Hansen complained about his city’s inclusion,

saying that including Genoa while similar-sized cities in McHenry County were excluded puts the city at an unfair development disadvantage.

So, just as McHenry County Blog indicated in the first story published on this proposal, it’s all about growth.

The rampant growth folks are against it and those who want to limit growth are supporters.

The judge verified my initial analysis, according to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle:

Pretty interesting situation, huh? The municipalities are saying, “We don't want a water authority telling us what to do and how to develop,” and the rural areas are saying, “We don't want the municipalities hogging all the water.”

I find this very interesting. It's a refreshing change from what I normally get to do (criminal court).

The Northwest Herald apparently did not cover the court hearing.

CORRECTION: The Northwest Herald did cover the court hearing. Here's the link.

I have a Google search for the authority, but, for some reason, the Northwest Herald article did not show up.

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Click on the map to enlarge it and see who is in and who is in and who is out of the proposed Kishwaukee Water Authority.