McHenry County Blog

“Meat Is Dead” is what this bumper sticker said at the Old Capitol Art Fair in Springfield.

This person probably did not enjoy a corn dog.

A year ago Parkway Bank Chairman Rocco Suspenzi refused to tell the state Gaming Board "about his role in secretly splitting up an investment in the now-defunct Emerald Casino with at least one man the FBI has claimed associated with members of organized crime,” according to the Chicago Tribune reporter John Chase.

Now, another Suspenzi is in more serious trouble.

Here’s the beginning of the U.S. Attorney’s press release today:

A former bank officer was charged today with fraud and federal income tax offenses for allegedly obtaining nearly $500,000 from a customer’s credit line and converting the money to his own use. The defendant, Jeffrey Suspenzi, was charged with one count of bank fraud and two counts of filing false individual income tax returns in a three-count criminal information filed today in U.S. District Court, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Suspenzi, 34, of South Elgin and formerly of Palatine, was an assistant vice president of Parkway Bank and Trust Company, based in Harwood Heights.

It seems likely that the two Suspenzi’s are related, so could this be a way of prying information out of bank Chairman Rocco Suspenzi?

= = = =

Tucked away in the business section of the Chicago Sun-Times on June 1 is this story. It turns out that Jeffrey is the son of Parkway Bank's chairman and faces up to 30 years in prison, if convicted. Here is the Chicago Tribune's story.

Assuming Judy Topinka has enough money for TV ads, she might want to take a page out of California State Treasurer Phil Angelides’ use of Illinois Democratic Party corruption in his quest for his state’s gubernatorial nomination.

Awaiting sentencing in the Downstate Teachers Pension kickback scheme in Illinois is former Democratic National Committee Finance Chairman Joe Cari.

Joe Cari, as in the guy who fingered Governor Rod Blagojevich as “Public Official A.”

As in a guy who helped Al Gore raise big money.

Now, California Democrats are batting Illinois Dem crook Cari around like a tennis ball.

Whom Cari helped most is a major issue in California’s June 6th gubernatorial primary fight.

Is Democrat State Treasurer or Democrat State Comptroller Steve Westly more corrupt? That seems to be the issue before Democratic Party primary voters.

State Treasurer Angelides is excoriating State Comptroller Westly for
Raising cash from “a corrupt Chicago businessman,” according to the Los Angeles Times

But, Blagojevich also got $15,000 from Cari—in three 2003-04 chunks of $5,000. Each donation ranked as national player Cari’s biggest Illinois contribution.

What did Blagojevich do with the money?

On August 4th--after Cari copped a plea--the Governor gave it back to Cari.

In effect, Blagojevich made a contribution to his fellow Democrat’s legal defense fund.

And Demo crook Steven Loren, a Blagojevich administration appointee also caught up in the pension scandal, got his $4,500 back, too.

How much more fertile are the crooks, alleged crooks and pre-alleged crooks who helped Governor Rod Blagojevich!

Just in case Topinka’s creative people need any help, here’s part of the TV ad:

"This is Joe Cari," the narrator intones. "He's a corrupt Chicago businessman who gave Steve Westly thousands in campaign contributions."

Westly's picture appears, and the narrator continues: "Westly then steered public pension funds to Joe Cari's investment company….

"Now Joe Cari has pleaded guilty to extortion in a pension fund scandal."

Monday, the LA Times reported that the Clinton-supported Democratic candidate making the charge also sought Cari’s help in fund raising.

Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ad Watch reported:

Cari held fundraisers for Westly in New York and Chicago and, in 2004, the fund invested $5 million in Healthpoint….Westly can't deny that he backed the investment efforts of a fundraiser who was later convicted of a felony.

And, if you think that only in Illinois do public officials try to raise money from those doing business with state pension funds, read this, also from the LA Times:

Westly and Angelides both sit on the state's main public pension boards, and both have raised millions in campaign donations from companies and individuals seeking lucrative pension fund investments.

Topinka can run similar ads, of course.

But she could make them more powerful.

Not only did Blagojevich give money back to pension fund crooks Cari and Loren, but he also gave $500 back to alleged mob firm M&M Amusements on April 28, 2005.

Only after I asked political spokesman Peter Giangreco what the Governor was going to do now that M&M (think brothers James and Michael Marcello) had been implicated in the massive mob indictment was the money returned.

On the other hand, contributions from multi-indicted and part-time Republican Stuart Levine of the alleged Crystal Lake Mercy hospital kickback and the pension fund kickback fame were not returned.

Blagojevich directed his $4,267 in contributions to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

The seventh page explains the review and selection process.

The final page designates Michelle Rentzsch, the city's Director of Planning & Economic development as the sole contact person and sets the submission deadline for June 30th at 4 PM.

Then, there are two paragraphs of disclaimers, including one that says with 60 days written notice, any subsequent agreement may be cancelled, immediately, if there is a violation of the terms, conditions, requirements and/or non-performance on the agreement. (Click to enlarge image below.)

  

Yesterday’s issue of the Chicago Tribune’s Red Eye has an article by Kyra Kyles designating

40 entertainers, leaders, sports personalities and tastemakers who are making a difference in Chicago today.

Listed first in the article is

Christee Snell [49, Gay Games managing director]

Commenting on her group’s overcoming of the "outcry" in Crystal Lake, she said,

"We finally made them understand that this was just an issue of people, athletes, wanting to row," said Snell, who replaced the event's executive director Brian McGuinness after his firing was announced early this month.

Eleven lines are devoted to her profile. The next longest (for Vince Vaughn [36, actor]) is ten lines long and most of the entries are just a couple of lines long.

So, not only is her importance noted by being first in the article, but also by being given the most space.

The Tribune puts her first in the list of “Leaders.” Mayor Daley is second.

I think she should have been first in the “Tastemaker” category, but there is no such section, despite the article's introductory paragraph.

How should she have been categorized?

Another tee shirt from the Old State Capitol Art Fair, held last weekend in Springfield.

Can you guess what

wysiwyg

means?

I had no clue.

It’s

What You See Is What You Get

Male or female?

Many people might remember what brought down George Dunne, but probably no one knows how he helped protect Illinoisans from the spread of HIV.

He had to go around the radicals who were running Cook County Hospital to do it.

What brought him into the issue was a bill sponsored by State Rep. Penny Pullen (R-Park Ridge) that required health care workers involved in invasive procedures to tell patients if they were HIV-infected. Some physician at County Hospital was HIV-infected and Dunne was trying to assign him to administrative duties over the objections of his left-leaning advocates.

In Springfield, the health committee was, as usual, dominated by liberals, who had already cleared the AIDS Confidentiality Act that tied the hands of public health officials.

For the same committee to approve a comprehensive public protection package required divine intervention, in this case, of the human variety.

That intervener was George Dunne.

And, because of that intervention, Illinois did not go the way New York and California. Our HIV laws are a mixed bag, but relatively protective of the public’s health.

Dunne's wife, Claudia, is Chairman of the National Day of Prayer for Chicago.

Back on February 2, 2003, I wrote an article for Illinois Leader entitled, “I’m Rod. Fly Me…For Free.”

The fruits of part of what I found—horse race track owners flying gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich around the state—were harvested last Friday. That’s when Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation awarding the industry $36 million a year from Chicagoland’s four casinos over two years.

A company controlled by Richard Duchossois (who owns a big part of Churchill Downs, to which he sold Arlington Park) provided one fly-around on October 23rd. Add to that $25,000 in cash from Churchill Downs that had an Octobler 25th date and you have a big chit.

Cicero’s Sportsman’s Park spent $75,990 on nine free plane trips from August 18th through September 21st. That’s a lot of “face time.”

On May 28th, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau reporter Tracy Swartz quoted Cindi Canari of the Illinois Committee for Campaign Reform as saying the industry had contributed $250,000 to Blagojevich.

May 8th, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief Dave McKinney reported the beneficiaries:

· track owners 40 percent…, leaving the rest for breeders, farmers and others in horse racing
· Arlington Park - $4.2 million
· Hawthorne Race Course - $4 million
· Balmoral Park Racetrack and Maywood Park to split $4.09 million

Whether one uses the $250,000 contribution-to-date figure or the $81,322 spent on the fly-arounds or the $106,322 contributed at the end of the 2002 campaign, the horse racing industry got a huge return on it “investment.”

Somewhere between 132-1 to 405-1.

The odds for the tracks were lower, a bit over 11-1, if one goes with the $106,322 pre-election figure I found.

Here are the details of the fly-arounds:

Duchossois Industries Inc, Elmhurst $5,332 10/23
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,524 8/18
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $8,760 8/23
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $24,812 8/26
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,512 9/2
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $10,254 9/4
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,202 9/14
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,799 9/15
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $4,964 9/16
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,163 9/21

And, the story of Pegasus:

Bellerophon tried to use Pegasus to fly to Mount Olympus, but Zeus was not amused and sent an insect to bite Pegasus. Pegasus then bucked off Bellerophon, who fell to earth and died. Moral:

Don't try to crash Mount Olympus without an invite.

Another reference mentions that Pegasus is most closely related to Corinth.

Are there parallels today?

That’s what Eric Krol reported in the Daily Herald’s Animal Farm blog on May 19th.

She also thinks the Protect Marriage Amendment is “unnecessary.”

Guess she has not been following what the Massachusetts Supreme Court did to legalize homosexual and lesbian marriage.

Bean’s 8th congressional districts opponent supports the advisory referendum, which is designed to bring pressure on the General Assembly to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2008.

Bean says she is opposed to same sex marriages, but “supports basic partnership rights.

Pro-abortion, pro-homosexual rights.

This should be an interesting campaign with the lines drawn so sharply on social issues.

It’s the tourism industry.

At least that’s what I heard after my congressman, Robert C. McClory, passed the three-day holiday bill.

(McClory was the man I unsuccessfully challenged for Congress in 1980. He won Lake and Kane Counties in the primary; I won McHenry. He blinked re-apportionment year, when he was put in the same district as Congressman John Porter.)

That probably is the most significant bill that McClory sponsored.

And, before you yawn, how many congressmen have done something as significant to your life as changing the calendar.

There were traditionalists like me in the General Assembly that refused to change the state’s Memorial Holiday date to conform to this congressional action, but eventually, the legislature caved in.

Page 6 contains the submission requirements--15 copies with these specified sections:

General approach to redevelopment of the site (2 pages)

Names, addresses, phone and fax numbers of all principal firms involved, including their roles, responsibilities, and authority, plus size and depth of experience and current workload for "2005 and 2006." (That must be a typo.) Also wanted is information of previous projects over the last five years and a company history.

Names of project personnel and their areas of expertise and responsibility, plus the name of the Project Manager.

Evidence of the development team's financial strength and ability to obtain financing for the project, which information shall be "confidential."

Three references from similar projects, that is, public/private ventures, "if possible."

Click to enlarge page.  

I remember the first Italian I became friends with back in the 1960's.

He so much wanted to fit in that he insisted on wearing a white shirt and tie almost all the time. (My wife's Italian family is much more informal and relaxed.)

I wonder if the driver of this car, seen on Route 14 in front of the Fannie May store has a similar desire for acceptance.

Of course, the only words I can read are “el army.”

Any Spanish speakers who can translate the whole bumper sticker?

On the way home from work, my wife heard that seatbelt use was going to be strictly enforced. I don’t know whether it was for Memorial Day traffic and right now.

The put that in juxtaposition with the lack of enforcement of the law against illegal immigrants.

"Be sure you wear a seatbelt when you cross the border," the woman who makes me smile, just said.

Not a lot of consistency in the enforcement of laws in the United States, is there?

And, which should have higher priority?

TG wrote a comment to a Quad City Times article on the prospect of leasing tollways by Matt Adrian.

It made me smile so broadly, I thought I would share it with you:

TG wrote on May 28, 2006 6:19 PM:

"Great idea Rod. How about just taking all of the Illinios owned vehicle titles to a title loan place. You can get cash now and not have negative effects until later! Has anyone ever taught you the pitfalls of immediate gratification, Rod?"

Maybe, after the election, the Governor can fulfill his promises by going to Pink Slip Loan Financing.

The fifth page discusses the development possibilities and evaluation criteria.

Apparently, considerable discussion has already occurred with potential developers. The RFQ mentions the city's perspective "has expanded as it has discussed a wide variety of options internally and with deveoplers who have expressed interest in the site."

But, the instructions stress,

"Above all, the City seeks to assure that the redevelopment of the site will include the publicly accessible beach, marina and waterfront amenities."

A beginning vision is outlined next:

1. A commercial activity center adjacent to the public recreation uses that includes destination restaurants, recreation, and recreation-oriented retailing,

2. Mid-rise condominiums on the uplands and luxury townhomes cascading down the slopes of the site, and

3. Redevelopment of adjacent property (on US 14 and Main Street) reoriented toward the lake, in a mix of restaurants, hotel, banquet and conferencing facilities which will take advantage of overviews.

As to evaluation critieria, here is what is listed:

Experience of the Development Team with projects of similar scope.

Indicated understanding of the Vulcan Lake Center concept, project scope, and goals and objectives of the City as evidenced by the contents and quality of the proposal submitted.

Developer's demonstrated capability to plan, finance and successfully carry out the development program.

Financial ability to complete the project as designed.

A demonstrated capacity and commitment to quality control, and cost control.

Makeup of the Team and specific experience of individuals assigned.

Familiarity of the firm with the project area, including environmental consideration, comunity characteristics, and local real estate markets.

Developer's vision or strategy for the development.

Click to enlarge page.  

Managing Editor Chris Krug announced what I think is the Northwest Herald’s first blog.

It will be called Everymom and be written by Jami Kunzer. It will be written in conjunction with Lifestyle columns on Sunday and Thursday.

Krug says Kunzer has three children under 3.

Crystal Lake’s City Clerk Roger Dreher wears many hats. One of them is a fireman’s.

A retired United Airlines pilot from Denver, Dreher spent his spare time for 18 years on the Crystal Lake Fire Department since moving the Crystal Lake in 1968, becoming its chief engineer before retiring.
  He is so into fire protection that he has his own 1928 75-gallon soda acid fire truck, seen here with Dreher in front. The big wheel is used to turn the soda tank over so it can fight a fire, working something like the large fire extinguishers that used to be in school buildings. (Click to enlarge the photograph.)

When Marengo’s recently retired Fire Chief Ross Kitchen decided to retire as president of the Northern Illinois Fire Museum, a 30-person organization, Dreher says he was the only one who “didn’t take four steps back.”

Now, “talking about the fire museum and the fire service is a love of mine,” he told Crystal Lake Kiwanis at the group’s Wednesday luncheon.

The museum is temporarily located in a Meyer Materials building on Route 23 south of Marengo. They have 10 vehicles, including motorized and—on loan from Harvard—the 1851 hand pumper cart used in the 1879 Chicago Fire.

The Museum is open for tours (call815-568-8950) and will soon give its first to the Marengo High School shop class, which has been manufacturing parts for the fire equipment.

The group has $50,000 in the bank as a result of what is euphemistically called a “member initiative” of former State Senator Dick Klemm.

Of course, the organization will need much more than that amount to purchase property and construct a building.

Dreher served two terms on the city council under former Mayor Carl Whede before being elected city clerk.

Two, actually.

Both were found on a car east of the Old State Capitol during the Art Fair.

I discovered there was a Christian women’s conference being held at the Convention Center down the street.

Two former executives of Intercounty Title Company and Independent Trust Co. (also known as Intrust) just got sentenced to 14 years in the Federal pen for defrauding 20,000 investors.

Laurence Capriotte and Jack Hargrove are the bad guys in this $90+ million scheme.

Just for fun, I decided to see to whom these crooks made campaign contributions.

None of the recipients have been accused of doing anything wrong in connection with the contributions, but lets take a look anyway.

I tried “Independent Trust” first and guess what popped up?

$500 to Citizens for Governor George Ryan--since convicted of racketeering--on September 22, 1998.

Now, it wasn’t Independent Trust Company. It was Independent Trust Corporation (15255 S 94th Ave Ste 303, Orland Park, IL 60462), but the odds are good that the two are related, if not the same company. The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office has only the Corporation registered.

Next I plugged in “Capriotte.”

Not a dime of contributions.

Next in was “Hargrove.”

There’s more than one, so I looked for “Jack Hargrove” and found a $2,000 October 17, 1997, contribution to Poshard for Governor.

I’m not sure what to make of the two contributions. It is interesting that Ryan’s contribution comes after the one to Poshard.

While the Tribune story did not mention Intercounty Title Company, the Associated Press story did.

Typing in just “Intercounty,” I hit paydirt.

56 contributions totaling $58,499 from different entities, all located at 120 W. Madison in Chicago.

Most are for Intercounty Title Co Of Illinois, a couple are listed Intercounty National Title and one as Intercounty Title Co Sas PAC, which I cannot find registered as a political action committee.

So, let’s see who Intercounty sought to influence.

Let’s go for the big ones first.

Getting $5,000 were

· Friends of Lee Daniels (plus $1,600 in 1995 and 1997)
· Committee to Elect James A. Deleo and
· Aldo DeAngelis, P.A.

All were in 1996, except DeLeo’s, which was in 1998.

Citizens for Emil Jones received $2,500 in 1996.

Citizens for Jim Myers got $1,650 in 1997, following $500 in 1995 and $1,250 in 1994. Myers’ committee also got a $298 CD player in 1999.

$1,600 was given to Citizens to Re-Elect Thomas J. Walsh in 1997 (plus $500 in 1999).

$1,500 was given to Jesse White in 1998, while State Rep. Bob Churchill got the same amount in 1996. Churchill also received $250 in 1997.

Citizens for George Ryan received $1,400 in 1997.

Which other folks who have been governor got checks from Intercounty?

For contributions $1,000 or less, plus those to others who were or became governors, click here.

Or, play Campaign Finance CSI. (Well, maybe there was no political crime, but it's a catchy title, isn't it?) Here is a chronological look at the campaign contributions of Intercounty.

There are some names of individuals next to some of the Intercounty entries that might yield further clues to why these folks were making political contributions.

While the Chicago Tribune overlooked Crystal Lake in its search for a rowing venue for the 2016 Olympics, it found Crystal Lake in its search for Chicagoland’s best tacos.

Coming in third place was La Rosita, a Mexican grocery on Main Street north of the tracks next to Suburban Office Supply.

The Chicago Tribune’s quest for the best taco in Chicago has a map pointing to Crystal Lake, much like the Gay Games did (even before the Crystal Lake Park District had granted permission).

$1.50 buys the regular taco. The fixin’s are described,
But the real deal-closer were La Rosita’s two breathtaking salsas in big squeeze bottles. Made with tomatillos, garlic and pureed avocado, the green oozes with creamy nuttiness while the chile de arbol-in-fused red unleashes an irresistible firey, smoky finish. We could eat this stuff on tortillas all day long.

The next page explains why a Request for Proposal is not being used. The Request for Qualifications is designed to avoid

"unnecessarily limit(ing) the number and quality of teams responding...The City seeks the most qualified, most enthusiastic, most committed development team, and will, instead, use this RFQ process to select that team as the Developer of Record..."

In the agreement that will be negotiated after the Developer of Record is selected,

"Issues of ownership, control, timing, financial interest, and return on investment will be documented in the development agreement."

The rest of the page is devoted to outlining what Crystal Lake's city government wants to be completed in the first phase of the Vulcan Lakes Center development:

A public beach area and shore protection

A public shelter/cabana/concessions facility

Small boat marina, fishing piers, and several public overlooks

A unifying trail system

Site circulation with access to US 14, Pingree Road and Main Street

Market driven uses compatible with the site are most likely to include:

Active Recreation facilities

High quality restaurants and entertainment uses

Other compatible uses designed to maximize site views, such as high-quality housing, hotel, conference, banquet centers, etc.

The City says it wants the developer to construct the public improvements, which will be reimbursed with TIF money. (Click to enlarge image.)
  

Found at the Old Capitol Art Fair in Springfield last weekend was this boy’s tee shirt:

Daddy’s Side Kick

And, just in case you are in doubt, a proud Dad insisted I take a picture of the two.

By a vote of 78-15, the United States Senate confirmed General Michael Hayden as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

WGN-TV called it a "landslide vote."

It seems like a lot of Democrats in the Senate had a miraculous change of heart since their original outcry at, gasp, a military man taking control of the civilian syy agency. Of course, the General played a similar role at the civilian National Security Agency.

I wonder if their secret briefing resulted in a growing of new spines or whether, when the original opponents heard what the United States is up against, they decided they did not want to be blamed for the next 9/11.

On May 11th, the Northwest Herald advised,

Air Force General Michael Hayden is not the right choice to lead the CIA. President Bush needs a critical thinker in this position, not another "yes" man.

Senators Dick Durbin and Barack Obama followed the Northwest Herald's advice, even if the U.S. Senate, as a whole, did not.

Click to enlarge the editorial.
  

The following page of Crystal Lake's Request for Qualifications lays out the opportunities,

"opportunies,,,(that) do not present themselves every day. Lakefront property with high accessibility, within a diverse and fast growth market, near transit and community services, and supported by tax increment financing...The economics of this development must work for both the developer and the community, and the City seeks a development partnet willing to "dream big" and build well.

The page outlines Crystal Lake's control of "a net developable area shared by public recreation uses and private market driven development of approximately 95 acres. An additional 31 acres of land adjacent to the site are held by owners who have expressed interest in incorporating their property into a unified Vulcan Lakes development.

Without limiting the possibilities, the City anticipates that the open space and recreation facilities on the site will be a natural supporter and compatible partner with restaurants, entertainment, banquet/clubs, recreational venues, and high quality residential uses. Property along Route 14 is most likely to succeed in retail commercial uses. Additional property overlooking the lake, accessible on South Main Street may be suitable for hotel, restaurant, and high quality residential uses.

Concernnig density, the RFQ says,

it recognizes that development densities will need to be commensurate with the overall scale of this project investment. The City will work closely with the developer to assure that the project sets a very high standard for place making, and that it makes a significant contribution to the character of the community.

The Tax Increment Financing district is discussed next:

The City...will use TIF funding to support the cost of infrastructure, public improvements and amenities for the site. As is the case in any TIF project, the greater the private investment in development, the greater the city's capacity to reinvest TIF project funds in the site. The TIF budget anticipates public costs of approximately $20 million in support of infrastructure, site preparation, and public recreation facilities.

Click to enlarge the following:  

I found this matched pair of messages on Oak Street heading into Crystal Lake.

The bumper sticker below the rear window reads ”Goeoist” I think.Below is an appropriate license plate from Iowa:

KATPHSH

Yiddish for,

Do you understand?

I’m not sure I do, but maybe you will.

I see the symbols for Muslims, peace, Jews and, I guess, the "e" is for the environmental movement.

I just got it. The "t" is a Cross for Christianity.

Did I miss anything?

Crystal Lake has issued a Request for Qualifications for developers who would be willing to take on the Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing project, promising a $20 million subsidy for public improvements from the Tax Increment Financing district which will force taxes up throughtout the area.

A Request for Qualifications is quite different from a Request for Proposal. Basically, the city is looking for a partner it can work with. With an RFP, you see a lot more of what you are going to get.

With so much discretion and money involved, I surely hope that the city passes an ordiance which prohibits campaign contributions to local politicians from anyone or company related to the project.

The first page looks like a stock "poop" page that would be sent to anyone inquiring about the area, but the cover of the request certainly doesn't look like Vulcan Lakes to me, but I haven't been at lake level. I'm somewhat color blind, but those look like Northern Lights in the sky.

This looks like a standard "poop" sheet sent to folks considering locating in Crystal Lake. (Click to enlarge any image in this seven-part series.)  

 
Gone fishing...one May evening over what's left of the old icehouse off Gate 7 beach on the south side of Crystal Lake. Click to enlarge. 

This week’s Susan Sovereign column from the Sumner Press is about how children take after their parents.

As a bonus there is a description of how a dog looks when it is fighting a balloon.

Click to enlarge the print.

For other Susan Sovereign columns, press the keys "control" and "F" at the same time and type in "Susan".  

Arlington Heights School Board member Leslie Pinney has created quite a fuss at the second largest high school district in Illinois.

She has targeted a list of nine books listed in the Tribune article:

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison,
"Slaugherhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut,
"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien,
"The Awakening" by Kate Chopin,
"Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner,
"The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World" by Michael Pollan,
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky,
"Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers and
"How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez.

But no samples of what is objected to is quoted in this family newspaper…nor is it likely that any area newspaper will ever include such descriptions of sexual activity and torture.

One email I received contained some pretty descriptions of both. Here’s what I saw

“soft porn” (“Garcia Girls,” “Wallflower”),

“excessive violence” in Vietnam (“Fallen Angels” and “The Things They Carried”) (PETA should be complaining about how a baby water buffalo is killed.) and/or

“uses words you won’t hear broadcast over the airwaves or see in the newspaper” (“Slaughterhouse Five”).

In any event, I don’t remember anything like them in the high schools I attended at Middletown, New York, and Crystal Lake.

In fact, I’ll bet a school board member would object if someone tried to read the excerpts at a school board meeting. And, if a high schooler had any of what is described in the excerpts I read on a video game, a parent would object to having it in the house.

I filed a Freedom of Information request with Crystal Lake High School District 155 asking about the five that seemed to have some of the most explicit language and here’s what I found:

“Slaughter Five” and “The Things They Carried”—the two books about Vietnam--are included as an option in two District 155 English courses. Both of these novels are grouped among other titles that teachers may select from in order to meet the criteria for the course curriculum.

Books currently available in district libraries follow. The dates are years when the book was purchased.

Cary-Grove High School

· Slaughterhouse Five (1995 and 1996)

Crystal Lake Central High School

· How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent (1998)
· The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2000)
· Fallen Angels (2001)
· The Things They Carried (1992)
· Slaughterhouse Five (2001)

Prairie Ridge High School

· How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent (1998)
· The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2000)
· Fallen Angels (2003)
· The Things They Carried (1997)
· Slaughterhouse Five (1997)

Crystal Lake South High School

· The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2000)
· Fallen Angels (1994)
· Slaughterhouse Five (2002)

The next Arlington Heights School Board meeting is Thursday, May 25th, 7:30 p.m. sharp at the Forest View Educational Center, 2121 South Goebbert in Arlington Heights.

Lew Caldwell was a 12-year (1967-79) independent black state representative from Chicago. He received his degree in social work from Northwestern University.

We stayed in the same cheap ($14.50 a night in the 1970’s) and now demolished hotel—the Hotel Governor—right next to the infamous Hotel St. Nicholas, where shoe boxes of former Secretary of State Paul Powell’s money was found.

That’s probably how we got to know each other.

I eventually learned that Lew had written a novel called “The Policy King.”

It was about Chicago politics.

A group of citizens decided to try to legalize policy.

When Lew told me about it, I had never heard of policy. It was a daily numbers game. Runners sold policy slips with numbers on them. If you had the correct number, you won the day’s prize.

Does that sound like today’s daily lottery or what?

The hero of the book wanted to legalize numbers and, basically, franchise their sale to individuals. The example used was the early insurance industry, which Lew said did not have a good reputation in the early days when salesmen went door-to-door.

The citizens group went to the mayor’s office and made the pitch.

The mayor’s reply was that, when they had some political power, they should come back and see him.

The group then organized and beat the local alderman.

He loaned me the only copy of the book he had, which I avidly read.

When the lottery decided to start a daily game, he introduced a bill to carry out the plan in Lew’s book.

Why not empower individuals, giving them an ability to make an honest living?

You’ll find this hard to believe, but we got House Bill 841 passed the House 173-0 in 1977.

Naturally, the idea died in the Senate.

We couldn’t have private citizens competing with the state and local stores, could we?

This is the same western Carpentersville home that sprouted a "Vote Yes, Vote Yes" and a "John Mayer for County Board," right next to its "For Sale by Owner" right before the District 300 referendum.

Now the referendums have passed.

John Noverinni defeated John Mayer for County Board.

And a much higher tax bill has arrived.

Only the "For Sale by Owner" sign remains.

Read the following state law:

(10 ILCS 5/9-25.1) Sec. 9-25.1. Election interference. (a) As used in this Section, "public funds" means any funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly or by any political subdivision of the State of Illinois. (b) No public funds shall be used to urge any elector to vote for or against any candidate or proposition, or be appropriated for political or campaign purposes to any candidate or political organization. This Section shall not prohibit the use of public funds for dissemination of factual information relative to any proposition appearing on an election ballot, or for dissemination of information and arguments published and distributed under law in connection with a proposition to amend the Constitution of the State of Illinois. (c) The first time any person violates any provision of this Section, that person shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Upon the second or any subsequent violation of any provision of this Section, the person violating any provision of this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

The use of pork to help elect incumbents must not be covered by this law. Even the use of “member initiatives” to help elect non-incumbents seems not to have raised an eyebrow among law enforcement officials…with the exception of the Michael Tristano case.

So, does Governor Rod Blagojevich’s promise to accelerate lottery revenues in order to induce the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks to withdraw his threat to lead minorities off the Democratic Party plantation break the Election Interference law?

The Governor does seem to be doing it for a “political or campaign purpose,” but it certainly hasn’t been “appropriated” yet.

Even if he is, he’d still keep his pension. It’s only a misdemeanor.

“In 1975, the State of Illinois created the lottery. The idea behind the game was to create a funding source for schools that would solve the inequities in school funding. However, over the years, lottery money was not used exclusively for schools. Instead, it was used for a variety of purposes, failing to fulfill the mission promised to the taxpayers over thirty years ago.”

That’s what Governor Rod Blagojevich’s press release said yesterday.

It is, of course, a blatant falsehood.

I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have enough gray heads around the office.

Blagojevich’s staff may have never learned the RTA’s history, but the Governor has.

In the freshman orientation session at the Holiday Inn East in December of 1992, lottery sponsor State Rep. Zeke Giorgi delighted in taunting the newly elected legislators. He said he bet they thought the lottery was passed to finance education and everyone, but I, probably nodded his or her head “Yes.”

Then, Giorgi held up the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times with a headline saying something like, “Lottery Finances RTA.”

He even passed out copies to everyone present.

Now, maybe Blagojevich was in the hot tub, but, more likely, he attended the session.

He just doesn’t have as good a memory for lottery facts as he does for presidential succession.

Labels: Lottery, Regional Transportation Authority, Rod Blagojevich, RTA, Zeke Giorgi

McHenry County has a combination of unit school districts and dual districts, that is, separate elementary and high school districts.

The education reform proposal Governor Rod Blagojevich put on the table Tuesday—his successful attempt to buy off the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks’ gubernatorial candidacy—proposes financial incentives to create unit school districts.

Take a look at these two slides, which explain a bit of what the plan’s implications for schools in Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox River Grove, Marengo, McHenry, Wonder Lake, Richmond, Riley, and Spring Grove.

The educational advantages are, of course, pretty self-evident. All the elementary schools in a unit district would have similar educational offerings. Presumably, freshman high school students would be equally prepared.

There should be lower administrative expenses, as well.

The second slide shows what those who compare school tax rates already know. Most unit school districts have lower tax rates than the combination of grade and high school districts.

When I saw this “SELL YOU” license plate at Sam’s Club, I thought it probably belonged to a real estate agent.

The owner walked up as I was talking the picture with a quizzical look on his face, tinged with a bit of apprehension.

I told him I had a message of the day on my blog and his was an interesting license plate. I asked him what he sold.

He told me he had been a salesman for several decades and this was the only plate that he could find that was not taken, that he now was a salesman for ComCast.

He also told me that he thought I might be taking a photograph of where someone had backed into his car for insurance purposes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2006


Governor Blagojevich unveils bold new plan to reform Illinois schools
Governor’s plan includes extending the school year, merit pay for teachers, mandatory after school tutoring, taking over failing school districts, school construction, parental involvement initiatives, textbook replacement, full day kindergarten, new school technology, and new accountability measures; Plan would provide $6 billion in new funding for schools over next four budgets


CHICAGO - Building on the work of the previous four budgets and legislative sessions which saw more than $3.8 billion in new funds invested in Illinois schools, the creation of universal preschool in Illinois, and raising graduation standards to req

Require students to take more reading, writing, math and science, Governor Rod Blagojevich today unveiled his new plan to continue reforming and improving schools, with initiatives including:

· Implementing full day kindergarten and universal preschool;
· Funding new school construction;
· Creating “Small Schools” and “Identity Schools”;
· Helping school districts regularly replace outdated textbooks;
· Extending the school year for underachieving schools;
· Performance pay for teachers;
· Increased state takeovers of failing school districts;
· Funding after-school tutoring for underachieving students;
· Helping schools afford special education teachers;
· Introducing new ways to help parents get involved;
· Increasing school district consolidations;
· More and better mentoring for principals and superintendents;
· Helping schools afford new technology to help parents track their kids performance;
· Improving school libraries;
· Improving Career and Technical Education curriculums; and
· Reducing school district administrative costs.

For the twenty five years preceding the Blagojevich administration, the State of Illinois consistently neglected and chronically underfunded its schools – increasing funding on a year to year basis by just .5% (after adjusting for inflation). Instead, the State spent the taxpayers money on things like a bloated state payroll, corporate loopholes that cost schools over $500 million a year in funding, and special purpose funds that held money aside for special interests.

For the rest of the press release, click here.

Twenty days after its mistake in projecting State Aid to Education became apparent, District 300’s board stated the obvious.

It blew the state aid projection big time.

The Elgin Daily Courier-News served up a pretty scathing story under the bland headline:

D300 confirms aid figures

If you are a regular reader of McHenry County Blog, you will remember the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Rotary Club meeting during which District 158 Board member Larry Snow got an admission out of District 300 finance projector Cheryl Crates that her prediction of the state aid increase was flawed by being too low. The meeting was well over a month before the tax hike and bond referendums.

A week later Northwest Herald reporter Allison Smith ran a history of state aid.

Today Elgin Courier reporter Christine Moyer points out that in this fifth version of District 300’s budget the $170 per student State Aid to Education figure Larry Snow predicted a month before the election is (May I have the envelope, please?) CORRECT.

The newest budget revision says an extra $1.3 million will flow from the state taxpayers.

Oh, my.

That’s more than the $1 million that was going to be saved by eliminating sports and extracurricular activities.

Read this from the Courier-News:

In the past, District 300 officials projected the foundation level for assistance would increase by about $50 per student, meaning the district would receive roughly $2 millino less than is expected in state aid for the 2007-2007 school year.

District officials referred to this as a conservative approach…

However, district critics called these figures unrealistic, insisting they were used to create a more dire financial situation than really existed.

The Northwest Herald’s Allison Smith wrote a story.

Smith noted that most of the criticisms of the budget panned out in District 300’s favor:

For months, there has been debate, much of it contentious, leading up to the March referendums.

But one by one, firm figures replaced best guesses. Some factors played out as critics predicted. Most did not.

I don’t think I entirely agree. Smith points out that the state subsidy for the charter school will not come in this year, as critics suggested. Critics also pointed out that nowhere in the 5-year budget projection was any state aid predicted by District 300.

Here is Smith’s statement on the state aid controversy:

The state will increase the amount it funnels to districts by $170 a child – well more than the $50 the district had estimated at first, and even higher than the $140 figured last month.

Certainly, that state aid will not come this coming year, but I wonder if the 5th budget now includes that charter school subsidy.

She also points out that assessed valuation did not increase as much as critics said it would.

But, District 300's housing boom numbers did not translated into new construction equalized assessed value growth.

District 300 was wrong, however, on the amount of State Aid to Education, ignoring transition fees from Gilberts and some Carpentersville subdivisions, plus charter school subsidies from the state for the entire 5-year budget projection.

Maybe I’m just quibbling, but it seems more like District 300 was more wrong than right.

Obituaries for Sherman Skolnick appear in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times today, but neither mention his involvement in McHenry County politics.

Skolnick did speak to the Crystal Lake Kiwanis Club about his role in bringing down two crooked Illinois Supreme Court justices, but it was his help in drafting a federal reapportionment suit that affected McHenry County politics.

My father noticed that he had won a reapportionment suit (mentioned in the Sun-Times story) concerning the drawing of congressional lines in Chicago and contacted the self-described legal researcher.

County boards were to be apportioned on the basis of one man, one vote for the first time in Illinois history.

Previously, each of the county’s 17 townships had representation through their township supervisors, regardless of whether the township had 40,000 people or less than 1,000. In addition, the larger townships had assistant supervisors who had no role in township government, but sat on the county board. (That was the type of board I served with while I was county treasurer from 1966-70.)

Dad was dissatisfied with the disparity among county board district populations in the reapportionment map that had been passed. He came up with suggested districts which were more equal in population, but which, I would imagine, the powers-that-be thought would shift power in directions they did not favor, that is, toward the more densely populated southeastern corner of McHenry County.

I went with Dad when he visited Skolnick’s home for advice. As you can image with a man to whom research was his life, the living area was pretty cluttered.

Sherman gave Dad a copy of the successful suit and suggested how it could be altered to fit McHenry County.

Dad filed a suit in federal court. It dragged on and on.

The judge agreed that Dad’s districts were more equal in population than the county board’s and told State’s Attorney Bill Cowlin to talk to Dad.

Now, this was akin to heresy to Cowlin. Talk to a mere layman representing himself in court. Not this State’s Attorney.

The next court date, the judge asked how the talks were progressing and Dad revealed that Cowlin had not contacted him.

This time the judge ordered the State’s Attorney to confer with Dad.

As I remember the outcome, the county came up with lines for the three districts which had substantially the same population difference as those Dad presented, but had different boundaries.

They split Crystal Lake three ways, thus diminishing the area’s influence in county politics for several decades during which the McHenry politicians ruled the roost.

The judge agreed to accept those new and much more equal in population districts.

And, none of this little drama would have occurred without Sherman Skolnick’s help.

Help me out here.

At the Springfield Art Fair, I saw a tee shirt with this Candyland game on it. I didn't get a picture of it, but do wonder why a child would have it on a tee shirt.

What's that all about?

On Friday, the Chicago Tribune dropped the suggestion that the Lottery may be the source of the money with which Governor Rod Blagojevich bought off the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks.

But, you say, money from the Lottery already goes to education.

Yes, it does. So the question arises of what accelerating Lottery revenues by selling it to a private gambling firm would do…in the long run.

One could get big money up front, the same way many states did by selling future Tobacco Settlement collections. But those states needed to accept less upftont in order clinch the deal.

A similar discount would undoubtedly be necessary if the Lottery were sold to private interests.

State Rep. Zeke Giorgi pre-sold the Lottery as being for education, but it was not passed until it became the source of money for the General Fund’s subsidy of the Regional Transportation Authority. (Reviews of the Lottery’s history usually forget this fact.)

In the 1980’s Zeke’s pitch was finally made law when legislators got tired of explaining why Lottery proceeds didn’t go to education. Of course, that got no additional money for schools, because an equal amount of previously General Fund receipts was spent elsewhere.

So, what happens if the Democrats sell this stream of revenue for the current benefit of getting re-elected?

Put simply, it means that Governor Rod Blagojevich will have put another cliff in the path of future politicians in order to obtain a short-term political benefit for himself.

This year’s windfall would turn into some future year’s budgetary free fall.

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.