McHenry County Blog

I found this license plate in the parking lot of the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake last Saturday.

It reads,

SOBER 6

The short course in Christianity, Walk to Emmaus, was holding a training session at the church, but I don’t know if the car belongs to one of team members.

8/31/6 - McHenry County Blog decided to take a look at what Dan Proft has received from Illinois politicians and guess what?

If you look up his name, you find not one dollar reported expended on his services.

Proft, you may remember is the one who helped recruit Alan Keyes to replace Jack Ryan, both of whose campaigns he worked on in 2004.

He started Illinois Leader, along with Brian Timpone, and allowed editor Fran Eaton to build it up to 500,000 hits a week and, then, killed it.

But, look up his company, Urquhart Media, and you’ll find it has been paid $316,585.65 since mid-March of 2005.

And, if you add in Starfish Consulting, Proft’s former company, there’s another $188,392.11, going back to the 2000 re-election campaign of State Rep. Beth Coulson.

Since that’s a healthy sum, I decided to look at the details for Urquhart.

Proft is, of course, orchestrating the Tony Peraica for Cook County Board President campaign.

The first payment for Urquhart (of $12,000) shows up on March 18, 2005, from Citizens for Peraica. In all, Peraica has paid the firm $86,172.95.

Since then through the end of June, Peraica has spent $256,012.25. That means Proft’s firm managed to garner fully one-third of every dollar Peraica has spent on his campaign.

Proft also worked for Steve Rauschenberger’s gubernatorial campaign. For that, his firm received $158,057.63.

Calculating what percentage was spent on his firm’s services and including only the time since Urquhart first got paid, all expenditures amount to $1,046,583.6, while Urquhart’s percentage is over 15% of the total.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz also paid Urquhart $35,667.94 after Rauschenberger became his running mate. $29,667.94 was paid through Ron Gidwitz for Governor, while $6,000 came through The Illinois Turnaround Team. Gidwitz paid Starfish Consulting $12,000, as well.

Urquhart also provided $20,973.50 worth of brochures for the Aurora Township Republican Team in 2005.

The Cicero committee was the final one, and the one for which Proft got the most publicity, but got paid least. Just $5,695 is listed as paid to Urquhart.

Of course, Proft is making almost $100,000 for the job of being its spokesman now.

Proft was also active in Blue Island’s 2005 municipal elections. He received $4,084 through Starfish from The Coalition Party, a.k.a,, The Progressive Party.

The Downers Grove Information Network, an pro-Home Rule group, paid him $10,018.63 this past spring and won its referendum 3-1.

And the income enumerated does not include any fees from placing advertising nor does it include anything earned for the Jack Ryan and Alan Keyes for U.S. Senate campaigns in Illinois.

= = = = =
Dan Proft has pointed out some errors, which I am happy to correct.

Proft did not work for current Wal-Mart basher Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, as I reported in the original version of this story. (You can read the original version here. )

When I searched for his consulting firm “Starfish” under campaign expenditures on the State Board of Elections web site, the earliest of the $188, 692.11 (53 entries) was from a different Starfish, which provided $300 of “community relations-picnic entertain, Moore Citizens for Joe.”

I have taken that part of the paragraph out. I shall also subtract the $300 from Starfish’s total revenue from politicians reporting to the State Board and insert its earliest reported client, which I was trying to do in the first place--the 2000 re-election campaign of State Rep. Beth Coulson.

An editing error, which Proft did not mention, resulted in Proft’s almost $100,000 job with Cicero being placed under a paragraph about Blue Island. The sentence has been moved up so it is under the Cicero sentence.

With regard to his Blue Island assistance via Starfish, Proft complained about my mentioning “The Progressive Party.”

He is apparently unaware what is on the State Board of Elections website. I shall reproduce it here. It says, “The Coalition Party, aka, The Progressive Party.” So, that was not an error. (The State Board of Elections tries to link previous campaign committees to current committees, if the same candidates are involved.)

Proft points out that the Downers Grove effort was in support of Home Rule, not in opposition and his side won 3-1. I have corrected the article.

And, he points out that I misspelled “Urquhart.” Yep, I did…twice, first, in the paragraph about Urquhart’s having gotten 15% of the money that GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Rauschenberger spent since signing him up to advise the campaign, and, second, in the paragraph about the $47,667.94 his two firms later received from Republican candidate for governor, Ron Gidwitz.

But I got it right more (5) times. (I also misspelled ”Blagojevich” until I had typed it numerous times. See previous mea culpa on spelling. I did, however, manage to spell “Urquhart” correctly for the State Board of Elections search engine.)

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

8/31/6 - The following press release was received from the Green Party.

Having gone the third party route in 2002, I know getting on the ballot is a big accomplishment.

The next step--getting noticed--is a lot tougher.

When the Illinois League of Women Voters said it would invite anyone receiving 5% in an independent poll, our Libertarian Party campaign ran radio ads during late August, resulting in our exceeding the 5% threshold.

At that point, Jim Ryan and Rod Blagojevich decided not to participate in the League debate (the first time in decades gubernatorial candidates had stiffed the League.)

Frankly, if I were Rich Whitney, I wouldn't raise my hopes about being included in any debates.

WHITNEY AND ILLINOIS GREEN PARTY STATE STATE TO BE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

This morning, the State Board of Elections voted unanimously to certify the Green Party state slate to appear on the November ballot. The people of the State of Illinois will now have a third, and better, choice of candidates for all state constitutional offices.

The Green Party slate has come a long way to get this far. First, we had to overcome the legal roadblock that the two corporate-sponsored parties erected against all third-party efforts in this state.

We had to collect 25,000 signatures in just 90 days – five times the number of signatures that their candidates had to collect – just to qualify to be on the ballot. We accomplished that, collecting well over 39,000.

We had to overcome another roadblock when the Blagojevich machine used its staffing and monetary advantage in challenging our petitions before the State Board. We were forced to hire a ballot defense coordinator and pay for legal services to defend our petitions against the challengers.

Apart from that, the rest of our defense lay in the hands of dozens of dedicated volunteers who worked many long hours for several weeks to defend our petition signatures, line by line. While these volunteers did not have to be paid for their time, this obviously diverted their time and energy from the real work of the campaign – which, of course, was just what the Blagojevich machine wanted.

Fortunately, some of you in the news media were good and responsible enough to cover the story exposing this underhanded ploy. And, as of today, we beat the Blagojevich machine back, winning this vital battle for ballot access.

We’re two for two so far. Now the next challenge we face on the road to victory is to get into the remaining gubernatorial debates.

Whatever one may think about me or my proposals, I think that we have at least established that I am a serious candidate for governor.

We have demonstrated this by making the monumental effort to get on the ballot and beating back the petition challenge. We have also demonstrated this by providing voters with detailed proposals and position statements on all of the major issues facing the people of this state.

The voters deserve to hear the points of view of all ballot-qualified candidates in the debates. This would serve the interest of having a fully informed electorate that can choose the best candidate with the best plans for the people of Illinois, instead of the candidate who manages to raise the most money for a barrage of television ads.

In addition, I believe that the majority of Illinois voters would prefer to hear all candidates’ points of view represented in the debates. I respectfully request the news media in Illinois join us in calling for all candidates to be included in the debates in order to serve the greater public good and the popular will.

At least one sponsor of an upcoming debate, the Illinois Radio Network, has informed me that, as of now, I am not being invited to participate in a debate scheduled for October 2nd.

However, they also informed me that their position could change if the other two candidates agree to include me in that debate. Unfortunately, we cannot seem to get a straight answer from the Blagojevich campaign regarding whether I should be included in future debates. When asked by reporters, Mr. Blagojevich has repeatedly dodged the question.

On the other hand, at least one Blagojevich spokesperson has stated that the decision is up to the debate sponsors. So if a sponsor tells us it’s up to the other candidates and one other candidate tells us it’s up to the sponsors, I hope you can appreciate that this creates quite a dilemma for us.

I can understand why Mr. Blagojevich may not want to debate me, inasmuch as I have an
actual plan for dealing with the state’s budget crisis that does not involve skimping on payments to the pension system and delaying Medicaid payments to health care
providers.

In fact, recent polls have indicated that a majority of Illinoisans support at least some version of an income tax for property tax swap to fund education in Illinois, yet I am the only candidate in this race who is campaigning on behalf of this majority position.

I also have a superior plan to deal with the twin crises of global warming and soaring energy prices that involves developing renewable energy resources other than simply ethanol. Undoubtedly, Mr. Blagojevich does not agree with my assessment. But that’s precisely the point of including all candidates in the debate. Let’s put his ideas, and mine, and Ms. Topinka’s, to the test.

I once again publicly call upon both the Blagojevich and the Topinka campaigns to do the right thing and include all ballot-qualified candidates in all future gubernatorial debates.

Let’s get all points of view in front of the voters so that they can make the best informed decision.

-end-

8/31/6 - Here is 8th congressional candidate Bill Scheurer's attempt to gain a larger audience than McHenry County Blog today.

He compares incumbent Democratic Party Congresswoman Melissa Bean to U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, whom most commentators believe was defeated in his Democratic Party primary because of his support of the war in Iraq.

August 31, 2006

“Lamonting” Another Bush Democrat

By Bill Scheurer

People believe that Ned Lamont defeated Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary because Lieberman was for the war and Lamont was against it.

Here in the IL-8th Congressional District we have another Bush Democrat who has supported the war every step of the way, Melissa Bean.

(She also voted with Bush on CAFTA, the Patriot Act, the Bankruptcy Bill, Estate Tax Repeal, Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, the Sensenbrenner Bill, the Flag-Burning Amendment, Terry Schiavo, the “Enron/Halliburton” Energy Bill, and others, but that’s another story.)

Faced with an unacceptable “choice” between Bean and the equally pro-war Republican candidate David McSweeney, I chose to run as an independent candidate for Congress, under the new Moderate Party banner.

I am an unwavering supporter of peace, with a strong working families platform, major union support, and an energized grassroots base.

My campaign gathered 15,000 signatures to get on the ballot, something that has never been done before in Illinois history. We also warded off a challenge to our petition by filing a federal lawsuit against the DCCC and Illinois Democratic Party.

Now is the time for activists around the country to bring the same energy and support that helped Lamont beat Lieberman, to help my campaign “Lamont” pro-war Bush Democrat Bean. To turn the 2006 elections into a referendum on the war, we must face the fact that many Democrats are as bad (or worse) than Republicans on this issue.

Failure to act on this -- in races where we have a real choice -- is choosing to continue the war. We must not put partisan politics above the lives of our soldiers and the innocent civilians in Iraq who pay the price for this war. That would be unconscionable.

Visit the Scheurer website (www.WinWithBill.com) to support this campaign.

(Bill Scheurer is the Moderate Party (independent) candidate for U.S. Congress in the Illinois 8th District. He is the father of four, including a daughter who served in Kuwait and a son who recently returned from a year-long tour of duty in Iraq. He is a member of Military Families Speak Out and publisher of The PeaceMajority Report.)

-30-

8/31/6 - 8/31/6 - Arlington Heights resident Pam Reed went to the area just north of New Orleans early last September. She went before the Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church had an organized effort.

The denomination’s relief efforts were based out of Trinity EFC in Covington, Louisiana, under the leadership of Pastor Michael Sprague.

After coming home, Reed went to the church’s web site again and again.

The draw was letters from Pastor Sprague.

Let me put in Reed’s words:

“A year ago my sister and I were so moved by the 24/7 news coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath that we felt we couldn't stay away.

“So we cleaned up our basement to bring home an evacuee, asked friends in Baton Rouge to help us find someone, loaded the van with diapers and car seats for a major pregnancy care ministry in Baton Rouge, and checked with our church about connecting with our denomination in that area.

“We were given the address for Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Covington, Louisiana, and supplied with 75 New Testaments to give to Trinity for distribution.

“We jumped in the van and drove the 1000 miles, knowing there was a room for us at a friend's home. We stayed two days and found no one to bring home but continued our connection with Trinity Church by visiting its web site.

“Pastor Sprague was posting letters reaching out to his scattered flock and telling inspiring stories of the work being done by teams sent from all over the country by the Compassion Ministry of the Evangelical Free Church of America.

“As I read the letters, I sensed that these were stories of God's love that needed to be told more widely than a web site.

“I started putting the book together and let the pastor know, when he wrote in a letter that people were urging him to write a book, that he already had a book in the works!

“We've been in communication through email ever since. We've never met or even talked on the phone. But God has blessed the process, and the book is coming off the press this week.

“The stories are inspiring and focus on relief, recovery, and redemption. They include ‘divine appointments’ and hope offered in the midst of despair.”

If you would like to order a copy, send $20 check/money order (sorry, no credit cards) made out to “Trinity Church” and mail it to P.O. Box 351, Prospect Heights IL 60070.

Reed has put up her own money for printing the books, so, if you would like to include a donation to help defray her costs, feel free to write the check for an increased amount to her name (Pam Reed). She’ll make sure Trinity gets the full amount for the book. The same address works, since she’s taking care of the book’s distribution.

8/31/6 - Human Events Evans-Novak Political Report says,

Only one seat appears to be truly vulnerable for takeover, the Republican-heavy seat taken in 2004 by Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.). We continue to believe that former Rep. Phil Crane (R) lost this 56 percent Bush seat, and not that Bean really won it. Voters will probably make a correction this year, but not without a heroic Republican effort. Despite a financial advantage, Bean suffers from a massive defection of organized labor and the presence of a pro-labor third-party candidate in her race against businessman David McSweeney (R).

Readers "hunterandscout" and Dave Bishop suggested that there be a place where people could make comments about making schools better. Good idea.

My suggestion for year-round schools, rather than building new buildings that will be used only 3/4 of the year, was cited as a possible topic for discussion. (I have suggested that no sane insitution would shut down expansive facilities for the summer. Think of Jewel saying, "Hey, it's vacation time in the summer. Let's close the doors.")

Comments should be civil, so please offer positive suggestions. I don't really want to make that value judgment. I'll keep this on top for at least a month.

This tee shirt picture was taken as we were leaving Algonquin’s Founder’s Days the night of the Rotary Fish Fry.

The young man pointed out that it was dirty, but I told him that made it more authentic.

It says,

Redneck Olypmics

The contests?

Cow Tipping

Tractor Racing

Cow Chip Tossing

8/30/6 - Today 8th congressional district Moderate Party candidate issued a press release bashing his Democratic Party opponent, incumbent Congresswoman Melissa Bean.

As I was listening to a promo for ABC's national news tonight, I heard that brain injuries suffered in the Iraq war would be a featured story.

That's what Scheurer's press release was about.

8/30/6 - The Sun-Times ran a Robert Novak column on Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s failure to obtain approval for an earmark (most people call it “pork”) for “''adaptation of current technologies to treat brain injuries suffered in combat” at the University of Chicago.

Besides the earmark’s failure, Moderate Party candidate Bill Scheurer for the 8th congressional district seat, described as an anti-war candidate by most reporters, says that funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center has been cut in half (down $7 million from last year’s $14 million).

Scheurer put a new twist on the subject of brain injuries.

He tells of his oldest son’s stoke when he was 15 and how his younger son

recently returned from a year-long tour of duty in Iraq, where troops are subjected to the kind of bomb blasts that are believed to cause permanent damage.

Scheurer then blasts Democratic Party candidate Melissa Bean for not being a member of

the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, which authored a letter endorsing the DBVIC’s budget request, although Bean’s staff claims she supports brain injury research and treatment for veterans.

“This is just another case of Bean’s empty rhetoric about ‘supporting the troops’ while ignoring their needs as real human beings,” Scheurer said.

You can read the whole press release here.

8/30/6 - When the U.S. Chamber endorsed the Democratic Party candidate in the 8th congressional district, I restrained myself from characterizing it as a “Chamber of Commerce mentality.” By that, I guess I meant the chamber “follows the money.”

Now, most trade associations follow the money.

The biggest contributors have extraordinary influence.

So, I would assume that big, multi-national businesses benefit the most from CAFTA.

In any event, it seemed unseemly when, right after the CAFTA vote, the U.S. Chamber held a fund raiser for Democrats like Melissa Bean.

The concept of “pay to play” comes to mind.

No, it’s more like a commodities exchange.

One places an order, gets the goods and pays later. (Of course, that analogy could be used in any legislative body.)

Now, the U.S. Chamber is making an “independent” expenditure of a couple of hundred dollars apparently falsely claiming she had voted for a bill that allows small business better health insurance coverage.

Of course, the ad fails to point out that the bill did not get signed into law.

Here is McSweeney’s press release:

PRESS RELEASE August 30, 2006 Contact: Jim Thacker 815-715-3130

Bean and US Chamber to highlight Flip-Flop on Labor for Labor Day Holiday - McSweeney calls on Bean to have "misleading" ads pulled

Barrington Township: David McSweeney, candidate for Congress in Illinois' 8th Congressional District, is calling on incumbent Melissa Bean to pull the "misleading" ads being run on her behalf. Two weeks ago Factcheck.org, a bi-partisan watchdog organization, compared US Chamber ads being run on behalf of Congresswoman Bean to phony "sweepstakes promotions".

"A couple of weeks ago Melissa Bean and the US Chamber were criticized for running a 'misleading' ad pointing out that the insurance benefits to small business claimed in the ad did not exist. There were also reports by some insurance providers of inquiries made by small business owners who had seen the ads thinking that the program was in place. Now, without regard to the truth, they continue to run the same ad," said McSweeney.

"I am calling on Melissa Bean and the US Chamber to pull these misleading ads.

“They are spreading false information and giving false hope to small business owners who may believe that Melissa Bean has solved their problem when in fact it does not exist.

“Melissa Bean did vote for the bill that she is given credit for in the ad but the irony is that minutes before she voted for the motion to 'recommit' or kill the bill," said McSweeney.

"At the risk of overusing the word 'irony', the US Chamber is running the ads because Melissa Bean barely cleared the bar by selling out her union supporters to get the Chamber's support. Previously, Melissa Bean had told the unions that she would vote against CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement).

“We also understand that Melissa Bean filled out a questionnaire stating that she would vote against 'NAFTA-like agreements'. Then she took money and support from the unions and after the checks cleared the bank she flip-flopped on the Cafta issue and voted for it," said McSweeney.

"We now know what the price was for Melissa Bean's flip-flop; nearly one million dollars in 'misleading' ads funded by big business. The final irony is that the ads, bought at the expense of a labor betrayal, are running during the Labor Day holiday," said McSweeney.

David McSweeney resides in Barrington Township within the 8th Congressional District with his wife Margaret and their two daughters.

Maybe this fight has more aspects than the public realizes.

There is a move quite far afoot to build a 1200 foot wide, ten-lane $36 billion super-super Interstate 35 highway/railroad from Mexico to Canada with a major “inland port” in Kansas City.

According to a Pat Buchanan World Net Daily August 29th column, the Wall Street Journal has bought into an integration of North America similar to what has happened in Europe. He quotes Les Dobbs and comments on congressional testimony of the Vice Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on North America:

This is a "mind-boggling concept," exploded Lou Dobbs. It must cause Americans to think our political and academic elites have "gone utterly mad." What had detonated the mild-mannered CNN anchor?

(Vice Chairman) Robert Pastor…had just appeared before a panel of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to call for erasing all U.S. borders and a merger of the United States, Mexico and Canada in a North American union stretching from Prudhoe Bay to Guatemala.

Under the Pastor-CFR plan, the illegal alien invasion would be solved by eliminating America's borders and legalizing the invasion. We would no longer defend the Rio Grande.

8/30/6 - “We have problems ever year the first week,” Yvonne Tovar, President of the Huntley Educational Support Personnel Association, told McHenry County Blog, “but reductions in staff this year mean we can’t handle what’s coming in.

“Glen Stewart was hired as our boss and he decided to go ahead and reduce workers inside the transportation office,” she explained.

“They thought we were overstaffed. Now, we’re understaffed.

“Before he came in everything was fine,” Travor said. “Nothing was broken and needed fixing.

“And, now, the district got more money, but has angry parents.

“We’re understaffed,” she continued, ”because they where we had five, we now have two.

“I’m, mercifully, not one of those two people,” she added. Tovar is a driver trainer for transportation, in addition to her union role.

“They have to dispatch, route, answer phones and email.

“We’re getting over a thousand phone calls a day and, today, I would assume we had at least 400 emails.

“The parents are upset, one, at the reductions in the stops that the board directed, and, two, at the overcrowding of the buses.

“Only bus drivers can handle the questions that are coming, but they would like secretaries to answer the questions. Two bus drivers are now answering the questions, where five used to,” Travor explained.

“The board’s direction was crystal clear,” said school board member Larry Snow. “The administrators were told to hold meetings with residents and in neighborhoods, as necessary, to address issues before school started.”

“Why Mr. Stewart chose not to meet with the residents before school opened, beats me.”

= = = = =
Photo was taken the night of the Huntley School District 158's Board discussion of the need for forensic audits. Stewart is in focus behind out-of-focus outside auditor Tim Cole. The bottom picture is of Larry Snow.

8/30/6 - Monday morning the Chicago Sun-Times ran a column by Tom McNamee that might be of interest to residents of McHenry County.

It’s about Gary Gauger, the Richmond farmer who was falsely accused of murdering his parents.

Right after they were murdered, his sister called my legislative office. I didn’t represent her at the time, but had during the 1970’s.

She told me she was positive that her brother had not killed their parents and asked for my help.

Unfortunately, about all I could come up with was to get him a good lawyer.

Obviously, a good enough one was not found.

In his column, McNamee quotes from the script of a play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen entitled, “The Exorerated.” It contrasts between Gauger’s “vision statement” and a policeman testifying at his trial.

Gary: “Well, I guess I would’ve gotten up that morning…”

Cop: “The defendant stated that he got up that morning…”

Gary: “And my mom would’ve been out in the trailer…”

Cop: “And that he looked outside and saw his mother in the trailer…”

Gary: “I guess I would have gone over to the trailer…”

Cop: “Then he walked up to the trailer and stepped onto the porch.”

Gary: “--and walked in…”

Cop: “He said he opened the door, he walked in.”

Gary: “I would’ve had to have reached out toward my mom…”

Cop: “He reached up and he grabbed his mother with his left hand and cut her throate with his right.”

The play opened Sunday at Raven Threatre at 6157 N. Clark in Chicago.

8-30-6 - With one school board member saying that Huntley school teachers will get a 5¾% raise this coming year and another pegging the 2007-08 raise at 6¾%, it probably will be difficult for other McHenry County school districts to keep up...assuming the numbers are correct.

Today, the Northwest Herald reported that the Richmond-Spring Grove teachers will get 3.4% raises.

Of course, only Carpentersville School District 300 and McHenry Grade School District 15 passed rate hike referendums.

Contract negotiations in both schools remain unresolved.

The 3.7% pay raise headline above is from Tuesday’s Sun-Times. It is not about union workers, however. And, Hewitt Associates reported its survey that “variable pay,” that is, bonuses tied to performance, is 11.2% of payroll.

Here is another pro-life billboard from the South Dakota portion of I-90.

It says,

ABORTION

Aren’t you
forgetting someone?

It does not say who sponsored it.

And, now, I get to put up another look at the sunrise from Marengo, the Sunday morning we returned to McHenry County. In fact, I'll put them all up.



What you see are all of the shots I took from the little convenience center on the east side of Marengo on Route 176.

On the bottom row, the sun was so bright I was just pointing and shooting.

The frame to the left of the darkest one, which you can see enlarged here, shows clouds that almost look like mountains.

If you want to see any of the others enlarged, just let me know which one or ones.

8/29/6 - At last night’s school board meeting, Superintendent Ken Arndt welcomed Northwest Herald reporter Allison Smith as the new communications director for District 300.

Smith covered School District 300 for the Northwest Herald during the past referendum and gave the tax hikers fits.

She will be paid $60,707, which has to be a substantial increase from her Northwest Herald salary, where she worked about three years. She starts her new job Sept. 5th.

She must be getting at least a 50% pay hike. And, that’s assuming that the Northwest Herald pays a lot better than I think they do.

Maybe she doubled or almost doubled her salary (as would be the case if she were earning $30,000 before).

There was a good political reason for District 300’s hiring of Allison Smith.

This will prevent articles like the one I link to below, dated January 26th. That one revealed that the District 300 tax hike committee’s budget was $153,000. Making that information public did not help the tax hike supporters. (It is the biggest school tax hike campaign budget I have ever seen.)

Here’s were you can find that article and some of the other reasons for District 300’s wanting to hire Allison Smith:

January 26, 2006 - Who Wants to Raise Your Taxes in District 300?

February 13, 2006 - Low-Balling State Aid to Education

March 12, 2006 - Northwest Herald Confirms Developers & Vendors Financing District 300 Tax Hikers

March 12, 2006 - How’d You Like to Wake Up to This on Sunday Morning, If You Were Running the District 300 Tax Hike Campaign?

March 15, 2006 - Blog Deters Tax Hiker Cash

Of course, I was reporting the campaign contributions, as well, but it was helpful to have Allison Smith’s Northwest Herald articles to link to. You can get a flavor of that from this election day post on McHenry County Blog:

March 21, 2006 - District 300 Tax Hike Committee Makes Fund Raising Goal with $2,500 from (Hold Your Breath) Another Developer

Part of Smith’s job will undoubtedly be to minimize the impact of stories like she wrote prior to the referendum.

A recent story was a soft piece about how fellow employees were putting monkeys in Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates’ office.

The article had this paragraph:

Zettler said she found the Fioretti comment so entertaining that her new e-mail name is "brmonkeys." But she denied being the self-dubbed "backroom monkies" visitor to Cal Skinner's conservative blog, www.mchenrycountyblog.com

Perhaps it is significant that she did not write a story in July about how much the District 300 tax hike committee spent, but, then, again, neither did anyone else.

(I would have thought people would have been interested in how much was collected and spent 1 and 2 and the tremendous amount left over for school board elections and/or the next tax hike referendum.)

I find it sad that a reporter has to leave reporting to earn what he or she thinks is needed to live the lifestyle he or she desires.

8/29/6 - So, here I am typing and who calls me?

Of course, you know that from the title.

She didn’t say,

Hi, Cal,

which seemed a bit unusual since I remember when we went to get ice cream on South Grand in her freshman legislative year and the last time I saw her at an event she kissed me twice.

Boy, did she have a beater back then. I’m not sure it even had a back floor. Maybe it was a back seat missing. Maybe, a window had plastic over it. Anyway, it was a junker.

We met Senate President Bill Harris at the ice cream parlor and he told us he had an autoimmune disease.

Funny, the things you remember.

Well, anyway, Judy said,

My new plan freezes property taxes for two years.

And provides

more money for schools.

She went quickly on, not giving me a chance to even say,

Hi, Judy. Why are you calling?

Anyway, she said something like

My plan provides both gas and property tax relief.

I waited for her to ask me what I thought about her plan and whether I had any questions, but, eventually, one of those really irritating telephone sounds started.

I guess she didn’t want to talk.

I wanted to ask her about that Chicago casino proposal and whether Daley had agreed to support her.

8/29/6 - Below is a press release I have received about what State Senators Peter Roskam and Kirk Dillard believe is in the future for tollway users. (You can find an earlier late April one here.

You may wish to refer back to some earlier comments I made that suggested the senators were being a bit too centered on DuPage County interests. While understandable, a broader perspective needs to include the interests of those areas whose residents heavily use the tollway, but through which few miles of highway run.

ROSKAM AND DILLARD WARN SUBURBANITES OF POST-ELECTION SURPRISE: Toll Increases Tied to Profits for Chicago Democrats

GLEN ELLYN - Senators Peter Roskam and Kirk Dillard warned suburbanites about a "post-election surprise" amid two media reports which indicated that Chicago Democratic leadership is still considering leasing the tollway. A new state report indicates that the more tolls are increased the more the state would receive from the proposed lease. Another media report indicated that a lion's share of the profits from leasing the tollway would likely leave the suburbs.

At an Illinois State Senate hearing in DuPage County, Senators Roskam and Dillard sounded off at Chicago Democratic plans to lease the tollway that could double tolls on motorists and send the revenue to Chicago and downstate Illinois.

"These findings indicate what I alwaysthought," said Roskam. The Chicago Democratic leadership in this state is ready to double your tolls and leave suburban communities holding the bag as they use the proceeds from this now $23 billion sale to bail out their irresponsible spending habits which have left our children and grandchildren a $3 billion deficit."

"Suburbanites should be outraged that decades of their nickels and dimes might be used for projects across the state," said Dillard. "Today's announcement reveals that the Chicago Democrats will raid our tollway like they raided our pension and road funds.

This decision could impact suburban residents and communities for decades."

In a recent Daily Herald article, it was reported that "...the report underscores just how much the state's take from leasing the tollway is directly tied to toll hikes." The Daily Herald also reported that "as much as 60% of the state's potential take would likely go outside the suburban region." DuPage County and suburban Cook County represent the majority of the tollway's 274 miles.

Roskam and Dillard have been outspoken critics of the proposed lease of the Illinois tollway. Below are the public actions both Senators have taken on this issue.

Roskam - Dillard Actions

· Roskam and Dillard co-sponsored legislation (S.B. 1386) that would require that 66% of the lease price would be used for projects or purposes that benefit the county traversed by the toll road. The bill also requires annual payments to ensure a steady revenue stream, a 20 year lease limit and would prohibit political contributions by the new operator.

· On May 15th, Roskam and Dillard held a press conference at the Illinois Tollway Headquarters calling the proposal a "recipe for disaster" for suburban taxpayers and communities.

· On May 31st, Roskam and Dillard held another press conference at the James R. Thompson Center urging the Democratic leadership to hold hearings in the communities that are most affected - DuPage and suburban Cook County.

8/29/6 - House Republican Minority Leader (and once Speaker) Lee Daniels’ chief of staff Mike Tristano is enjoying his last days of freedom this year.

It’s off to Federal prison at the end of the month--but not for long.

Assuming good behavior—and there is no reason to believe Mike will not be compliant—he’ll be able to be with his family again in less than a year.

As I have written previously, Tristano was identified as “Official One” in Roger Stanley’s May 9, 2003, plea agreement. At the time I could only narrow it down to Daniels or Tristano. I was told that day that “Committee One” was the House Republican Campaign Committee.

Here’s what mail house owner Stanley and Tristano did in my 2000 primary campaign and that of McHenry state representative 1994 primary candidate Steve Verr:

At the direction of, and in in conjunction with a high ranking official (‘Official One’) of a particular campaign committee (‘Committee One’), and in conjunction with the 1995 and 2000 election cycles, Stanley arranged for negative direct mail pieces to be directed against certain political candidates who were opposed by Committee One.

In order to conceal that the true source and sponsor of the mailings was Committee One, Stanley assisted in recruited ‘straw’ and nominee officers to serve as the sponsors of the mailings. Further, in order to further conceal that Stanley was participating in the mailing process, Stanley caused postal forms relating to the mailings to be falsified and presented to postal officials.

Further, in one or more subsequent state proceedings relating to an attempt to determine the true source and sponsor of one of the mailings, Stanley and others participated in an effort to misrepresent the truth to state authorities regarding the true source and sponsor of the mailings, and thus further concealed Stanley and Committee One’s personal involvement in the mailings.

The guts of these charges were documented by Illinois State Board of Elections Campaign Disclosure Deputy Director Tony Morgando.

And, Morgando would not have gotten involved if I, in 2000, and Gerry Walsh, one of Verr’s allies, in 2004,had not filed complaints with the Board of Elections. (I was told that in 2000, mine was the only probe for which the Elections Board authorized subpoena power.)

So, don’t let anyone tell you that state officials don’t investigate criminal behavior...thoroughly.

That it took U.S. Attorney Patrick Fritzgerald to pick up the ball and prosecute that criminal behavior probably says more about the weak state of Illinois statutes than anything else.

So, the big question is whether Tristano, a former boss of mine while I worked for the Department of Central Management Services during the mid-1980’s, acted on his own or not.

I have been told that after the 1996 primary, when I lost McHenry County under dubious circumstances…

(Pause. More votes were cast for the folks running for GOP precinct committeeman in McHenry County than were cast for me and my opponent--Al Jourdan-backed county board member John Brehmer--than were cast for me and Brehmer.

(Let’s see. Brehmer spent $114,300, including $35,300 of in-kind help from people like the pro-abortion Personal PAC,a teachers' union and Jourdan, while I spent $93,400. Anyone think that with that kind of money being spent that the bottom of the ticket would total more votes than were cast for state representative?)

…Tristano looked at the results in Daniels’ office and said something like, “We could have taken him out, if we had gotten involved.”

That’s what a staffer at the meeting told me.

So, did Tristano act alone in authorizing the apparent laundering of money from the House Republican Campaign Committee through Roger Stanley’s business to pay for a negative mailing by the “Committee for Effective Leadership?”

Pardon me, if I believe he did not.

After all, he acted on Daniels’ behalf in offering me the post of Deputy Auditor General (paying something like $110,000) the summer before in Lee’s Elmhurst office and, after I lost the primary, some deputy director post or maybe it was an assistant deputy director job (paying above $90,000) in Financial Institutions or whatever it was called then.

Tristano may have pulled the levers of power, but I don’t think he did significant things like try to take out the only state representative whose legislative service included time before his boss’s 1974 election without Daniels’ approval.

Tristano, in my opinion, was not the puppet master. He was one of the puppets, albeit a well-paid one.

I have not referenced prior articles above. If you would like to learn more, I invite you to click here.

For more McHenry County Blog stories, click here.

Labels: Cal Skinner Jr, House Republican Campaign Committee, HRRC, John Brehmer, Lee Daniels, Michael Tristano, Roger Stanley, State Board of Elections, Steve Verr, Tony Morgando

8/29/6 - Below are the articles I have written about Lee Daniels’ Chief of Staff Michael Tristano, who is scheduled to enter prison August 31st and expected to serve less than a year.

12/19/5 Tristano Dances with Feds

4/1/6 Tristano’s Promise

4/5/6 What the Left Thinks of My Suggestion that Mike Tristano Might Lead to Mike Madigan

4/6/6 $23,000 in Bonuses for 17 Daniels’ Employees

5/4/6 Of Pork and U.S. Attorneys

7/7/6 Mike Tristano Fingers Old Boss Lee Daniels on Payrollers and Pork

7/9/6 Former Lee Daniels Staffer Tells All About McHenry County Political Work on State Time

7/10/6 “Big Brother Is Watching,” Mike Tristano Ally Told Six Years Before Feds Get Him

7/13/6 Lee Daniels’ Top Assistant Tristano To Jail

7/13/6 Whistle Blowing Attorney Rich Means Comments on Mike Tristano’s Sentence

7/14/6 Viewpoint of Former Illinois Leader Editor Fran Eaton on Mike Tristano’s Sentencing

7/17/6 The Roots of Political Corruption

7/31/6 Using Tax Dollars to Get Votes

8/26/6 Chief Postal Inspector for George Ryan Case Now Based in Springfield

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

8/29/6 - It was still light when Penny Pullen and I reached our meeting point near Sioux Falls with State Rep. Roger Hunt, sponsor of the abortion bill being voted upon in South Dakota this fall.

Rep. Hunt explained how the bill is designed to set up a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the United States Supreme Court.

I was pretty amazed at how a legislative study committee had prepared a 72-page report based on hearings at which proponents and opponents were given the exact same time to testify. Many testified by telephone.

Hunt said that they had over 2,000 pages of affidavits from women who had been aborted. He noted they could be used as evidence in any trial, as could the compiled testimony.

Of course, a U.S. Supreme Court challenge won’t be possible unless the law is re-approved in the referendum put on the ballot by abortion opponents.

Opponents were not confident enough to rely solely on the courts to overturn the law. They decided they wanted three bites at the apple, the second being the referendum.

To make passage of the referendum more likely, people can make contributions on this web site:

Vote Yes on Referral Law 6.

Today’s Washington Post article on the referendum says the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) is “channeling cash into the campaign.”

The Post headlined its article, “South Dakota Becomes Abortion Focal Point,” not coincidently using NARAL’s spokesman’s words.

Naturally, the Post featured a pro-abortion female physician. A younger female obstetrician attended the planning meeting we attended. The Washington Post could have focused on her.

And a negative Chicagoland voice is quoted:

The ban is not "something we would have chosen," said Daniel S. McConchie, chief of staff of Chicago-based Americans United for Life. "To overturn Roe v. Wade, which is the goal here, you have to be able to count to five members of the court. We count five in favor of keeping Roe."

Perhaps Mr. McConchie is unaware that cases take years to get to the Supreme Court and some liberal Justices are pretty old. Republicans might just win the presidency again in 2008 if the public is asked to chose whether global warming or terrorism is the greatest threat (as one mid-day talk show host said today).

And, what do you think will happen if fervently pro-abortion Illinois-based Personal PAC decides to get involved in South Dakota’s legislative races? Close to a half a dozen pro-abortion legislators got defeated in primary elections.

S.D. state reps spend maybe $6,000 in a campaign. Personal PAC spent oodles more defending one of its Illinois champions, Barrington Hills Republican State Rep. Mark Beaubien.

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

So, with camera in my lap, my friend Penny Pullen drove us back across South Dakota from Cedar Shores, a resort on the Missouri Rive where we had attended the pro-life referendum planning session of the Vote Yes on Referral Law 6 group.

It had rained the day before--the day we arrived--and water was in low lying fields and some ditches next to I-90.

I had seen some big electronic signs designed to alert drivers about the danger of starting fires, but not taken any pictures until I saw the first one here. I figured it would make a good message of the day.

The sign had a rotating message. The first part said,

Extreme

Fire

Danger

One of the next billboards was startling in its contrasting message:

3 for 1 Special

BLACKJACK

FIREWORKS

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

NEXT EXIT 1 MILE ERROS ROAD

And there's a picture of a pirate with arms folded.

I almost missed the next electronic sign with the “Extreme Fire Danger” message.

Here’s the text of the next screen:

DON’T THROW

CIGARETTES

FROM VEHICLE

The messages do seem to fight each other, don't they?

It was still light when we reached our meeting point in Souix Falls with State Rep. Roger Hunt, who sponosred the bill in South Dakota. We discussed how the bill is designed to set up a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the United States Supreme Court.

I was pretty amazed at how a legislative study committee had prepared a 72-page report based on hearings at which proponents and opponents were given the exact same time to testify. Many testified by telephone.

Hunt said that they had over 2,000 pages of affidavits from women who had been aborted. He noted they could be used as evidence in any trial.

After a two-hour meeting, we drove straight through the intermittantly foggy Minnesota and periodically very bumpy part of I-90 in Minnesota and much smoother Wisconsin portion.

The sun was rising in Marengo when we arrived back in McHenry County.

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

8/28/6 - Today was Cub Scout Pack 158’s kick-off picnic at Crystal Lake’s Main Beach.

Because the weather threatened early one, the Cubs pretty much had the run of the beach when the picnic began at 4 o’clock.

Scoutmaster Brian Karr was there early and probably the last to leave. What a leader! (He’s the one taking the picture.)

The food was sumptuous, to which the long lines can attest.

And, the temperature was perfect--in the mid-07's. No blazing hot sun Sunday afternoon.

The kids swam, swung, ran, played volley ball, climbed and, at the end, try to guess what they were doing as the coolers were emptied and dusk was coming on.

One Cub reminded some of Calvin and Hobbs.

There will be an infusion of Cubs from Pack 168, sponsored by the First Congregational Church. From what I could pick up, parents of the transferring Cubs just think Pack 158 is a more active organization. (Explorer Post 168 was where I earned my Eagle Scout Award.)

As anyone on the email list can attest, there is always something to do.

The first pack meeting will be at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake the third Thursday night of September at 7 PM. Any boy from 1st grade to 5th is welcome.

The Cubs closed the park.

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

8/28/6 - Carol Marin displayed palpable bias in her WTTW Chicago Tonight interview of three Cook County commissioners and an alderman on July 19th.

This is a woman, who is showing more and more of her organization Democratic Party bias.

You remember her.

She became a national media heroine by quitting WMAQ-TV when the station hired former Democratic Party Cincinnati Mayor and then and now TV shock show host Jerry Springer to do commentary.

Then, in 2000, she was given carte blanc to create the “liberal thinking woman’s” nightly news show by WBBM-TV, but bombed.

This summer, she didn’t utter a public peep when WTTW hired no-longer-on-Chicago schlock radio host Mancow for similar guest commentaries.

On Chicago Tonight, Marin had been questioning just-named interim Cook County Board President Bobbie Steele about the financial situation at county government when she turned to Republican Party nominee for Cook County Board President Tony Peraica.

On the panel were three Democrats (Alderman Todd Stroeger, named the day before by the Cook County Central Committee to replace his father on the fall ballot, Cook County Commission Forrest Claypool and Steele), plus Republican Party nominee for Cook County Board President Tony Peraica.

A pretty normal 3-1 WTTW bias against conservatives. (Despite, the odds, conservatives are able to hold their own on these WTTW panels).

I finally got her exact words. You can listen them to here. (7 minutes in.)

Here’s what I was able to transcribe.

After interviewing Steele on substantive governmental questions, Marin changes course in what had to be a pre-planned attempt to smear Peraica:

Commissioner Prisonni (she mispronounces Peraica’s name), let me jump to you and ask about a political question…

Peraica says, “Sure.”

…because there are plenty of Democrats out there who might want to protest by voting for you, but they see you as an anti-gay, pro-gun, anti-abortion (pause) guy in the bluest state and county in the state, so what do you have to say to them on the social issues that are going to make you attractive if they do decide to jump the traces?

Peraica then tries to follow up on what Steele had said about doing a quick study to figure out how to save money, pointing out that 30 years of studies are already on the shelf and gets in that he has taken a pledge against raising taxes before Marin charges back to her agenda of trying to frame the fall election in favor of Todd Stroger:

OK, but, but, to my question first.

What are you going to do on, on the pro-gun, anti-abortion, anti-gay kind of, you’re not a social liberal.

Peraica responds,

There’s not anti-gay anything. That’s, that’s a myth that was created by some to paint me as some kind of an extremist.

I am pro-life. I am pro-2nd amendment. I am anti-tax. I’m a fiscal conservative. And I think that these issues that you try to kind of raise as a division between myself and the Democratic electorate who voted for Forrest Claypool are really a myth.

People care about their pocket books….

He challenges Stroeger and Steele to tax a no tax hike pledge, but Marin, surprise, surprise, fails to follow up.

= = = = =
Photo of Carol Marin, looking left, taken from the WTTW 7-19 interview of Peraica and others.

For more McHenry County Blog stories, click here.

Labels: Carol Marin, Tony Peraica, WTTW

8/28/6 - Some have suggested that they would like to take a look at the analysis of the Huntley School teachers’ union contract that was available to the board before Thursday’s early morning approval vote.

I have scanned them in and you can find what look like the most relevant three here. Click to enlarge the images to a size you can read.

Coincidentally, I received a phone call from Huntley school board member and negotiator Shawn Green, who is a policeman and told me he had now been on both sides of the bargaining table. Green, as you will remember is in the ruling faction that I have called the “Majority Five.”

He told me that there was “one-half percent of new money over 3 percent.”

(Perhaps someone can tease that explanation out of the numbers I have posted.)

“We’re going to stay within the 99% budget constraint, even with the contract,” Green told me.

I asked about the $1.3 million that might have to be taken out of the fund that pays teachers to be returned to the site and operations fund.

This was a subject of a good deal of discussion at last Tuesday night’s meeting about the scope of the forthcoming forensic audit.

“If that has to occur, we’re going to find out. We’re not going to go into deficit.”

I didn’t ask about how money would be squeezed out of such a tight budget to pay for the forensic audit.

Such an audit would probe

· what is believed to be misappropriated payroll funds,
· what Superintendent John Burkey referred to as “in lieu of” money that administrators with spouses on the school district payroll apparently received without proper authorization as extra compensation because their spouses themselves qualified for district health benefits,
· whether the $1.3 million transferred to the education fund from the site & operations fund has been returned, and
· whether the money spent in the site & construction fund actually paid for.

Green did reveal why the contract terms were not officially made public prior to their approval.

It’s “because part of the collective bargaining agreement. I’ve been through it on both sides.”

He said they started 1 PM Friday and it was “fluid until 5:15 that Saturday morning.”

When I told him I had looked at the documents presented the board and still couldn’t figure out what the contract really cost, he told me to “tell Burkey what you want,” which I shall eventually get around to doing.

I have in mind requesting a one-page document that will show what each element of the contract cost for the coming school year.

This would include, but not necessarily be limited to

-Increase in salary
-How many teachers receive money for, and how much more money will they receive for:

-Extra money to be paid to high school teachers for teaching a sixth class
-Extra money for general supervision time
-Extra money for lunchtime supervision
-Extra money for bus duty
-Extra money for supervising another teacher's class who is out sick or at a labor relations meeting.
-Salary increases due to additional credits, towards a masters degree for example
-Increases for scheduled extracurriculars
-Increases for bus duty
-Money paid to teachers taking time off to go to union meetings.
-Extra money collected out of teachers' paycheck for union dues
(what teachers pay this year and next they are going to want to be paid for in the next contract)
-Extra money because teachers no longer pay for 20% of dental insurance
-Extra cost because of teachers’ swtiching from the less expensive HMO to the PPO plan which will be almost 100% paid for by the District for single employees.
-Extra cost for employee, plus 1, healthcare option.

(If anyone can think of anything I have left out, please let me know.)

And, what is the value of two additional days that could be used for organized tutoring after school or something else considered valuable?

I'm also curious as to how the money "fell out of the sky" and suddenly became available for extra compensation for the high school teachers?

Was some line item padded? (If so, which one or ones?)

Green did provide some details about the high school teachers’ 6th class payments.

He said teachers who will receive them number in the “40’s,” that only 15% (maybe 25%, my notes seem to indicate both in separate places) of them will get it for more than one semester, that high school teachers only comprise one-sixth of all teachers and only one-half of them have this “teaching overload.”

He also pointed out that it will “not be a free-for-all where anyone can signup for the $4,500” that will be paid for teaching a sixth class next year ($6,750 the year after) and described the pay as “extra pay for extra work.”

With regard to the highest paid teachers only receiving a one-half of 1% raise the first year, he reminded me that the “teachers are the ones that wanted that.”

(Of course, it was a majority vote and certainly in such a rapidly growing district most teachers are not at the top of the pay scale.)

I inquired whether the board was setting itself up for “whipsawing,” meaning the elementary teachers would demand more money for teaching six classes.

“We want to get to the point where (all teachers) only have five periods. We don’t want them teaching six class (periods),” Green told me.

He described the dropping of the number of days of work from 185 to 183 as “a very touchy subject.”

Green said, “The district definitely won on that. The union wanted to get rid of five school improvement days (teacher institutes).

He pointed out that, while the School Code requires 174 days in school, “We’re staying at 180.

“It’s not costing the district any money,” Green observed of the cut in number of days the teachers will be required to work.

He must have thought I might wonder why he would call me, because he referred to the “spokesman for the board” (resolution).

“John (Burkey) and Mike (Skala) asked me to make the call.

“We don’t see that people aren’t allowed to speak their minds. We just want it to be done in an ethical manner.”

= = = = =
The picture of the Huntley School Board door reflects the sunset on the night that they appointed Tony Quagliano to the school board seat left vacant when the Majority Five appointed number six, Glen Stewart to his $101,000 job as Chief Operating Officer of the school district. I admit it would be more approprate if it had a reflection of a rainbow, but this is all I had.

All the way to the Missouri River, the dividing line of South Dakota, we saw signs advertising Wall Drug.

Former State Rep. Penny Pullen and I attended a planning meeting of the Vote Yes on Referral Law 6 campaign at the riverside resort.

She brought tears to the eyes at least one of the S.D. legislators who supported the bill when she spoke of how they were in the “vanguard of the end to legalized abortion in America.”

Because those in favor of abortion are so profit-motivated, they will have plenty of money to finance their campaign. If you want to help the pro-life side of the campaign, you can do so at the web site linked to above.

In the mid-1950’s, our family visited the establishment and it didn’t really impress me too favorably. It had all sorts of souvenir-type merchandise.

And, that’s pretty much all I remember.

I’m glad we stopped, because it certainly has become famous from all the signs it has put up.

Oh, by the way.

Did you know the number of abortions in South Dakota are almost exactly the same number as the population of Wall, South Dakota?

Every year, in this state that is struggling to maintain its population base, the number of babies aborted by out-of-state abortionists equals the 820 people who live in Wall, South Dakota.

"Who will man the checkout counter in Wall, if the referendum doesn't pass?" Pullen asked playfully.

Incidentally, we only saw two Wall Drug bumper stickers. I didn’t have the camera ready for the first one and it was too dark to get the second.

I found this image in the Sun-Times and this sunrise the Sunday we returned to McHenry County.

Like Lakewood, Crystal Lake is still waiting for its check for what it spent to make the Gay Games happen over a month ago.

I asked a lady in Crystal Lake’s finance office if they had gotten a check yet.

This was her answer:

No we have not.

We billed for the Gay Games, but we haven’t gotten anything yet.

Time will tell whether the commitment made that night of all the television cameras will be fulfilled.

Or whether Crystal Lake taxpayers will be stiffed.

“A judge on Thursday dismissed accusation that Gov. X violated state hiring laws, allowing him to get out of a long running legal jam without personal punishment.”

Don’t the supporters of Governor Rod Blagojevich wish this headline and lead sentence were about him?

I guess I’m the only one in Illinois that thinks the parallels between the patronage problems of Kentucky’s Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher and Blagojevich’s merit more than a couple of paragraphs. (The headline above is taken from a small article in the Chicago Tribune on Friday.)

Just in case others are interested, here is a why the Democratic Party’s Attorney General decided to dismiss the case, here’s a column by former reporter Al Cross in the Courier-Journal.

Part of the reason was that

following an Executive Branch Ethics Commission opinion, had said he (the attorney general) would not run against Fletcher as long as his office was prosecuting the Governor. (Kentucky’s governor’s election is in 2007.)

And, here’s an interesting paragraph tid-bit:

It may have been telling that the agreement says the administration acted "without malice." Democrats targeted in the scheme would probably disagree.

A second column by Courier-Jouirnal columnist Bob Hill is more biting:

Did you ever think Kentucky would reach the condition where it almost missed the moral turpitude of "Crying" Paul Patton -- the previous occupant of the governor's throne?

And, more:

He (the governor) claims the secret negotiations cleared him of all charges and exonerated him of all allegations, a technical truth marred only by the fact that he'll never sell that self-serving garbage to anyone outside his political family.

So, governor, who has been at the helm of the Starship Kentucky the past few years -- Mr. Spock?

If you think Illinois columnists are tough on Blagojevich, this one is harder on Kentucky’s GOP governor.

And, of course, in Illinois not even the governor's father-in-law believes him.

Previous articles comparing Fletcher and Blagojevich here and here.