McHenry County Blog

This one is in front of the First Southern Baptist Church in Central Illinois’ Mattoon.

It is pastured by Dr. John Calio, the sign says under the message,


We saw this on our trip to Catherine Morrison’s and Jeff Black’s wedding in Shelbyville.

Labels: First Southern Baptist Church, Marquee, Mattoon, Message of the Day, Satan

A note from Rosemary Kurtz:

This is what I was about to say at the City Council meeting September 18, 2007, when the Mayor decided that he did not want to listen to my interview with the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District director, Ed Weskerna. Whatever I do, it is to inform and to educate. The results of research help others in their search for workable solutions.

Good evening. At the last City Council meeting it was such a relief to hear council member, Ellen Brady Mueller introduce the subject of funding: how to fund the costs of Inspection and Enforcement on construction sites. It was reassuring to see the other Council members strongly support the idea of "doing the Job right.'

I interviewed Ed Weskerna of the McHenry County Water and Soils Conservation District regarding Erosion Control on Construction sites. He explained that when there is a violation, he writes up Non-compliance forms for the Developer and sends copies to 4 entities:

• the EPA,
• the Illinois EPA,
• the Army Corps of Engineers, and
• the City of Crystal Lake.

Some municipalities don’t want to enforce, so consequently, there is no Stop Work Order issued. For instance, Huntley deliberately ignores the reported violations by the Developer. Other towns don’t have the staff with expertise, experience, and knowledge to give them enough confidence to issue a stop work order.

According to Mr. Weskerna, our current Ordinance is not being enforced. He has notified Crystal Lake, but CL does not follow through with stop work orders. The enforcement must come from the local government. Otherwise, the Developer causes soil erosion and messes up water treatment for infiltration, such as is the case with Bryn Mauer on Rte. 176.

Concerning this development, within 18 months Ed Weskerna reported 7 violations to the Developer and the 4 official entities: EPA, IL EPA, the Army Corps Of Engineers, and the City of Crystal Lake.

Here is a conversation that relates to the lack of action.

The setting is out in the field with Weskerna and the Developer. The Army Corps asked a CL engineer,

“What are you guys doing to remedy the Developer’s violations?”

The reply was,

“We’re following the Soil and Water District lead."

Weskerna emphasizes,

“That is not an answer. The Soil and Water District is advisory. They identify the violation. It must be addressed with a stop work order by the enforcement agent of the City.”

This Council can write up all sorts of Mandates; but it takes GUTS for the City engineer to enforce the Ordinance. Ladies and Gentlemen, the above is a good example of why so many of us in Crystal Lake are “scared to death” of any new Ordinance. There is great lack of Enforcement now.

Labels: Aaron Shepley, Crystal Lake Watershed, Ed Weskerna, McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District, Rosemary Kurtz, Watershed Ordinance

If you are non-military, as I am, you may not know what a "stand down" is. It's a time when soldiers get away from the battle field for a bit of rest and relaxation.

Since the Vietnam War, a civilian counterpart has evolved into a place where discharged military veterans can come to relax and get help.

I've met veterans from the Iraq War and from others as far back as World War II.

The third stand down sponsored by NASA (National Association of Systems Administrators, not the space agency) Educational Foundation will be held at Camp Algonquin the second Monday and Tuesday of October. The camp is located on the Fox River east of Route 31 on the Algonquin-Cary blacktop. It is owned by the McHenry County Conservation District and operated by the YMCA. Several cabins were converted to year-round use for Hurricane Katrina evacuees and it was used as a drop-off spot for clothes, etc.

I attended the stand down a year ago and the one last spring. The articles to which I have linked will give you an idea what goes on.

You will see people sorting clothing. There are enough good duds to dress anyone for any season.

Meals are served to the veterans--a number of whom are homeless. The guys and gals get a night of relaxation in front of a big screen television. Hair cuts, massages,any kind of service that people are willing to volunteer.

There are agencies from all levels of government.

If you would like to help out, the details are in the press release below:

Volunteer Orientation Meeting Oct. 3 for Stand Down for Veterans

National Association of Systems Administrators Education Corporation (NASA Education) will host an orientation meeting for volunteers and service providers for the Stand Down for Veterans at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 3, at its headquarters, 3305 South IL Rte. 31, Crystal Lake, IL 60012. The number to call for information is 866-338-4968 (866-EDU-4YOU).

At the orientation meeting, tasks will be explained and time slots assigned. Volunteers are needed to help set up the site on the afternoon of Sunday, October 7; work the Stand Down itself on October 8 and 9, and clean up the site on the afternoon of October 9.

The Stand Down for Veterans will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on October 8 and from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. October 9 at YMCA Camp Algonquin, 1889 Cary Road, Algonquin, IL 60102. Veterans who are newly discharged, displaced, homeless, unemployed or otherwise in transition will receive a variety of services including medical screenings, employment services, referrals for housing assistance and food vouchers, information about benefits to which they may be entitled, assistance applying for VA medical benefits, information about community programs for homeless and low-income individuals, referrals for dental and eye care, overnight shelter October 8, all meals during the event, free haircuts, chair massages, and the distribution of clothes, coats, new underwear, and toiletry items.

NASA Education will accept applications for Project Fresh Start, its vocational rehabilitation and community reintegration program for U.S. veterans who are displaced, disabled, homeless or otherwise in transition. The organization will also accept applications for its recently purchased transitional housing facility. NASA Education is a Crystal Lake-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive vocational rehabilitation and community reintegration services for U.S. veterans who are displaced, disabled, homeless or otherwise in transition.

Donations are needed for the Stand Down in the form of cash, new and like-new clothes for men and women, baked goods or other desserts, toiletries, fast food gift certificates in small denominations.

Please phone NASA Education at 866-338-4968 toll-free for more information about the Stand Down, transportation pick-up points, volunteering and making donations. Or you may send an email to Kathy Chwedyk at kathy_chwedyk@nasaeducation.org. The NASA Education website is www.nasaeducation.org.
= = = = =

John Blanchard, head of NASA Education, is seen talking to a volunteer in the huge clothes room in the bottom photo.

Labels: Camp Algonquin, John Blanchard, NASA Educational Foundation, Stand Down, Veterans

Last Sunday, the Daily Herald published the first of a series on school finance. It does not seem to be a "we need more money for education" series.

The first article, for instance, by Emily Kron, has the graph you see here. It compares a percentage 24% increase in inflation over the last ten years to the 52% increase in per pupil revenue. I assume there is another article today.

So, school spending has increased more than twice the increase in inflation.

That is a stunning difference.

Of course, if schools were not spending enough ten years ago, then it might be appropriate.

Here are the total dollar comparison details for each county. As usual, images can be enlarged by clicking on them.

The tone of the article reminded me of the answer I gave to a Chicago Tribune candidate questionnaire in 1996. I knew I wasn't going to get the Tribune editorial endorsement. I don't think I ever did in a primary election in which I had an opponent. And McHenry County Republican Party Chairman Al Jourdan had convinced McHenry County Board member John Brehmer to run against me (without even discussing any problems he had with my representation).

The Tribune's questionnaire was a blatant attempt to get state legislators to say they would vote for an income tax increase, which I, of course, opposed.

I thought you might find my logic of interest.

Tribune Questionnaire for 1996 Primary Election Legislative Candidates

1. State support for elementary and secondary education has declined by 25% in the last 20 years when adjusted for inflation, according to the State Board of Education. Please give us your thoughts on education funding. Does money make a difference in the quality of education? Would you support an increase in the state income tax for schools? Should Illinois reduce its reliance on property taxes and, if so, how should that be accomplished?

State support for education is only part of the measure of public support for education.

As you can see from the enclosed “Report Card on American Education 1994” from the American Legislative Exchange Council, Illinois ranks about midway among the states as far as public school spending per pupil goes.

Also not mentioned in your premise is that enrollment has decreased 14% in the last 20 years.

In the 76-77 school year, the average amount spent on a per pupil basis was $1,637. Multiplying the 2.389 inflation factor since then (source: Legislative Research Unit) by that figure, per pupil spending would be $3,912 in the 1995-96 school year, assuming financial resources merely kept up with inflation. Instead State Board of Education statistics indicate 95-96 expenditures per pupil from all sources to be $5,491. (See draft Table 2 & 5 from State Board of Education.)

As to whether money makes a difference, I found the enclosed report of a study the day I opened your questionnaire. In Indianapolis, money did not make a difference. In fact, the private schools outranked the public schools, even though the privates spent only $2100 per pupil, a little more than half of what the public schools spent. Obviously, Chicago’s school system’s having more money than the average Illinois school has not made any visible difference.

I shall not support an increase in the State income tax. In fact, I believe it is time to cut it by doubling the personal exemption that was set at $1000 in 1969.

Your final question about reducing the property tax burden for schools was what (led to) enactment of the state income tax was supposed to have done in 1969. I remember candidate Ogilvie’s speech to that effect.

It did not work.

Neither did increasing the state income tax by 20% earlier this decade.

If a shift is desired by local property taxpayers, I am willing to support creation of a local income tax, but only if approved by local referendum and only if the entire proceeds of the local income tax are used to reduce the property tax on residential housing.

Of course, I didn't expect an endorsement. In fact, I can't remember an endorsement from the Chicago Tribune. It's first name is "Chicago" after all and I was an outspoken defender of suburban interests.

Labels: Candidate Questionnnaire, Income Tax Hike, John Brehmer

I may have mentioned earlier that I thought gun control advocates, if they really believed in what they espoused, would put “No Guns Within” on signs outside of their homes.

Now comes some evidence that at least one crook or set of crooks were scared away by hunting equipment.

At least in Oak Forest.

My nephew is a hunter and a fisherman.

Goodness knows what he stores in his garage. Probably targets at a minimum.

The crooks broke into his wife’s car, which was parked in the driveway. They used her garage door opener to open the garage enough so they could roll under it.

Apparently, whatever they saw in the garage was enough to convince them that they might be wise to select another victim.

I wonder if they would have gone that far had they known he has a black belt in judo.

So, hunters, the moral of this story is make it obvious that you might have a gun in the house.

Labels: Gun Control, Hunter, Hunting, Oak Forest, Thief

“The Tina Hill Edition of the New 2007 McHenry County Seal”
McHenry County Blog continues on its admiration tour of Allan Showalter’s Heck of a Guy blog commentary on McHenry County Board’s decision to spend time and effort on creating a new county seal.

The title above is not mine; it is a subhead in Showalter’s long article.

It’s near the end, but, somehow, I have the feeling that the seal story has enough legs for another complete article from the Nunda Township blogger.

Time will tell.

Showalter notes that a re-design would at least force any possible forgers to make new seals.

And, he has come up with an idea that should fit the goal that Hill expressed in some paper I don’t have the time to go back and find and link to.


You can see what he came up with.

And the last line of his article re-enforces my belief that there is more to come:

”Once I process this new data, I’ll get back to you about McHenry County Seal redesign.”

To find out what “this new data” is you’ll have to read the original article.

Labels: Allan Showalter, Heck of a Guy, McHenry County Board, McHenry County Seal, Tina Hill

This banner was hanging on the front of the Dole Mansion when I took it while attending the alcohol rehab agency Last Chance House Pig Roast that wasn’t.

It says that the Lakeside Legacy Arts Park is going to hold is annual Oktober Fest on September 28, 29 and 30.

I know the September dates fight a bit with what the event is called, but let’s work with the organizers a bit.

Labels: Dole Mansion, Lakeside Legacy Arts Park, Oktober Fest

Allan Showalter wonders why McHenry County needs a new seal.

He notes on Heck of a Guy blog that the resolution authorizing the development of one says,

WHEREAS, by copying the Seal of the State of Illinois, McHenry County is using a Seal that is neither unique to McHenry County nor readily identifiable.”

“How can a county seal emblazoned with ‘McHenry County Illinois’ be ‘neither unique to McHenry County nor readily identifiable?’” Showalter wonders.

There is a McHenry County, North Dakota, but he concludes that the different state names would be hard to mix up.

He wonders if there is seal fraud, but can find none.

“I am chagrined to admit that it never before occurred to me that bogus sealers (local scalawags and rapscallions? the Russian mob? international terrorists?) would use the good name of McHenry County Illinois to rake in the big bucks for which the county seal business is notorious,” Showalter writes.

He’s so worried about the problem that he has devised something of a “line-up” to help people figure out the difference between the real seal and the forgeries.

Showalter compares the seal on the left (you can enlarge the line-up to make it easier for you to comprehend the lesson) with the real one in the middle:

”A simple but helpful rule of thumb holds that few county seals have a single item in their central showcase. The true McHenry County Seal (the middle seal in the graphic), for example, has an eagle as its central image but also includes a federal shield, a banner, and what seal fanciers preferentially refer to as “some other stuff.” The point is that actual county seals usually have more details than is seen in the Vin Diesel seal.”

Here’s part of the way one can tell the seal to the right is not real:

“The axiom that is useful in identifying this seal as a fake is the generalization that modern, efficient tools are typically considered inappropriate for county seals. This doesn’t mean counties are wimps about weapons. There are seals aplenty that feature arrows (occasionally with bows), knives, and (especially) swords, but your automatic and easily modified semi-automatic weapons are not often found on seals.”

Other axioms are listed, including one that says any seal with my picture on it is probably a fake.

And, “No County Seal has featured a ‘Where’s Waldo’ puzzle.”

Of course, there is more, but one can only take so much humor in one day.

Labels: McHenry County Board, McHenry County Seal

Almost everywhere else in the country, train horns blare before the crossroads.

It doesn’t matter if there are gates or not.

Just take a listen the next time you are in Springfield or other parts of the country.

During the Clinton Administration, his Federal Railroad Administrator decided to make train horns blow all over the country.

I went ballistic.

We live well over a mile from Crystal Lake’s main line, but on moist nights I can hear the trains' engines when they are started up each morning. At least there are not horns blaring every time a commuter or freight train comes through town.

The situation is better than it was in the 1970’s when I lived in an Elmhurst Street apartment. Then, the trains ran all night in the winter.

Boy, did that take some getting used to.

Back in the mid-1990’s, I did everything I could to mobilize Illinois congressmen against the mandatory horn blowing rule I knew a number of them at the time. I even tried to pass a resolution urging Congress to prohibit it. That stalled in committee with Lake Forest’s Democratic State Rep. Susan Garrett refused to vote for it.

The argument for horns was that fewer people would be killed, but there was a crucial missing part of the fed’s study. I’m a bit shaky on what it was, but I think the study did not take out suicides from its totals.

It also did not estimate how many more people would be killed from vehicle accidents because people were much more tired than they would have been had no horns awakened them.

Just poor methodology that my one course in the subject make abundantly clear.

And, looking at the race between the Indiana mom and the train in Hammond that was on TV Thursday night, I would suggest that people should not be woken up at night because of sheer stupidity that results in train crash deaths.

I remember the Chicago metropolitan area ones got the FRA administrator, a woman whose name I am happy to forget, to testify in eastern DuPage County.

When I got to testify, I asked for her home phone number.

She wanted to know why.

I told her it was because when my constituents called me, I was going to call her.

She refused to give it to me.

I told her I’d get it one way or another if she succeeded in forcing train whistles in my district.

You should have seen the look on her face.

She clearly thought I was nuts.

But, she and the congressmen there got an idea of how intense the pressure would be if the horns started blowing again.

I have to say that the Republican congress (with help from Illinois Democrats who had plenty of grade crossings in their districts) won the day.

Which, finally brings us to a Chicago Tribune story by Robert Channick, published earlier this month.

Because there is no grade crossing on Route 176, the McHenry commuter trains blow their horns every time they approach it.

It was about how the Illinois Department of Transportation was ready to install gates on 176.

Read the November 30, 2005, authorization letter here.

One of McHenry County Blog’s earliest storiesAmazingly enough, gates had already been installed in McHenry on Bull Valley Road, a much newer and, I suspect was then a less traveled road. (You can read the traffic counts I discovered then here.)

I speculated at the time that Governor Rod Blagojevich would wait until the fall of 2006 to announce the new crossing gates. You will remember he was up for re-election then.

He didn’t and they still aren’t installed.

People, including the pictured Justine Runvik, on Crystal Lake's Glen Avenue are complaining.

The Tribune article says they will be installed this fall.

Labels: Crystal Lake IDOT, Federal Railroad Administration, Railroad Grade Crossing, Route 176, Train Whistles

A press release concerning a musical fund raiser on Sunday:

WOODSTOCK CONCERT TO BENEFIT SISTER CITY IN EL SALVADOR

WOODSTOCK--A Concert for Chilama will take place on Sunday, September 30 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Stage Left Café on the Woodstock Square. The concert is a benefit for the Salvadoran community of Chilama, a sister city of the McHenry County based group of Friends of Chilama. This small village is very remote and lacks an access road, school, health clinic, potable water, and employment.

The public is invited to attend the event which features outstanding local musicians including O’ Brothers, the Ricklepick Trio, Carl Viard, and the Wednesday Afternoon Jam Group. All performers have generously volunteered their talents in order to support the struggles of the rural poor in El Salvador.

A donation of $10 for adults and $5 for students is suggested. There will be a cash bar and complimentary snacks. For more information, e-mail lib4paz@comcast.net or call 815-455-3683.

Labels: Carl Viard, Chilama, El Salvador, O' Brothers, Rickepick Trio, Stage Left Cafe, Wednesday Afternoon Jam Group, Woodstock, Woodstock Square

Spin.

It’s a word used a lot in political campaigns.

Candidates try to get a favorable spin on each issue.

They win some and lose some, but, usually, everyone in the same camp touts the same “line.”

Not so with Huntley School District’s top administrators in interviews with Daily Herald reporter Jameel Naqvi.

Following up on McHenry County Blog stories on Monday and Wednesday on superfluous school buses in Huntley’s school district 158, Naqvi asked both School Superintendent John Burkey and Chief Operations Officer Glen Stewart questions about the buses.

The answers were so contradictory that Thursday’s headline writer concluded:


Superintendent Burkey said,

"We don't have extra buses."

Further down the page is Chief Operation Officer Glen Stewart saying,

"Is it fair to say we have 25 extra buses? Yeah.”

Watchdog school board member Larry Snow’s take, according to the Daily Herald:

” District 158 board member Larry Snow says the district has 25 buses that are not in use. Snow says the district shouldn't have bought 34 buses if 25 of them are just going to sit there.”

There are also 8 buses set aside as spares in case of repairs, breakdowns and for trips.

Burkey and Stewart spun the Daily Herald reporter around so many times that they were successful in keeping information about the 8 buses kept in reserve out of the story.

Labels: Huntley School District 158, School Bus

This one is in front of the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake.

It advertises the fall rummage sale put on by United Methodist Women.

The sign says it will be held Friday and Saturday.

Actually, the days aren’t mentioned, but the dates—September 28th and 29th.

I did my best to organize the books in a first floor room.

We’ve got your romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, classics (including what looks like a not-in-good shape first edition of “Jack and Jill”), cookbooks, sewing books, self-help books, non-fiction, you name it.

And is the price right?

25 cents for paperbacks, 50 cents for hardbacks. I think children’s books are also a quarter.

There are, as you might imagine a lot of video tapes. I found a science fiction one that I’ll watch with my son.

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The inside picture is of some of the ladies beginning the massive task of clothes sorting.

If you would like to see what this spring’s rummage sale looked like, I wrote these articles:

UMW Rummage Sale – Before

UMW Rummage Sale – During

Labels: First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, Rummage Sale, UMW, United Methodist Women

McHenry County residents taking Rout 14 or Lake-Cook Road through Barrington—which my commuting wife strongly recommends against—or Cuba Road through Lake Zurich, get ready to wait for a lot more trains.

The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday that the Canadian National Railway Company has purchased the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad Company.

It runs from Waukegan southwest through Lake County, then down the Fox River Valley through Barrington, West Chicago, Aurora to Joliet, where it continues east through Frankfort, Matteson and Chicago Heights to Gary, Indiana.

This is the track that Metra Chairman Jeff Ladd wanted to run passenger trains on .

The Canadian Northern has a splendid play for its own business.

That’s because Chicago is a national railroad bottleneck.

Quoting CN President Hunter Harrison, the Tribune reports, ”it now takes longer to go from North to South Chicago than it does to go from Winnipeg to Chicago.”

I remember South Side Democratic Party legislators tried to create a governmental entity to improve the railroad track mess down there—under the urging of Congressman Bill Lipinski, if I remember it correctly.

House Republicans went ballistic, but, since improving the system made sense to me, I voted for it. Something not on the surface must have been at stake because Lee Daniels’ assistants surely tried to get me to change my vote.

I’m sure that even with passage of that bill the problem would not be solved to Canadian National’s satisfaction.

So, it’s time for grade crossings where there are none and local residents can dream of over or under passes as they wait in long lines to get to and from work.

The article says the deal won’t close until mid-2008.

I’m pretty sure that part of this line was going to be used to run passenger trains from Crystal Lake to Gary, Indiana.

No, really.

In the mid-1970’s RTA chairman Milton Pikarsky stood near the current location of Nick’s Pizzera, which was right next to the offices of the then Crystal Lake Herald, and announced such service was in our future. I’m sure he got a front page story, but I wasn’t invited to the press conference.

The plan was to use the railroad right-of-way now occupied by the Prairie Path. The tracks ran through old East Dundee, downtown Elgin and points south.

I always had a hard time figuring out why anyone would want to go from Crystal Lake to Gary, but I guess some would take the train to Elgin and Aurora.

When the RTA didn’t try to keep the McHenry County Conservation District from buying the right-of-way, it was obvious that Pikarsky was blowing smoke.

The images can be enlarged by clicking on them. The map is from the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad web site.

Labels: E J and E Railroad, Elgin Joliet and Eastern, kNOw RTA, McHenry County Conservation District, Milton Pikarsky, Prairie Path, Regional Transportation Authority

Community Alert

Traffic and safety, plus environmental concerns and noise effects on the neighbors led to the Planning & Zoning Commission’s unanimous vote to reject the expansion of MCC to build a huge sports and entertainment facility for a private commercial enterprise.

This is only an ADVISORY vote and the final decision will be made by the City Council on Tuesday, October 16. They often overturn the Planning & Zoning advisory vote. So…it is of vital importance that we contact The City Council members and the Mayor and urge them to support the unanimous vote of the Planning & Zoning Commission by rejecting the MCC petition AND it is important that we show up at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 16 to be heard and to be seen!! Please be there so we can fill City Hall, like we did the first time in August when we heard about the sports & entertainment project.

Crystal Lake City Council

Ellen Brady Mueller (815) 477-4502

Kathy Ferguson (815) 477-7254

David Goss (815) 455-3365

Brett Hopkins (815) 477-4703

Jeff Thorsen (815) 455-5452

Ralph Dawson (815) 459-5983

Aaron Shepley (815) 477-4761

Attend the October l6th City Council meeting

7:30 pm City Hall

Questions? Contact Rosemary Kurtz 815-459-8139

Labels: Baseball Stadium, Crystal Lake, Crystal Lake Watershed, MCC, McHenry County College, Watershed Ordinance

Hey!

We’ve got a twofer.

Not only has the Huntley School District leased 12 more buses than it needs (and guess who pays for that mistake), but “officials say the district would lose about $18,000 in state reimbursements if it returned the buses early,” according to Thursday’s Daily Herald article by Jameel Naqvi.

So, not only do Huntley School District 158 property taxpayers get to pay for school district waste, but all of us taxpayers in Illinois get to share the burden.

$18,000 of our money will be wasted reimbursing Huntley School District 158 for the approximately 50,000 real estate tax dollars it is spending to lease buses it doesn’t need.

More on Saturday.

Labels: Huntley School District 158, School Bus, Waste

An invitation has been sent to a 10 AM Saturday recognition ceremony to honor Otto Engineering’s head guy, Tom Roeser, and other who donated money, material or labor for Lakewood School’s track.

Lakewood Principal Tim Loversky wrote in an email:

The Lakewood staff and students will then stay to plant some landscaping plants that have been donated and to beautify our track area, and to have a hotdog lunch. You are welcome to stay and work, but I am only hoping that you can come for the dedication.

One of my PE teachers, Leann Granell, has made an amazing effort to make this happen from beginning to end. I hope you will be able to join us for this fun event.

Labels: District 300, Lakewood School, Leann Granell, Otto Engineering, Tim Loversky, Tom Roeser, Track

Three McHenry County residents will speak at a 7 PM Friday night forum at Woodstock's Congregational Unitarian Church on September 28th.

One is the woman--Donna Kurtz--who was president of the McHenry County College board when it approved the baseball stadium-fitness center complex on Crystal Lake's watershed.

Another is Mike Walkup, an outspoken opponent of the expansion. He serves on the Crystal Lake Park Board.

The third is Dennis Dreher, vice chairman of the McHenry County Regional Planning Commission.

Open discussion and audience participation is being encouraged by The Fourth Friday Forum organizers.

“Since the proposal surfaced this spring substantial opposition has developed mostly around concern for the Crystal Lake watershed,” according to Margaret Fox-Hawthorn, chair of the church’s Green Sanctuary Committee which sponsors the program.

The Fourth Friday Forums are held monthly to examine critical issues of environmental importance in McHenry County. The programs are always free and open to the public.

For more information call the church at 815 338-0731, e-mail office@cucw.org or visit www.cucw.org.

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The top picture is McHenry County College trustee Donna Kurtz. The bottom one is of Crystal Lake Park Board member Mike Walkup.

Labels: Baseball Stadium, Congregational Unitarian Church, Donna Kurtz, MCC, McHenry County College, Mike Walkup

Chuck Percy is 88

A friend noticed that former United State Senator Chuck Percy was 88 on Thursday.

I was enamored with Percy when he first ran for United States Senator. I had been nominated as the Republican candidate for McHenry County Treasurer at the time and was the ripe old age of 24.

Percy had run for governor in 1964 and lost to Democrat Otto Kerner. I was helping out on the McHenry County part of his campaign.

Somehow I ended up with a bag of buttons like the one you see. This is the only one I have left. One woman handed them out like candy in the parking lot of the old downtown Jewel (where the Brink Street Market now is located).

I was an active button collector then, having gotten pretty much every 1964 Republican presidential button while I was chairman of the Oberlin College Republican Mock Convention, so I was appalled at their disappearance, especially since we had plenty of Percy for Senator buttons.

In 1982, I was the GOP candidate for state comptroller against Roland Burris.

Just two memories.

We were in Carbondale the day that the St. Louis Globe-Democrat made its endorsements. All of us Republicans got endorsed.

It didn't surprise me. I had made a good pitch to the editor who interviewed me.

“They even endorsed Skinner,” Thompson remarked.

After I lost, Percy called me at home. That was an impressive show of compassion.

Labels: Cal Skinner, Charles A. Percy, Chuck Percy, Jim Thompson, St. Louis Globe-Democrat

Frances Willard, a pioneer in the Temperance Movement, was born on September 28, 1839. I know that's tomorrow, but I have a time sensitive message for then.

This statue of her was place in the Hall of Statues of the U.S. Capitol by the State of Illinois.

As a child she grew up in my college town, Oberlin, Ohio, the first college to admit women and blacks.

She became associated with Dwight Moody, who found the Moody Bible Institute, and became President of the National Women’s Temperance Movement.

The notes I found says hers was the first statue of a woman to be placed in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

I took this picture during our visit to the Capitol in June of 2006.

Labels: Dwight Moody, Frances Willard, National Women's Temperance Union, Oberlin College, Temperance, U.S. Capitol, WCTU

Days, actually.

Crystal Lake Kiwanians and other Kiwanis clubs will be conducting their annual peanut day fund raiser this Friday and Saturday.

Here’s what happened last year at Jewel, complete with threatening clouds and rainbow.

The photos are of my son. The one giving peanuts to children younger than himself was taken in 2005. The other one was taken in 2006.

Labels: Crystal Lake Kiwanis, Kiwanis, Peanut Day, Rainbow

And at McHenry County College, would you believe?

The Minuteman's last scheduled seminar was pretty much shut down by the Crystal Lake Police's informing the Holiday Inn that it would cost $3,500 for police services because of the McHenry County Peace Group's announced demonstration at the intersection of Three Oaks Road and Route 31.

Subsequently, the Peace Group held a seminar on immigration at MCC.

Now, the Minuteman Project has apparently gained similar access to college facilities.

At least that's what the following press release leads me to believe:

The Illinois Minuteman Project welcomes
Sheriff Daniel Beck to McHenry County College!

Friday Oct 26Th 2007 From 6:30-10pm

We are excited to bring Sheriff Daniel Beck and his deputies to tell us how they are enforcing existing laws and curbing illegal immigration in Allen County, Ohio.

With the Federal Government telling Waukegan, Illinois that it will be 2 years before Waukegan Police Officers get to attend training for 287G, we obviously need different answers!

Sheriff Beck has them!

He will talk to us about his program and how he simply uses the laws on the books to deport people who are in the United States unlawfully.

Fox News National will be doing a piece on Sheriff Beck and his work in Ohio in the next few weeks! We will be looking forward to that. Sheriff Beck's message must get out to the over 50 cities ready to enact 287G training and are being told about this delay because of funding.

Tickets for the Oct 26Th 2007 6:30-10pm event will go on sale Oct 1st 2007

Tickets are 10 dollars for members of the Illinois Minuteman Project, and Members of FAIR and Members of Numbers USA. (MEMBERSHIP HAS IT'S REWARDS!)

Tickets for all others are 50 dollars apiece. No tickets will be sold at the door.

All attendees will be asked to sign in the day of the event with a picture ID.

Other speakers will include Dave Gorak from Numbers USA.

We have extended an invitation to State Senator Pam Althoff and also Crystal Lake
State Rep Michael Tryon to address the audience.

Hope to see you there!!

Labels: Dan Beck, Illinois Minuteman Project, MCC, McHenry County College, Rosanna Pulido

"No Capital? No CTA!" reads the headline on State Rep. Mike Tryon's "legislative update."

It has a wonderful train analogy to describe the effect on McHenry County of the bill to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority under consideration:


It points out that "less than one percent of those in McHenry County use mass transit."

Then Tryon writes,

"If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation."

Is that a hint he can vote for the half percentage point sales tax increase?

A 7.7 percent increase in McHenry County's sales tax. Half which would go to the RTA (read CTA) and half to the McHenry County Board with which to build roads.

Let's read the sentence again:

"If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation."

And, here's another hint for you to interpret at your leisure:

"I am committed to working with the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 to create a plan that addresses both mass transit and roads."

This reminds me so, so much of how an eastern Illinois ex-sheriff state representative agreed to vote for the creation of the RTA when Dave Caravello, one of Governor Dan Walker's legislative people, offered not to fire one of the Republican's buddies, if he'd vote for the RTA bill.

The price is bigger here. I'll grant that.

But we had state approval to build the Western Bypass and Governor Rod Blagojevich took it away.

Now, it sounds as if Tryon is willing to vote for higher taxes in order to get back what was already ours.

The legislative update does not mention in the legislative report how more roads will be financed, but increased gambling has been mentioned widely elsewhere.

The only specific road improvement mentioned is the Western Bypass. There is no mention of the Bolz Road bridge, without which the Western Bypass will not work. Local municipal and county officials seem intent on making people pay a toll to use the Bolz Road bridge (see Please Make Me Pay Twice), which means, of course, that those who don't want to pay a toll will continue to cross the Fox River at Route 62.

Here's the whole press release:

The scheduled doomsday for the Chicago Transit Authority has been postponed for now due to another band-aid approach thought up by Governor Blagojevich. True to form, Governor Blagojevich decided to throw cash at the problem, loaning the CTA $200 million to avoid the mass transit fare hikes promised by the CTA.

The Governor’s loan came after the Illinois House rejected the RTA’s proposal to bail out the state’s mass transit system. Although I strongly support the need for mass transit in Illinois, I adamantly opposed Senate Bill 572. The RTA, which heads up the CTA, Pace and Metra, is extremely important in servicing the state’s transportation needs. However, Senate Bill 572 would have worked well for Chicago, but not for the taxpayers of McHenry County.

McHenry County residents would have been on the fast track to nowhere if Senate Bill 572 would have passed the General Assembly. The legislation would have increased the sales tax in McHenry County by a half a cent, without offering any improvements to the mass transit services offered in McHenry. The sales tax revenue per capita in McHenry County is approximately $30; this bill would have hiked it up to $90 per person, which is almost what Chicago taxpayers are paying now. Additionally, the legislation would have restructured the RTA governing board, forcing McHenry and Kane Counties to share a representative on the board. This paints the perfect picture of taxation without representation and would have been drastically unfair to my district.

If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation. With less than one percent of McHenry County residents using mass transit on a daily basis and half of the county without any access to mass transit services, it’s hard to justify supporting this type of legislation unless it provides funds to improve Route 47, Route 176 and Route 31 including the Western Bypass around Algonquin.

Instead of addressing the transportation needs of McHenry County, IDOT removed the Western Bypass from its five-year plan. The need to improve the Western Bypass reached the federal radar and received $20 million in federal funds, while our state’s leaders fail to even recognize it as a priority. Once again Chicago pulled rank and improvements to the Dan Ryan moved forward to the tune of $1 billion.

I am committed to working with the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 to create a plan that addresses both mass transit and roads. With 80 percent of Illinois residents driving each day, it’s crucial that we keep our roads safe and maintain our infrastructure. Hundreds of roads throughout Illinois are in desperate need of repair to support the population growth that relies on them. My House Republican colleagues and I have been fighting for a capital bill that would benefit every corner of Illinois, repairing roads, rebuilding vital infrastructure and allocating money for school construction. When it comes to mass transit legislation, I say….No Capital? No CTA!

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Mike Tryon, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

Ever wondered how a boring “Whereas” this and “Whereas” that and the unstated, but usually true, “Whereas” we are paying some lawyer a bundle to write something no one can understand resolution would sound in other motifs?

Heck of a Guy blogger guy Allan Showalter has.

The blogger has written a short skit to explain Tina Hill’s Management Services Committee resolution seeking permission from the McHenry County Board to those who do not understand that stilted “Whereas” stuff.

Here’s the last part:

Parent: OK, Sweetie. Just be careful about the design. Remember how much trouble Los Angeles County got into about that cross.

Stage instructions: McHenry/McHenrietta rolls eyes and extends an open palm for the credit card.

McHenry/McHenrietta: D’oh.

You have to go to Heck of a Guy to read the first part.

Just remember.

This is important stuff the county board is doing.

And, so are articles like this.

What else could I be doing?

Running for county board so I could earn an easy $20,000 a year, plus health insurance?

If that kind of money for a part-time job interests you, petitions can still be circulated to get you on the ballot. You can get them from the McHenry County Clerk's office.

You, too could be designing a new seal.

This one is boring.

Designing a new seal is probably less boring than attending a McHenry County Board meeting.

Labels: Allan Showalter, Heck of a Guy, McHenry County Board, McHenry County Seal, Resolutions, Tina Hill

Last Friday about 11 in the morning this Sheriff’s car was sitting on the south side of Route 120 waiting for speeders.

It was parked right after a curve south of Wonder Lake between Wonder Lake and Thompson Roads.

It could not see it if one were driving east.

It’s Friday again tomorrow.

Is the car there again?

Or did you read this article too late?

Labels: McHenry County Sheriff, Route 120, Speed Trap, Wonder Lake

Here’s a mystery for you.

I’m driving northwest on Route 14, about to turn left on McHenry Avenue in Crystal Lake.

I see this really rusty car in the next lane with what I thought was a John Kerry bumper sticker.

I took a quick picture before the car crossed the intersection and you can see what I got.

The first letter appears to be a capital “I.”

Then there are missing letters on this white on blue bumper sticker.

The final word seems to be “Henry.”

So, what does the bumper sticker say?

Labels: Bumper Sticker, Message of the Day

Making my point that Republican presidential candidate visiting Illinois can’t or don’t bother to work up a crowd is John McCain’s fund raising appearance Monday.

NBC Channel 5 reports McCain was here to gather money again, rather than to rally his troops.

Channel 5 did not bother comparing McCain’s turnout to the 1,500 who rallied for Ron Paul on Saturday.

One can see why McCain is concentrating on fund raising, rather than rallies.

As George Stephanopoulos points out,

“Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that he has an impressive $2.4 million in cash on hand after raising an equal amount during the second quarter, putting him ahead of one-time Republican frontrunner John McCain, who reported this week he has only $2 million in the bank.“

= = = = =
The John McCain photo taken in the Union League Club during a press conference on an earlier fund raising trip to Chicago. The crowded ballroom shows the Ron Paul rally last Saturday.

Labels: John McCain, Ron Paul, Union League Club

That north side of Crystal Lake blogger Allan Showalter has so much time on his hands now that he is recuperating from effects of compulsive exercising that he keeps coming up with different ideas for a new McHenry County seal.

I’m intent on stringing his humor into as many stories as possible, but if you insist on getting sore from laughing, you can read the original article on Heck of a Guy blog right here.

His first—and, yes, there are more than one, so stay tuned, county board members who treasure imagination—article is entitled,


In any event, I started out the speculation about what the county board would come up with for a new seal with something from 1977. It’s just a seal with ball, a top hat and cane that was produced on state time with state materials by a bored public information officer at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Showalter thought it shallow, so he waded in deeper. Little did he know that McHenry County politics is so muddy that one may well be sucked in so deep that one cannot escape. Sort of like quick sand in a bad movie.

He suggested a variation on The Seventh Seal.

You can see his next suggestion is “McHenry County - Blogger’s Paradise.” That’s what is proposed around the outside of the seal.

Inside is “A Target Rich Enrichment” with a flash camera, presumably in honor of the effort to ban flash picture taking at McHenry County Board meetings after I irritated some heavy hitters on the board, including Chairman Ken Koehler.

Believe it or not, Showalter offers up this replacement seal idea as a “peace offering” after suggesting I was horning in on his territory—humor.

Don’t believe me? Here’s an exact quote, make easy by computerized copying and pasting technology:

Despite the joy these activities appear to bring Cal, not once have I tried to horn in on his action - because I respect the implicit understanding between our blogs: He does the heavy duty muckraking; I crack wise.

He seems to think that I need to keep to the serious side of things, like wondering if the Gay Games would pay up for all the police protection, while he was reporting on “a compromise solution (warning: lots of double entendre) [to the question of allowing the Gay Games Rowing Event to take place on Crystal Lake] was discussed, faltering only when local builders could not commit to completing construction of the closet surrounding the lake by July.”

Then he calls my almost being arrested “slapstick.”

Can you image reducing this situation to “slapstick”?

You have to read it to believe it:

Now, it is true that I can’t resist Cal’s slapstick. His routine with the police escorting him from the school board meeting for taking pictures, laughing loudly in a hallway, and suspicion of intending to somehow photograph super-secret school documents is deservedly recognized as a classic. So, I’m willing to tolerate the occasional County Seal pun - and a funny anecdote now and then. But, again, in general, it’s

• Cal Skinner - Muckraking
• DrHGuy – Wisecracking

I admit that I liked Showalter's wanted poster so much that I requested and actually received permission to post it on McHenry County Blog.

So, I guess the new seal suggestion makes sense.

But, does Alan Showalter end there?

No.

There will be more to endure.

Just you wait, even if your name isn’t Henry Higgins.

Labels: Allan Showalter, Heck of a Guy, McHenry County Board, McHenry County Seal

Below is the press release that Gurnee’s Ken Arnold sent out Tuesday. It contains ideas of

• how to stop wasting road construction money on multiple contracts when a single project is possible,


• a second way to stretch federal road dollars further that entails contracting for pothole-free roads for a certain number of years, rather than construction approved by state inspectors (this approach has been used successfully to build a four-lane road in Arizona), and


• a re-cycled, yet ambitious idea from 2006 which calls for the construction of a causeway across Lake Michigan to lessen gridlock around the south end of Lake Michigan.

The press release follows:


Gurnee, IL: Within his official website of www.ArnoldforCongress.com, Gurnee taxpayer watchdog and Republican congressional candidate in the 8th District - Ken Arnold - has this week unveiled three additional, proposed solutions to major Federal problems. Mr. Arnold terms these, and all others he will unveil over the course of the campaign, as his “white paper solutions.” These are major, detailed, and original thoughts and solutions that Mr. Arnold has created on a very wide breath of Federal problems.

The three solution papers released this week on his website have to do with the subject of area highway transportation problems.

The first proposal, termed the “One Bite at the Apple Act” is a creative means to discourage multiple construction initiatives on the same roadway when a single construction project can otherwise be done. Ken Arnold states: “It is madness to see the same roadway over 10 years be torn up three times - with the taxpayer paying for the same thing over and over again. Do it right the first time! And don’t waste taxpayer money -- or citizen’s time -- sitting in construction traffic each time.”

Candidate Arnold’s second highway transportation initiative is dubbed “The Pay for Roads – Not Construction Act”. This creative initiative would look at Federal highway construction from a whole new angle which brings free markets and the profit motive into helping solve our deteriorating highway infrastructure. It creatively turns perspectives around from government focusing on the process of construction to instead focusing on the taxpayer’s and public’s goal. That goal is to have quality, pot hole free highways that last as long as technology will allow.

The last of the three released is a major, Chicagoland transportation initiative Mr. Arnold calls “The Quad-State National Defense Causeway”. The initiative calls for building a 68 mile causeway between the areas of Waukegan, Illinois and Michigan City, Indiana. The proposal contains numerous researched details including the precise right of way planning and the shallow water depths involved.

Congressional Candidate Arnold points out that not only will this causeway materially help address the issue of traffic gridlock around the tip of Lake Michigan -- it will also provide a badly needed eastern escape route from the Chicagoland area in case of terrorist attack. In addition, his proposal outlines that this causeway could also be used for several other vital needs such as high speed rail transportation, natural gas line and electrical wire transmission.

These three “white paper solutions” join an already growing list which can be found upon his www.ArnoldforCongress.com website. Candidate Ken Arnold has promised the citizens of the 8th Congressional District “24 and more” of such original, creative, and effective solutions before the end of this Primary Election season February 5th.

He points to his groundbreaking ideas and says to his fellow citizens:

“The question you should ask yourself with all the candidates wanting to be your Congressman is: Who is best and most assuredly going to solve my problems with government? When asking that question, I am confident that in this race the answer is already being made evident – Ken Arnold should be our Representative.”

The Arnold for Congress campaign may be contacted by calling 847-207-1167. Citizens can also volunteer, get more information, or donate by visiting: www.ArnoldforCongress.com

Labels: 8th Congressional District, Causeway, Ken Arnold, Roads

Monday, I wrote about the extra couple dozen buses that District 158 has sitting unused.

Pretty poor planning.

Also on Monday Northwest Herald reporter Tom Musick wrote how the new budget would add still more buses:

A fast-growth grant and additional state aid that was in limbo for several months will help District 158 spend more on teachers, buses and other items this year.

Apparently, the budget document Huntley School District 158 approved has Chief Operations Officer Glen Stewart planning on buying 4 more school buses.

There’s even a letter on page 124—the very last page—of the budget from Stewart making that recommendation.

The cost is only $234,357.

No bigger than a rounding error in a $68 million budget, right.

Just in case that page disappears, you can read it here. Just click on McHenry County Blog’s images for an enlargement.