McHenry County Blog

This sign is on the road from Route 31 to Johnsburg.

It pretty much says it all:



I wonder what the story behind the sign is.

Citizens should erect them on every road crossing the Illinois border.

Labels: Bribery, Illinois, Johnsburg, McHenry County, Official Misconduct, Welcome

Of course, it was totally logical that the FutureGen clean coal electric generating plant should be built in Illinois, but the President is from Texas.

Christi Parsons, who now is posted to the Washington, D.C., bureau of the Chicago Tribune posted the first story I saw.

Way back in the 1970’s the Illinois General Assembly was pouring money into Southern Illinois University in the (as the years went by) seemingly hopeless quest to make Illinois high sulfur coal the major source of energy that seems the state’s birthright.

It seems we are finally about to take a giant step forward.

A $1.5 billion step in Mattoon, Illinois.

Labels: Coal, FutureGen, Illinois

The Ron Paul for President supporters certainly have provided the most documentation about the Illinois Republican straw poll.

It was scheduled to run from 11 Am until 4 PM, but was extended for reasons that seem suspicious to Ron Paul supporters.

Here is another YouTube posting. It's very short.

McHenry County Blog linked to another on Monday.

Very interesting.



And, besides the video, Jason Acebal, the witness to the vote counting manipulations adds this about the Illinois Republican straw poll:

The one Republican Official was pretty upset that I saw the running totals as of 3:30 pm. I wasn't around the tent area for the final half hour as I went out in one final push to get last minute voters (and personally escorted two more to the tent) but I don't know how Fred Thompson legitimately received 20% of his vote (36 votes of 184) during the final 10% time frame (plus extra 8 minutes - rolls eyes) of voting, especially since most of the IL GOP politicians voted at the start of the day (along with Ron Paul supporters who voted before canvassing the fairgrounds) and the area was relatively empty except for people milling around waiting for the results.

Romney and Paul were the only two candidates with more than a handful of supporters and Romney's were bused in Mormons from throughout the state.

Keep up the good work on your blog & in support of the Ron Paul campaign and thanks for providing me with a candidate to vote for in 2002.

One day before I die (assuming I stay here) I would like to elect one conservative governor. I haven't been successful to date:

1994 - David Kelley (L)
1998 - Glenn Poshard (D - I joined Tom Roeser and voted for the more conservative candidate).
2002 - You (L)
2006 - Randy Stufflebeam (C)

Labels: Illinois, Illinois Straw Poll, Ron Paul, Straw Poll

The big news about Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair will be that Mitt Romney got 40% of the vote.

But the bigger news would have been that libertarian, anti-war Republican presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul came in 2nd.

Incredibly, who had how many votes was visible by the folks running the straw poll…and others.

At 3:30 a Ron Paul supporter saw the totals. His candidate had 151 votes. He was in second place.

Fred Thompson was in third place at 148 votes.

Although the party rules said the polls would be open from 11 AM to 4 PM, an announcement was made that, because of the rain, the polls would be kept open until 4:30.

Does that sound like what the Democrats do in St. Louis?

Then someone in authority said the polls would close at 4:15.

But at 4:08, the voting ended.

I guess the Establishment folks must have been able to round up enough votes to push Thompson ahead of Paul.

When I listened to Channel 7’s Andy Shaw at 5, he said that Romney had won with 40% of the vote.

I asked my source who got how many votes. He said the GOP didn’t release numbers, just percentages.

I find no results on the party web site.

Being able to trust the vote counters is essential to making a democracy work.

A lot of the new folks who came to Republican Day are leaving with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Labels: Fred Thompson, Illinios State Fair, Illinois, Illinois Repubilcan Party, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Straw Poll

Not in person, of course, but I did receive a [phone call from a boiler room today.

The guy wanted me to pledge to give from $100 to $250 in the next six weeks.

I was asked if I would endorse Guiliani.

I answered that I was not ready to endorse a candidate for president.

At dinner, I discovered that a friend from Naperville had just gotten a mailing from Guiliani.

Anyone else getting any contacts from Republican or Democratic Party presidential candidates?

Labels: Illinois, Rudy Giuliani

Now, some people might look at this picture of two pigeons and think that it is of pigeons on a grate.

And, it is.

But, with the Illinois General Assembly moving to wrap up its session this last day of May so the Republicans won’t gain more power, one might think of the grate as the bottom of a cage that the Democrats are building around my proposed state bird.

Such a cage would keep the pigeon from flying to another state.

Will the birds be killed, plucked and served for dinner?

Of is some more dire ending in store for them?

Labels: Illinois, Pigeon, State Bird

Some in the flock of our newly nominated state bird, the pigeon, will fly away to other states at the threat of higher taxes and products.

That has been occurring for decades.

They may be the luckier ones, as they flee to avoid the new penalties Illinois Democrats are planning to place on the Illinois economy.

Or Illinois pigeons may act like the ones in Downtown Springfield did last year at the Old Capitol Art Fair.

About lunch time, a raptor decided it wanted a tasty pigeon. The flock flew thither and yon. My guess is that all but one escaped.

The rest felt safe enough to stay in Springfield for another year.

Labels: Illinois, Old Capitol Art Fair, Pigeon, Raptor, Springfield, State Bird

This pigeon was found fat, dumb and happy on top of a building in a Springfield alley, where its cheap photographer was saving a $2 parking fee during the Old Capitol Art Fair earlier this month.

Don’t you think the pigeon is more representative of Illinois that the Cardinal?

See also new state seal.

Labels: Illinois, Pigeon, Sate Seal, State Bird