McHenry County Blog

One of the states mega-taxeating advocates State Senator and Rev. James Meeks thinks a 50% income tax is not high enough.

That's what Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown reported yesterday.

How does Brown feel?

Here's the end of his column:

“...I support his overall goal. If we're going to raise the income tax, this is the time to deal with education funding, too.

“There are more legislators than you might expect who are willing to raise taxes, even in this economy, but if they're going to take the political hit, they're only going to do it once, and they're going to want to have something more to show for it than getting the state's bills paid more quickly.”

Labels: Income Tax Hike, James Meeks, Mark Brown

Two Chicago Sun-Times reporters called newly appointed United States Roland Burris a “liar” yesterday.

The angriest was Mark Brown.

“The problem is that if he couldn't tell the whole truth previously, why should anyone believe he's telling the truth now.

“I don't,” Brown wrote.

The second was Neil Steinberg.

“Roland Burris lied on his job application. He lied, under oath, about Rod Blagojevich hitting him up for money before he was tapped to fill Barack Obama's seat,” Steinberg said in his column.

“Any middle manager caught doing the same would be out on his ear.”

Labels: Liar, Mark Brown, Neil Steinberg, Roland Burris, United States Senate

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald now has guilty a verdict/plea from both of Governor Rod Blagojevich's chief fund raisers.

After Tony Rezko was found guilty of assorted nastinesses, he was indicted a second time and, contemplating how long he might spend in prison if convicted a second time, he started cooperating with the government.

Now, Chris Kelly has plead guilty to income tax charges.

Might not Chicago Sun-Time columnist Mark Brown be correct that Kelly could be indicted on charges more directly related to his dealings with Blagojevich and, then, decide that he might want to cooperated just as Rezko did.

Labels: Chris Kelly, Income Tax Evasion, Mark Brown, Rod Blagojevich

The day after Barack Obama used the phrase “Lipstick on a Pig,” three liberal writers for the Chicago Sun-Times covered the subject. Two jumped to his defense.

I can't remember the time when
wrote about the same topic with pretty much the same twist.

Political writer Lynn Sweet wrote a balanced news story.

First in the paper was Mark Brown.

“Palin cornered the market on lipstick”

He advises the Obama campaign to “leave her alone.”

Next was Lynn Sweet's

“Lipstick flap leaves McCain sitting pretty”

“What Obama knew or should have known was that Palin has appropriated as a signature expression the word 'lipstick...'

"Obama had his political radar turned off on this one when it should have been on."

On the facing page was Richard Roeper's column:

“McCain outrage fake, but Obama knows better”

So, if a party's candidate is not swift enough to figure out that some women might take offense at his intimating that the opposite party's good looking female vice presidential candidate was a pig, is he up to being president?

That's a pretty big lapse in judgment, it seems to me.

= = = = =
Thanks to Heck of a Guy blogger Allan Showalter for putting lipstick on one of my pig pictures. You can get a closer look at the pig with lipstick by clicking on its touched up photograph.

If you want to eat some good pig, although probably without lipstick, Crystal Lake's Second Chance House is holding a pig roast at the Dole Mansion from 1-5 Sunday. $10 for those 12 and over; free for those younger.

And, an update on the pig parts shown on poster:

Thanks for the continued interest in our charity.

I was going to attempt to cook the pig again this year (sans Italian sausage) but the Board of Directors felt that my energy would be of better use by networking with the attendees!

At least that's what they told me.

I think it might have been just a nice way of telling me they were afraid of me burning the Last Chance House down.

So they've decided to have the pig roasted by professionals this time!

The picture you saw on the flyer was just something our web coordinator got off the web. Hope to see you at the Dole Mansion on Sunday. I think we'll be inside if it rains.

Gerry Winkelman

Labels: Allan Showalter, Heck of a Guy, Lipstick on a Pig, Lynn Sweet, Mark Brown, Pig, Richard Roeper

Last week was so busy I didn't get to read the three daily newspapers that land on my driveway every morning.

When I picked up the Wednesday Sun-Times, I saw Mark Brown's column entitled,


Apparently Brown sat in on a weekly meeting that new Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has with the heads of various parts of the jail.

Apparently it wasn't a pretty picture, but not as bad as it could have been.

I am sure one of the eternal problems of a Cook County Sheriff is lack of adequate funds to do what the sheriff things should be done.

Certainly the devastating Federal report, about which I wrote below, convincingly show major improvements are needed. Those changes will require lots of money.

The best chance for Sheriff Tom Dart to pry that money out of the Cook County Board is to allow the Feds to put the jail under court supervision.

Indeed, to maximize his image as a reformer, Dart could urge the Federal Court to take over the jail.

Part 1 - Pervasive Problems at Cook County Jail - Sheriff Tom Dart's Goals

Part 2 - Pervasive Problems at Cook County Jail - 2007 Complaints of Physical Abuse to Inmates

Part 3 - Pervasive Problems at Cook County Jail - Causes of and Cures for Physical Abuse

Part 4 - Pervasive Problems at Cook County Jail - Medical Care

Part 5 - Pervasive Problems at Cook County Jail - Access to Medical and Dental Care

See Part 2.

Labels: Civil Rights Division, Cook County Jail, Cook County Sheriff, Department of Justice, Joan Laser, Mark Brown, Shanetta Y. Cutler, Tom Dart, U.S. Attorney

Before I went to 11 o'clock church last Sunday, I posted a comment under the Northwest Herald’s editorial entitled,

“Recall process for sore losers”

It was before 11 AM.

It appears that my comment is gone. There’s no post between 10:17 this morning and 1:14 PM.

So, I’ll post it below to show you how dangerous it was:

"And there is still a day to gather signatures to run for precinct committeeman in the Republican, Democrat, Green and, in the 8th congressional district in northeastern McHenry County, the Moderate Party. 61% of the GOP slots were empty Friday afternoon. Type 'McHenry County Republican Precinct Committeeman' into Google and you can link to a petition form you can download."

I guess the NW Herald, like party leaders, don't want a lot of people to run for this lowly party office. More power concentrated in fewer hands is probably easier for the newspaper to influence.

It appears that mine is not the only disappearing comment.

The first appearing, by “silence,” refers to “Alan.” I assume "Alan" made a previous comment that was more biting that the first one from “silence:”

“is it april 1st already? i've read some insane things in the nwherald before, but those are usually from insane rank amateur halfwits (such as myself), not the paper's editorial board. well, alan, i guess we have company."

It really is amusing when newspapers take shots at suggestions that will take power away from them.

And, that certainly is the case the recall proposal.

Here’s a typical comment, from “JustAsking:”

“18 states have the ability to recall state officials. Only twice has a governor been recalled, once in the 1920's and then recently in California.

“To say allowing it would lead to many recalls does not hold with historical fact.

“For the NWherald to say that giving voters the choice to have an additional vote in cases where an elected official breaches trust disrespects voters right to choose is just plain silly.”

Imagine letting citizens be able to threaten the security of legislators when they really stray from the farm.

Like when they vote to raise taxes—obviously, the “responsible thing to do”—in the minds of many liberal newspaper editorial boards.

And one NW Herald commenter, “casual reader,” even remembers the paper’s usual editorial position on tax hikes:

"NW Herald was oh-for-two in this editorial; term limits are also a good idea.

“If the NW Herald was as interested in good government as it is in endorsing every tax increase that comes down the street, this would be a better place to live."

But, the NW Herald is not the only newspaper voice against recall.

Columnist Mark Brown of the Chicago Sun-Times thinks recall is an awful idea, too.

Brown argues we knew what we were getting when he was elected.

“We deserve to be stuck with him.”

McHenry County Democratic Party State Representative Jack Franks is the spear-carrier on this idea in the House; Republican State Senator Dan Cronin in the State Senate.

It’s a good gambit for his impending run for some statewide office (governor unless Lisa Madigan wants it).

I have two complaints with the proposed constitutional amendment:

(1) it requires a higher percentage of signatures for legislators and judges than for statewide elected officials (12% versus 20%) and

(2) there is nothing in the proposed amendment to allow the recall of locally elected officials.

Certainly, some readers will be able to think of some local officials they might like to threaten, I’ll bet.

Some people in Cary and probably some people within the McHenry County College district boundaries (virtually all of McHenry County, but District 300, plus the Kane County portion of District 158).

One other thought pops to mind.

Just because citizens have the right to petition doesn’t mean they exercise it.

Franks passed a bill that became law, which allows citizens for vote for single member county board districts. Such a proposal would make it easier for a door-to-door candidate to get elected, that is, one would not have to depend on costly mailings like those financed by former Republican County Central Committee Chairman Al Jourdan.

Labels: Mark Brown, Northwest Herald, Recall Jack Franks

I was struck by the number 266% in last Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown’s headline.

The incredible Chicago Democratic Party tax hiking machine, this time embodied by Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, wants to impose another two percentage point sales tax hike.

That would bring in about $1 billion.

Put in percentage terms, it’s a 266% hike.

While opposing this 266% sales tax increase, Brown has endorsed the RTA sales tax hike proposal. The Cook County proposal to hike the sales tax from 1/4 of one percent to 2.75 percent is taking flak, but the RTA one keeps chugging along, powered now by visions of casino donations in legislators heads.

In McHenry and other collar counties, that plan would increase sales taxes from 1/4 of one percent to 3/4 of one percent.

Yes, I know that 1/4 of one percentage point will be for road improvements, but there is already a law on the books that allows the imposition of such taxes after passage of a referendum. If McHenry County Board members wants that tax, let them ask for it. Instead of bringing up that topic, they are discussing revising the county's seal.

Do the math.

Dividing 1/4 of one percent into the proposed 1/2 of one percent increase gives us a 200% RTA sales tax increase doesn’t it?

Labels: Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Mark Brown, Regional Transportation Authority, RTA, RTA Sales Tax

Maybe I’m missing something.

Maybe 18-year old Cary-Grove High School student Allen Lee is so important that his actions deserve to be foisted by the Chicago Tribune on the brains of readers all over the metropolitan area.

Again and again and again.

Allen Lee’s essay has been featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune THREE days this past week.

Does that strike anyone but me as overkill?

Or is the Tribune’s attempt to attract a younger readership?

Not to be outdone, two Chicago Sun-Times columnists weighed in with ridicule Sunday.

Mark Brown might have discerned the motivation:

He’s got a 4.2 GPA and probably doesn’t think he’s going to get much benefit from these last few weeks of school. So, he got an assignment he didn’t lie, and he acted out.

Can you remember how irrelevant the last few weeks of high school were?

And were you going into the Marines or onto college?

Brown also hits on the racism angle (as does Neil Steinberg) that I touched on yesterday in "Walking Over Allen Lee":

Unless somebody is holding back some important fact, this young man is getting a raw deal. He doesn’t belong in the criminal justice system. And the main reason he was treated this way is that people are on edge because another young Asian-American student killed 32 people two weeks earlier in Virginia. (emphasis added)

Brown is not kind to McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi:

Maybe you are from the better safe than sorry school of thought.

If so, you have a champion in McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi, who told me Friday,

“If all of us hadn’t acted, we would be subject to criticism for not acting. We’ll never know if we saved lives in this situation.”

Oh, that’s cute. Well, then, Lou, maybe you should try to figure it out, because if lieves were truly in danger, then you haven’t really saved anybody yet with your disorderly conduct charge, which only served to muddy up the reputation of an 18-year old who was back out on the street a few hours later.

Neil Steinberg lists six reasons for Allen Lee’s arrest:

1. Lee’s essay contained disturbing, violent images.
2. There was a massacre at Virginia Tech two weeks ago.
3. Lee is Asian, like the Virginia Tech gunman.
4. Lee’s teacher is inexperienced.
5. Her superiors suffer from the advanced form of stupidity particular to school district administrators.
6. Bumbling “where’s-the-bullet-Andy?” police work by the suburban cops.

Nothing more need be said. Lee, the supposed culprit, is actually the only one who has a valid excuse, bring 18 and green in judgment. The charges against him of course will be dropped, as soon as anyone with a brain gets involved.

Labels: Allen Lee, Cary-Grove High School, Crystal Lake High School District 155, Lou Bianchi, Mark Brown, McHenry County State's Attorney, Neil Steinberg, Racism