From a Friend of McHenry County Blog:

One-Sided Misinformation Campaign Targets Elburn Leader’s Congressional Run Jeff Walter

ELBURN, IL – Sunday, June 08, 2025, a local political announcement has triggered a one-sided wave of misinformation on the McHenry County Diversity Project’s Facebook page—a private online group where people share opinions.

Elburn Village President Jeff Walter, a longtime community leader and military veteran, revealed his plan to run for the Republican nomination for the 11th Illinois Congressional District, as detailed in a report by Susan O’Neill titled “Elburn village president eyes congressional seat, announces run” (Shaw Local, June 08, 2025).

Rather than fostering the page’s mission of a multicultural, inclusive community that values respect and mutual understanding, the response has devolved into a cascade of unverified claims, starkly violating the group’s stated intent.

Jeff Walter, with 16 years of service including his current role as Elburn Village president, aims to challenge Democratic Congressman Bill Foster.

O’Neill’s article highlights his Navy background, support for President Donald Trump’s policies on the economy and border security, and a campaign focused on bringing balance to Washington. According to the article he’s just beginning, setting up a team and a website.

However, a post on the Diversity Project page by Mary Lipford, an administrator with influence over its content, inadvertently set the stage for this misinformation.

Lipford’s post, labeled with “100% MAGA” and drawing from O’Neill’s article, states,

“Elburn Village President Jeff Walter has thrown his hat in the ring for congress and running for the Republican nomination for the 11th Illinois Congressional District. Democrat Bill Foster currently holds the seat. He thinks he can bring some of that middle-of-the-road balance to the conversation, as well as looking at what’s best for the District. He supports President Donald Trump’s administration, such as really happy with a lot of the things that are going on under his administration, such as the border closing. He said consumer confidence is high and it seems like a lot of jobs will be coming back to this country.”

Accompanied by a photo of Walter speaking at a podium, the post asks, “Anyone know much about Jeff Walter?”—a question that spiraled into a one-sided barrage.

A central focus of the misinformation targets Walter’s decision not to enforce a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ruth Walker, a local resident known for her community involvement but with no widely recognized public profile, posted a critical message, saying, “Jeff Walter is the worst. I live in Elburn. He refused to enforce the mask mandate during COVID and was on the front page of the Chronicle sitting at a bar without a mask… putting our community at risk.”

She also raised concerns about other decisions, like building a new police station, and suggested his leadership feels old-fashioned.

Yet, experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx have since clarified that early mask rules lacked robust data.

Fauci told Congress in 2023, “We didn’t have the studies to definitively show that cloth masks worked,” and Birx wrote in her 2022 book that masking was a precaution without full evidence, providing context that Walter’s choice had some basis—context largely absent from the page’s narrative.

The response on the McHenry County Diversity Project page has been overwhelmingly one-sided, straying from its goal of fostering respect and inclusivity.

Ruth Walker’s critical remarks dominated the conversation, while Chelsea Lynn, another user with no notable public background, attempted to correct an earlier unverified claim, saying, “I don’t think he works for Accenture anymore… I have a friend who does and he says he’s not in the company directories.”

Mary Lipford later responded with a frustrated “FFS” and shared a link to Walter’s village profile, but her initial post with the “100% MAGA” label and speculation about his employment—later disproven—contradicts the page’s aim for constructive dialogue.

Lipford’s further step of asking a friend to contact an Accenture employee to verify Walter’s job status also undermines the page’s commitment to respect and trust, a concern heightened by her admin role intended to model inclusivity.

Additionally, a photo Walter posted online showing him at a shooting range with a gun was highlighted by Ruth Walker: “Mary Lipford didn’t realize that? I know he’s ex-military…” with a rainbow flag emoji.

Though Walter’s military past is public and his caption read “Don’t mess with things you don’t know about,” the image was repurposed to suggest something negative, further diverging from the page’s mission to honor diverse backgrounds without hostility.

Lipford’s original post, while informative, unintentionally opened the door to this skewed narrative, clashing with the page’s intent to promote equality and co-existence.

The McHenry County Diversity Project page, designed to bring people from various backgrounds together to share ideas on community improvement, has instead become a platform for a one-sided spread of misinformation.

Its “About” section emphasizes respect, a zero-tolerance policy on hate, and a desire to learn and progress, encouraging dialogue to enhance diversity.

However, the actions of Walker and Lipford—spreading unverified claims, making personal judgments, and using a politically charged label—directly oppose these principles.

Walter’s focus on serving the community, as noted by O’Neill, is overshadowed by this campaign, which ignores context from Fauci and Birx.

As of 09:15 PM CDT, June 9, the page’s role as a constructive forum is in doubt, reflecting broader political tensions and leaving the community to address the impact of this misalignment.

References

• O’Neill, Susan. “Elburn village president eyes congressional seat, announces run.” Shaw Local, June 08, 2025.
• Birx, Deborah. Silent Invasion: The Untold Story of the Trump Administration, Covid-19, and Preventing the Next Pandemic Before It’s Too Late. Harper, 2022.
• House Oversight Committee. Congressional Testimony of Dr. Anthony Fauci, 2023.