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Cal Skinner

This is a journal of news and opinion designed to bring to light matters of public interest and to encourage public participation in the governmental process. Emphasis will be on McHenry County, but Illinois state news will be covered. Articles and photos are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without explicit written permission.

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About Cal Skinner

About Cal Skinner
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Recent Posts

  • Ted Dabrowski’s First and Second TV Ad During Bears Game January 18, 2026
  • Farmhouse Living Room Fire in Harvard January 18, 2026
  • 19-Year Old Arrested for Attempt to Meet 13-16-Year Old Youth for Sex January 18, 2026
  • Sunday Funnies January 18, 2026
  • Mandatory Mental Health Screening in Schools (Passed in Illinois) Found to Make No Difference January 18, 2026
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Pickup Truck Hits Home in Algonquin

Cal SkinnerOctober 23, 2025October 23, 2025

From the Algonquin Police: Personal Injury Accident Compton and Mahogany Drive Algonquin, Illinois – October 22, 2025 – At approximately 5:07 p.m., Algonquin Police Officers, along with personnel from the Algonquin–Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, responded to a report of […]

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Who Has Raised How Much in Bill Foster’s Congressional District

Cal SkinnerOctober 23, 2025October 22, 2025

Here are the results of campaign finance reporting for the third quarter of 2025: Candidate financial totals Incumbent  Candidate Party Total receipts Total disbursements Cash on hand Source reports FOSTER, G. WILLIAM (BILL) DEMOCRATIC PARTY $1,018,741.38 $519,426.13 $2,049,879.91 Coverage ending: 09/30/2025View all […]

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Johnsburg’s Kirk Donald Pleads with County Board Not to Hike Taxes

Cal SkinnerOctober 23, 2025October 22, 2025

Below is a YouTube presentation of Kirk Donald’s comments to the McHenry County Board on Tuesday night. I was posted by John Pletz. The McHenry County Board voted on Tuesday night to put on public view a tax levy that is 13% […]

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Talk about Unsafe Blacktop Sealing Afternoon of Oct. 24th Features Cook County Commissioner Maggie Trevor

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025June 18, 2025

From the Defenders of McHenry County: Keeping Children Safe from Toxic Pavement Sealants A BMP* Talk & Tour of 2025 will be held on October 24th from 1-3 pm at the Crystal Lake School District 47 CORE Building, 300 Commerce Dr, Crystal Lake. […]

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Biss Leading Kat in Race to Replace Jan Schakowski

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 22, 2025

From the Evanston Roundtable comes these poll results for the 9th Congressional District Democratic Party Primary: The weighted text message poll of 917 likely Democratic voters was conducted from Oct. 14 to Oct. 16 by MDW Communications, a Florida-based political advertising firm that ran […]

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18-Year Old Skateboarder Hit by Vehicle That Didn’t Stop, Driver Arrested

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 23, 2025

From the Sheriff: Sheriff’s Office Investigates Hit-and-Run Crash near Huntley An 18-year-old Marengo man was seriously injured after he was struck by a vehicle in the 14900 block of Harmony Road, west of Briar Hill Road near Huntley. On Saturday, October 18, […]

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County Issues Press Release on Proposed Tax Levy & Budget (with Related Articles)

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 22, 2025

From McHenry County: County Submits Balanced FY2026 Budget for Review WOODSTOCK, Ill. – The McHenry County Board has submitted a balanced 2026 budget for public review. The $288.8 million budget and the $73.8 million tax levy were put on 30-day review at […]

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Rollover Vehicle Burns, Threatening Nearby McHenry Home

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 22, 2025

From the McHenry Township Fire Protection District: At approximately 2:20 a.m. today, the McHenry Township Fire Protection District (MTFPD) responded to a report of a vehicle that had crashed and rolled over, with a person trapped, in the 900 Block of Center […]

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Resident Calls Out McHenry County Board for Proposing 13% Higher Tax Levy

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 22, 2025

Terra Nielson’s comments can be heard and viewed below in a YouTube video created by John Pletz: It seems to me in her excellent call for a flat levy that she has underestimated the levy increase, however. For background, you might want […]

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Finally, Crystal Lake Park Board Reveals Publicly of No Interest in Purchasing Healthbridge

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 22, 2025

The Northwest Herald’s lead story on its email feed today is that the Crystal Lake Park Board is not interested in buying Healthbridge. This is the facility that apparently could not break even after Northwestern Medical bought Centegra. This is not new […]

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State Rep. Hopeful of Replacing Jan Schakowsky Hassled by ICE

Cal SkinnerOctober 22, 2025October 22, 2025

That’s what 9th Congressional District Democratic Party candidate Hoan Huynh, a State Representative, is saying. He even got free advertising on ABC: Hoan Huynh on Channel 7. The Chicago Sun-Times story is here.

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County Board Proposes 13% Tax Levy Increase

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025October 21, 2025

The McHenry County Board placed on public view its proposed tax levy for the year starting on December 1st. $73,802,726 is the amount requested. Compare that to last year’s levy: $65,208,205.21 That’s a 13.2% increase. Truly remarkable, considering the Board promised to […]

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Vehicle Crashes into Lakemoor Business

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025October 21, 2025

From the Fire Protection District: At approximately 2:40 p.m. today, the McHenry Township Fire Protection District (MTFPD) responded to areport of a vehicle that had crashed into a building in the 400 block of Scotland Road in the Village ofLakemoor. Crews arrived […]

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Dems Threaten to Eliminate Darin LaHood’s District Through New Gerrymandering

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025October 21, 2025

From Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy: Don Tracy Denounces House Democrats’ Gerrymandering Scheme Targeting Rep. Darin LaHood SPRINGFIELD –  With less than two weeks until the candidate filing deadline, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Washington Democrats are pushing a mid-decade redraw of Illinois’ […]

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Alcohol May Have Contributed to Cars Hitting Farm Equipment

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025October 21, 2025

From the Sheriff’s Office: Sheriff’s Office Investigates Crash Involving Farm Equipment A 36-year-old Hebron man was seriously injured following a vehicle crash involving farm equipment on Thayer Road west of Illinois Route 47 in unincorporated McHenry County. On Monday, October 20, 2025, […]

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Lake in the Hills Summarizes Enhanced Enforcement Grant Results

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025October 20, 2025

From the Lake in the Hills Police Department: Lake in the Hills Police Department awarded IDOT traffic enforcement grant We are proud to announce the Lake in the Hills Police Department has been awarded a federal fiscal year 2026 Sustained Traffic Enforcement […]

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DeWitte Summarizes Pritzker Budget Shortfall

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025January 6, 2026

From State Senator Don DeWitte: Illinois Faces New $267 Million Deficit Illinois is confronting a growing fiscal challenge as newly released projections reveal a $267 million shortfall in the fiscal 2026 budget. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget’s (GOMB) report warns […]

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“He’s Trying to Take Our Kid”

Cal SkinnerOctober 21, 2025October 20, 2025

From the Marengo Police Department comes this report of an Indian Oaks Park incident that led parents to leave tricycle, food and sippy cup at picnic table to flee in their vehicle: Wade through the charges made against Brandon Kanehl to the […]

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Dabrowski Leads Bailey by Twenty Percentage Points in Cook County GOP Dinner Straw Poll, Tracy Ahead of Goodman by Thirty Points

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 21, 2025

From a Friend of McHenry County Blog comes these straw poll results: At the Cook County GOP Republican Dinner in Palatine at The Cotillion tonight, the straw poll results for  Governor U.S. Senate:

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Crystal Lake Park Board Votes to Tax to the Max

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 21, 2025

It was almost ten as I arrived home after Monday night’s Crystal Lake Park Board meeting. The big news is that by a 6-1 vote, with only Board President Fred Tiesenga voting in opposition, the Board approved increasing its levy by the […]

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Vaping at Marlowe Middle School

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 20, 2025

From the Lake in the Hills Police;

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A Critic of No Kings Demonstrations

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 20, 2025

Posted by “Catturd” and picked up by the Daily Signal:

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DeWitte Reports on What Dems Are Up To in Springfield Veto Session

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 20, 2025

From State Senator Don DeWitte: State lawmakers were back in Springfield last week for the first two days of the annual fall Veto Session. During the 2025 spring session, 436 bills passed through both chambers of the General Assembly and were sent […]

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Marengo Park Trespass Puts Man in Jail

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 20, 2025

From the Marengo Police: At approximately 3:15 PM on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at Johnson St, the Marengo Police Department arrested Brandon Kanehl, 35, of Johnson St, for the following alleged offenses relating to an incident from October 7th, 2025; Brandon Kanehl […]

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Two at Crystal Lake No Kings Demonstration Hope for Trump’s Death

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 18, 2025

Remember when James Comey got in trouble for publicizing an “8947” message on a beach near his home? The same message showed up on two signs at the Crystal Lake No Kings demonstration.

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Robb Tadelman Petition Party at McHenry Golf Club October 22nd

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 16, 2025

From Sheriff Robb Tadelman: Join Sheriff Robb Tadelman and show your support for local and state candidates by signing and circulating petitions for the 2026 election- Wednesday October 22nd!

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A Failed Transit-Oriented Development

Cal SkinnerOctober 20, 2025October 20, 2025

Democrats in Springfield propose taking control of local zoning from municipalities and giving it to a newly-named Regional Transportation Authority. Zoning being a local governmental power is ingrained in Illinois tradition. True, the Dems have pretty much taken it away for solar […]

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FOID Card Seizures

Cal SkinnerOctober 19, 2025October 17, 2025

From the Lake in the Hills Police:

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Van Burns Under Tollway Overpass

Cal SkinnerOctober 19, 2025October 19, 2025

From the Huntley Fire Protection District: Vehicle Fire Beneath Hennig Road Overpass On Saturday, October 18, 2025, at 3:21 p.m., the Huntley Fire Protection District was dispatched to eastbound Interstate 90 in the area of mile marker 44.5 for a reported vehicle […]

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Sunday Funnies

Cal SkinnerOctober 19, 2025October 19, 2025

From Eric Allie, Illinois Policy Institute cartoonist:

Posts pagination

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Recent Comments

  • Lake County State’s Attorney Doesn’t Know It Is a State Office - McHenry County Blog on Possible Reasons the State’s Attorney Dropped the Lakemoor Hemp Case
  • The Property Tax Sale Problem That Could Cost McHenry County Taxpayers $13 Million - McHenry County Blog on McHenry County Taxpayers May Be on the Hook for $13 Million to Repay Home Equity Lost in Tax Sales
  • Cost Per Student in Crystal Lake High School District - McHenry County Blog on Test Scores, Costs for McHenry County School Districts, Link to All Illinois Districts
  • Leon Back In 9th District Democratic Party Primary - McHenry County Blog on Bruce Leon “Pauses” Campaign for 9th District Democratic Party Congressional Nomination
  • A Look at the County’s Legislative Agenda - McHenry County Blog on Taking Responsibility for Tax Money Received Is Good Government
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