By a three to two vote, the McHenry Township Board placed a referendum on the April 6th ballot asking voters whether they favor abolishing the Road District as a separate governmental body.
If passed, the McHenry Township Highway Department would still exist.
It would just be governed by the five members of the McHenry Township Board, rather than by an elected Road Commissioner.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department continues its practice of taking fragile people to the hospital:
Meanwhile, Elgin considers a different approach, according to the Daily Herald:
Elgin officials consider proposal for mental health professionals to handle more 911 calls
From a Friend of McHenry County Bog:
Last week we heard about the loss of Chuck Wheeler (local County Board member – one of the good ones) who was tested positive for Covid-19.
I decided to update the information on deaths associated with Covid-19.
The CDC does report Covid-19 deaths in their Provisional reporting. https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Death-Counts-by-Week-Ending-D/r8kw-7aab/data
The Provisional Reporting is based on actual death certificates.
Daily reporting by the media is based on information supplied by County / City health departments.
On average, I have found the Provisional numbers to be about 25 percent less than daily numbers quoted in the media.
Since we killed off a lot of people in nursing homes earlier this year, the deaths have dropped significantly, but they are starting to increase again as the number of cases are also climbing.
That said, the death rate due to Covid-19 in Illinois continues to drop and we have a governor who wants to shut down our economy because the number of cases are increasing – the ever popular POSITIVITY number which is almost totally meaningless.
If you have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, kidney problems, cancer, copd, etc., etc., Covid-19 just like any flu is dangerous to your health.
However, the numbers show this flu is not much more serious than any other flu epidemic we have seen in the past.
I still want to know why the governors of states who allowed patients testing positive for Covid-19 to be admitted into nursing homes (some even mandated it) are not being held to task for their actions.
For yours truly, the POSITIVITY numbers don’t mean much but the death rate is quite telling.
BTW, Mexico just passed the USA in the number of deaths per million residents.
Sweden’s death rate is also climbing – still below the USA, 733 vs 595 but well above India for example which shows a death rate of 93 per million population.
What is somewhat puzzling is the variance by country in the number of deaths due to Covid-19.
South America was hit hard this summer, but Africa continues to have relatively low death rates due to Covid-19.
Israel has a death rate of 295, but neighboring Palestine has a rate of 107.
Peru has a death rate of 1,058 but Jamaica has a rate of 76.
Observation: As displayed in the last graph, deaths from the Flu (other than Covid-19) have dropped significantly.
I wonder how many cases of the common flu are being diagnosed as Covid-19.
GRAPH REPRESENTS DEATHS IN ILLINOIS AS REPORTED VIA DEATH CERTIFICATES. The drop at the right is due to delayed submission of death certificates.
Deaths as a percentage of cases as reported by Health Departments in Illinois https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
This graph represents deaths by “Flu” other than Covid-19
From the JB Pritzker Administration:
Despite making substantial progress on Illinois’ fiscal challenges in Fiscal Year 2020, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has resulted in unexpected and dramatic revenue losses, and Illinois will also continue to face significant financial challenges until it finds a long-term solution to its long standing structural deficit, the annual Economic and Fiscal Policy Report from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget concludes.
As a result of these recent challenges and with the option for a graduated income tax now off the table, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget is projecting sizeable deficits in the General Funds budget for fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
Without changes to the current trajectory of the state’s finances, year-end accounts payable will continue to grow year by year, the report states.
“From day one I have been committed to providing a transparent accounting of our fiscal situation and have once again begun working with leaders in the General Assembly to address our challenges,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
“While we didn’t anticipate a pandemic, we must now grapple with the economic hardship it has created while also preserving the vital state services Illinoisans rely on.
“I am committed to ensuring the state of Illinois returns to the path of fiscal stability we began to pave last year, while managing through this unexpected economic crisis responsibly.”
Since taking office in January 2019, Governor JB Pritzker has taken multiple steps to control state spending and has ordered agency directors to continue to responsibly manage the limited resources of state government.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) is required to annually submit an Economic and Fiscal Policy Report to the General Assembly outlining the long-term economic and fiscal policy objectives of the state, along with the economic and fiscal policy intentions for the upcoming fiscal year and for the subsequent four fiscal years.
The reports are available to the public online and can be found here: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/budget/Pages/PolicyReports.aspx
Cal posted the “Hubris” message of the day on McHenry County Blog earlier today.
But there is so much more to this story, including WCIA-TV reporter Mark Maxwell using the magic word of today in a retweet of the Hannah Meisel tweet from yesterday.
I am challenged writing about “hubris” as it is something I know nothing about doing my writings let alone life. That said, I do know something about “projection”, and how one “projects” something about themselves when trying to apply a label to someone else.
Reporter Hannah Meisel’s tweet is the first part of a 6-part tweet thread which is quite revealing and not about the subject matter.
Transcribed for ease of reading is the rest of the thread:
“Also pictured is Congresswoman-elect Mary Miller, who easily won the primary for IL’s 15th congressional district to replace outgoing Congressman John Shimkus. Miller is the wife of IL House member Chris Miller.
“And yes, that is an ice cream sundae on Oberweis’ tie. (Oberweis Dairy)
“No masks, though.
“For the unfamiliar, Oberweis has run and lost for quite a few offices over the years.
“You do have to wonder why new member orientation is held inside the two-week period where final votes are still being counted in close races.
“Seriously. Did Nancy Pelosi’s team have a packet for him? I’m so confused.”
Hannah Meisel tweet thread 11/13/20
.
But as Meisel’s Twitter rant started, the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) responded with a tweet of their own, a reminder for the media:
And there it was, ISBE making very clear the official winner of the 14th congressional district race is decided not by the Associated Press (AP) or members of the media, but under the duly authorized ISBE through the local election authorities under Illinois law.
So early this afternoon, I’d had my fill of all the projecting from the media on to Jim Oberweis:
This morning, the Chicago Sun-Times Deputy Managing Editor Marlen Garcia decided she had to tweet about Oberweis, too. My response below to her tweet:
I will discuss the various reasons, both stated and behind-the-scenes, why Oberweis attended new member orientation in an upcoming article.
From the US Attorney’s Office:
CHICAGO — A Grundy County man has been indicted in federal court in Chicago on charges he illegally possessed explosive devices and handguns.
JOHN FEENEY, 30, of Minooka, is charged with
According to the indictment, Feeney illegally possessed two handguns and three explosives on Jan. 25, 2020, in Morris.
The explosives included
Feeney was previously convicted of a felony and was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm or explosive.
The indictment was returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Feeney is currently in law enforcement custody. Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The Grundy County Sheriff’s Department provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cornelius Vandenberg.
The count of carrying explosives during the commission of a felony includes a mandatory ten-year prison sentence that must be served consecutively to any sentence imposed for the three other counts, each of which is punishable by up to ten years.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Guess this billboard promoting Brian Sager’s unsuccessful campaign for State Representative against incumbent Republican Steve Reick has been up a while, but I first saw in Friday, November 6th.
It is (was) next to The Chapel, where, in conjunction with First Church of Crystal Lake, food is distributed every Friday afternoon starting at 1:30 (don’t come early).
The Chapel is located on Route 31 near the south end of McHenry.
The following thefts were reported by the Harvard Police Department:
From Republican Party State Chairman Tim Schneider’s weekly email:
Chuck was truly a great person and a bright light on our State Central Committee.
He served as Laura Pollastrini’s Deputy in the IL-14th District and so I will leave you with Laura’s words as she broke the news to all of us yesterday of his passing:
I have had the privilege and honor of knowing Chuck since the mid-1990’s when we served together in the DuPage Young Republicans.
Re-uniting with him nearly a decade after he moved to McHenry had given me the chance to pick up an old friendship and deepen it.
Our shared values and love of the Republican Party made him a perfect fit to serve as my Deputy State Central Committeeman.
The honor was mine.
Chuck added both depth and breadth to this Party.
His leadership, experience, love of God, and steadfast support of our conservative values made him an example of what living your faith and your beliefs really means.
Please say a prayer for our friend and colleague Chuck Wheeler, and keep his wife Susan and his entire family in your thoughts and prayers.
With heartfelt sadness,
Laura Pollastrini, IL Republican State Central Committeeman, 14th District
= = = = =
For addition photos see “Chuck Wheeler, R.I.P. “
Politico had an article this week about the future of the Democratic Party.
Its part about Hispanics voting Republican caught my attention because of a local discovery eight years ago in Cary.
The question that brought forth what intrigued me was
“What happened in Texas’ border counties, where we saw this Hispanic surge for Trump?“
Being interviewed was “David Shor, a Democratic polling and data expert who developed the Obama 2012 campaign’s internal election-forecasting system.” Here is his reply:
There was an initial tendency to say, “Oh, of course we lost Cubans in Florida,” or “In the Rio Grande Valley, they’re all very conservative.”
But within Texas, we also fell tremendously in Hispanic precincts in Houston; there were substantial drops in Hispanic support for Democrats in the northeast, around Massachusetts; same thing in Osceola County, Florida, which is predominantly Puerto Ricans who live near Orlando.
In large swaths of the country, there was a pretty broad-based decline.
Looking at precincts in Miami-Dade specifically, the decline was basically the same for Cuban precincts and non-Cuban precincts — it was a little bit larger in Cuban precincts, but not by very much.
What’s really interesting is that this change was reflected down-ballot.
That’s actually very surprising. In 2016, there were a lot of areas that swung 20 points against Democrats — rural, white working-class areas — but still voted for Democratic Senate, House and state legislative candidates.
This year, in a lot of Hispanic areas, down-ballot Democrats got slaughtered.
In Florida, we lost Hispanic House seats, and on the state-legislative level, it was pretty brutal.
There was a congressional seat in the Rio Grande Valley [Texas’ 15th district] that we had won by 20 points in 2018 and 2016, and this time only won by 3 points.
It’s possible that politics is just different now in 2020 than in 2016, but that really tells me that this was a change in party ID more than anything specifically that Trump or Biden did.
What do these disparate groups of Latinos have in common?
They are all Catholic.
Now, about Cary, Illinois, in 2012.
That’s the year that Mike Madigan heavily supported the recently deceased widow of Mark Beaubien, Dee, in her Independent candidacy against Republican David McSweeney.
Andrew Gasser was campaigning for McSweeney near the Catholic Church in Cary.
He found Dee Beaubien for State Rep. signs in front yards where there were statutes of the Blessed Mother of Jesus.
An older man answer the door when he knocked.
Gasser asked him if he were a good Catholic, receiving an affirmative answer.
He then asked if he were opposed to abortion.
The answer was, “Yes.”
Then, Gasser asked why he had the sign for a pro-abortion candidate in his yard.
“They said she was Pro-Life,” the somewhat confused man explained.
The man did not speak excellent English and called his son, who lived down the street.
The son came, Gasser showed him Beaubien’s abortion position on his cell phone and the son stated calling people.
Signs for Beaubien disappeared up and down the street.
Therein may lie the key for Republicans to unlock more of the Latino vote.
From the Algonquin Police Department:
[Algonquin], IL – With one of the busiest travel times of the year just around the corner, the Algonquin Police Department is reminding motorists to buckle up and drive sober to ensure that everyone gets to the Thanksgiving table safely.
“On regular days and holidays alike, law enforcement too often see the results of driving impaired and not wearing a seat belt,” said Sergeant Robert Salazar.
“They are both tragic and preventable.
“Whether you’re driving cross-country or across the street, please remember to wear your seat belt and make a plan for a sober ride home.”
Throughout the year, many traffic deaths and injuries could be prevented with the click of a seat belt or the choice to designate a sober driver.
More than 30% of motor vehicle crash fatalities in Illinois involve an alcohol-impaired driver, and data shows drug-involved driving is on the rise.
To combat these trends, The Algonquin Police Department is joining the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Police and local law enforcement agencies in a statewide effort to save lives by stepping up enforcement of seat belt and impaired driving laws.
Motorists will see this increase in safety patrols from Nov. 20 over the holiday weekend through the early morning hours of Nov. 30.
The Thanksgiving enforcement effort is made possible by federal traffic safety funds administered by IDOT as part of the statewide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Click It or Ticket campaigns.
From the Algonquin Police Department:
(Algonquin, IL) – The Algonquin Police Department made one impaired driving arrest and issued 22 seat belt and child safety seat citations during the recent Halloween enforcement effort.
Law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois participated in this effort to save lives by getting impaired drivers off the roads and more people buckled up.
The enforcement campaign took place from October 17 through November 2.
Extra emphasis was placed on enforcement during late-night hours, when statistics show the most unbuckled and impaired driving fatalities occur.
The recent law enforcement campaign was made possible by federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation and is part of the statewide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Click It or Ticket campaigns.
Below is a tweet I found on Capitol Fax from a reporter named Hannah Meisel:
Note the word “officially” in her message.
I guess she missed the civics class that taught election officials “officially” say who wins and loses, not the Associated Press.
Not that I think Lauren Underwood is not far enough ahead to beat Jim Oberweis.
I do.
But, reporters ought to know that words matter, as Newt Gingrich used to say.
From the Jim Oberweis congressional campaign on November 12:
Jim Oberweis campaign statement on the AP calling the IL-14 Congressional race
Sugar Grove, IL – The Jim Oberweis campaign is issuing the following statement on the AP calling the race for Congress in the 14th District.
“The Associated Press calling the race in the 14th Congressional District for Lauren Underwood does not change anything in this race from a legal standpoint.
“Illinois election law has provisions to allow parties in a closely contested race to seek a recount to ensure that all legal votes are counted and to ensure that the final outcome is the right outcome.
“There are still votes that have yet to be counted. The totals at this point are unofficial totals as the race has yet to be certified.
“We are committed to exploring all of the legal options at our disposal and will pursue these options that are afforded our campaign under law.”
Jim Oberweis congressional campaign spokesperson, 11/12/20
==========================
Update: Lake County Returns
After the AP called the race yesterday, Lake County released returns with 886 more VBM ballots from IL-14, and Underwood netted an additional 316 votes, making the latest returns, through November 12:
| Candidate | VOTES | VOTE PCT. |
| Lauren Underwood | 200,638 | 50.6% |
| Jim Oberweis | 196,034 | 49.4% |
| TOTAL | 396,672 |
COMMENTARY: On Election night, Oberweis was up 895 votes, which included leading Lake County on Election night by nearly 3,000 votes. Through yesterday’s returns, Oberweis now trails in Lake County by 540 votes.
Here is the precinct breakdown of Lake County votes. Clearly, there are more red/Oberweis precincts over blue/Underwood precincts. That does not translate to voter populations or actual vote volumes.
Of the six townships, Oberweis won 3: Antioch, Fremont and Wauconda
Oberweis’ best township was Antioch, where he won by over 1,500 votes.
Underwood shellacked Oberweis in Warren Township by nearly 2,000 votes.
The Oberweis campaign, working with their attorneys and likely officials from the Lake County Republican Party, will present their concerns, and likely ask for a discovery recount, and if I were Oberweis, Warren Township precincts would be my first target to determine if there was any kind of irregularity that could over turn results in Lake County.
Additionally, Oberweis must prove similar claims in the other six counties in the district and if that is through a discovery recount, so be it. As I wrote earlier this week here on McHenry County Blog, it’s his right to ask for a recount and investigate irregularities. Oberweis’ press release from yesterday says he is doing just that, under Illinois Election Law.
The above being said, the election returns from all 7 county clerks will be canvassed between November 18 and November 24, and the winner of the IL-14 election will be declared by the end of November.
Right now, Lauren Underwood is on track to be the declared winner based on official returns by the end of the month and she will be seated in the 117th Congress in January.
If, after the results are official, enough evidence from the discovery recount merits a full recount, the Oberweis campaign will have the option to present their findings before a judge in Illinois courts, who would order the full recount.
Update X2: Oberweis attends new member orientation in Washington
Since Jim Oberweis is currently disputing the projection of Underwood as the winner, he is attending the congressional new member orientation this week in Washington.
On social media, a picture included from Oberweis’ personal Facebook page with him in a picture with Congresswoman-elect Mary Miller (R, IL-15):
Something to think about, if Oberweis ends up conceding this year’s election, his time in DC this week may be whetting his appetite to run for the IL-14 again in 2022, with the knowledge he will most likely win a Republican primary regardless of what the new district looks like or whom the other Republican candidates may be.
And, knowing a mid-term for a President Biden will likely be a Republican year.
Here’s the latest word from McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio:
The Post Office delivered two ballots today.
The Lake in the Hills Police regularly reports identity theft on its blotter.
Today there was a whole string listed together that I’ll share because of the ease of copying it:
There was another report on the other page of this transmission.
Twice in one week, McHenry County Board Chairman-Elect Mike Buehler has been featured on page three of the Chicago Tribune.
First it was the bottom of the page:
Today, with incumbent Democrat Jack Franks conceding, Buehler was bumped up to the top right:
The article tells of about 1,800 votes awaiting counting.
I guess that comes from the table below found on the McHenry County Clerk’s web site:
Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black, in his role as statewide association President gave the following testimony to Illinois Senate Criminal Law Committee and the Senate Special Committee on Public Safety:
Thank you Chairman Sims, Chairman Peters and Chairman Slaughter, for allowing us to be part of this discussion.
The ILACP [Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police] has been talking with Attorney General Raoul on the topic of police licensing since July.
There has been a lot of discussion over the last several months surrounding licensing or the alleged lack thereof for law enforcement by the public and some members of the General Assembly.
As you are all aware, states are sovereign and have the ability to establish laws and or licensing within their own governance.
Regarding law enforcement, some states call it licensing; in Illinois we call it certification.
Chapter 50 Section 705 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes is the Illinois Police
Training Act.
It is under this statute that law enforcement officers are legally certified in the state of Illinois through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and
Standards Board also known as ILETSB. ILETSB is granted the authority under state statute to lawfully certify police officers and corrections officer, to establish appropriate minimum standards relating to the training of probationary law enforcement officers, probationary corrections officers, and the in-service training of permanent police officers.
Chapter 50 Section 705/6.1 of the ILCS, also authorizes ILETSB to de-certify full-time and part-time police officers if they commit any felony in this state or any other state or specific misdemeanor offenses as outlined in the statute.
Additionally, the statute directs ILETSB to submit semi-annual reports to the Governor and some members of the General Assembly regarding any de-
certifications completed by ILETSB.
As I have been listening to the previous Senate Committee meetings I felt the need to clarify this as it seems there has been some misunderstanding or confusion about law enforcement certification in Illinois.
As mentioned previously, we have been in discussions with the Attorney General regarding police licensing since July.
I want to thank General Raoul for inviting us to this process and for listening to our input.
He was respectful, inclusive, and honest about his expectations.
We agree that we do not want to retain bad police officers and we certainly don’t want those bad police officers having the ability to jump from one department to another.
During this process we provided input to General Raoul regarding criminal offenses that trigger de-certification, navigating through collective bargaining and due process, ILETSB Review Boards and the complaint process, and providing input to the members of the General Assembly
regarding investigations and de-certifications.
In closing, I would like to just comment on some things that I’ve heard while listening to the previous Senate meetings.
Last week the IML[Illinois Municipal League] Executive Director, Brad Cole, mentioned that Illinois is a model when referring to our 10 Shared Principles document we developed collaboratively with the Illinois NAACP State Conference in 2018 and we continue to be a partner with the NAACP and many other black leaders.
This is the first ever agreed upon set of principles between a state law enforcement association and a statewide civil rights group in the United States.
We have led 24 regional and local events in the last four years and engaged with more than one thousand people, one conversation at a time.
When our process started, Juliana Stratton was our facilitator when she was still at UIC.
She did a great job showing us how to have productive conversations.
To date, I don’t believe any other state police association has accomplished this.
Minnesota, as an example, licenses their police officers and until the tragic death of George Floyd, allowed choke holds by police officers as well as did many other states.
Unless deadly force is justified, Illinois has banned choke holds by statute
since 2015 and my department has had them banned since 2011.
Additionally, the Department of Justice in Washington has designated the Illinois Chiefs’ ILEAP Program as the primary certifying body in Illinois with the new requirement that local agencies must obtain Federal Use of Force Certification if they want to eceive federal discretionary grants.
While we are not perfect, Illinois law enforcement does lead the way.
This is not meant to be disrespectful, but as President of the Illinois Chiefs
Association I feel the need to defend our profession.
I’ve heard testimony before this committee labeling our entire profession as racist, stating that we train our officers to be racist and to take away our live bullets.
One witness has even implied that we beat arrestees, do not allow them to make phone calls and interfere with their ability to consult with legal counsel.
While I’m sure some of those infractions may have happened at the hands of some bad police officers in some form or another, I do not believe these actions are indicative of all police officers and are certainly not occurring with frequency statewide.
To negatively label our entire profession is a disservice and a slap in the face to the thousands of law enforcement officers that put the badge on every day and provide unbiased professional police services to all citizens regardless of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
When it comes to law enforcement issues, we are the subject matter experts.
You have already heard our support for body cameras, de-escalation, use of force standards and other reforms to make our communities safer.
I hope you heard us say today that we are very much open to this conversation to strengthen decertification so that we get rid of bad cops.
I respectfully request that the General Assembly continue to work collaboratively with law enforcement to effect positive change and avoid any unintended consequences.
In the Chicago Tribune article reporting Jack Franks’ admission of the failure of his quest for a second term as McHenry County Board Chairman, he says he kept his “every one” of his “campaign promises.”
Even avid 2016 supporters have admitted to me that their tax bill did not get cut by ten percent, as promised during his campaign.
Crystal Lake engineering firm Baxter & Woodman has decided that it does not want to be engineer for the Village of Lakewood anymore.
On July 16, 2020, its CEO John Ambrose sent the following letter to the village:
Commentary on the situation can be found here on United Lakewood.
