No Wonder McHenry County Blog Was Not Invited to MCC Press Conference

Public reaction at the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission must have spooked McHenry County College President Walt Packard.

He called a press conference Thursday.

Needless to say, he didn’t invite your inquisitive reporter.

As you can see if you type in “MCC” or “McHenry County College” or “baseball stadium” in the search engine of McHenry County Blog, I have written a large number of stories on the college’s plan to build a baseball stadium. Here is the only place you can see pictures of the three pied pipers of baseball–Mark Houser, Pete Heitman and Bill Lee–for instance. Certainly more information on this

“Hush, hush, hush;
“Rush, rush, rush”

project has appeared here than anywhere else.

Type in “MCC, FOI” and you can find articles about how you and I paid $70,000 for a cash flow analysis that convinced the MCC Board to borrow $35 million. You will also that the college will not let anyone see why its officials believe a minor league baseball team can pay back most of that $35 million.

In any event you can bet I would have asked the same questions that Packard has refused to answer both in reply to Freedom of Information requests and when made in person at a MCC board meeting.

I would also have asked the question MCC student John Darger asked Wednesday night about the “nightmare (it would create) for students, (whose) classes start at 7 o’clock.”

As he put it, “I don’t see how that will serve the students of McHenry County College.”

I can’t wait to see the article of the reporters who were invited to the little press conference.

At the end of Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Commissioner Vincent Esposito strongly and helpfully recommended that the college hold public meetings where citizens could get answers to questions asked or implied in public testimony before his commission.

To be more specific, Esposito said,

“Have public meetings.

“Answer their questions, so you don’t have an angry mob.”

A press conference won’t do the trick, Mr. President and elected MCC Board members.


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