The Northwest Herald published its first article on the controversial hiring of two patronage employees to serve newly-elected McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks. These are the ones McHenry County Blog labels as “patronage hires.”
It is ironic that the last boycott McHenry County Blog covered was one of State Senators in Wisconsin in 2011.
All Democrats, the Senators decided to deny Republicans a quorum by not attending session, just as Republicans did in McHenry County Wednesday night.
The Senators came across the Illinois state line, first decamping in Rockford and, when discovered, moving to Harvard.
The Northwest Herald article on the non-meeting and gathering afterward had the following paragraph, information which I did not include in my long article on the meeting:
“As Franks left the room, an audience member repeatedly asked him whether he had met with the absent board members and asked them not to attend Wednesday night.”
McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks left the Board room after an unsuccessful attempt to intimidate the four County Board members who stayed to talk to the crowd and answer questions after the aborted Special Meetings.
Franks provided no answer as to whether he urged the one Democrat and thirteen Republicans to boycott the meeting.
Some have said that he had a picnic at his Marengo home Sunday afternoon to urge people not to attend the meeting..
Jack Franks walks in front of a lot of empty County Board seats.
There are at least two differences between the Democrats’ boycott and Tuesday night’s by Republicans:
- The Wisconsin Senate President could send the State Police after the missing Senators and, of course, there is no authority for McHenry County’s Sheriff to track down and bring missing County Board members to a meeting, even if the Board Chairman were inclined to do so.
- The Wisconsin boycotters were Democrats set on thwarting Republican Governor Scott Walker’s agenda, while the McHenry County boycotters were set on supporting Democratic Party Jack Franks’ patronage employees and actions without County Board knowledge or permission.
Kay Bates
Michele Aavang
Joe Gottemoller
Chris Christensen
Jim Kearns
John Jung
Mary McCann
Don Kopsell
Mike Skala
Robert Nowak
Chris Spoerl
Larry Smith
Paula Yensen. the lone Democrat
The names of the fourteen County Board members boycotting the meeting (or in the case of a reported conflict, Donna Kurtz) follow:
- Michele Aavang, h: 815-648-4210, mraavang@co.mchenry.il.us
- Kay Bates, h: 815-276-5073, w: 815-385-4300, krbates@co.mchenry.il.us
- Chris Christensen, h: 815-459-7206, cschristensen@co.mchenry.il.us
- Joe Gottemoller, h: 815-382-9940, w: 815-459-5152, jxgottemoller@co.mchenry.il.us
- John Jung, h: 815-338-6201, JPJung@co.mchenry.il.us
- Jim Kearns, w: 847-875-4852, jakearns@co.mchenry.il.us
- Don Kopsell. h: 815-459-7206, dckopsell@co.mchenry.il.us
- Mary McCann, h: 815-568-1061, MTMcCann@co.mchenry.il.us
- Bob Nowak, h: 847-977-5516, rcnowak@co.mchenry.il.us
- Mike Skala, h: 847-669-3804, w: 815-337-5550, mjskala@co.mchenry.il.us
- Larry Smith, h: 815-353-8043, lwsmith@co.mchenry.il.us
- Chris Spoerl, h: 847-516-6495, w: 847-382-3206, crspoerl@co.mchenry.il.us
- Paula Yensen, c: 815-404-3918, peyensen@co.mchenry.il.us
All are Republican, but Yensen.
Don’t forget Reinhart!
If you were not there to help make a quorum you were not there!
In the name of transparency the patronage hires and Valley Hi outsourcing issues should be debated at an open meeting in front of the public.
Are the boycotters afraid they would lose the debate?
A common reason for boards not debating in front of the public is they want to maintain the appearance that everything is going smooth.
And / or the majority wants to pass its agenda with as little possible scrutiny as possible.
So they do as much as possible behind closed doors, relaying information to one another directly or through the administration to avoid having a group large enough that would legally require them to call a meeting, etc.
The RINOs are in full view now for all to see.
Who will stand up and help me put them on history’s trash dump where they so rightly belong.
Robo calling all of district 6 tonight.
Everyone must know of this sham we call a County Board, and who the RINOs are.
I will!
I hope you folks are assembling your petitions to run for County Board.
If not, you can be helping those who are by helping to circulate their petitions, help organize fundraisers, locate sign locations, writing letters to the Editor of the Daily Franks (NWH) or just writing them a check.
Commenting to one another on this blog accomplishes nothing at this point.
The lines have been drawn.
The battle is on.
Put on your Doughboy helmets and head to the Front.
The guns are sounding.
Edgar County Watchdogs cover this week’s Special Meeting of the McHenry County Board and includes VIDEO:
http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2017/08/mchenry-county-lord-franks-republic-or-kingdom/
Gotta love the Dogs! “Sig ’em!”
At 13:20 on the video, Chairman Franks is seen walking to the back of the room and saying to Assistant States’ Attorney Norm Vinton: “i’d like them charged”.