Algonquin village trustee praises Kane County’s responsive health department in midst of pandemic and hinted McHenry County’s lacking

At last night’s Village of Algonquin’s Committee of the Whole virtual meeting, Kane County Board Member Chris Kious (D, Algonquin) addressed the board in an impromptu (by virtue of not being on the agenda) audience comment.

Kious gave an update on CARES funding and Kane County’s Health Department plans for insuring all municipalities in Kane County receive their proper share of funding.

After answering the committee’s questions, Trustee Jerry Glogowski made the observation how impressed he’s been with the responsiveness of the Kane County Health Department, while pointing out McHenry County was not.

Kious appreciated the compliment and pointed out the County Board’s Public Health Committee was chaired by neighboring District’s Board Member Jarrett Sanchez (D, Carpentersville) and if the village had questions they could refer them to Sanchez or himself, or the staff at the Health Department.

From the desk of John Lopez: As documented here on McHenry County Blog, the Kane County Board/Forest Preserve was flipped to Democrat control last November with Kious being elevated to Forest Preserve president, while Sanchez was reelected to a 2nd term and named Public Health Committee chairman by new Board Chairman Corrine Pierog (D, Batavia).

While Kane County’s Health Department was already operating with efficiencies from the previous administration of Chris Lauzen (R, Aurora) during his 2 terms as the county board chairman, on the surface, the Republican-controlled McHenry County Board should not let the perception Kane County, now under a Democratic county administration, reflects on the partisan control of the respective boards.

Both McHenry and Kane counties saw their county board chairmen seats flipped last fall.

That said, both Algonquin and Huntley are McHenry County-based municipalities with significant populations in Kane County, and hopefully, McHenry County’s Health Department, through Board Chairman Mike Buehler’s (R, Crystal Lake) leadership, can quickly erase the perception voiced at last night’s meeting in Algonquin.