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The first part of my father’s multi-part biography ran yesterday. Today, we’ll run Part 2 in honor of his birth 100 years ago. Dad graduated debt free from college in three and a half years. Somehow I have gotten the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Cal Skinner
My mother, Eleanor Stevens Skinner, was born on November 26, 1917. Through the years her birthday came on Thanksgiving Day every once in a while. This is one such day. My first memory is a political one. (Surprised, right?) She … Continue reading
I was in the office of the Oberlin College newspaper, the Oberlin Review. It was my senior year and I was Chairman of the Republican Mock Convention. I went to summer school at NIU in order to be able to … Continue reading
Led by McHenry County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller, thirteen members tacked the lid on the coffin of the township consolidation movement. During the lengthy public comment period, in which the opponents of township consolidation dominated the podium, County Board members … Continue reading
Today we look at the Skinner Campaign Fund. It’s been around since before the Campaign Disclosure Act was passed in 1974. Receipts included cashing out $2,150 invested in mutual funds and loans from my personal account amounting to $597.38. Most … Continue reading
Last month there was an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune by Blomberg’s Peter Orszag entitled, “Why young people want nothing to do with politics?” A survey of high school and college students found that 90% said they would not … Continue reading
The Lakewood Village Trustees elected last month were sworn in Tuesday night. Re-elected were Carl Davis and Ken Santowski. They were joined by newcomer Paul Serwatka, who got more votes than any other candidate and did so without having his … Continue reading
Our property tax bill arrived today. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it only increase 3/1000 of one percent. That’s $26.50 over last year’s $9,601.30 tax bill. $9,627.80 this year. Oops. The size of that total is … Continue reading
A Call for Action from the Illinois Family Institute which I wrote: Pro-Life and Pro-Family citizens must contact their State Representatives in opposition to HB 4013 Late last week, State Representative Sara Feigenholtz introduced HB 4013, a bill that would remove all prohibitions on … Continue reading
Pat – I am requesting that you veto Senate Bill 3341, sponsored by McHenry County legislators Pam Althoff and Mike Tryon. Currently the McHenry County Conservation District is not allowed to sell bonds without a referendum. This bill will give … Continue reading
This is the fourth in a serialization of my father’s biography. Previous parts can be found below on McHenry County Blog. One of Dad’s inspirations for running for office involved an unresponsive city government. Plunk, plunk, plunk. I can hear … Continue reading
Imagine my surprise when a friend emailed me asking if I were the “CalSkinnerJr” adding my endorsement to the Northwest Herald’s. Here’s what’s on the page as of 3 PM Sunday: … Continue reading
The envelope was addressed to Cal Skinner, Skinner Campaign Fund. Inside was a contribution card and a return envelope, but it was unstamped. There was also a pitch for money under his apparent slogan for the campaign: “Experience, Professional Leadership, … Continue reading
Censorship. Tribune reporter Bob McCoppin has written a couple of articles (the latest is here) about high school kids painting a Caribou Coffee window for Homecoming. Apparently, business window decoration is a tradition for Glenbrook North High School students. One … Continue reading
The first sentence is “The long arm of the law looms even larger with the middle finger extended.” Zinke pooh-poohs his gesture in the Chicago Tribune article. You can read the whole story here. See all five photos taken of … Continue reading
This is the second part of my reflections on the Appellate Court’s finding the prohibition against carrying guns to protect oneself outside the home to be unconstitutional. The first part is here. “Controversial” could be used to describe the 2002 … Continue reading
“Concealed carry.” What a public relations disaster that label has been. When I ran for Governor on the Libertarian ticket in 2002, I certainly supported the concept, but I knew it was a kiss of death for those advancing the … Continue reading
From the Way Back Machine comes a 1968 envelope and real estate tax bill that I mailed in 1968 when I was McHenry County Treasurer. Next to the six cent metered postage is the following message: Here’s what the envelop … Continue reading
Thought some might be interested in the letter I have written to my Crystal Lake-Lakewood precinct. It is below: Dear Algonquin Township Precinct 7 Voters: You can cast early votes at the Crystal Lake City Hall or the Algonquin Township … Continue reading
First promoted over ten years ago in my Libertarian Party campaign for Illinois Governor against Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan, my proposal for Term Limits for Legislative Leaders made the Chicago Tribune editorial endorsement of State Senator Dan Duffy. Here’s the … Continue reading