McHenry County Blog

The local expert on stadiums is McHenry’s Steve Stanek. He is a Research Fellow with the Heartland Institute.

When I read in Kevin Craver’s article in the Northwest Herald that the McHenry County Board is thinking of awarding the largest portion of the Federal stimulus bonds to the Woodstock baseball stadium folks, I thought of Stanek and asked for his opinion.

Just in case you are interested, here is the story I wrote the night the Woodstock City Council approved the proposal.

Here’s what Stanek has to say:

“I could quote dozens of economists and public policy researchers to show how bad it would be for the County Board to grant this greedy, self-serving request for $15 million of stimulus bonds for that baseball stadium. But I will instead quote the owners of a professional sports team:

“‘The financial issue is simple, and the city’s analysts agree, there will be no net economic loss if the Sonics leave Seattle. Entertainment dollars not spent on the Sonics will be spent on Seattle’s many other sports and entertainment options. Seattleites will not reduce their entertainment budget simply because the Sonics leave,’ the Soncis said in the court brief.” — Seattle Times, Jan. 18, 2008, regarding the NBA’s Super Sonics trying to break their stadium lease to move to another city.

“Imagine: The owners of the Seattle Super Sonics said, under oath in federal court, that Seattle would suffer no economic harm if the team were to leave the city. These same owners, when arguing for huge taxpayers subsidies for KeyArena in Seattle, said the team would bring tremendous economic benefits. But of course, when they made those claims, they were not under oath in a court of law.

“When I read about this request for stimulus bonds in the (Northwest) Herald this morning, I said to myself,

‘You’d think these people would have learned from the MCC baseball stadium fiasco.’

“But then I realized this has nothing to do with good economics or benefiting the community.

“This has to do with benefiting a handful of people with lots of money and friends in high places in this county, and with making a handful of people who cast themselves as community leaders feel good about themselves.

“I am especially disgusted with the McHenry County Community Foundation. I contacted them with information about how bad it is to use subsidies to support such facilities, and I received assurances this would be entirely privately funded. (See this article.)

“Now $15 million of stimulus bonds that have been made available by the government could go to this baseball team.

“To those few local officials who might actually care about benefiting the community, I say this would be a terrible waste of resources.

“Economic studies overwhelmingly conclude sports teams return virtually nothing to the economy and sometimes actually hurt the overall economy.

“That money could be loaned far more effectively to other businesses — businesses that have been in this county for years, paying every nickel of tax local government officials can squeeze from them.

“If they don’t believe me about the overwhelming agreement among researchers about how bad such proposals are, maybe they’ll believe this:

’With most empirical issues there’s lots of debate. Does the minimum wage cause unemployment? There’s lots of debate about that issue. Here there’s no debate.’ — Vanderbilt University economist John Siegfried regarding economists against sports subsidies, quoted in Boston Globe, March 19, 2006.”

= = = = =
All the photos were taken at the Woodstock City Council meeting when the proposal was approved 6-1. Top right, pointing at the plan for the stadium is Mark Houser, the man who refused to identify himself when he walked out of a secret meeting with the McHenry County College board. The MCC plan eventually died, of course. Below are Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee and baseball team promoter Pete Heitman. The crowd that attended the Woodstock City Council meeting is seen at the bottom.

I would note that now the Democrats have two issues upon which to beat county board Republicans about the head–the upcoming Ridgefield train station vote and the baseball stadium bond vote.

Remember the

direct mail piece the Democrats put out last fall (click to enlarge) ?

I am sure the Dems will top this piece, if the county board allocates more than half of the bonds allocated for private enterprise in McHenry County to the Woodstock baseball stadium.

And think of the mailing that could be made to every small business in McHenry County:

Couldn’t get a loan last year?

The McHenry County Board could have helped you, if (you fill in the blank).

In case you have forgotten how good the “Monopoly” piece was, talk a look at

McHenry Dems Attack Republican Monopoly

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 1

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 2

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 3

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 4

County Board Plans to Buy Land to the North

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 5

How Is Your Town Ranked by Local Democrats?

With only councilman Richard Ahrens voting in opposition, the Woodstock City Council approved a special use permit for gravel mining across Route 14 from Centegra Hospital down to Lily Pond Road.

A privately financed minor league baseball stadium promoted by Mark Houser and Peter Heitman will be built northeast of Lake Shore Drive and Route 14.

The third of the threesome who showed up at a secret meeting of the McHenry County College Board in March of 2007, Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee, only to duck out the back door of the board room, was also present for Woodstock’s public meeting.

The stated plan is to have baseball games starting in May of 2010, but when the council was discussing how the 38 acres to be occupied by the stadium would be conveyed to the city ownership if a stadium were not completed within five years of approval of the rezoning, Houser asked for an extra five months.

If a stadium is not completed by May of 2014, the city would get the parcel.

So, two years if all goes well and five if there are hitches.

In the meantime, Merryman Aggregates will be mining gravel, stockpiling enough each year to provide what the firm thinks it can sell.

Tom Zanck, attorney for the proposal, and others kept calling the operation by other names, e.g., “aggregate extraction.”

Members of the newly renamed McHenry County Defenders, now, the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County complained of the fast track for the re-zoning. The report from the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District had just arrived Monday and had not been reviewed by city staff.

Those wishing to slow down the approval process pointed out that it should have been ready before the Planning Commission had reviewed the petitioners’ plan.

Right before the vote, starting at 12:42 AM, Mayor Brian Sager read the report’s executive summary.

In his summation, Sager reported that 41 citizens had contacted him prior to the council meeting had been “strongly in favor.” One was distinctly opposed and two others wanted to make sure certain questions were answered.

Ahrens opposition centered on the far eastern parcel in the proposal.

It fronts on Lily Pond Road, which is where the gravel trucks would leave the property.

Ahrens thought the highest and best use would be something other than the county fair and exhibitions.

Several members had made lists of pros and cons. The pros obviously were considered more persuasive for the six voting in favor of the re-zoning. (Except for the mayor, they are listed in alphabetical order. Picture are in seating order, from left to right with the exception of Ahrens.)

Mayor Brian Sager
Councilwoman Julie Dillon
Councilwoman Maureen Larson
Councilman RB Thompson
Councilman Mike Turner and
Councilman Ralph Webster

But they didn’t agree with the proposal without placing upwards of 50 conditions, a couple of which were strongly disputed by the petitioners.

One was the citing of a state law which said that the city could impose a ticket tax.

When Houser objected, city attorney Richard Flood pointed out that they could take it out, but this council could not bind future council in such a matter. And, since it was in the state law anyway putting it in the document did not harm to the petitioner.

Houser finally agreed.

More contentious was a city proposal which would allow levying an extraction tax. Merryman wanted his surety bond used first, if something were not done which he had promised. It turns out the city wanted to hold his business responsible for any infrastructure failures of the baseball promoters as well, which the council must have thought unfair, because they limited the liability to the mining operation.

Several times, Mayor Sager said that he didn’t want to end up with the problems that Woodstock’s neighbor to the east, aka, Crystal Lake, had with Vulcan Lakes.

Merryman did not propose a pit going beneath the water table and he proposed reclaiming the land as he moved from one part of the property to the next.

Ahrens, Thompson and Turner are running unopposed for re-election.

= = = = =
On top you can see Equity One’s Mark Houser explaining his and partner Peter Heitman’s baseball stadium proposal. Below is Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee on the right and Heitman on the left. A shot of some of those attending the meeting follows. Mayor Brian Sager is seen directly below with dissenting Councilman Richard Ahrens below him to the left. The council members voting from the proposal are from left to right on the top row, RB Thompson, Maureen Larson and Mike Turner. On the next row you seen Ralph Webster on the left and Julie Dillon on the right. Mark Houser talks to his attorney Tom Zanck directly below. Woodstock City Attorney Richard Flood is below right. At the bottom is another picture of the audience, this time from the back of the room. All photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

With only councilman Richard Ahrens voting in opposition, the Woodstock City Council approved a special use permit for gravel mining across Route 14 from Centegra Hospital down to Lily Pond Road.

A privately financed minor league baseball stadium promoted by Mark Houser and Peter Heitman will be built northeast of Lake Shore Drive and Route 14.

The third of the threesome who showed up at a secret meeting of the McHenry County College Board in March of 2007, Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee, only to duck out the back door of the board room, was also present for Woodstock’s public meeting.

The stated plan is to have baseball games starting in May of 2010, but when the council was discussing how the 38 acres to be occupied by the stadium would be conveyed to the city ownership if a stadium were not completed within five years of approval of the rezoning, Houser asked for an extra five months.

If a stadium is not completed by May of 2014, the city would get the parcel.

So, two years if all goes well and five if there are hitches.

In the meantime, Merryman Aggregates will be mining gravel, stockpiling enough each year to provide what the firm thinks it can sell.

Tom Zanck, attorney for the proposal, and others kept calling the operation by other names, e.g., “aggregate extraction.”

Members of the newly renamed McHenry County Defenders, now, the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County complained of the fast track for the re-zoning. The report from the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District had just arrived Monday and had not been reviewed by city staff.

Those wishing to slow down the approval process pointed out that it should have been ready before the Planning Commission had reviewed the petitioners’ plan.

Right before the vote, starting at 12:42 AM, Mayor Brian Sager read the report’s executive summary.

In his summation, Sager reported that 41 citizens had contacted him prior to the council meeting had been “strongly in favor.” One was distinctly opposed and two others wanted to make sure certain questions were answered.

Ahrens opposition centered on the far eastern parcel in the proposal.

It fronts on Lily Pond Road, which is where the gravel trucks would leave the property.

Ahrens thought the highest and best use would be something other than the county fair and exhibitions.

Several members had made lists of pros and cons. The pros obviously were considered more persuasive for the six voting in favor of the re-zoning. (Except for the mayor, they are listed in alphabetical order. Picture are in seating order, from left to right with the exception of Ahrens.)

Mayor Brian Sager
Councilwoman Julie Dillon
Councilwoman Maureen Larson
Councilman RB Thompson
Councilman Mike Turner and
Councilman Ralph Webster

But they didn’t agree with the proposal without placing upwards of 50 conditions, a couple of which were strongly disputed by the petitioners.

One was the citing of a state law which said that the city could impose a ticket tax.

When Houser objected, city attorney Richard Flood pointed out that they could take it out, but this council could not bind future council in such a matter. And, since it was in the state law anyway putting it in the document did not harm to the petitioner.

Houser finally agreed.

More contentious was a city proposal which would allow levying an extraction tax. Merryman wanted his surety bond used first, if something were not done which he had promised. It turns out the city wanted to hold his business responsible for any infrastructure failures of the baseball promoters as well, which the council must have thought unfair, because they limited the liability to the mining operation.

Several times, Mayor Sager said that he didn’t want to end up with the problems that Woodstock’s neighbor to the east, aka, Crystal Lake, had with Vulcan Lakes.

Merryman did not propose a pit going beneath the water table and he proposed reclaiming the land as he moved from one part of the property to the next.

Ahrens, Thompson and Turner are running unopposed for re-election.

= = = = =
On top you can see Equity One’s Mark Houser explaining his and partner Peter Heitman’s baseball stadium proposal. Below is Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee on the right and Heitman on the left. A shot of some of those attending the meeting follows. Mayor Brian Sager is seen directly below with dissenting Councilman Richard Ahrens below him to the left. The council members voting from the proposal are from left to right on the top row, RB Thompson, Maureen Larson and Mike Turner. On the next row you seen Ralph Webster on the left and Julie Dillon on the right. Mark Houser talks to his attorney Tom Zanck directly below. Woodstock City Attorney Richard Flood is below right. At the bottom is another picture of the audience, this time from the back of the room. All photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

I found this headline in the Chicago Sun-Times.

It was under the face of Cook County Board Chairman Todd Stoeger.

it says in big bold letters.

It applies not only to Stroeger in his lust for higher taxes, but to the message so far given by McHenry County College board members concerning its proposed baseball stadium.

A large part of the board does not want anyone questioning its judgment about the baseball stadium’s subsidizing the project.

Given the dismal record of stadiums elsewhere, a lot of us are not in a trusting mood.

Quoting a Russian folk saying, President Ronald Reagan advised,

I can even go that far.

Show me the feasibility study that Equity One’s Mark Houser did of his baseball-promoting buddy Pete Heitman’s projections.

Subject them to outside scrutiny for the first time.

While I am no expert in baseball, as Heitman was so kind as to point out to me at the last MCC meeting (“You don’t know anything about baseball.”), I have been examining numbers governmental since 1965.

The college held no public meetings about the baseball stadium until Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission member Vincent Esposito suggested some would be a good idea.

Well, tonight at 6, MCC is holding a board meeting at the college.

If you were not in a trusting mode during the run-up to the Crystal Lake City Council defeat of the college’s re-zoning proposal, you might want to attend.

And sign up to speak your piece at the beginning of the meeting.

Since Huntley and other county towns are now courting Heitman, you might want to encourage the trustees to let those towns go it on their own.

If the members of their ruling board are willing to listen to Heitman’s, Houser’s and Frontier League Commission Bill Lee’s pitch in public, so be it.

Just don’t ask me to help subsidize this private entertain enterprise. I have better uses for my tax dollars.

MCC does not even have to be involved in building a baseball stadium in Huntley, McHenry or Woodstock. (Algonquin is also interested, but Algonquin is not in the college tax district.)

I believe only if the board hears in its own boardroom what you think about its proposal is it likely to ask some outsider like Lake Forest College sports economist Robert A. Baade or someone with similar credentials to check out Heitman’s projections.

And, if you don’t think they ought to be in the entertainment business at all, tell them that.

After all, if you look at the vision statement etched in glass on the boardroom wall, you will find not a hint that entertainment is part of the college’s mission.

And, tell them anything else you think appropriate.

I found this headline in the Chicago Sun-Times.

It was under the face of Cook County Board Chairman Todd Stoeger.

it says in big bold letters.

It applies not only to Stroeger in his lust for higher taxes, but to the message so far given by McHenry County College board members concerning its proposed baseball stadium.

A large part of the board does not want anyone questioning its judgment about the baseball stadium’s subsidizing the project.

Given the dismal record of stadiums elsewhere, a lot of us are not in a trusting mood.

Quoting a Russian folk saying, President Ronald Reagan advised,

I can even go that far.

Show me the feasibility study that Equity One’s Mark Houser did of his baseball-promoting buddy Pete Heitman’s projections.

Subject them to outside scrutiny for the first time.

While I am no expert in baseball, as Heitman was so kind as to point out to me at the last MCC meeting (“You don’t know anything about baseball.”), I have been examining numbers governmental since 1965.

The college held no public meetings about the baseball stadium until Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission member Vincent Esposito suggested some would be a good idea.

Well, tonight at 6, MCC is holding a board meeting at the college.

If you were not in a trusting mode during the run-up to the Crystal Lake City Council defeat of the college’s re-zoning proposal, you might want to attend.

And sign up to speak your piece at the beginning of the meeting.

Since Huntley and other county towns are now courting Heitman, you might want to encourage the trustees to let those towns go it on their own.

If the members of their ruling board are willing to listen to Heitman’s, Houser’s and Frontier League Commission Bill Lee’s pitch in public, so be it.

Just don’t ask me to help subsidize this private entertain enterprise. I have better uses for my tax dollars.

MCC does not even have to be involved in building a baseball stadium in Huntley, McHenry or Woodstock. (Algonquin is also interested, but Algonquin is not in the college tax district.)

I believe only if the board hears in its own boardroom what you think about its proposal is it likely to ask some outsider like Lake Forest College sports economist Robert A. Baade or someone with similar credentials to check out Heitman’s projections.

And, if you don’t think they ought to be in the entertainment business at all, tell them that.

After all, if you look at the vision statement etched in glass on the boardroom wall, you will find not a hint that entertainment is part of the college’s mission.

And, tell them anything else you think appropriate.

The McHenry County Coyotes.

Really.

Don’t believe me?

Read on.

I am so pleased that competent researchers are adding to the sum total of knowledge about McHenry County College’s baseball stadium proposal.

One is Jerry Fleming, a piece by whom was published earlier.

Now, Fleming has come up with a November 27, 2000, Chicago Sun-Times article which mentions a subsidy for a minor league baseball team in McHenry County.

And Frontier League Commissioner Bill League is right in the middle of the article pitching for a $25 million subsidy for 11 cities, including—would you believe?—Crystal Lake.

The article says Lee’s leagues “is in the process of getting franchises in Waukegan and Crystal Lake.”

And, then there is this sentence:

Another Frontier League team, the Crystal Lake-based McHenry County Coyotes, would get $2 million toward its facility.

Even McHenry County State Rep. Jack Franks is quoted in the story:

“Regardless of a $2 million bone to McHenry County, I still think it’s wrong. I wouldn’t vote for it even if they gave $2 million for a stadium to be built .If someone wants to build a minor-league stadium, let them build it with private funds.”

Franks is not known to have commented on McHenry County College’s publicly financed minor league baseball stadium.

“I found it interesting that Kane County Cougar was targeted to receive money ($3 million), since the college talks about what a success they have been. Then why did they have a need to be subsidized by the taxpayers back in 2000?” Fleming asks.

= = = = =
You of course recognize Warner Brothers Wiley Coyote.

The other picture is of Pete Heitman after one of the secret meetings to discuss “trade secrets” (no really; that’s the excuse given not to release the tapes of this meeting) with the McHenry County College board. It is unknown if Heitman was involved in the McHenry County Coyotes effort in 2000, but wouldn’t that make a great name for a team whose promoters are scavenging from us McHenry County College taxpayers?

The McHenry County Coyotes.

Really.

Don’t believe me?

Read on.

I am so pleased that competent researchers are adding to the sum total of knowledge about McHenry County College’s baseball stadium proposal.

One is Jerry Fleming, a piece by whom was published earlier.

Now, Fleming has come up with a November 27, 2000, Chicago Sun-Times article which mentions a subsidy for a minor league baseball team in McHenry County.

And Frontier League Commissioner Bill League is right in the middle of the article pitching for a $25 million subsidy for 11 cities, including—would you believe?—Crystal Lake.

The article says Lee’s leagues “is in the process of getting franchises in Waukegan and Crystal Lake.”

And, then there is this sentence:

Another Frontier League team, the Crystal Lake-based McHenry County Coyotes, would get $2 million toward its facility.

Even McHenry County State Rep. Jack Franks is quoted in the story:

“Regardless of a $2 million bone to McHenry County, I still think it’s wrong. I wouldn’t vote for it even if they gave $2 million for a stadium to be built .If someone wants to build a minor-league stadium, let them build it with private funds.”

Franks is not known to have commented on McHenry County College’s publicly financed minor league baseball stadium.

“I found it interesting that Kane County Cougar was targeted to receive money ($3 million), since the college talks about what a success they have been. Then why did they have a need to be subsidized by the taxpayers back in 2000?” Fleming asks.

= = = = =
You of course recognize Warner Brothers Wiley Coyote.

The other picture is of Pete Heitman after one of the secret meetings to discuss “trade secrets” (no really; that’s the excuse given not to release the tapes of this meeting) with the McHenry County College board. It is unknown if Heitman was involved in the McHenry County Coyotes effort in 2000, but wouldn’t that make a great name for a team whose promoters are scavenging from us McHenry County College taxpayers?

Now baseball promoter Pete Heitman has a real reason to smile.

This picture of Heitman was taken the night both he and Mark Houser refused to identify themselves.

You can see him broadly smiling as he walks in front of the vending machines outside the boardroom at McHenry County College after the secret meeting, which the two attended with Frontier Minor League Baseball League Commissioner Bill Lee. Lee snuck out the back door.

On May 24th, Heitman hit the jackpot.

That’s when MCC Board Chairman Scott Summers and Secretary George Lowe signed the no-bid, 20-year, 20-acre lease of the baseball stadium and nearby property with F. Peter Heitman and his McHenry/Lake County Professional Baseball Group, L.L.C., formed two weeks before. May 24th.

None of the principals of the Limited Liability Corporation have been identified, although Armine Ter-Vardanyan of Los Angeles’s LegalZoom.com, Inc., is listed as Assistant Secretary.

McHenry County Blog obtained a copy of the contract (a license agreement) as a result of filing a Freedom of Information request.

MCC withheld the May 24th lease until yesterday.

The lease, renewable through 2038, gives Heitman’s group exclusive use of 10 acres for the stadium and hospitality tents, plus nonexclusive use of 10 acres for parking 2000 cars.

There are no dollar figures suggesting how much money the lease will provide MCC.

Other documents, however, indicate the soon-to-be-issued debt certificates will require $34 to $40 million in principal and interest be repaid.

In the lease, the biggest number refers to a $250,000 minimum payment per year, but it does not begin until 2009.

There are percentages strewn throughout the contract, but no estimates of how much will be paid the college.

For example, MCC will get 10% of gross ticket sales, suites, gross advertising and broadcasting revenues, game and event revenue, pouring rights, etc. And 5% of the price of food and beverages, not the sale price, unless they are catered by an unrelated third party. All of these are after sales or use taxes, however.

Naming rights of the stadium will belong to the college, but Heitman will get reimbursed for marking and selling the naming rights.

It sounds like virtually a no risk deal for Heitman.

Now baseball promoter Pete Heitman has a real reason to smile.

This picture of Heitman was taken the night both he and Mark Houser refused to identify themselves.

You can see him broadly smiling as he walks in front of the vending machines outside the boardroom at McHenry County College after the secret meeting, which the two attended with Frontier Minor League Baseball League Commissioner Bill Lee. Lee snuck out the back door.

On May 24th, Heitman hit the jackpot.

That’s when MCC Board Chairman Scott Summers and Secretary George Lowe signed the no-bid, 20-year, 20-acre lease of the baseball stadium and nearby property with F. Peter Heitman and his McHenry/Lake County Professional Baseball Group, L.L.C., formed two weeks before. May 24th.

None of the principals of the Limited Liability Corporation have been identified, although Armine Ter-Vardanyan of Los Angeles’s LegalZoom.com, Inc., is listed as Assistant Secretary.

McHenry County Blog obtained a copy of the contract (a license agreement) as a result of filing a Freedom of Information request.

MCC withheld the May 24th lease until yesterday.

The lease, renewable through 2038, gives Heitman’s group exclusive use of 10 acres for the stadium and hospitality tents, plus nonexclusive use of 10 acres for parking 2000 cars.

There are no dollar figures suggesting how much money the lease will provide MCC.

Other documents, however, indicate the soon-to-be-issued debt certificates will require $34 to $40 million in principal and interest be repaid.

In the lease, the biggest number refers to a $250,000 minimum payment per year, but it does not begin until 2009.

There are percentages strewn throughout the contract, but no estimates of how much will be paid the college.

For example, MCC will get 10% of gross ticket sales, suites, gross advertising and broadcasting revenues, game and event revenue, pouring rights, etc. And 5% of the price of food and beverages, not the sale price, unless they are catered by an unrelated third party. All of these are after sales or use taxes, however.

Naming rights of the stadium will belong to the college, but Heitman will get reimbursed for marking and selling the naming rights.

It sounds like virtually a no risk deal for Heitman.

The quote in the title of this article is from Illinois Assistant Attorney General Terry Mutchler. Yesterday I started tracing what McHenry County Blog has discovered about McHenry County College deliberations on its now approved minor league baseball stadium.

The title of this article is what a group of public officials meeting at McHenry County College heard while the McHenry County College Board was concurrently meeting to approve report with a baseball stadium in a $90 million “master plan,” the details of which still have not been made public.

Because of a Monday Chicago Tribune article by Tim Kane, the public knows that a contract “could be signed this week” with promoter Pete Heitman, presumably with MCC President Walt Packard. The only detail I’ve seen is that there will be a 20-year lease.

During the second week of this February, the Northwest Herald ran a story by Nick Swedberg entitled,

Expansion details for MCC vague

No mention of a baseball stadium.

Stevenson’s story revealed that MCC President Walt Packard

said he expected that private partners would help fund an expansion that likely would include a new health and wellness center…

Packard would not say who the private partners are, but did say he hopes they could help the expansion “pay for itself” instead of asking for a raise in taxes.

“What we want to do is have our plan in place, the cost established and then we want to have our funding plan in place and then we’ll be able to publicly announce it.” (Board President Donna) Kurtz said.

Then the college had a secret March 19th meeting with the three minor league baseball promoters, the secrecy of which the Northwest Herald criticized.

Here’s part of what the baseball stadium supporting paper said,

One part of the equation that does have to change immediately is the college’s secrecy. Monday night’s actions to keep stadium-project personnel out of sight until a closed-door session about the stadium was held only adds to the cloak – and – dagger atmosphere in which college officials seem to revel.

College leaders need to be open and forthcoming with information about this project from the start.

A month later, on April 23rd, there was another meeting.

This time the public could attend, but they had to know about it.

Was it strange that MCC failed to post the meeting, let alone the agenda, let alone the reports to be considered for Monday, April 23rd’s Committee of the Whole meeting?

I actually looked at the MCC web site the night of the meeting. There was no indication a meeting was being held.

So much for open government.

Did MCC break the Open Meetings Act?

It surely looks like it.

Finally, the Monday night agenda was posted Tuesday, but only after I complained to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Simple oversight or trying to hide something?

At that unannounced meeting, the college board announces it is going to make its final decision on the next Thursday night’s board meeting.

There’s an agenda and it says a certain report is going to be acted upon.

The same one discussed Monday night.

By Thursday morning I finally got the bright idea to ask for a copy of the report.

Surely, it was available, because it had been discussed on Monday night.

When I finally reached the keeper of the documents in President Packard’s office, I was told I would have to file a Freedom of Information request.

Now, if McHenry County College believed in open government, the document could have been emailed to me.

That’s how the board members get their packet of information for meetings.

But, MCC does not believe in open government.

That is clear.

So, without releasing the underlying documents which led the College Board to reach its Thursday night decision to cut a no-bid deal with the baseball stadium promoters the die was cast.

It was cast, of course, when Packard signed the September 27, 2006, contract with Equity One’s Mark Hauser.

And, remember…

The information session on Open Meetings and Freedom of Information Act meeting was being held at the junior college the same night the College Board was approving a baseball stadium without allowing the public to know the detail.

Maybe the junior college board attended the wrong meeting.

= = = = =
The head shot at the upper left is baseball promoter Pete Heitman. Across the page is McHenry County College President Walt Packard. Below Packard’s photography is that of Donna Kurtz, MCC Board Chairman.

The men at the table behind the closed doors of the MCC Board meeting room are, left to right, Equity One President Mark Houser, Pete Heitman and Frontier League franchise promoter Bill Lee. MCC board member George Lowe can be seen leading the Committee of the Whole meeting.

Striding along the hall between the MCC President’s office and the MCC board meeting room are minor league baseball promoters Mark Houser, Pete Heitman and Bill Lee. They are accompanied by a woman in black and white plaid whom I assume is an MCC administrator. The bottom picture is of the foursome closer to the Board room. Lee has lowered his head, but Heitman, ever the promoter is smiling broadly.