McHenry County Blog

With Township Supervisor Linda Moore in Texas for her daughter’s college graduation and Rob LaPorta also absent, the meeting was relatively short and peaceful.

No one raised his voice or went off on a rant. Trustee Gerry McMahon even sat facing the audience.

Unlike the outgoing McHenry County College Board, the old Township Board, chaired Thursday by Barbara Murphy, spent much of the meeting deferring to their successors, referring several times to newly-elected Independent Supervisor Jim Kearns, who was sitting in the back row.

The Road District’s budget, for example, was not passed, even though that was the wish of outgoing Road Commissioner Jack Freund.

“The new Board comes in on the 20th,” Trustee Betty Zirk, the only member of the Board to seek and win re-election.

When it came time for to consider the bills, Zirk had a list of those to exclude. They included

• $2,644.68 charged to a BMO Harris credit card (postage, telephone, equipment maintenance, travel expenses, etc.)
• $864.20 for J.A. Jetchmark, Ltd.
• $475 for McHenry County Council of Governments dues
• $295.60 for printing to Total Point of Video, Inc.
• $24,162.50 billed for legal fees by Moore attorney John Nelson
• $39,007.89 billed for legal services from March, 2012, through March, 2013, by Moore attorney Ottosen Britz Kelly Cooper Gilbert & DiNilf

The Trustees’ law firm, Ancel Glink, however, was paid $5,747.48.

“In order to meet the payroll next week, I don’t think we can pay any bills,” Zirk said.

Zirk also mentioned that Township Road Commissioner was owed $7,161.20 to cover health insurance for his wife.

“He could get it cheaper by getting it through his wife’s than through the Township,” she explained.

The motion approving the bills noted that they would be paid when money was available.

As outgoing Township Assessor Bill Ottley was leaving after the bills were approved, he was thanked for his service for the last four years. The sparse audience applauded.

Ottley reminded them that he would be around through December, when his term expires.

“And you, too, Jack,” one of the Trustees added.

Zirk then talked about how audit expenses should be allocated. She suggested Public Assistance pay 5% and the Road District 35%.

Freund objected to the number she suggested, saying, “I’ll pay 25% like I’ve always been paying.”

Trustee Gerry McMahon suggest a compromised of 28%. Freund did not agree.

After some discussion, Zirk suggested asking the auditor how much time he spent on the Road District budget and the matter was deferred.

As the meeting was drawing to a close, Murphy said,

“There’s a part of me that is worry for the way things ended up. I regret that.”

A letter from the forensic auditor was read in which he detailed Moore’s refusal to sign the engagement letter and a payment until ordered by Judge

He also said he was unable to obtain original copies of the warrant lists.

Township Clerk Harriot Ford pointed out the documents were on the web site.

“I look forward to things moving on a real positive way,” she said shortly before the meeting adjourned.

Also in the audience was newly-elected Township Assessor Al Zielinski.

With Jim Harrison deciding that he is going to run as an Independent in the McHenry County Sheriff’s race next year, it’s time to look at what has happened in the recent past when Independents ran against Republicans.

The most prominent was when State Rep. Mark Beaubien’s widow Dee.

In that contest, Republican David McSweeney was the Republican.

Each spent heavily to demonize the other.

Coming off a contentious three-way GOP primary, McSweeney won 58% to 41%.

Grafton Township’s most recent election had a well-publicized slate of Independents running for election against winners of the Republican Party primary election.

On the top of the ticket was Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender facing off against Independent Jim Kearns.

Republican Fender, who won a hotly-contested three-way primary election with 39% of the vote, spent about $2,500 in the first quarter of the year. This does not include the week before the election, so more may have been spent.

Independent Kearns won by just under three-quarters of one percent (1944-1877). Kearns has not filed a report with the State Board of Elections. Such reports are required if one raises or spends over $3,000 in an election.

The third recent example also occurred in Grafton Township.

In a two-way race, Al Zielinski beat incumbent Bill Ottley 55% to 45% in the Republican Primary Election.

Zielinski spent a bit over $6,200, filing his report after the required deadline. I can find no campaign disclosure report for Ottley. [Looked again after a commenter said he could find it. The only way I could find it was by using the search word "Huntley" in the name of the town. He spent spent $2,461.21, but reports a negative balance of $461.21, something I believe the State Board does not allow. All the money came from Ottley and his wife.] No report has been filed by Jensen either, but as mentioned earlier, one is only required if the $3,000 threshold has been exceeded.

In the general election, Republican Zielinski edged out Independent Terra Jensen by 5.8 percentage points (1,998-1,774).

There was also a race against Republican nominee for Grafton Township Road Commissioner Tom Poznanski. He won the GOP Primary against Richard Dvorak by 63% to 37%. Poznanski is the Chairman of the Grafton Township Republican Central Committee.

In the April General Election, Poznanski was challenged by Independent Tim Hoeft. Poznanski won by 54-46.

Over in Nunda Township Independent Leda Drain ran against Republican Lee Jennings.

Jennings had a hot primary with three people running. One withdrew her candidacy, but too late for her name to be taken off the ballot.

Jennings barely beat Bridgette Provenzano, but Provenzano endorsed his candidacy in the General Election.

The result was that Jennings got over 57% of the vote. It was Jennings 2,614 and Drain 1,937.

So in the five most recent examples, those on the Republican Party ticket four out of five contests.

If I were Harrison, I would be hoping that the GOP Primary would be so heated that the backers of Bill Prim, if Andy Zinke won the primary, would back me.

Conversely, if Prim emerged victorious, I would be hoping that Zinki’s supporters would rally around my candidacy.

That did not happen, however, in the cases of

• McSweeney
• Zielinski
• Poznanski

It apparently did occur in the case of Jim Kearns victory over Pam Fender.

This is too small a sample from which to draw a conclusion, but it does indicate that when a primary contest in contentious, supporters of those who lose can rally to the campaign of an Independent.

In the case of Independent Jim Kearns’ victory, however, his Republican opponent Pam Fender was opposed by over 60% of the Republican Primary voters.

Grafton Township Assessor candidate Al Zielinski, running against incumbent Bill Ottley, has sent another campaign mailing. You wee it below.

And, if you are an Algonquin, Grafton or Nunda Township candidate and want others to see your mailings, email them to me. The email address is on the left hand side of the screen.

Alan Zielinski for Grafton Township Assessor

Sincerely,

Please make your voice heard on 2/26 by voting for me.

Alan Zielinski

This arrived in my email from Dorr Township Assessor Veronica Myers:

“I would like to take this opportunity to personally commend Bill Ottley, Grafton Township Assessor.

“I have been in the assessment profession since 1993. I began working with the McHenry County
Supervisor of Assessments Office Board of Review section. I was then hired at Dorr Township as Chief
Deputy Assessor and am now the current Dorr Township Assessor.

“Through the years, I have gotten to know Bill Ottley and am familiar with his work. I know how much
this man is dedicated to serving the residents of Grafton Township with accurate and uniform property
assessments. Each year, assessors can see the statistics showing the performance of our fellow
assessors. I personally always looked to Grafton Township’s statistics first as a comparison to my own,
because I know that Bill Ottley and his team are an example of exemplary, high quality work.

“In regard to the assessment system, Illinois statute requires assessed values to be based on three prior
years of sales statistics. For 2013, this means the assessments are to be based on the average market
years of 2010, 2011 and 2012.

“Because of this standard, the assessments will lag behind what the market is doing currently. However,
the three prior year standard changes during the time frame when assessments can be appealed.
During the appeal time frame, assessed values are established using more current sales instead of the
three prior years of sales. Because the market has been in decline, this means that most assessment
appeals will be successful simply due to the change in standard. If during the appeal time frame the
same standards were used, there would be far fewer assessments being reduced. This difference in
assessment standards is a problem with the system, not with Mr. Ottley.

“Bill Ottley has my utmost respect and Grafton Township would be well served by his reelection.”

In his opening statement, Grafton Township Supervisor aspirant Marty Waitzman told the Sun City audience that Grafton Township Assessor Bill Ottley fell on black ice while knocking on doors and broke a leg.

Sounded like a pretty bad break.

Ottley, the incumbent Grafton Township Assessor, is being challenged by Al Zielinski.

If candidates send me their literature, I’ll do my best to share it with a broader audience on McHenry County Blog. Same with press releases. I want this to be a place were candidates and officials can speak directly to their potential or present constituents.

I’ve found that the greatest viewership of this publication is in the 24 hours prior to election day. All sorts of people are searching for information.

Ads by the way are $50 a month, except for political campaigns during any part of the last month of a campaign, when they cost $100.

Grafton Township Assessor candidate Al Zielinski’s campaign brochure follows:

Zielinski and incumbent Algonquin Township Assessor Bill Ottley are facing off in the Republican Party primary election later this month.

And, here’s what it looks like:

Alan Zielinski for Grafton Township Assessor

Candidates who have filed in the Republican Party primary election for Grafton Township Supervisor are the three who have previously been mentioned:

• Linda Moore
• Martin Waitzman
• Pam Fender

Moore is the incumbent.  Huntley Village Trustee Fender was appointed by the Township Board as Township Administrator basically to replace Moore, but was ousted by Judge Michael Caldwell.  Waitzman is the newcomer to the political arena.

For Trustee only three people have filed for the three spots:

• Betty Zirk
• Carol Williams
• Robert Wagner

Zirk has been one of the biggest proponents for a new township hall.  Wagner is a former Mayor of Crystal Lake.

Fender has previously indicated that she would be running with Zirk, Jenna Jones, Jim Kelly and Marci Gordon.  Only Zirk’s candidacy materialized.

Since there are four slots, people could run write-in campaigns for the vacant one.  I believe a minimum of 30 votes would be necessary to win a place on the April ballot (the number of petition signatures needed to get on the ballot), but, if more than one person runs, the one with the most votes over 30 would be the winner.

For Assessor Alan Zielinski is challenging incumbent William Ottley.

Highway Department employee Tom Poznaski is facing off against contractor Rich Dvorak.

No one filed for Clerk, so someone could become a write-in candidate for the $7,200 a year (to begin with) job.  Same minimum vote requirements as for Trustee.

Salaries for the people to take office next spring are found here.

A press from Grafton Township Assessor candidate Al Zielinski:

Candidate for Grafton Township Assessor predicts two blizzards in October!

HUNTLEY, IL (October 8, 2012) – Alan Zielinski, candidate for Grafton Township Assessor, is predicting not one, but two blizzards for Sunday, October 21, 2012.

In addition to specifying the precise day, he’s also predicting their exact time and location!

Zielinski’s prediction is for “a blizzard of fuzzy white dogs coinciding with a blizzard of kindness.”

Both will occur at Sammy’s Bar & Grill located on the northeast corner of Route 47 and Coral Street in Huntley between Noon and 4:00 P.M. How can he be so sure? The first blizzard will be provided by Zielinski’s campaign staff of fuzzy white rescue dogs and their rescue pals. Zielinski believes he knows Grafton Township residents well enough that they’ll be providing the second.

Samir Abdullai, owner of Sammy’s, will start the “blizzard of kindness” by offering up to 25 burger plates each hour to anyone needy/hungry enough to request them.

The balance of the meals’ cost is being paid for by Zielinski’s campaign.

All the donors ask is that the requestors be truly needy and residents of Grafton Township.

Both Abdullai and Zielinski believe “Charity begins at home.”

The second blizzard is predicted to intensify because Zielinski is combining this event with a food drive benefitting the Grafton Township Food Pantry.

Each non-perishable item donors bring will qualify as an entry in a raffle for up to three residential appraisals/property assessment appeals. Those carry a value of up to $995 each plus the annual property tax savings owners might receive.

“It’s a unique campaign donation event” Zielinski said.

“Rather than accepting donations, we’re contributing to convey our commitment to one of my campaign promises: helping the hungry.”

With the holidays (and property assessments) looming, please stop by to help the less fortunate and possibly win a valuable appraisal/appeal representation. Even if you don’t win the raffle, you’ll walk away knowing you contributed to a memorable event that benefitted the hungry. Given Sammy’s friendly staff and tasty food, you’ll also be thankful you discovered a wonderful Huntley business worthy of your patronage throughout the year.

Zielinski’s campaign staff wants to convey that research has shown that petting a dog reduces a human’s stress and blood pressure. Combine that with the warm feeling you’ll get from donating and this event could make you a calm and stress-free person.

Learning about Zielinski’s plans for accurate assessments, zero appeals and a Taxpayer Bill of Rights will deepen your peace of mind!

# # #

Please visit www.Al-for-Assessor.com/meetme.html
for more information on this and other events. Thank you!

Robert Bush was in Judge Michael Caldwell’s courtroom today representing the Grafton Township Trustees. None of the Trustees were present.

Supervisor Linda Moore was accompanied by her attorney, John Nelson.

Before the judge came in, there was some exchanging of paperwork, which I misunderstood.

I thought Bush was withdrawing from the case, but, no, it was Nelson who was had agreed to withdraw the petition that was on the docket.

“It makes it easy for me,” Bush observed.

“This case is over except for the appeal, some of which is OK, some of which isn’t”

When informed of the change in plans, which freed up two hours in Judge Caldwell’s schedule, he said, “OK.”

And out the door the attorneys and Moore went.

Moore’s attorney Nelson provided the following commentary:

“They did pay the auditor’s bill and I’m going to consider that an olive branch and see if I can work with attorney Bush to see if we can resolve the issued that have boiled over during this term.

“Supervisor Moore is willing to make one last attempt to resolve matters short of all-out litigation.”

When asked if mediator Rob Hanlon would be assisting, the answer was, “No.”

“I’m going to try to work directly with attorney Bush. He was instrumental in getting the auditor’s bill [paid] for the first year.

“If efforts at reconciliation are unsuccessful, we still have plenty of time to litigate matters enforcing the court order before Judge Caldwell.

“My client would like to see an end to the lawyers’ never ending legal bills in this case.

“We are putting the ball into the Trustees court on that matter.”

As I was leaving volunteer mediator Rob Hanlon was conferring with Nelson to find three dates that could be offered to Township Assessor Bill Ottley’s attorney Mike Poper at one of which a compromise between Ottley and Moore would be sought.