McHenry County Blog

Keven Craver has an interesting article in the Northwest Herald about the fight Democrat State Rep.  Jack Franks had with former McHenry County Republican Party Chairman, State Senator and Metra Board member Jack Schaffer.

You see, Schaffer owns Liberty Outdoor Advertising.

During the 2010 election a billboard critical of Franks went up in the location on Route 47 closest to Franks’ legislative office.

The 2010 billboard on one of Metra Board member Jack Schaffer’s signs that enraged Jack Franks, which made him mad at McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler when Koehler refused to prompt Schaffer to resign from the Metra Board. Franks began his House floor attack on Schaffer in the Veto Session after the November 2010 election.

Franks went ballistic about the billboard over the phone with a couple of folks involved.  That’s what I’ve been told by multiple sources.

He has lost his temper with others on other subjects as well.

There were attacks on the House floor during the veto session immediately after the 2010 election.

The first article I wrote about Franks attacking Schaffer was in January of 2011, while the Metra Phil Pagano scandal broke in the late April.

In any event, there was not an immediate attempt by Franks to remove Schaffer from the Metra Board after the Pagano scandal and suicide occurred.

The attacks on Schaffer began after the billboard appeared.

So, now Schaffer is not applying for reappointment.

And, according to the last paragraph of Craver’s story, Franks says the billboard had nothing to do with his calling for Schaffer’s removal from the Metra Board:

“While Franks has said his interest in the topic is based solely on good government, Schaffer has alleged that Franks is out to settle a score because Schaffer allowed an attack ad aimed at Franks to be posted on a billboard owned by Schaffer. Franks denies the allegation.”

Draw your own conclusions.

In northern Florida, we drove past this Christian billboard message:

“Forgiving Others Is An Absolute Necessity.”

“Forgiving others is an absolute necessity,” says this billboard in northern Florida.  The quote comes from Matthew 6:14-15.

Not that other religions do not have similar admonitions, but this one comes from Matthew 6:14-15.

As we were driving through South Georgia, I notice lots of billboards.

Obviously the campaign to limit billboards has been lost along this Georgia section of Interstate 75.

It reminded me of Lady Bird Johnson’s campaign to get rid of them.

For a while, the Federal government was buying owner out, I believe.

Billboard advertising has obviously reasserted itself along this Interstate highway.

The billboard you see below popped up on Route 20 southeast of Union Road.

Ir promotes the write-in candidacy of Joe Rosner, who is running against Democrat Jack Franks.

This billboard appeared on Route 20 southeast of Marengo recently.

Between Ballard Road and Route 176, a lighted electronic sign has been proposed.

The Lakewood Village Board is holding a meeting tonight at 7 at Red Tail Golf Course at which the following is all that is on the agenda:

“To Consider and Take Action to Adopt an Ordinance to Annex the Territory Generally Located on the East Side of Illinois Route 47, South of Illinois Route 176 and North of Ballard Road”

The purpose is to stop construction of an electronic billboard with moving lights.

Here is the lot that the Lakewood Village Board is poised to annex against the wishes of its owner.

Look what we found on the way South this summer:

This sign was the Interstate in Georgia this summer.  It has a representation of the Crucifixion, plus the words of John 3:16.

Sponsored by Eternal Life Assured, the billboard is one of those plastic wrappings, instead of paper.

I wonder if the group got a special rate because the outdoor advertising firm had not been able to rent it out.

I also wonder why there are not billboards like this in the Chicago area.

No rich Christians?

The billboard Tom Wilbeck bought near Rakow Road.

District 2 McHenry County Board candidate Tom Wilbeck has bought two billboards, one of which is pretty much in the middle of his district on Virginia Street Road right off Rakow Road.

Tom Wilbeck's billboard on Route 14 near the railroad bridge east of Rt. 31

The other is right on heavy-trafficed Route 14 next to the Metra tracks east of Route 31.  If it can be seen from the train, this one will do double duty.

The billboards space was bought from Clear Channel.

= = = = =
Wilbeck is holding a fundraiser on March 1st at 6 PM at Nick’s Pizza in Crystal Lake.

Dan Duffy billboard

Driving to Cary today, I saw two mini-billboards for political candidates.

The first has no reason he will even have an opponent.

That’s State Senator Dan Duffy.

He’s the freshman Republican who pointed out that the corruption presented in the impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich had been going on for years.

This was during the first major debate after his swearing in.

So much for Freshmen sitting back and learning the ropes.

In any event, his billboard was across from Country Gas.

Kent Gaffney's billboard on the western edge of Cary.

Fortunately it was on top, because two trucks parked in front made it pretty much impossible to read the bottom billboard for Black Diamond Plumbing.

The second billboard was unobstructed.

It was right before the Thornton’s gas station at the edge of Cary.

And, it featured the name of newly-appointed State Rep. Kent Gaffney.

While Duffy doesn’t need help to get elected, Gaffney can expect a challenge from Wauconda resident Danielle Rowe.

Since he had never run for office before, Gaffney needs name identification.

Billboards and signs can provide that.

If readers have noticed other Gaffney billboards, please share their locations in the comment section below.

The primary election is in March this year, so keeping billboards up from now until then will cost a fair amount.

When Gaffney was appointed, Duffy expressed displeasure.

The billboard near his office that set Jack Franks off.

Kevin Craver of the Northwest Herald wrote a story Tuesday about McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler’s unwillingness to ask for the resignation of former State Senator Jack Schaffer from the Metra Board.

The first indication I could find of Franks’ displeasure was after the fall election when he introduced bulls to toss both RTA and Metra Board members. Just a coincidence, Franks would have folks believe, is that Schaffer is a former McHenry County Republican Party Chairman as is RTA Board member Al Jourdan.  And Schaffer owns Liberty Outdoor Advertising.

According to the article

Schaffer “said he believes Franks’ efforts stem directly from the billboard ad on Route 47 in Woodstock, which alleged that Franks collected almost $1 million from lobbyists, unions and lawyers.

“’To the extent that he’s attacking everyone on the board, that bothers me, but if he’s strictly after me, as a former legislator, I’m offended by it,’ Schaffer said. ‘Voters elect people to go out and represent them, not to pursue petty vendettas. The state has plenty of other problems to focus on.’”

Missing from the article was a photo of the billboard. Had anyone asked, I would have been pleased to provide the one you see here.

The billboard that infuriated State Rep. Jack Franks.

Almost to the day, one year after Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano committed suicide by stepping in front of the last morning train from McHenry, Democratic Party State Rep. Jack Franks decided to send a letter to McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler calling for his Metra appointee Jack Schaffer to step down.

When I write about my former legislative colleague from the 1970′s, I identify him as a former State Senator and sometimes as a former McHenry County Republican Party Chairman.

Jack Franks' May 3, 2011, letter, page 1. Click to enlarge any image.

To put Franks’ letter into context, however, it is not his membership on the Metra board that is most important. It is not his Republican Party activity.

It is his ownership of the Liberty Outdoor billboard company that is significant.

Prior to the fall election, when Franks was facing his first Republican challenger in three elections, McHenry Grade School and Library Board member John O’Neill, the man who would run for statewide office or Congress, faced a withering billboard on the way to work.

Citing a reputable source, it pointed out Franks’ main sources of campaign funding–besides his family:

Jack Franks' May 3, 2011, letter, page 2. Click to enlarge.

• Lawyers
• Labor
• Lobbyists

I understand the placement was paid for, but Franks doesn’t like bad publicity.

So, what to do?

On March 17, 2011, Franks introduced House Bill 1516 to eliminate fringe benefits from Metra Board members. I wrote earlier of how it did not make in out of the Committee on Mass Transit.

The same day Franks introduced HB 1548 to abolish Metra as a separate agency. He did not call it for a committee vote.

Jack Franks' May 3, 2011, letter, page 3. Read the post script. Click to enlarge.

Since Pagano’s financial improprieties became public in April of 2010, I looked at last year’s bill introductions by Franks.

There were so many that I might have missed one about the Metra board, one calling for replacement of all members, for instance, but all I could find after the public learned of the money Pagano made off with was House Bill 6946.

A lot of Metra trains came around this corner in Des Plaines, plus one billboard on Route 47, before State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) decided to try to get former State Senator and McHenry County GOP Chairman off the Metra Board.

It was not introduced until the week after the fall election.

It called for the 2011 election of a nine-member RTA Board, none of which would be paid. The current CTA, Metra and PACE Boards would be eliminated.

That certainly would have gotten rid of Schaffer as a Metra Board member.

The same day, November 11, 2010, Franks introduced HB 6950. Similar goal–election of a non-partisan, unpaid nine-member Regional Transportation Board and elimination of the current ruling superstructure.

Both bills were introduced after the billboard, I would note

It was right before Pagano’s death, April 28 2010, however, that the public learned that he had made off with lots of money. By May 14, 2010 more details were being made public.

So, if Franks was not interested enough in Metra governance to introduce a bill prior to the billboard paper being pasted on the Route 47 Liberty Outdoor right south of Woodstock Harley-Davidson, why would anyone question that the motivation for his trying to get rid of Schaffer from the Metra Board was vindictiveness?

Franks’ post script to his letter to Koehler reads,

Ken-

I know you and I disagree on this, but I feel so strongly that we must go  in a different direction to separate us from the past and to start over.

I know Jack is your friend but in your heart you know his departure is best for the county.