McHenry County Blog

News reports said that former Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor Jim Ryan wanted the coveted last spot who vastly out-polled my Libertarian Party candidacy but succumbed to serial liar Rod Blagojevich chickened out today.

Again.

As I have shared previously, when I was in grad school at the University of Michigan, I found a paper than analyzed the impact of ballot order on election results.

The researchers looked at paper ballots for a Michigan city near Detroit. In races of six or more, first place was worth an extra 10%. Second and last place on the ballot were worth another 5%.

There are seven people running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Worst place on the ballot was next to last.

That’s where Jim Ryan ended up.

He blinked at 4:18 PM this afternoon.

Andy McKenna filed seven minutes later.

We won’t know who gets the justifiably coveted first place on the ballot until the lottery, but we know that McKenna didn’t blink and file before any other GOP gubernatorial candidate.

Inexplicably, political consultant Dan Proft filed even earlier than Ryan at 3:26.

A pollster for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Schillerstrom called yesterday afternoon.

Schillerstrom is DuPage County Board Chairman.

The pollster wanted to know if I would vote for Schillerstrom for governor.

I told her, “No.”

She didn’t ask why, but, if she had I had an answer.

I would have told her that I was really disturbed that he balanced his DuPage County budget by getting most of his county’s state senators to vote to triple my RTA sales tax.

The bill that eventually passed, after an amendment (allowing collar county board’s to use the quarter of a percent sales tax offer of free road money for collar county boards to be diverted to public safety purposes) was added.

That allowed Schillerstrom to forego an already-on-the ballot countywide referendum to raise sales taxes one-quarter of one percentage point for law enforcement to fill his budget hole. (Winnebago County passed such a referendum in 2002.)

Schillerstrom’s intervention was so egregious that he was taken to the wood shed by Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna at the Decatur state convention last June.

That made Schillerstrom hopping mad.

It stung so much most DuPage County Republicans walked off the convention floor.

Later my wife and I got a letter from Schillerstrom about it.

Schillerstrom let his state senators take the heat.

He got “free money.”

How ironic that one of them, Kirk Dillard is also running for the Republican nomination for governor.

But, the pollster was onto her next question. No time for an explanation on my part.

She asked if I would be more likely to vote for Schillerstrom if I knew I knew he had lowered property taxes seven ten years in 10 years.

I told her, “Yes.”

Would I be more likely to vote for Schillerstrom if I knew he had cut $200 million in wasteful spending?

I told her, “Yes.”

The final question was whether I would be more likely to vote for Schillerstrom if I knew DuPage County had passed “comprehensive ethics reform.”

I told her, “Yes.”

Do you see television and radio ads coming out of this survey?

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The photo of DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom comes from the Young Republican Candidates’ Bar-B-Que held in Barrington Saturday, August 11, 2009.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the DuPage County Board has voted without dissent to ban video poker (read “slot machines”) in unincorporated liquor license holders’ establishments.

The annual estimated loss of income is $300,000.

DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, who is running for governor, made the ban a central part of his campaign, as you can see from the front page of his web site that I have captured.

Here are photos that Drew Veeneman took Sunday at the Young Republicans regional candidates’ day in Barrington.

Adam Andrzejewski, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. Andrzejewski prospered in the private sector. His web site touts “Adam for Illinois.”

Bob Schillerstrom, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. His web site touts “Bob for Illinois.” It emphasizes his opposition to the video poker (read “slot machine”) law supported by oh-so-many Republican legislators, but not their constituents. It does not emphasize his role in breaking suburban unity with regard to the Regional Transportation Authority resulting in tripling the RTA sales tax.

Bill Brady, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. His web site uses his last name.

Robert Zadek is running for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. Here is the Rockford resident’s web site.

Paul Mitchell is a candidate for the Republican nomination for state representative who is running against incumbent 62nd District Sandy Cole in Lake County. His web site is headlined, “Pro Life, Pro Liberty, Pro Happiness.”

It was a hot day, as can been seen by looking at the candidates.

The band Clone Radio is playing above. Also appearing was Bros & Joes’ band.

You can see the banners for the Lake and McHenry County Young Republicans in this shot of the stage.

As McHenry County Blog reported Monday, State Rep. Jack Franks booked over $1 million during the first six months of 2009.

That was enough to make him noticed by the Chicago Sun-Times in Springfield correspondent Dave McKenney’s story on what statewide candidates raised how much.

Franks’ photo and that of DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom were featured in the article above which State Comptroller Dan Hynes snagged the headlinefor having $3.5 million in the bank.

Franks has told the Northwest Herald that he’s thinking about running for governor.

One thing is for sure, if the campaign “reform” bill is signed by Governor Pat Quinn, this will be the last election cycle that candidates with rich relatives like Franks will be able to tap them for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The new limit is $5,000 per person, if I read the legislation correctly.

April 14th, a pollster called one of McHenry County Blog’s friends in Algonquin.

Here’s my contact’s description of the phone call:

She said she was located in Asia and representing Western Wats. I tried to jot down her questions, not word for word, for you;

1. Will you vote in the Republican primary for IL governor?

2. Is IL heading in the wrong or right direction?

3. Approve or disapprove of the job state legislature is doing?

4. Who would you likely vote for governor? This was her list to choose from;

• Joe Birkett
• health care
• Kirk Dillard
• Bill Brady
• Doug Whitley
• Dan Proft
• Tom Cross
• Bob Schillerstrom
• Ron Gidwitz

5. What issue(s) concern you or you think legislature should focus? She
quickly read off this list;

• abortion
• lowering taxes
• reform and ethics
• improving education
• reducing crime
• family values
• wasteful state spending
• Second Amendment rights
• protecting the environment
• creating jobs/improve state economy

6. Do you subscribe to cable or satellite TV?

7. Who is your provider?

8. How often do you watch:
MSNBC; daily, few times a week, once a month, etc.,
Fox News; daily, few times a week, once a month, etc.,
CNBC; daily, few times a week, once a month, etc.

9. Do you listen to the radio?
How often do you listen to Hannity?
Limbaugh?

10. What year were you born?

11. Are you Evangelical or born-again Christian?

12. Support or oppose abortion?

You can pretty well guess that the person paying for the survey research is listed among the names read.

If anyone else gets a political polling call, please make notes and let me share them with McHenry County Blog readers.

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Seen on top are Joe Birkett on the left and Kirk Dillard to his left. Next comes Bill Brady. Under him is a photo of Ron Gidwitz. Dan Proft is to the left. Below him is Tom Cross.

Freshman State Senator Dan Duffy, a businessman from Lake Barrington in Lake County, was touted for governor in Chicago Sun-Times columnist Steven Huntley’s column yesterday.

In an piece entitled,

Duffy’s name pops up in the middle of the column, right after the self-dismissals of

• Illinois Supreme Court Justice Bob Thomas,
• Bush HUD Secretary Steve Preston (who?),
• Chicago equity fund chairman Bruce Rauner,
• Congressmen Mark Kirk and
• Peter Roskam, and
• U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

Here’s what Huntley wrote:

“State Sen. Dan Duffy of Barrington, a Legislative newcomer, impresses many in the party. He acknowledges hearing suggestions he run, but no one in the party leadership has approached him.

“The party is now evaluating a lot of people and that’s a good thing,” he says. “If party leaders aid, ‘You’re that person,’ I’d have to have a serious conversation with my family and find out if this is the right time for me. Bit we’re not there yet.”

“A jump from newly minted legislator to governor in just two years would be quite a challenge.”

The column continues with former candidates for governor, State Senator Bill Brady, who ran third in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, Ron Gidwitz (4th) and Jim Oberweis, who ran second.

DuPage County Board Republicans, Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and State’s Attorney Joe Birkett, they of the tripling of the RTA sales tax.

Doug Whitley is also mentioned…more favorably than others actively seeking the office.

Traffic congestion will only get worse in McHenry County regardless of what local and state governments do.

There is no way that lane growth can keep up with population growth in a county where developers are primary sources of political cash for local officials—partisan and non-partisan, city and county.

Even so, the McHenry County Board seems to be moving toward the logical use of the quarter of one percent sales tax imposed by the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Rod Blagojevich in the RTA bailout deal.

The Daily Herald’s Chuck Keeshan reports the county board’s Transportation Committee recommends it all be spend on improving county roads.

The article quotes Transportation Committee Chairman Dan Shea to that effect.

I called Finance Committee Chairman Marc Munaretto seeking his committee’s take.

“Finance and Transportation are of one mind that the RTA sales tax money should be devoted to mitigating traffic congestion in McHenry County,” the Algonquin county board member told me.”

Instead of just passing what the Regional Transportation and Chicago Transit Authority folks said they needed, the RTA tax hike was doubled for the collar counties.

And, thanks to DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett and DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and three GOP state senators from their county, the bill passed after an amendment was added to allow diversion of the county sales tax money to pay for law enforcement expenses.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna delivered a verbal slap at Schillerstrom for his promotion of passage of the RTA sales tax at the Decatur state convention.

But, McHenry County’s board members are promoting using the money for the purpose originally intended to mute the opposition of suburban county Republicans—roads.

Good for them!

It will be interesting to see if McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi and/or McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nystom seek a piece of the pie.

The pie, by the way, costs McHenry County taxpayers about $9 million per year.

Traffic congestion will only get worse in McHenry County regardless of what local and state governments do.

There is no way that lane growth can keep up with population growth in a county where developers are primary sources of political cash for local officials—partisan and non-partisan, city and county.

Even so, the McHenry County Board seems to be moving toward the logical use of the quarter of one percent sales tax imposed by the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Rod Blagojevich in the RTA bailout deal.

The Daily Herald’s Chuck Keeshan reports the county board’s Transportation Committee recommends it all be spend on improving county roads.

The article quotes Transportation Committee Chairman Dan Shea to that effect.

I called Finance Committee Chairman Marc Munaretto seeking his committee’s take.

“Finance and Transportation are of one mind that the RTA sales tax money should be devoted to mitigating traffic congestion in McHenry County,” the Algonquin county board member told me.”

Instead of just passing what the Regional Transportation and Chicago Transit Authority folks said they needed, the RTA tax hike was doubled for the collar counties.

And, thanks to DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett and DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and three GOP state senators from their county, the bill passed after an amendment was added to allow diversion of the county sales tax money to pay for law enforcement expenses.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna delivered a verbal slap at Schillerstrom for his promotion of passage of the RTA sales tax at the Decatur state convention.

But, McHenry County’s board members are promoting using the money for the purpose originally intended to mute the opposition of suburban county Republicans—roads.

Good for them!

It will be interesting to see if McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi and/or McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nystom seek a piece of the pie.

The pie, by the way, costs McHenry County taxpayers about $9 million per year.

The DuPage County Board Chairman sent me and my wife a letter complaining that Illinois Republican party Chairman Andy McKenna had broken Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment:

As McHenry County Blog explained in this article,

,
McKenna criticized Schillerstrom for successfully fighting for higher taxes on the entire Chicago metropolitan area.

I figure Schillerstrom’s actions will cost us McHenry County taxpayers $18 million a year…assuming there is never any inflation.

Schillerstrom seems to have forgotten that old adage:

Schillerstrom claims to “have spent my entire career adhering to the GOP principles of smaller government, disciplined spending and fiscal conservatism.”

He made not mention of his and DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett’s and three of his county’s five state senators’ roles in TRIPLING the RTA sales tax for the five collar counties.

If that is what a conservative does, please save me from DuPage County conservatives.

It reminds me so much of what DuPage County politicians did in the 1980’s. About 90% of all the bonds issued in DuPage County were not approved by its voters.

Think airport authority, water commission and park districts for starters.

All controlled by Republicans.

The situation got so bad that gubernatorial candidate Jim Edgar proposed the property tax cap. I’ve been told by sources I trust that the anger of DuPage County homeowners inspired the proposal.

So, spare me the “I’ve been such a great county board chairman” pitch.

If you were such a great county board chairman, you would not have twisted three of your state senators’ arms enough to sell us in McHenry and Kane and Lake and Will Counties down the river in order to avoid cutting DuPage County spending in the sheriff’s and/or state’s attorney’s office.

Or you would have raised only the taxes in DuPage County, which you could have done by referendum (it was on the ballot, remember?), if you really thought your constituents would think that was the right and conservative thing to do.

And, your delegation would not have acted like children and walked out of the Republican Party Convention in Decatur.