Did NWH Try to Frame March Primary Election?

Sitting in front of my computer is the front page Northwest Herald article from December 9, 2015. It’s the article about Patrick Kenneally’s announcement of his candidacy for McHenry County State’s Attorney, complete with photo of and extensive quotes from … Continue reading

Franks: Reick Campaign “Scurrilous”

“Scurrilous” is defined as “making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation.” That’s how Jack Franks described Republican Steve Reick’s campaign against him to the Woodstock Independent, which was published on November 19th. Did … Continue reading

Can MCC Foundation Use Donations to Urge Voters to Vote for Referendums?

It has been most frustrating to have to fight McHenry County Conservation District referendums. As I have mentioned previously (see Why Odds Against Taxpayer if Conservation District Goes to Referendum), the frustration comes from having to fight money that should … Continue reading

2nd Ethics Complaint against Andy Zinke Dismissed for Lack of Sufficiency

Undersheriff Andy Zinke was taken off the ethics hook for a second time before the McHenry County Ethics Commission Thursday afternoon. Former Sheriff’s Deputy Zane Seipler filed the complaint along with evidence of Zinke having had his photo taken in … Continue reading

McSweeney’s Effort to Dampen Contributions to Opponents

State Rep. candidate David McSweeney did something that might seem strange on the surface. He released the results of a 300-person poll to a publication that costs about $300 a year. That’s Rick Miller’s Capitol Fax. Although most people probably … Continue reading

What’s It All About?

There’s a quote from McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi in the Chicago Tribune Wednesday that’s worth passing on. It’s in an article by Amanda Marrazzo and Robert McCoppin’s entitled, McHenry sheriff says Bianchi out to get him That’s the … Continue reading

McHenry County Highway Contractor Contributions

The tradition of highway contractors contributing to political campaigns undoubtedly goes back decades, probably to the building of the first roads like the construction of Route 47 north of Huntley that Henry Marlow told me was built with horses. Is … Continue reading

The Grayslake School Board Incumbents’ Campaign (Email) Trail – Part 1

What caught my interest today was an article on the Lake County Tea Party site by Paul Mitchell about Grayslake Unit School District 46. It is based on emails sent to and from the school district’s email server and shows … Continue reading

Ed Burke Only Identifed Contributor to Sheriff Keith Nygren

McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren ran a $51,822.74 campaign last fall when he overwhelmingly won re-election. But he wasn’t in fund raising mode. Only $600 was contributed to his campaign. The only one that was identified was from the Burnham … Continue reading

Sign Effort for Mike Mahon Kicks into Gear

Mike Mahon was busy at work putting signs up throughout the county Saturday. They weren’t going in the public rights-of-way. They were being put on donor’s private properties, the campaign says. Earlier this week the McHenry County Highway Department took … Continue reading