McHenry County Blog

The Chicago Sun-Times reported the Post Office plans to cut Saturday mail delivery in August.

When the topic of the Post Office’s discontinuing Saturday mail deliver raised its head in March of 2010, I wrote the folowing article:

Politicians Win If No Saturday Mail

When the idea was surfaced again by a Postal worker at one of Joe Walsh’s many coffees, I wrote another article with the same title:

Politicians Win If No Saturday Mail

Walsh indicated that protecting government jobs was not top on his priority list.

Now, Postal officials are saying that next August, Saturday delivery will end.

A result of growing up in the 1940′s is that I remember the mailman coming to deliver mail twice a day–once in the morning and, again, in the afternoon.

Now, it seems that regular delivery will be five days a week.

So, how does that help politicians?

During the last two weeks of the campaign season, properly tagged political mail is treated like First Class mail, even though Third Class postage has been paid.

I guess it’s a public subsidy of the electoral process.

But, the problem for campaigns is that bulk mail taken to the Post Office on Friday usually gets delivered on Saturday.

Folks running campaigns would prefer that it be delivered on Monday, the day before the election.

And starting with elections held after August, that will be the case.

So, political types will be happy with the discontinuance of Saturday mail delivery…even if they are Democrats who say they want to protect the jobs in U.S. Postal System.

A press release from McHenry County Young Republican Erik Sivertsen:

Interested in Running for Local Office?

The McHenry County College Political Theory and Debate and the McHenry County Young Republicans are hosting a workshop on how to run for local office.

We will cover topics such as how to get on the ballot, how to challenge petitions and how to file campaign disclosures.

This is a great opportunity to learn how you can greatly impact your community.

These offices that will be on the ballot in April effect how our schools, parks and communities are run.

These are the offices that levy most of the property taxes, and have the greatest impact on our daily lives, and most of them only require 50 signatures to be on the ballot.

The workshop is this Saturday at 9am at MCC in room A101, the event will be FREE, and will last about 1 1/2 hours.

Anybody who is interested in putting their name on the ballot or anybody who just wants to know more about the political process should plan to attend.

It’s got kids in a school room raising their hands.

This new ad seeks to recruit people to run for school board. Click F5 several times if you can’t see it.

If the

Are Your Property Taxes TOO High?

Run for School Board

come-on intrigues enough to click on the image, you will be taken to the For Our Children’s Future web site.

The masthead for the web site “For Our Children’s Future.”

Encouraging people to run for school board is totally in sync with what McHenry County Blog is all about:

‘This is a journal of news and opinion designed to bring to light matters of public interest and to encourage public participation in the governmental process.”

And it a fact that most of our property taxes go to finance elementary, high school and unit districts.

Here’s where the property tax dollars paid this year by Crystal Lake residents living in Algonquin Township (south of Crystal Lake Avenue) went. The percentage going to schools of those living outside municipalities is more, of course.  Chart compiled by the Crystal Lake Park District.

It is also a fact that no organized group has a vested interest in the taxpayers’ side of the school budgeting process–the most significant part of which is teacher contract negotiations.

On the other hand, local teachers’ unions have a real vested interest.

If their union-backed (either officially or unofficially endorsed) candidates can win control of a school board, they will end up with more money.

One only has to look at the Cary School Board the years after the local Illinois Education Association affiliate endorsed candidates took control.

The subsequent board spent the District 26 into the a red ink position that the State Office of Education had to intervene and a special tax hike was passed as a bail-out mechanism.

The candidate recruitment web site has the following information:

• To run for school board you only need 50 signatures of registered voters, but we would recommend getting at least double to withstand any challenges.
• The filing deadline is Dec 17, 2012 – Dec 24, 2012 at the district office of the school district
• The election will be held April 9, 2013

The web site offers two reason people should run for school board:

1. Education is the key to unlocking the future for our children. We need good people who interested in quality education for all children and protecting their future by making your school district fiscally sustainable.
2. Illinois has some of the highest property taxes in the country. In some areas property taxes are higher than the actual mortgage principal. This is fiscally unsustainable and needs to be brought under control.

Then the McHenry County Tea Party has a meeting which might interest you.

Mark your calendar for October 6th.

The details are below:

McHenry County Tea Party

Workshop on Running for Local Office

Sat Oct 6, 2012 1:00pm

Cary Area Public Library

The McHenry County Tea Party is sponsoring a workshop on running for local office in the April 9, 2013, Consolidated Election.

Elected local officials who believe in — and vote for — fiscal responsibility will be on hand to discuss the following.

Why should I run for local office and how can I make a difference?

What offices are up for election?

What are the requirements to run for local office?

What are the logistics and key dates?

Strategies for the filing and objection periods

Campaign strategies and tactics

Anyone who believes in fiscal responsibility and would like to make a difference at the local level is welcome to attend. McHenry County residence is not required. There is no charge for this event. Email questions and please RSVP to cjenner01@yahoo.com.

This is the write-in declaration form that must be completed with notarized.signature and filed with the local county clerk. Clerk to enlarge.

I long for the days when anyone could write-in anyone for any office.

Remember the easy article Mike Royko repeatedly wrote telling how many votes Mickey Mouse got?

No more.

Election officials wanted to simplify the process.

First, one had to register a week ahead of the election, then it was a month.

Now it is two months.

So, if you want to run for any office, public or partisan, you need to get a notarized declaration of your write-in candidacy into the County Clerk’s office before it closes Thursday.

for McHenry County residents your deadline is 4:30.

As I have reported previously, there are plenty of vacancies for Precinct Committeeman on the ballot.

If you want to get involved, take a look to see if anyone is running for

• Democrat Precinct Committeeman or
• Republican Precinct Committeeman

The link above shows precinct maps for townships with more than one precinct. Click to enlarge the maps in the article.

Or you and find out where no one is running for precinct committeemen here on the McHenry County Clerk’s web site.

Or you can look here on the McHenry County Clerk’s web site. Increase the size of the map to 600% or more to see where the precinct lines are.

Want to know which your precinct you are in? Click here.

A press release announcing State Senator Pam Althoff is running for re-election:

Off and running: Althoff seeks reelection to IL Senate

McHENRY, Ill. – It’s official: State Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry) will seek reelection as State Senator from Illinois’ 32nd District in 2012.

“We still have a great deal of work to do in putting Illinois on the right track,” Althoff said.

Dressed in blue State Senator Pam Althoff chats at Wednesday's Republican Play day with three other female McHenry County elected officials: Nunda Township Trustee Joni Smith,.Coroner Marlene Lantz and County Board member Anna May Miller.

“Today, voters are incredibly upset with the direction the state’s current leadership is taking us, and I share those frustrations. Working with the people of the 32nd District, I would like to continue my efforts to restore fiscal discipline to state government and bring high quality jobs and businesses back to Illinois.”

Althoff has represented the 32nd District since 2003 – a district that currently encompasses most of McHenry County.

Under the Democratic redistricting map approved by Gov. Quinn, the 32nd District shifts, covering the northern part of McHenry County into northwestern Lake County, including parts of Antioch, Lake Villa, Grant and Wauconda Townships.

The State Senate map Illinois Democrats imposed upon the McHenry-Lake County area. Democrat Jack Franks is the State Rep. in the 63rd District. The 64th District is empty. Some think that Franks got current 64th District Republican State Rep. Mike Tryon mapped out of the64th District so Franks would be the heir-apparent for State Senator should incumbent Pam Althoff retite.

“I have worked closely with the residents and lawmakers of Lake County over the years, through my work with the Fox River Ecosystem Partnership and other issues of local importance,” Althoff said.

“From day one, the people and communities of northwestern Lake County will have a state senator who knows the challenges they face and will be a strong advocate in representing their priorities in Springfield.”

If reelected by the voters of the 32nd District, Althoff says job creation and restoring fiscal responsibility to state government will be her two top priorities.

“There’s no reason Illinois should lag the rest of the country in job growth and economic development – we have some of the best trained and highly motivated workers in the entire world,” Althoff said.

“Our economy isn’t suffering because of them, it’s suffering because state government has unleashed harmful policies that have driven away businesses and the jobs they provide – such as the decision by Catalyst Inc. in my district to move to Wisconsin. We need to make state government a friend to the small business community, not a foe – by doing that we will attract new jobs and generate crucial new state revenues in the process.”

Althoff, who serves as one of the Senate Republicans’ leading budget experts, says reining in government spending must also be a top priority.

“For too long, Illinois government has refused to live within its means, and the record debt and deficits we see today is the result of that,” Althoff said. “As senator, I have a strong record as a fiscal hawk who has opposed the reckless budgets that brought us here – budgets that spent money on programs we couldn’t afford, doubled the state debt and skimmed from the pension system. Now more than ever, Illinois needs lawmakers who will ‘just say no’ to these harmful policies and bring us back from the brink of bankruptcy.”

Sen. Althoff was appointed to Illinois Senate Republican leadership – serving as the Caucus Whip. In addition she serves as Republican Spokesperson on the Appropriations II Committee, and as a member of the Human Services, Labor, Local Government and Licensed Activities Committees, as well as being a member of the National Conference of State Legislature’s Executive Board.

There were not many contested races in the April 5, 2011, election to start with, but there are fewer now.

In the Village of Barrington Hills, Trustee candidate Dawn Davis has withdrawn.

Blake Hobson, appointed to fill a vacancy, is no longer in the running for Village of Lakewood Trustee.

Likewise Dennis Palys, who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the McHenry County Board, has dropped his candidacy for Village of Wonder Lake Trustee.

In the contest for Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Trustee, Stephen Jagman withdrew.

Four people have climbed out of the candidate pool for the McHenry High School Board. This pool is at McHenry West High School.

But the real withdrawal story is in the 13-person race for the McHenry High School District 156 Board of Education. Four people withdrew:

• Marybeth Varvil
• Donald Cichoski
• Paul A Stevens
• Joseph W Meyer

I got through to all the school districts in or with major portions of McHenry County to find out who had filed petitions through mid-day Monday, the first day of filing, but I didn’t do as well for the municipalities.

Below are the results I found:

Cary Village Board

• Barbara Hill
  Al Pilli
  Mark Kownick (2-year term)

Incumbents are Barbara Hill, Mark Kownick, Deb McManamee and Al Philli. McManamee has taken a petiton packet.

Fox River Grove

• Michael Schiestel
• Joanna Colletti
• Steve Knar
• Suzanne Blohm (2 -Year Term)

Duane Figurski, Jim Tuman, Steve Knar and Suzanne Blohm

Harvard

None have filed.
The terms of Brian Leyden, Crystal Musgrove, Rick Adams and Darrell Perkins are expiring.

Huntley

• Harry Leopold
• Jay Kadakia
• J. R. Westberg
• Niko Kanakaris

The three incumbents are Harry Leopold, Jay Kadakia and Niko Kanakaris

Lakewood

• Ken Santowski
• Blake Hobson
• Gary Sexson
• J Carl Davis
• Jeffrey Iden (2-year term)

The seats that are up are held by J Carl Davis, Blake Hobson (appointed), Julie Richardson (appointed) and Ken Santowski.

Lake in the Hills

• Paul Mulcahy
• Ray Bogdanowski
• Russ Ruzanski
• Bill Dustin
• Joseph Wright

Ray Bogdanowski and Paul Mulcahy are incumbents whose terms are up. Former Village Trustee Joseph Murawski died in office and was not replaced.

City of McHenry

• Ward 2 Andy Glab
• Ward 4 Jeffrey Blake
• Ward 6 Roberta Pangaleo
• Ward 7 No candidate

The last day to file for office is next Monday.

Election petitions for

• school board
• junior college
• city and village
• park board
• fire protection district
• you name it

are available for circulation.

Cal Skinner, Sr.

It doesn’t take many signatures.

Two bits of advice from my father.

He would ask people coming in for advice…

“Are you ready to serve?”

The answer was usually a hearty, “Yes.”

The second question was tougher:

“Are you ready to lose?”

I’m pretty sure a number of people reflected on the latter question and decided not to risk the blow to their egos that an election defeat brings.

As something of an expert in losing (my record is 18-4), I can tell you that it has taken me about six months to recovery each time I lost (for Congress in 1980, State Comptroller in 1982, state rep. ten years ago and Governor in 1982). Well, maybe less than six months when I ran for Governor as a Libertarian against Rod Blagojevich.

But, as Dad use to say,

“You know who will be in office if you don’t run.”

Reflecting on that often spurred people to risk the downside of losing.

Having been in the arena, I hope people understand that I admire anyone brave enough to put his or her name on the ballot. That’s why I am willing to publish press releases from any local candidate.

You compose them, I’ll give them the light of Google and Bing.

What you see below is an email Hartland Township Supervisor Ev Evertsen sent out to encourage people to run for local office.  It stimulated this post.

All politics are local.

How many people are following the local elections scheduled for next year?

Most local offices are up for election next year. Know any good candidates?

How about you?

Do not know how to go about it?

Contact me or go to this web site.

Some offices up for election next year: School Boards, Park Districts, Town / Village / City governments, Library Boards, Community College Trustees, Fire Protection Districts.

Fire Districts tend to spend your tax dollar without much scrutiny. Ever read the budget for a Fire District?

It’s time for those who are dissatisfied with the way things are being run locally to think about stepping up to the plate.

What do you pay most of your property tax and a large portion of your state sales and income tax for?

That’s right, the schools!!

I hope we get some people running for school boards who are not teachers or close relatives of teachers who will tend to vote in favor of wage increases for teachers!

It would be very refreshing if those who complain about our political landscape would step up to the plate and run for office!!!

Ev