Karen McConnaughay Officially Withdraws from Fall Ballot

Yesterday, State Senator Karen McConnaughay has filed the official paperwork to withdraw her name from the General Election ballot. She was elected to the State Senate in 2012, following multiple terms chairing the Kane County Board. Seeking appointment to fill … Continue reading

First Day Filings for McHenry County Board

Here is who the McHenry County Clerk reports filed on Monday, the first day for filing.  Incumbents’ names are in boldface type. MCHENRY COUNTY BOARD **indicates simultaneous filing DISTRICT 1 Republican CHRISTOPHER SPOERL 340 PEARL ST., CARY 60013 Democrat MICHAEL … Continue reading

Franks County Board Liaison Picks Include Non-County Board Members

Former County Board member Ersel Schuster shares her opinion on the consistency show by County Board members in following its rules. County Board Picks & Chooses Rules They’ll Apply For those of you who took the time to attended or … Continue reading

Lame Duck Planning and Development Expanding Government Tuesday

The agenda for the Planning and Development Committee is out.  On the agenda is to expand the P&D committee by 1.5 full time employees or FTEs.  Here is a link to the agenda on the McHenry County Board’s website. The … Continue reading

County Board Blanches Open Meetings Act Suit Boil

Using a cost-benefit approach, an 18-4 vote of the McHenry County Board settled a suit brought by Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers over an alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act when the majority of a … Continue reading

What Impact Do Newspaper Endorsement Have?

Candidates court newspaper endorsements. They fill out questionnaires. I remember enjoying matching wits with the Chicago Tribune folks most…especially the year when they asked questions about education funding. (The statistics did not favor the answer the questionnaire wanted.  Naturally, I … Continue reading

Althoff Makes Top Donations List

The Illinois Sunshine Project keeps track of big political contributions. In its top donations in the last week feature, the Chicago Land Operaters Jt Labor Management PAC is cited for kicking in $52,900 to State Senator Pam Althoff’s campaign fund. The … Continue reading

Shift of GOP Power Evident in Mike Tryon Endorsement Piece

Of course, the 2014 Republican Party Convention showed that a significant shift in power had occurred when Sandra Salgado was selected over outgoing Chairman Mike Tryon’s choice–Mark Daniel. But, those in control during the Al Jourdan legacy years still were … Continue reading

Althoff Gets $52,900 from Operating Engineers-Linked PAC

You may remember the $40,000 contribution from State Senator Pam Althoff to State Rep. candidate Carolyn Schofield about two weeks before the election. Less than a week after the election, a Political Action Committee headed by James M. Sweeney, the President-Business … Continue reading

Message of the Day – Trash Cans

McHenry County Board member Carolyn Schofield must feel that votes in her district’s precinct at Indian Prairie School ended up in the trash can. Two precincts vote there. One from State Rep. David McSweeny’s district; the other one from the … Continue reading

County Board Vents at Jack Franks and IMRF Exec.

The Thursday night meeting of the McHenry County Board consisted mostly of criticizing Democratic Party State Rep. and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Executive Director Louis W. Kosiba had been invited to the meeting. No one used the word “pawn” to … Continue reading