What Did Taxpayers Get for Their 2016 School Taxes

So far, we’ve been looking at where money spent on schools has gone. Today, we look at what taxpayers got for the property taxes in 2016. it is interesting that Crystal Lake High School District 155–the school district with the … Continue reading

24% of New Students at MCC Fail at Least One Course

A couple of years ago, I heard a story on NPR’s “Fresh Air” about how a Brooklyn community college had increased passage rates significantly by instituting a program called “Success Coaches.” An advisor was assigned to follow individual students through … Continue reading

McSweeney College Credit Bills Passes Senate

A press release from State Rep. David McSweeney: General Assembly Approves McSweeney-Connelly Dual-Credit Community College Initiative Springfield, IL…The Illinois Senate today approved a proposal to create the Accelerate College pilot program, an initiative Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) sponsored to … Continue reading

Which Types of Tax Districts Taking More, Which Less

Ups and downs. That describes what McHenry County taxpayers will see in this year’s real estate tax bills. As reported Saturday, county government provided significant savings by zeroing out last year’s $3 million Valley Hi Nursing Home tax levy.  (If … Continue reading

A Plea for Single-Member Districts for Local Governments

Active citizen Steve Wilson offers the following lament: Voter Oversight and Span of Control There is a concept in business management called “span of control”. It refers to how many people a paid, full­time manager can reasonably be expected to … Continue reading

Bill to Stop Junior College Presidents’ Golden Parchutes

An email from newly-elected State Rep. Peter Breen of DuPage County: We’ve watched over the past year as the College of DuPage Board of Trustees has taken a beating in the press for scandal after scandal, and the public outcry … Continue reading

Five-Year Tax Hike for Schools 12.75%

Reader “Connecting Dots” inserted this property tax information in a comment under the article, “McSweeney Introduces Eleven Bills.” There are comments on more than one of the bills, but with regard to McSweeney’s House Bill 178 to freeze township extensions … Continue reading

Time to Start Thinking about Running for School Board

Those who look at their property tax bills know that most of the money goes to school districts. Below is where the money went in the Algonquin Township part of Crystal Lake in a recent year. One will note that … Continue reading

Jr. College Trustees’ Association Offers Advice on Sharing Meetings with Non-Attending Public

Association of Community College Trustees holds conventions in big cites which McHenry County College Trustees attend. It also answers questions like My board is considering televising our meetings- what should we take into account before making this decision? Before taking … Continue reading

What a Difference a County Makes

Thursday the Elgin Courier-News and McHenry County’s Northwest Herald both featured junior colleges as a low cost way to go after high school. But what a difference three generous millionaires made in McHenry County—at least for the McHenry County College … Continue reading

Headline: “Candidate Says He Regrets Lying”

What a devastating headline! It was in the Chicago Tribune in a Susan Kuczka story on Wednesday. The internet headline is slightly less damaging: State Senate candidate says he regrets lyingabout his professional background This appears to be the one … Continue reading

Headline: “Candidate Says He Regrets Lying”

What a devastating headline! It was in the Chicago Tribune in a Susan Kuczka story on Wednesday. The internet headline is slightly less damaging: State Senate candidate says he regrets lyingabout his professional background This appears to be the one … Continue reading

IRS Is Watching Illinois Community Colleges on Non-Cash Fringe Benefits

One of the more interesting tid-bits that came out at the McHenry County College Board meeting that neither the Northwest Herald nor the Daily Herald covered came from outside auditor Fred Lantz of Sikich, LLP. He told of an Internal … Continue reading

IRS Is Watching Illinois Community Colleges on Non-Cash Fringe Benefits

One of the more interesting tid-bits that came out at the McHenry County College Board meeting that neither the Northwest Herald nor the Daily Herald covered came from outside auditor Fred Lantz of Sikich, LLP. He told of an Internal … Continue reading