Crystal Lake Businessman Asks Metra to Probe Ridgefield Station

Jim Roden, owner of the Framery in Ridgefield has sent the following letter to Metra Chairwoman  Carole Dovis. A copy was sent to the railroad commuter agency’s Inspector General Hillard Heintze. Metra Board Chairman, Carole R. Doris 547 W. Jackson … Continue reading

Metra’s Executive Director Phil Pagano of Crystal Lake Under Investigation for Possible Unauthorized $56,000 Payment

That’s what Crain’s Chicago Business is reporting online. Phil Pagano lives in Covered Bridge Trails, which is located north of Hillside Road in rural Crystal Lake. At a salary of $269,625, I can’t imagine any public official/servant living in McHenry … Continue reading

Metra Ridgefield Station Chugs Along, But Planning and Zoning Commissioners Want Traffic Improvements, Too

The Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission gave preliminary approval to Metra’s proposed Ridgefield Train Station, but conditioned it on making multi-million dollar road improvements recommended by city engineering firm Patrick Engineering. The improvements, most overdue, according to Patrick engineers … Continue reading

Nunda Electors Seeks Nunda Township Advisory Referendum on Repeal of Open Space Plan

There could be some local action on open space at the Nunda Township Annual Meeting. Township tax fighters Gerry Walsh, Republican Committeeman Bob Borchert, Doug Mann, and former Republican County Board candidate Craig Steagall have filed the following petition seeking … Continue reading

Craig Steagall Files Campaign Disclosure Report to Close Out PAC

District 3 county board candidate Craig Steagall has filed his final report for his county board campaign that fell 232 votes short of beating incumbent Barb Wheeler. Steagall came in fourth 32 votes behind Karen Tynis. Joliet’s Merc Strategy Group … Continue reading

District 3 County Board Candidates Sending Mailings

Candidates for the District 3 McHenry County Board seats are starting to send out mailings. I thought you might want to see the ones that I have found. Any candidate in any district who would like to have a bit … Continue reading

ALAW Conflict of Interest Idea Jumps to Crystal Lake City Government

Remember hearing about how forest fires sometimes jump fire breaks that are intended to contain them. That may have happened late last week with the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water’s conflict of interest ordinance. Originally presented to the McHenry … Continue reading

Second Sheriff’s Candidate, Gus Philpott, Completes Conflict of Interest Form

Now there are two candidates for countywide office who have filed the conflict of interest forms prepared by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water. The first was Zane Seipler, the Republican challenging McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren for his … Continue reading

11th McHenry County Board Candidate Voluntarily Discloses Potential Conflict of Interest information

With the submission of the ALAW conflict of interest form, the total now stands at eleven of those county board members who have opened up financial aspects of their personal lives. Republican Veronica Armstrong, who is running for a District … Continue reading

Voluntary Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Gains Momentum as a Campaign Issue

One of the roles McHenry County Blog plays is alerting daily newspapers of stories they otherwise might not think of. This might be one of those articles. The Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water came up with an idea to … Continue reading

County Board Candidate Craig Steagall Focuses on Tighter Ethics Rules

The man who has taken on Ken Koehler‘s sale of the old Flowerwood nursery property on County Club Road to Metra for a commuter rail passenger station–and I mean really taken him on–is calling for other county board members and … Continue reading

ALAW Gets Two Replies on Ethics Disclosure Form

Maybe the times they are a changing. The following press release from ALAW, the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water tells of two new aspirants for the McHenry County Board having answered the questions on the income and asset disclosure … Continue reading

Craig Steagall Outlines McHenry County Board Goals

On District 3 McHenry County Board candidates’ web site, Craig Steagall outlines his goals, if elected. They are interesting, especially, the ethics, transparency and creation of email surveying capabilities, so I thought I would share them with you below: Craig’s … Continue reading

Pro-Life Endorsement for Zane Seipler for Sheriff, County Board Candidates

Illinois Citizens for Life, a statewide pro-life group, has endorsed Zane Seipler for McHenry County Sheriff. Seipler is challenging incumbent Sheriff Keith Nygren in the February 2nd Republican primary election. The organization is also endorsing candidates for county board. In … Continue reading

Crystal Lake City Council Rejects Metra’s Choice for Traffic Engineer

Traffic will be a major sticking point on Metra’s proposed Ridgefield commuter station the same was it was for the baseball stadium proposed for McHenry County College. The Crystal Lake City Council unanimously approved Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller’s motion to … Continue reading

Metra Tries to Quell Ridgefield Land Purchase Firestrom

Look what just popped into my email inbox: Frequently Asked Questions aboutthe Ridgefield Metra parking lot purchase ten days ago. You will notice that no mention is made of McHenry County College in the FAQ’s below: I am in receipt … Continue reading