McHenry County Blog

He wasn’t at the front of the parade but the owner of Port Edward, Ed Woloweic, was the Grand Marshall.

The parade took about an hour, truncated because of construction south on Route 31.

Most of the politic entries which I try to document were fairly near the front of the parade.

But, before they arrived, a volunteer for Congressman Peter Roskam, who will, pending a political upset of tremendous proportions, represent Algonquin Township in Congress next session, was sighted passing out small bags. With candy on their minds, a lot of folks took them.

Of course, there were the members of the Algonquin Village Board.

But before the politicians came Police Chief Russ Laine.

And an entry dedicated to the Chicago Cubs.

Founder Favorite Rusty Cherbak was surrounded by a Chicago Cubs wish fulfillment contingent.

There was even a goat.  A billy goat, of course.

Then came the village politicians.

Village President John Schmidt waved.

Village Trustee Bob Smith was accompanied by Buzz Lightyear.

Village Trustee Debbie Sosine was in waving mode.

Trustee Jerrold Glogowski was one of three trustees walking the route handing out candy.

The other two were Jim Steigert and John Spella.  Handing out candy is the Algonquin Parade is easy on Route 31 because the spectators are all on the south side of the street.

The village clerk came dresses as the clown Lazy Bonz.

The first partisan politician was District 1 Republican McHenry County Board member Bob Bless.

District 1 Republican McHenry County Board members Marc Munaretto and Anna Miller were driving in a Mercedes convertible by Algonquin Township Road Commissioner Bob Miller.

I asked Munaretto, who is not running for re-election to the County Board, whether he was running for re-election for Algonquin Township Clerk.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” he replied.

That was the same answer he gave last year before for filing deadline for County Board.

There are no Democrats in District 1, but there is one in District 5–Paula Yensen.

Next came Jean and McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi.

 McHenry County Auditor Pam Palmer followed Bianchi.

Both Bianchi and McHenry County Auditor Palmer are unopposed this fall.

Kane County politicians followed the McHenry County ones.

There were two County Board members, Hollie Lindgren and Maggie Auger.

There are always pictures that could have been.  The one below was going to be of the current and future Kane County Auditors, incumbent Bill Keck and candidate Terry Hunt.

Fortunately, I got a shot of Keck and Hunt before the parade.

“Take my picture. Take my picture,” the two members of the Eagles, a youth football team shouted as they mugged for my camera.

How could I resist?

Interrupting the parade was the girder from the World Trade Center brought by the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.

On the sides of the fire engines you can see the above sticker.

I was seated on the porch of a closed building when I way something political after a truck for the Red Run.  (The 5K is August 11th starting at Presidential Park in Algonquin.)

It was the McHenry County Republican Party entry…right at the end of the parade.

There was a banner for GOP State Rep candidate David McSweeney up front.

Right behind were people carrying Congressman Peter Roskam signs.

Then, Dave McSweeney passed me quickly.  I got his attention and he turned around so I could get the photo above.

Next came the McHenry County Republican float.

I just kept snapping my shutter, getting County Board member Nick Provenzano and County Chairman & State Rep. Mike Tryon.

Next came supporters of State Senator Dan Duffy, whose district mirrors that of David McSweeney on the eastern edges of McHenry and Kane Counties.

Next I found McHenry County Board member Robert Nowak.

And with the passing of the next entry, cheerleaders from CEE Snowball Blast Grand Champion, the Algonquin Founders Day Parade was over.

Afterward, however, the young man who had been assiduously gathering candy during the parade put on a Young Republican sticker and agreed to let me take his photograph.

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A special note for you Sheriff’s Department watchers. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Department had no entry in the parade. Neither Sheriff Keith Nygren nor his Undersheriff Andrew Zinke was anywhere to be seen.

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford appeared at a fund raiser at 1776 this morning and then attended two “Cash Dashes” in McHenry County for people looking for unclaimed assets that may be in the custody of the State Treasurer’s Office.

Such an event was held at the Algonquin Village Hall from 9-11

There was one in Crystal Lake from 2:30-4:30.

Wednesday he was in Johnsburg at the McHenry Township Hall for another Cash Dash. This one even included dinner for area senior

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hotos from the State Treasurer’s Twitter account.

Our blog friend from Algonquin offers his view of the Algonquin Village elections:

In the village of Algonquin, the quiet campaign and conventional wisdom of the 2 incumbents winning re-election, and newcomer Debby Sosine winning the 3rd trustee’s spot, came true, as voters rewarded the officials already serving the village the longest, either as a trustee or as a member of advisory boards.

Trustees Jim Steigert, John Spella, and Planning and Zonning Commission Member Debby Sosine far outdistanced Steve Kaniewski and Steve Serafin. The unofficial returns from both McHenry and Kane Counties with all precincts counted read:

Jim Steigert (i) -1,374
Debby Sosine – 1,366
John Spella (i) – 1,340
Steve Kaniewski – 859
Steve Serafin – 798

The only minor surprise in Algonquin was the order of finish, with newcomer Sosine edging-out incumbent Spella by 26 votes.

The 3rd time was the charm for Sosine, as her impressive finish in the village of Algonquin’s race makes up for any disappointment her 2 losses for D300 school board in 2001 and 2003, as she will backfill Trustee Barb Read, who did not seek re-election. Given the demand for change D300 voters made this year, Sosine not being a member of the school board was a blessing in disguise.

Conventional wisdom of the 2 incumbents and Sosine winning in Algonquin held true because voters in Algonquin are very excited about how their village is being led, given the Randall Road corridor’s commercial growth in recent years. Steigert and Spella have been part of the village board, and Sosine’s longtime service on both the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the Economic Development Commission was rewarded in this election, too.

For Steve Kaniewski, who lost his bid for a trustee seat in 2005 by 177 votes, this year’s 481 vote margin of defeat was especially crushing, given he came up short again in a 5-way race. Granted, there were 2 openings on the village board in 2005, but when a candidate’s vote total goes down from 1,172 to 859 instead of increasing 2 years later, the voters have clearly said “thank you for placing your name up for election, but no thank you”.

As for Steve Serafin’s campaign emphasizing the need for Kane County representation on the village board, his message did not resonate with voters, despite his direct mail, door-to-door and robocalls push. Serafin could not win in Kane County, as the unofficial returns from the 5 precincts in Kane County bear out:

John Spella – 275
Debby Sosine – 269
Jim Steigert – 267
Steve Serafin – 223
Steve Kaniewski – 147

The clearer message to Serafin is while there is some merit for the need for balanced representation on the village board, direct experience serving village residents, as in Sosine’s case, through the Economic Development Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission over a period of years, resonates much much more with voters.

Trustee Steigert, Trustee-elect Sosine and Trustee Spella will be sworn-in to office at either the May 1st or May 8th meeting of the village board, once the official canvass takes place and the McHenry and Kane County clerks certify the election results. Because of provisional balloting, the elections certifications could take up to 3 weeks, depending on the number of provisional ballots cast in each county.

Our blog friend from Algonquin offers his view of the Algonquin Village elections:

In the village of Algonquin, the quiet campaign and conventional wisdom of the 2 incumbents winning re-election, and newcomer Debby Sosine winning the 3rd trustee’s spot, came true, as voters rewarded the officials already serving the village the longest, either as a trustee or as a member of advisory boards.

Trustees Jim Steigert, John Spella, and Planning and Zonning Commission Member Debby Sosine far outdistanced Steve Kaniewski and Steve Serafin. The unofficial returns from both McHenry and Kane Counties with all precincts counted read:

Jim Steigert (i) -1,374
Debby Sosine – 1,366
John Spella (i) – 1,340
Steve Kaniewski – 859
Steve Serafin – 798

The only minor surprise in Algonquin was the order of finish, with newcomer Sosine edging-out incumbent Spella by 26 votes.

The 3rd time was the charm for Sosine, as her impressive finish in the village of Algonquin’s race makes up for any disappointment her 2 losses for D300 school board in 2001 and 2003, as she will backfill Trustee Barb Read, who did not seek re-election. Given the demand for change D300 voters made this year, Sosine not being a member of the school board was a blessing in disguise.

Conventional wisdom of the 2 incumbents and Sosine winning in Algonquin held true because voters in Algonquin are very excited about how their village is being led, given the Randall Road corridor’s commercial growth in recent years. Steigert and Spella have been part of the village board, and Sosine’s longtime service on both the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the Economic Development Commission was rewarded in this election, too.

For Steve Kaniewski, who lost his bid for a trustee seat in 2005 by 177 votes, this year’s 481 vote margin of defeat was especially crushing, given he came up short again in a 5-way race. Granted, there were 2 openings on the village board in 2005, but when a candidate’s vote total goes down from 1,172 to 859 instead of increasing 2 years later, the voters have clearly said “thank you for placing your name up for election, but no thank you”.

As for Steve Serafin’s campaign emphasizing the need for Kane County representation on the village board, his message did not resonate with voters, despite his direct mail, door-to-door and robocalls push. Serafin could not win in Kane County, as the unofficial returns from the 5 precincts in Kane County bear out:

John Spella – 275
Debby Sosine – 269
Jim Steigert – 267
Steve Serafin – 223
Steve Kaniewski – 147

The clearer message to Serafin is while there is some merit for the need for balanced representation on the village board, direct experience serving village residents, as in Sosine’s case, through the Economic Development Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission over a period of years, resonates much much more with voters.

Trustee Steigert, Trustee-elect Sosine and Trustee Spella will be sworn-in to office at either the May 1st or May 8th meeting of the village board, once the official canvass takes place and the McHenry and Kane County clerks certify the election results. Because of provisional balloting, the elections certifications could take up to 3 weeks, depending on the number of provisional ballots cast in each county.