McHenry County Blog

"Shawshank Redemption" star Tim Robbins in the prison yard.

Dennis Miller was not optimistic about the future of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

He called him “BlagojeFISH.”

As many of you may know, my legislative social conscience cause during the 1990′s was stopping rape in prison.

The stories, given wide publicity by the 1994 movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” are about how toughened inmates watch the newly-incarcerated walk by yelling,

“New fish!”

Will an inmate come up to Rod Blagojevich and say, "I like your hair"?

Signs may not vote, as 16-year incumbent Trustee Debra McNamee noted on her literature, but they are effective a building name identification.

The four challengers to the Cary Village Board incumbents’ slate appear to be victorious in Tuesday’s election.

With all precincts reporting, but early and absentee votes outstanding, the three challengers for the four-year term appear victorious. Those missing votes could

The top incumbent on the ballot, Alex Pilli, however, is only two votes behind the bottom-placed person on the challengers’ slate for a four-year term.  The question at this point in the evening (just before 10 PM) is what the early and absentee vote results will show when they are folded into the totals later tonight.

For the two-year term, the challenger also leads:

Incumbent challenger slate member Jeff Kraus is leading the incumbents' ally Mark Kownick by almost 200 votes.

Could a recount be in the future for the deciding vote on the Cary Village Board?

Congressman Joe Walsh gives not an inch under intensive grilling by MSNBC's Laruence O'Donnell.

Look at this March 31st video billed by MSNBC as

“MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell goes toe-to-toe with Tea Party Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (Illinois) about the so-called Government Shutdown Prevention Act”

and you’ll know why Democrat Melissa Bean’s handlers would not let her debate Joe Walsh more than once during last year’s campaign and why she insisted the only candidates’ night (the one in Grayslake sponsored by the non-Flag Pledging League of Women Voters) not be recorded.

Again and again O’Donell tries to make Walsh look stupid by asking if he knew that the House’s passing its budget bill did not mean it became law.

Again and again on O’Donnel’s “Last Word” Walsh says the House is passing an appropriations bill with budget cuts its favors in order to get the U.S. Senate to respond.

Videos like this are going to make potential 2010 Democratic Party opponents think long and hard about challenging the 291-vote general election victor.

One potential opponent, State Rep. Jack Franks has had nothing but soft ball interviews on national TV. In fact, the only interview in which he was forced to squirm was when WIND’s Dennis Miller pinned him on Term Limits.

See

Jack Franks “Bridles” at Dennis Miller’s Suggestion of Term Limits

Franks is now in his sixth term–well beyond anyone’s definition of the length a term limit supporter should serve.

At about 10:45 yesterday morning I caught a little of Dennis Miller’s nationally broadcast interview of McHenry County State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo).

Apparently Miller made a pitch for term limits.

And Franks, considering a run for Congress after reapportionment, didn’t like the idea.

What follows is a bit of what I jotted down.

Franks said he was the “first Democrat elected since 1834.”

Fact check time.

I’d think Franks would give more credit to the Democrats who previously represented McHenry County in the Illinois House. I served with State Rep. Tom Hanahan (D-Johnsburg) and, even if Franks doesn’t remember Billy Giblin, a farmer from the Union-Marengo area, I’ll be his father Herb does.

Since Illinois had cumulative voting until Pat Quinn’s Cutback Amendment passed in 1982, my guess is there was a Democrat representing McHenry County except from 1983 until Franks took office in 1999.

“It’s the same bad actors.”

Before saying that, Franks had referred to McHenry County Establishment types. On the state level he mentioned Bob Kjellander and Bill Cellini.

“If you have newbies coming it, they’re going to get rolled.”

“Why not say, ‘I’m out of here in 8 years?’” Miller asked.

“You bridle at that.”

Franks then bragged of his “Sam’s Club for Seniors” pharmaceutical purchasing program, which he said represented “five years fighting with Big Pharma.”

“You’ve got corrupt officials stopping you,” explaining why a legislator like himself would need many terms in officethhe added before his segment was completed.

Miller addressed the legislator in the familiar “Jackie Franks” in his sign-off.

I’ve never hear anyone call Franks “Jackie.”

It occurs to me that someone of Franks’ relative youth (for Congress) might find term limits an issue that he would prefer not to face in a 2012 general election for Congress.