McHenry County Blog

McHenry County Board members Nick Provenzano and John Jung lost their seats two years ago in District 3 and District 5.

Joint sign for Mary Donner and Nick Provenzano for county board showed up for the first time the night before the election around polling places. Provenzano lost the election to Democratic Party challenger, now central committee chair, Kathy Bergan Schmidt.

It wasn’t that Provenzano and Jung didn’t have signs up supporting their re-election.

In retrospect, I believe it was because they did not run joint campaigns with their Republican running mates.

There was nothing but being next to each other on the Republican Party ballot to encourage supporters of their running mates to vote for them as well.

This causation factor hit me the night before the election when I saw this joint yard sign for Mary Donner and Provenzano.

It turned out to be too little, too late,

Provenzano lost to Kathy Bergan Schmidt and Paula Yensen beat Jung.

Yard signs for John Jung running mate Virginia Peschke began showing up two weekends before the election in which Democrat Paula Yensen picked off Jung. Peschke ran first.

Jung’s running mate, Virginia Peschke, put on no discernible campaign until yard signs appeared about two weekends before the fall election.

So, here’s my unsolicited advice to Republican county board candidates.

Convince your running mates to have joint yard signs.

Even if you don’t like them and they don’t like you.

Consider it a self-preservation move.

Right now, most GOP candidates don’t have Democratic Party opponents.

It is legal for the Democratic Party to slate candidates. They’ve done it before.

Certainly, it is difficult to find candidates like Yensen and Schmidt, people who will put shoe leather into a campaign.

Campaigning is boring work.

But, there are personal benefits. Candidates who are serious tend to miss meals and, because of that and the energy required going door-to-door, lose weight.

Nevertheless, odds are good that the Democrats won’t find vigorous candidates and, without “fire in the belly” opponents, Republican ballot holders probably aren’t in much trouble in this year of the backlash to corruption so evident among the Democrats’ high profile politicians.

But, it’s always better to do more, rather than less, in an election campaign.

If I were running for county board, I’d want a joint sign campaign.

And joint literature.

Especially, if I came in second in the primary election.

“Hostile” would be fair in characterization of McHenry County Board member Pete Merkel’s reaction to the ALAW conflict of interest proposal, as reported by Kevin Craver of the Northwest Herald

Merkel, running unopposed in the Republican primary election, did not volunteer to reveal his property ownership outside of his home or other potential conflicts of interest.

No opponent. No political need to do so.

Nevertheless, his running mate Sandy Salgado was one of the 20 people running for the county board who did fill out the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water ethics questionnaire.

And, so did Jeff Thirtyacre, so far, the only Democratic Party challenger in the fall election.

Merkel ran first in the primary election.

Looking at the almost final primary election results, Merkel would seem to have no reelection problems.   The Democrat received 1,800 fewer votes than Merkel.

So, he would be the perfect person to lead the charge against ALAW.

The questionnaire was politically motivate, he charges.

No question about that.

It was designed to influence the February 2nd primary election.

Truth.

But, then Merkel charged that the conflict of interest form had nothing to do with “transparency and openness.”

He really should have come to the Patriots United County Board Candidates’ Forum and heard the tepid applause after incumbent Dan Ryan (R-Huntley) made known that he was not going to fill out the ALAW form.  Subsequently, Ryan blamed his loss on the questionnaire.

There he swerves from the truth and threatens to lead the Republican Party, as exemplified by its county board members, into an abyss.

No matter how insulated McHenry County’s Republican board members are from the public, even they, if they will just let their emotions subside, are capable of figuring out that Illinois voters are fed up with politics as usual.

Those who don’t think so aren’t paying attention.

Will it be the sea change that I noticed in 1969?

Before that date, the fact that Crystal Lake’s mayor worked for the biggest developer in town was no big deal.

Everybody had to work somewhere.

Then the Crystal Lake Jaycees, many of whom lived in Coventry, the development built by that developer, did a fire safety project. They discovered that in the back section of Coventry fire trucks could not get through if cars were parked on the streets.

Then, it became important where the mayor worked.

Tony Wujcik beat incumbent Mayor Lou Goosens handily in the 1971 election. (More about that change in ethical standards here.)

To mix metaphors, are we at a similar fault line now?

I think so.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler was one of three re-nominated incumbents who has so far not completed the ALAW conflict of interest form.

Twenty of twenty-seven candidates for county board voluntarily completed ALAW’s questionnaire.

Of those who won nomination in the Republican Party, incumbents

• Anna May Miller,
• Ken Koehler,
• Pete Merkel, plus
• newcomer Robert Nowak

are a minority of 4 out of 12 GOP county board candidates on the ballot this fall who did not do so.

Democrat incumbent Jim Kennedy is the only Democrat who did not fill one out.

Maybe these four incumbents know something that the rest of the people (sans District 1 newcomer Robert Nowak) running for county board don’t know.

Eight of twelve people on the Republican Part ballot this fall have filled out the form are:

• Donna Kurtz
• Nick Provenzano
• Barb Wheeler
• Sandy Salgado
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Diane Evertsen
• Mary McCann

Among the Democrats, two-thirds answered ALAW’s questions:

• Jeff Thirtyacre
• Lori McConville

So did the only Green Party candidate:

• Frank Wedig

So, maybe those out of step with the times are those who have not yet sent in the questionnaire.

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I’ll have some more comments a bit later.

The letter with the candidates endorsed by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water was too late for the Northwest Herald’s deadline for letters.

The paper of record also would not use the information as the basis for a story.

It was published on McHenry County Blog, however.

So, who were those candidates who answered the questions below to ALAW’s satisfaction?

Barbara Wheeler

Diane Evertson

Donna Kurtz

John Jung

Mary McCann

• Donna Kurtz (R) District Two
• Barb Wheeler (R) District 3
• John Jung, Jr. (R) District 5
• Frank Wedig, (Green Party) District 5
• Diane Evertsen (R) District 6
• Mary McCann (R) District 6

Frank Wedig

“Each of these candidates has pledged to work for preservation of our natural resources, our fresh water supply and our prime farmland,” the ALAW press release said.

“These goals are critical to maintaining our quality of life and economic viability in the county.”

Survey results are available here.

You read what the Woodstock Independent, the Northwest Herald and the Daily Herald want to know about and from candidates. Here’s what the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water are interested in learning about those running for the McHenry County Board:

ALAW County Board Candidates Survey: 2010 Primary Election

Please, indicate yes or no in the box to the right of the question.

A. Land Use

1. Have you personally attended any of the Regional Planning Commission meetings or subcommittee meetings on the 2030 Comprehensive Land Use Plan?

2. Have you read the proposed 2030 Land Use Plan?

3. Do you think the makeup of the 2030 Regional Planning Commission was a
balanced representation of the residents of the county?

4. Do you agree that new development should be located where infrastructure
exists, to minimize the extension of new roads, utilities and services, and protect
farmland and water recharge areas?

5. If elected, will you support funding permanent protection of agricultural land
and the agricultural industry in the County?

6. Do you understand that new rural development costs more for the extension of
infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and services) than it brings to the County in
taxes and that those extra costs are passed on to the existing taxpayers?

7. Do you support creation of the Hac-Ma-Tac National Wildlife Refuge in the
county?

B. Water Resources

1. Would you oppose any land use change that would exceed a locally recharged
aquifer’s capacity?

2. If elected will you enforce use of the SARA – Sensitive Aquifer Recharge
Areas map developed by the County Water Resources Department, as a
determining factor in every land use change decision?

3. Do you support redistributing groundwater from water-rich areas to areas that have over drawn their groundwater?

4. Do you think that McHenry County will be able to get water from Lake
Michigan?

C. Transparency in Government

1. Would you support a requirement that all elected or appointed county officials
make up-front disclosures of any financial or other interest in any real property
in the County?

2. Do you support a requirement that all elected or appointed county officials
make up-front disclosures of their interest in any business entity doing business
with the county?

3. Do you believe that public officials should disclose whether they provide
professional services to any unit of government to which they are elected or
appointed?

4. Do you agree that all scheduled meetings agendas and minutes, including
committee and sub-committee, should be posted on the County web site?

5. Do you agree that all McHenry County Board meetings should be video
recorded and posted on the County web site?

D. Short Answer. Only the number of words indicated will be published in the response report. (please add a page if you need more room, but remember that we can only print the number of words indicated. Thank you.)

1. What role do you think the County should play in planning for growth? (50 words)

2. By protecting agricultural lands and soil resources, groundwater and its natural recharge can also be protected. What will you do to provide that protection? (50 words)

3. What does the County get from its annual contract with the McHenry County
Economic Development Corporation and is it a good investment of taxpayer money? (50 words)

4. Who do you consider to be your constituents and how do you intend to communicate with them to ensure your positions honestly represent them? (50 words)

5. Please provide a personal statement about what you intend to accomplish, if elected to the County Board, and/or provide additional information regarding any of the “ / no” yes answers given above. (100 words)

Answers are due January 11th.

In an interview with the Daily Herald, Sun City McHenry County Board member Dan Ryan blamed his refusal to disclose personal financial information requested by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water and low turnout in his retirement community.

“It infringed on individual privacy too much,” was what he told a reporter.

Regrets?

“Absolutely not,” he told the Daily Herald. “I don’t care if it cost me my office. I have principles.”

District 6 incumbent Daniel Ryan, sitting second from the right of the photo was the only candidate who either has not filed the ALAW conflict of interest form or committing to doing so. From left to right you see Richard Draper, Diane Evertsen, Victor Narusis, Dan Ryan and Mary McCann,

At the Patriots United County Board Candidates’ Forum, Ryan received decidedly tepid applause when he said he was not going to fill out the ALAW form.

Ryan was similarly resistive when the Illinois Family Institute, in conjunction with Patriots United made phone calls to him, among others, seeking people to call Ryan in favor of a ban on video gambling. When he figured out who had stimulated the 50-some calls, Ryan called IFI, telling the person who answered the phone that he would call them every time someone called him.

Ryan voted to allow video poker in rural bars and restaurants.

The conflict of interest form, which asks for property ownership and business relationships, was completed by 20 of 27 candidates in the February 2nd primary election.

Ryan was the only incumbent who lost who failed to fill out the form.

District 1’s Yvonne Barnes and District 2’s Lyn Orphal, both of whom sent ALAW the answers to the financial questions asked, also lost.

The other four Republican candidates in Ryan’s District 6 voluntarily turned in their questionnaires. (Those who did not volunteer for the financial exposure can be found here.)

With regard to the Sun City turnout question, the precinct voting returns for Ryan’s Grafton Township Precinct 15 showed these returns:

• Ryan – 107
• Evertsen – 71
• McCann – 55
• Draper – 33
• Narusis – 33

These totals are not the final precinct totals. The finals will show more votes, perhaps many more because lots of folks in Sun City are out of town this time of year and Ryan made a determined effort to solicit absentee votes.

It should be noted, however, that the McHenry County Clerk’s web site shows Ryan receiving 272 votes for precinct committeeman.

It will be interesting to see the final totals to compare his precinct committeeman total with those votes he received to retain his county board seat.

Here’s what happened to those county board candidates who did not send in a completed ALAW ethics form.

Yvonne Barnes from Cary and Dan Ryan from Huntley’s Sun City are the two McHenry County Board members who are far enough behind before the early and absentee votes are added to the totals for me to conclude have lost.

I’m having a hard time finding a common thread.

Robert Nowak sits along next to empty seats set aside for incumbent District 1 candidates Anna May Miller and Yvonne Barnes. Nowak beat both incumbents in the primary election.

In District 1, Robert Nowak is leading both Anna May Miller by almost 100 votes. Miller is leading Barnes by 200 votes.

I think it unlikely that adding the early and absentee ballots will allow Barnes to pick up almost 300 votes.

I am searching for reasons for Nowak’s victory. Can anyone help me out?

Nowak was the only District 1 candidate to come to the Patriots United County Board Candidate Forum.

But, since the paper of record in McHenry County, the Northwest Herald couldn’t spare a reporter than Friday night, the only story on the event appeared on McHenry County Blog.

Although those interested in politics certainly read this publication, I hardly think Miller’s and Barnes’ missing the event caused them to run behind the challenger who did.

In District 6, it’s time to play “The Girls Are Back in Town.”

Mary McCann led the race. She asked supporters to vote for her exclusively.

Second, running 375 votes behind before the County Clerk’s Office folded in the early and absentee ballots, is newcomer Diane Evertsen.

Fellow newcomer Victor Narusis is 436 votes behind.

Incumbent Dan Ryan trails Narusis by 63 votes at this point in the vote counting. Ryan failed to complete the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water conflict of interest form. He was the only candidate running in District 6 who did not voluntarily fill out the ethics questionniare.

Running last is Wonder Lake’s Richard Draper.

The District 6 Patriots United panel. Incumbent Daniel Ryan, sitting second from the right of the photo is the only candidate who did not filed the ALAW conflict of interest form.

Incumbent McHenry County Board member Dan Ryan is going down to defeat, while, Mary McCann, the other incumbent up for election is running second with 13 of 31 precincts reporting.

Leading the pack is newcomer Dianne Evertsen from Hartland Township. She was encouraged to run by opponents to the county board’s Alden Road widening project.

Ryan is running third, 195 votes behind McCann.

Newcomer Vic Narusis is coming in fourth with a little under one-third of the precincts counted.

Last is Wonder Lake resident Richard Draper.

Here are the results at 9 PM:

This is a wildly diverse district, which includes the McHenry County portion of Sun City, where Ryan lives.

Before calling anyone a victor, people should wait for the electronic, early and absentee votes to be counted.

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Now (9:20) two-thirds of the votes have been counted.

The second placed woman is now 500 votes ahead. Maybe the crystal ball is becoming clearer.

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 County Board in December, the draft ordinance was shipped off to the State’s Attorney’s Office for review.

The review came back with some good points, along with some trivial ones.

And the number of county board candidates voluntarily filing the form kept increasing. Here’s who have filed so far:

• District 1 – None
• District 2 – All but Ken Koehler, that is, Sandra DePaul, Donna Kurtz, Ellen Brady Mueller and Lyn Orphal
• District 3 – Everyone of them! Veronica Armstrong, Nick Provenzano, Craig Steagall, Barbara Wheeler and Karen Tynis
• District 4 – Sandra Salgado and Jeff Thirtyacre (Democrat)
• District 5 – Tina Hill, John Jung and Frank Wedig (Green).  Incumbent Jim Kennedy and challenger Dave Frederick have not yet filed the form.
• District 6 – All but incumbent Dan Ryan, that is, Richard Draper, Diane Evertsen, Mary McCann and Vic Narusis.

Since there is no deadline, candidates or public officials can still download the conflict of interest form, fill it out and send it in.

Indeed ALAW did not even ask candidates to fill out the ethics form; it did have a questionnaire on issued of interest, however, the results of which can be found here for the twelve county board candidates who completed it.

As you can see more candidates filled out the ethics statement than filled out the issue questionnaire.

Along the way, every candidate for sheriff has answered the conflict of interest questionnaire.

And, two incumbent county board members not up for election have completed it. One, Republican Virginia Peschke, the other, Democrat Paula Yensen.

Crystal Lake Councilwoman Carolyn Schofield

Late last week, however, the first municipal official sent in answers.

She is Crystal Lake City Councilwoman Carolyn Schofield.

What’s that all about?

She just got elected.

Does this portend an issue in the Crystal Lake city elections next spring?

Will Schofield introduce an ordinance to make completing the conflict of interest form a requirement for elected and appointed city officials, as well as city consultants?

Unlike the County of McHenry, the City of Crystal Lake is a Home Rule unit of government.

What’s that mean?

It means the Crystal Lake City Council and other Home Rule cities have more power than county government.

The standard explanation of what a Home Rule government can do is anything the General Assembly doesn’t say it can’t do.

If Schofield, the newest member of the city council, follows decides to make a variation of the ALAW ordinance mandatory in Crystal Lake, the debate could turn quite interesting.

Since city Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller is running for county board in District 2, she might get elected. She certainly is in the top three in the sign war.

If elected, I imagine she would resign from the council. If so, a replacement would have to be selected.

Might the council require applicants for the possible vacancy to answer the conflict of interest questions first?

Whether or not the city council passed such a requirement, any council member could let it be known that he or she would not support a candidate who did not fill out the form.

Yes, ALAW has started something that could get very, very interesting.

Barbara Wheeler

Diane Evertson

Donna Kurtz

Endorsements from the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water has endorsed folks for the McHenry County Board.

Here is the group’s press release:

John Jung

Mary McCann

The Alliance for Land Agriculture and Water (ALAW) is pleased to recommend the following candidates for McHenry County Board and asks for your vote in their respective districts.

• Donna Kurtz (R) District Two
• Barb Wheeler (R) District 3
• John Jung, Jr. (R) District 5
• Frank Wedig, (Green Party) District 5
• Diane Evertsen (R) District 6
• Mary McCann (R) District 6

Frank Wedig

Each of these candidates has pledged to work for preservation of our natural resources, our fresh water supply and our prime farmland.

These goals are critical to maintaining our quality of life and economic viability in the county.

Survey results are available here.

We would like to remind voters that “vote for two” on your ballot is not a command, but a choice.

Zane Seipler

So far thirteen candidates for the McHenry County Board have filed the conflict of interest forms that the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water have suggested be applied to all county officials.

Yesterday, Zane Seipler, who is challenging three-term incumbent Keith Nygren for Sheriff, filed his form.

“I have nothing to hide. Literally, nothing at all!”

he emailed me with his filled out form.

This marks the first time that the issue of ethics raised by ALAW has reached the level of offices all of us in McHenry County get to vote on.

Two additional county board members filed as well.

They are incumbent Sandy Salgado, who is running unopposed along with incumbent Pete Merkel, in District 3’s Republican primary election. Their Democratic opponent Jeff Thirtyacre was one of the first to file.

Thirtyacre sent me this email:

Jeff Thirtyace

ALAW’s request for info should be the beginning of cleaning out the people that cause harm to our County.

We need this kind of openness with all our Government the time for dishonesty and Greed has to come to an end.

And This needs to go for all government starting with Township and School Districts and their Boards,also Hospital Boards where ever there is politics it should be in place so that we don’t have another situation like the one we just had with our former Governor.

I believe we need a States Attorneys office that doesn’t work for just one party it work for the people.

And a Sheriffs Department that’s officers care about all of our County not just where they live.

Besides Salgado, District 6 Republican candidate Richard Draper of Wonder Lake has filed his questionnaire.  He is the third in this most rural district to have filed the ALAW questionnaire.  Preceding him by three days were challenger Dianne Evertson and incumbent Mary McCann.  Incumbent Dab Ryan has not yet filed the form.

Below you can click on the forms that have been filed with ALAW or get one to fill out or go here. Look at one and you can see, for most people, it’s not a tough from to fill out.  Note the dates on which the forms were filed.

Attachments (14)

• DISCLOSURE FORM FROM ORDINANCE.doc – on Jan 7, 2010 1:33 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure – Armstrong.pdf – on Jan 12, 2010 3:08 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure -Draper.pdf – on Jan 11, 2010 9:37 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure -Evertsen.pdf – on Jan 8, 2010 1:02 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure -Hill.pdf – on Jan 10, 2010 5:17 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure – Kurtz.pdf – on Jan 5, 2010 4:38 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure – McCann.pdf – on Jan 8, 2010 5:26 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure – Provenzo.pdf – on Jan 8, 2010 1:02 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure-Salgado.pdf – on Jan 12, 2010 10:20 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure-Seipler.PDF – on Jan 12, 2010 10:20 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure-Steagall.pdf – on Jan 9, 2010 10:10 PM by A LAW (version 3 / earlier versions)
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• Disclosure- Thirtyacre.PDF – on Jan 10, 2010 9:35 AM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure-Wedig.pdf – on Jan 9, 2010 10:15 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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• Disclosure -Wheeler.pdf – on Jan 9, 2010 10:14 PM by A LAW (version 1)
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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 help remove the suspicion that many members of the public have that county board members use their office for personal gain.

If you tell me people you have talked to haven’t brought this up, I’d suggest you are not very deeply into local citizenship.

The questionnaire idea was presented at the committee level of the McHenry County Board, received a chilly reception, and sent to the State’s Attorney’s Office for reviews, that is, to see if any or all of it would be legal for a non-Home Rule unit of local government to impose upon its officials.

Then, District 3 challenger Craig Steagall decided to fill out the form and submit it to ALAW.

District 2 challenger Donna Kurtz followed suit.

As of now, seven challengers and three incumbents have submitted such information about their personal financial situation.

Ten in all.

Considering Steagall is in District 2 and has demonstrated deep enough pockets to buy full page ads in the Northwest Herald, perhaps it is not surprising that two of his opponents—former County Board member Nick Provenzano and incumbent Barb Wheeler– have decided to make voluntary disclosure.

In District 5, incumbent Tina Hill has filed. In District 6, Mary McCann is among three candidates who have made disclosure.

So, three incumbents running for re-election are willing to stand up for reform.

Barb Wheeler

Tina Hill

Mary McCann

And, they are all women.  Does that tend to re-enforce my analysis that voters think women are less likely to be crooks than men?

Only three, it should be noted. They deserve to have their photos here, don’t you think?

And no one not up for reelection has yet to file a form.

Below is ALAW’s press release:

CANDIDATES DISCLOSURES KEEP COMING

Ten candidates for County Board in the upcoming primary have now voluntarily sent ALAW statements pursuant to the ALAW conflicts disclosure ordinance. Disclosure have been received from

• Donna Kurtz (R), District 2;
• Craig Steagall (R), District 3;
• Nick Provenzano (R), District 3;
• Barb Wheeler (R), District 3;
• Jeff Thirtyacre (D), District 4;
• Tina Hill (R), District 5;
• Frank Wedig (Green Party), District 5;
• Diane Evertsen (R), District 6;
• Mary McCann (R), District 6;
• Richard Draper (R), District 6.

(Incumbents are shown in bold face type; party identification has been added.)

The disclosures and the ordinance are both posted on the ALAW web site here.

ALAW expects to receive more disclosures over the next few days and challenges all candidates file statements.

There is no deadline for filing statements, but it is hoped that all candidates will file prior to the February 2 primary election.

ALAW presented the draft ordinance to the County Board on December 1, 2009.

It is currently under review by the McHenry County States Attorney’s office. If passed, the ordinance will require up front disclosure of elected and appointed county official’s real estate holdings and business relationships with the county.

“Our intent is to dispel the perception that our county officials sometimes place personal interest over their duty to their constituents. That idea has been an undercurrent in our county for a long time, and has recently become more widely expressed by the general public,”

said ALAW Director Emily Berendt. “With “transparency in government’ being such a key issue statewide right now, and the primary election approaching, the timing was right to present this ordinance.”

ALAW President Patricia Kennedy said,

“This was certainly unexpected but is a wonderful affirmation of our belief that full disclosure is as welcome by these candidates as it is by the public.”

Alliance for Land Agriculture and Water
PO Box 1021, Woodstock
Contact: Patricia Kennedy
815-943-7223

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Come to think of it, this voluntary disclosure idea probably has as it precedent the voluntary release of income tax forms by Illinois Democratic Party politician Paul Simon.  I remember reading his Atlantic Monthly article in my Aunt Louise Stevens copy while visiting my grandparents in Maryland several years before moving to Illinois in 1958.  His article about the blatant crookedness in Springfield was my introduction to Illinois politics.