McHenry County Blog

David McSweeney

Dee Beaubien

Multiple sources have contacted McHenry County Blog with the news that State Rep. Mark Beaubien’s widow Dee is telling people she is running for State Representative against Republican winner Dave McSweeney.

“There’s no doubt that she’s running,” one source who wished to remain anonymous said.

Whether she will run as an independent or a Democrat or on a specially-created third party has not yet been ascertained.

What is known is that Terry Cosgrove’s pro-abortion Political Action Committee, Personal PAC (the one that engineered my defeat in the 2002 GOP primary) will be the force behind Dee Beaubien’s campaign.

McSweeney is strongly Pro-Life.

Ed Sullivan

The incoming Chairman of the House Republican Organization, State Rep. Ed Sullivan, wrote,

“I just wanted you to know on the record coming from the new Chairman of HRO that Tom Cross and HRO will be 100% with David McSweeney.”

Sullivan represents the eastern half of State Senator Dan Duffy’s district, while McSweeney is the Republican candidate in the western half.

Duffy has also drawn a female opponent backed by Personal PAC.

“I completely support David McSweeney, but I’m confused at Dee Beaubien’s entry into the race.

“If Dee Beaubien were interested in the race, why didn’t she run in the Republican primary, unless, of course, she’s not really a Republican as she as portrayed herself to be.”

The 52nd House District where Dave McSweeney won a three-way primary election.

The Beaubien campaign fund had $17,600 in it, as of the end of 2011.

During the last quarter of 2011, the fund made the following contributions:

• McHenry County Chairman’s Circle (controlled by Mike Tryon) – $500.00
• Committee to Elect Michelle Schurman, Mt. Carroll – $500
• Friends of Kay Hatcher (endorsed by Personal PAC) – $250
• Nunda Township Republican Central Committee – $250
• Citizens for Bryan Winter – $200

Since her husband’s death last June the Political Action Committee or Dee personally has made the following contributions:

• 11-7-11 Personal PAC – $600
• 10-14-11 Citizens to Re-Elect Bob Miller – $600
• 9-22-11 Personal PAC – $800
• 8-29-11 Citizens for Kent Gaffney – $8,381.65
• 8-24-11 Citizens for Kent Gaffney – $4,000
• 8-1-11 Personal PAC – $8,000

A press release from State Rep. Kent Gaffney:

House Republicans: Democrat Pension Shift would be Disastrous for Local Schools, Property Taxpayers

Springfield…A Democrat-backed plan to shift a portion of the state’s pension obligation to local schools and universities would be disastrous for the schools and for the taxpayers that fund them, a group of House Republicans stressed today.

At a Capitol press conference, the lawmakers said that simply shifting the pension funding burden does nothing to solve the core problem, and would inevitably lead to property tax increases and teacher layoffs.

Ed Sullivan

“Illinois has the worst funded pension system in the country, simply shifting a portion of the financial responsibility to local school districts and public universities does nothing to reduce long-term costs or stabilize our pension systems.

“This is basically rearranging deck chairs while the Titanic continues to sink,” said Representative Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein).

Kent Gaffney

Representative Kent Gaffney (R- Lake Barrington) said the Democrats’ pension shift would eat up about 9% of local school districts’ total payroll budgets. For the Wauconda School District 118 in his area, that would mean about $2.24 million.

“Schools are already waiting months for reimbursement from the state and school transportation dollars have been slashed.

“If the Democrats move forward with the shift, schools will have even fewer payroll dollars to pay teachers’ salaries, and will be forced to enact layoffs,” Gaffney said.

Rich Morthland

Representative Rich Morthland (R-Cordova) said he’s also extremely concerned about the certain impact the shift would have on family budgets already stretched to the breaking point.

“This shift will leave schools no place to go but back to their local property taxpayers. It will lead to huge property tax increases and tuition increases for our university students.

“Families are already struggling under the 67% income tax increase Democrats’ forced upon them last year. Adding property tax and tuition increases on top of that would be absolutely devastating,” Morthland said.

“Nearly one year ago Quinn signed into law massive tax increases on working families, seniors and businesses, and now Quinn wants to move forward with another ill-advised plan to reform pensions by raising taxes. . . property taxes,” said State Representative Paul Evans (R-O’Fallon)

“I am in strong support of reforming our state’s pension system which faces $83 billion in unfunded liabilities, but I am adamantly opposed to shifting that massive financial burden on homeowners’ property tax bills.   The Governor must stop seeing tax hikes as a solution to every state problem and come to the table to discuss with lawmakers long-term reform plans to get our state back on track.”

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Here’s how much the Democrats teacher pension payment shifting plan will cost McHenry County taxpayers:

Nippersink School District 2   $6,426,544.26
Fox River Grove CSD 3                2,957,690.47
Johnsburg CUSD 12                   12,905,616.00
McHenry CCSD 15                        21,799,110.51
Riley CCSD 18                                1,540,489.81
Alden Hebron SD 19                     2,362,422.73
Cary CCSD 26                               13,393,572.90
Harrison School District 36         1,8419,44.57
Prairie Grove CSD 46                     527,0855.16
Crystal Lake CCSD 47                 41,022,943.64
Harvard CUSD 50                         9,992,328.99
Marengo CHSD 154                        456,6891.59
Community HSD 155                   46,971,492.57
McHenry CHSD 156                     14,307,461.66
Richmond Burton HSCD 157       4,293,500.77
Huntley CSD 158                            37,778,116.01
Marengo-Union ECSD 165             417,9408.47
Woodstock CUSD 200                  31,476,784.34

A press release from State Rep. Kent Gaffney:

Gaffney, Sullivan Turn Down Legislative Scholarship Program

Ed Sullivan

Kent Gaffney

Barrington, IL… Due to State budgetary troubles, State Representatives Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) and Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein) have jointly decided to turn down the General Assembly Scholarship Program offered to each legislator in the Illinois General Assembly.

The General Assembly Scholarship Program is an unfunded mandate that allows legislators to award up to eight scholarships each year covering tuition at State universities.

“While many people have benefited from this program, in times like these, unfunded mandates and extra costs to the State need to be reviewed,” said Gaffney. “Illinois just had its ninth bond downgrade in the past four years and the State is facing billions of dollars of unpaid bills. We need to look at every option available to save taxpayer dollars, this not the time to be awarding Legislative Scholarships.”

In 2011, 1,327 tuition waivers were awarded in Illinois, costing the State $13,508,800. This $13.5 million is an unfunded mandate on State universities, where the cost is then passed on to other students paying tuition. Tuition rates in Illinois have been skyrocketing the past few years. Since 2003, the University of Illinois’ tuition rate has gone up 53%, averaging $14,414 a year. With State finances in dire straights and taxpayers getting hit with a 67% tax increase, Gaffney and Sullivan want to cut costs by not participating in the program.

“I have participated in this program since I was first elected and many deserving students have benefited from these scholarships. However in these tough economic times, tough decisions have to be made,” said Sullivan. “My office will no longer be offering the General Assembly Scholarship.”

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Here’s what Mike Tryon is doing.

A press release from School District 300:

Sears legislation passes House, headed to Senate

Sears Centre

SPRINGFIELD – Legislation to extend the Sears EDA for another 15 years and provide additional tax credits to Sears passed the Illinois House of Representatives this afternoon (Dec. 12) by a 2 to 1 margin.

The Illinois Senate is expected to vote on the bill tomorrow, which would bring to a close a 9-month struggle by the D300 community to secure a fair and reasonable compromise on the EDA extension.

Today’s official voting recording by House members (81 yes, 28 no, 7 present) on SB 397 can be found here: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory/97/house/09700SB0397_12122011_003000T.pdf. The amended legislation matches the agreement that D300 leaders reluctantly agreed to in late November.

Sears subsidy House roll call on Senate Bill 397. Click to enlarge.

During debate on the House floor today, several House members posed questions to the bill sponsors in order to set the official record straight and prevent future exploitation of ambiguities in the language. For example:

• Bill sponsor John Bradley, who also chairs the House Revenue and Finance Committee was asked whether the EDA would end within one calendar year of Sears leaving the state at any point during the 15-year extension, which Bradley confirmed.
• Rep. Mike Tryon asked how many jobs Sears would need to maintain in the EDA after the first five years of the extension in order for the EDA to stay in place. Bradley confirmed that if Sears maintained only a few hundred jobs in the EDA, that would essentially qualify as Sears having left the state.
• Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. asked for clarification on the terms “developer” and “successor entities” in the legislation, and Bradley clarified that both terms specifically refer to Sears Corporate Holdings.
• Rep. Kent Gaffney asked whether any EDA money could be used for bond payments on the Sears Centre Arena (which is owned by the Village of Hoffman Estates, not by Sears), and Bradley confirmed that such bond payments would be illegal.
• Gaffney also asked whether Sears will have an outside agency certify the cost of its capital projects in order for the public to know when the EDA should officially end (estimates are 8-12 years), and Bradley confirmed this outside certification would occur.

Rep. Tryon went on to criticize the bill for allowing the Village of Hoffman Estates to continue receiving $1.7 million more per year than the village’s normal taxation from the EDA. He also admonished the bill sponsors for their poor treatment of D300 leaders on the EDA issue.

But Superintendent Michael Bregy pointed out that the criticism he and others have endured was limited to a small handful of the more than 160 members of the House and Senate.

“At the end of the day, our very few critics have been far outnumbered by our legions of supporters – both at the local level and the state level,” Bregy recently said in a news release.

The collective effort by D300 staff and community members on the EDA legislation this year will result in a net gain of at least $50 million for the D300 school system over the next 15 years. (Now = $2.9M/year. Extension = $6.2M/year.)

“If the value of the EDA property goes up, that figure will be even higher.

“If Sears is repaid earlier than 15 years, as expected, the district will receive an additional $11 million a year in school property taxes that are rightfully due to us.

“And if Sears moves at any point, likewise the district will receive an additional $11 million a year.

* The new legislation still not does specifically name Sears, and it still does not require Sears to keep all of its current jobs at its corporate headquarters in D300 / Hoffman Estates. But both of these matters were clarified on the House floor today, and the legislation does provide financial penalties if Sears drops below a certain # of jobs in the first 5 years of the EDA extension.

My computer problems have been my excuse for basically ignoring the 8th congressional district’s Republican primary election.

It’s time to start paying attention to what the candidates are saying with the election just five weeks away.

Here’s an invitation from Maria Rodriguez reminding folks of her rally tomorrow night in Long Grove. I think I attended a shower at the Long Grove Village Tavern where this event is being held. Nice place.

Reminder – Come out to the ‘Countdown to Victory’ Rally Tomorrow Night!

As we prepare the countdown to the new year… join us in counting down the 35 days to Maria’s Congressional primary victory!

Tuesday, December 29 at 6:30 p.m.

at the Long Grove Village Tavern
135 N. Old McHenry Road in Downtown Long Grove

Hors d’oeuvres provided by the Tavern

Cash Bar

Melissa Bean’s solutions to the 8th district’s problems are higher taxes, runaway spending, and a government takeover of health care.  While she claims to be a pro-business moderate, Melissa Bean votes with Speaker Pelosi’s radical job-killing agenda more than 90 percent of the time.  For all the right reasons, we need Maria in Congress.

As the village president of Long Grove, Maria knows how to balance a budget and make government live within its means.   As our Member of Congress, she’ll rein in wasteful spending, hold the line on taxes and support a legislative agenda that is pro-job creation.

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Along side of the invitation is a list of those who have endorsed Rodriguez.  I think you might find them of interest:

• Illinois Federation for Right to Life PAC
• Libertyville Township Republican Committee
• One of Two Preferred Candidates by the Schaumburg Township Republican Committee
• Christine Radogno, State Senate Minority Leader
• Pam Althoff, State Senator
• Dan Duffy, State Senator
• Ed Sullivan, State Representative
• Joanne Osmond, State Representative
• Bill Peterson, Former State Senator
• Mike Adelizzi, Schaumburg Township Republican Committeeman
• Brent Paxton, Lake County Board Member
• David Stolman, Lake County Board Member
• Linda Pederson, Lake County Board Member
• Aaron Lawlor, Lake County Board Member
• Arlene Mulder, Mayor – Arlington Heights
• Peter Breen, Thomas More Law Center
• Daniel McConchie, Americans United for Life

A press release from 8th Congressional GOP candidate Maria Rodriguez:

8th Congressional candidate, Maria Rodriguez to host a Town Hall meeting.

LAKE COUNTY, IL – Maria Rodriguez, candidate for the 8th Congressional District will host a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, Sept. 26th at 1600 Milwaukee in Lake Villa at Noon.

State Senator Dan Duffy (R-26) and State Representative Ed Sullivan (R-51) will join Ms. Rodriguez.

The purpose of the meeting is to hear the opinions and concerns of the 8th district residents regarding urgent issues including healthcare. The meeting will be an open forum for any and all concerned constituents.

Rodriguez currently serves as President of the Village of Long Grove and has worked closely with Duffy and Sullivan on various regional issues.

“I am grateful for their endorsement and look forward to many more town hall meetings to discuss federal and state issues.”

When asked why she chose to run for congress in this election, Rodriguez said,

“I am running because members of Congress have lost touch with the people. They are not listening and that is unacceptable to me. Congress is considering legislation that will fundamentally change health care and energy and will have a major impact on job growth in the United States. These decisions should be vigorously debated and consider the will of the people. That is why I am starting my campaign with an open forum where everyone is invited and all views are welcomed.”

Rodriguez was recently elected to a second term to lead the Village of Long Grove and has an economics degree from the University of Illinois.

Democrat Bean has held no town hall meetings on health care or any other subject this summer.

So, what should Family PAC’s Paul Caprio do?

Declare victory because his campaign to kill the RTA sales tax hike succeeded.

House Speaker Mike Madigan has played medical examiner and pronounced it dead.

Instead of raising sales taxes in the six county area, Madigan indicates he is willing to accept House Republican Leader Tom Cross’s plan to rip $380 off the top of the General Fund.

While most lobbying organizations attempt to convince their members to call their legislators on an issue, Family PAC commissioned phone calls to be made to eleven legislators’ constituents.

Now one quarter of one percent in the collar counties, the RTA sales tax proposal would have increased it to three quarters of one percent.

That doesn’t sound like much, but my calculations for McHenry County families led me to conclude that it would cost an extra $200 per year for each family.

That would have been a pretty steep price to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority.

At this point, let me point out that an attempt was made to buy off collar county board members. Half of their sales tax hike would go for roads. What no one mentions is that county boards, if they have the guts to propose it, could already ask voters to approve a sales tax hike to finance roads.

This CTA bail-out bill would have allowed collar county boards to short circuit the sales tax referendum process.

No “short circuit” is too kind a word.

It would have allowed county board members to ignore their constituents.

But, back to what Family PAC did.

Caprio targeted eleven suburban legislators and poured 90,000 phone calls into their suburban districts.

Whose staffs got the privilege of fielding the calls?

Republican Beth Coulson of Glenview
Republican Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn
Republican Ruth Munson of Elgin
Democrat Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates
Recently turned Democrat Paul Froehlich
Republican Sandy Cole of Grayslake
Democrat Careen Gordon of Morris
Republican Renee Kosel of New Lenox
Republican Mike Fortner of West Chicago
Republican Joe Dunn of Naperville
Republican Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills
Republican Ed Sullivan of Mundelein
Republican JoAnn Osmond of Antioch

“As a result of these calls and other grassroots pressure,” Caprio wrote, “Madigan did not have the votes to pass the sales tax increase which would have cost taxpayers in Cook and the collars more than $380 million annually to further subsidize a failed transit system.

“We won this battle, but as long as the Legislature is still in Session the threat of a tax hike continues.

“State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna also worked hard in opposing the Tax Increase and House Minority Leader Tom Cross came out against it. It is amazing to me what we can accomplish when we all work together. Lets keep up the pressure!”

How about that?

A political action committee actually doing something to keep taxes from being hiked.

So, what should Family PAC’s Paul Caprio do?

Declare victory because his campaign to kill the RTA sales tax hike succeeded.

House Speaker Mike Madigan has played medical examiner and pronounced it dead.

Instead of raising sales taxes in the six county area, Madigan indicates he is willing to accept House Republican Leader Tom Cross’s plan to rip $380 off the top of the General Fund.

While most lobbying organizations attempt to convince their members to call their legislators on an issue, Family PAC commissioned phone calls to be made to eleven legislators’ constituents.

Now one quarter of one percent in the collar counties, the RTA sales tax proposal would have increased it to three quarters of one percent.

That doesn’t sound like much, but my calculations for McHenry County families led me to conclude that it would cost an extra $200 per year for each family.

That would have been a pretty steep price to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority.

At this point, let me point out that an attempt was made to buy off collar county board members. Half of their sales tax hike would go for roads. What no one mentions is that county boards, if they have the guts to propose it, could already ask voters to approve a sales tax hike to finance roads.

This CTA bail-out bill would have allowed collar county boards to short circuit the sales tax referendum process.

No “short circuit” is too kind a word.

It would have allowed county board members to ignore their constituents.

But, back to what Family PAC did.

Caprio targeted eleven suburban legislators and poured 90,000 phone calls into their suburban districts.

Whose staffs got the privilege of fielding the calls?

Republican Beth Coulson of Glenview
Republican Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn
Republican Ruth Munson of Elgin
Democrat Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates
Recently turned Democrat Paul Froehlich
Republican Sandy Cole of Grayslake
Democrat Careen Gordon of Morris
Republican Renee Kosel of New Lenox
Republican Mike Fortner of West Chicago
Republican Joe Dunn of Naperville
Republican Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills
Republican Ed Sullivan of Mundelein
Republican JoAnn Osmond of Antioch

“As a result of these calls and other grassroots pressure,” Caprio wrote, “Madigan did not have the votes to pass the sales tax increase which would have cost taxpayers in Cook and the collars more than $380 million annually to further subsidize a failed transit system.

“We won this battle, but as long as the Legislature is still in Session the threat of a tax hike continues.

“State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna also worked hard in opposing the Tax Increase and House Minority Leader Tom Cross came out against it. It is amazing to me what we can accomplish when we all work together. Lets keep up the pressure!”

How about that?

A political action committee actually doing something to keep taxes from being hiked.