McHenry County Blog

9 AM at the McHenry County Board room, half of the McHenry County Board will be sworn into office by Judge Michael J. Sullivan.

The number of Democrats will rise from one to three as

join Jim Kennedy of District 5, also a former Lake in the Hills village trustee.

Newly elected Republicans include

• Robert Bless of District 1, replacing retiring Dan Shea. Both are from Fox River Grove
• Scott Breeden of District 2, replacing retiring Marie Chmiel. Both are Crystal Lakers. Breeden previously served as Lakewood Village President and President of the Crystal Lake Park Board.
• Ersel Schuster of the District 6 part of Woodstock. She has previously served on the county board and is Seneca Township Supervisor. Schuster replaces retiring Mary Lou Zierer, who lives between Marengo and Harvard.

Being sworn in after being re-elected will be Algonquin’s Marc Munaretto (District 1), Crystal Lake’s Jim Heisler (District 2), Mary Donner of rural Crystal Lake (District 3), John Hammerand and Sue Draffkorn (District 4), Bull Valley’s Virginia Peschke (District 5) and Union’s Randy Donley (District 6).

The following press release has been received by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water:

The Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water (ALAW) is pleased to support three candidates for McHenry County Board in the upcoming election: John Hammerand, District 4; John Jung Jr., District 5; Ersel Schuster, District 6. Please vote for these candidates if you live in their respective districts.

Each of these candidates demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the primary issues concerning our county, and the impact county board decisions can have on those concerns.

Each has made a commitment to 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.

In addition each candidate has been accessible and responsive to our questions and shown a willingness to think independently and act accordingly.

Our survey and the responses of all candidates who answered are available by request at ALAW.

The following press release has been received by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water:

The Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water (ALAW) is pleased to support three candidates for McHenry County Board in the upcoming election: John Hammerand, District 4; John Jung Jr., District 5; Ersel Schuster, District 6. Please vote for these candidates if you live in their respective districts.

Each of these candidates demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the primary issues concerning our county, and the impact county board decisions can have on those concerns.

Each has made a commitment to 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.

In addition each candidate has been accessible and responsive to our questions and shown a willingness to think independently and act accordingly.

Our survey and the responses of all candidates who answered are available by request at ALAW.

I read these incredible comments in Chuck Keeshan’s Daily Herald story Thursday about the Democrats carrying McHenry County:

“Coroner Marlene Lantz, an outspoken critic of the Bianchi administration, said she was skeptical of Bianchi’s olive branch and accused him of passing up earlier opportunities to settle their differences.

“’I really don’t know what to think of his public display,’ she said. ‘He’s had his opportunity to reach out to me, but he blew me off.’”

What Lantz does not seem to understand is that Bianchi now has a tested and dedicated campaign organization.

And, while the Democrats may come up with an opponent, without oodles of money, that opponent cannot be competitive.

Lantz’ supporters are the same ones who supported Roger Naylor for county board in District 6. Naylor ran 1,200 votes behind first place finisher Randy Donley and 500 votes behind Ersel Schuster, who finished second.

In short, having apparently alienated Bianchi himself, Lantz has now allowed Bianchi’s supporters in the most independent area of the county to learn of their dislike for each other.

That is a sure way to lose votes.

My conclusion is that Lantz is the one who is more likely to need to reach out than Bianchi.

After all, she has a former Crystal Laker funeral director with his name still on the door running against her.

Now living in Hebron, Dave Bachmann is also the only Democrat on the countywide ballot.

At least so far.

I still think Lantz has the woman’s five-percentage point advantage, but she also has an aggressive opponent.

What happens if he spends all those long summer days knocking on doors like Jack Franks did?

If so, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lantz ask Bianchi to send out an endorsement mailing.

At least to Republicans.

The question is would Bianchi do it?

I read these incredible comments in Chuck Keeshan’s Daily Herald story Thursday about the Democrats carrying McHenry County:

“Coroner Marlene Lantz, an outspoken critic of the Bianchi administration, said she was skeptical of Bianchi’s olive branch and accused him of passing up earlier opportunities to settle their differences.

“’I really don’t know what to think of his public display,’ she said. ‘He’s had his opportunity to reach out to me, but he blew me off.’”

What Lantz does not seem to understand is that Bianchi now has a tested and dedicated campaign organization.

And, while the Democrats may come up with an opponent, without oodles of money, that opponent cannot be competitive.

Lantz’ supporters are the same ones who supported Roger Naylor for county board in District 6. Naylor ran 1,200 votes behind first place finisher Randy Donley and 500 votes behind Ersel Schuster, who finished second.

In short, having apparently alienated Bianchi himself, Lantz has now allowed Bianchi’s supporters in the most independent area of the county to learn of their dislike for each other.

That is a sure way to lose votes.

My conclusion is that Lantz is the one who is more likely to need to reach out than Bianchi.

After all, she has a former Crystal Laker funeral director with his name still on the door running against her.

Now living in Hebron, Dave Bachmann is also the only Democrat on the countywide ballot.

At least so far.

I still think Lantz has the woman’s five-percentage point advantage, but she also has an aggressive opponent.

What happens if he spends all those long summer days knocking on doors like Jack Franks did?

If so, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lantz ask Bianchi to send out an endorsement mailing.

At least to Republicans.

The question is would Bianchi do it?

First, a disclaimer.

When I did an election night story on the Huntley School Board elections, I did not realize that absentee and early voting had not been included in the results when I wrote.

That oversight led me to report that Aileen Seedorf and Linda Moore had won seats on the District 158 board.

It turns out that those unknown votes knocked Moore down to first runner-up, slightly behind defeated Board President Mike Skala.

It certainly looks as if first place winner Randy Donley has secured a Republican spot on the ballot in District 6, the most rural one in McHenry County. He’s way ahead.

And it looks as if Ersel Schuster, who now serves as Seneca Township Supervisor, will have one, too, because she is in second place, 307 votes ahead of Woodstock’s John Jones.

If the live voting results hold up, Schuster will be poised to return to the McHenry County Board seat she has held two non-consecutive terms before.

You can bet the Establishment Republicans will not be looking forward to that return.

Schuster can be counted on to ask tough questions.

And, guess what?

Linda Moore played a role in Schuster’s victory.

She ran unopposed for Republican precinct committeeman in the newly carved out Sun City precinct and, apparently, worked most of Del Webb for Schuster.

First, a disclaimer.

When I did an election night story on the Huntley School Board elections, I did not realize that absentee and early voting had not been included in the results when I wrote.

That oversight led me to report that Aileen Seedorf and Linda Moore had won seats on the District 158 board.

It turns out that those unknown votes knocked Moore down to first runner-up, slightly behind defeated Board President Mike Skala.

It certainly looks as if first place winner Randy Donley has secured a Republican spot on the ballot in District 6, the most rural one in McHenry County. He’s way ahead.

And it looks as if Ersel Schuster, who now serves as Seneca Township Supervisor, will have one, too, because she is in second place, 307 votes ahead of Woodstock’s John Jones.

If the live voting results hold up, Schuster will be poised to return to the McHenry County Board seat she has held two non-consecutive terms before.

You can bet the Establishment Republicans will not be looking forward to that return.

Schuster can be counted on to ask tough questions.

And, guess what?

Linda Moore played a role in Schuster’s victory.

She ran unopposed for Republican precinct committeeman in the newly carved out Sun City precinct and, apparently, worked most of Del Webb for Schuster.

This is the third installment of McHenry County Board candidates’ answers to the joint McHenry County Defenders and Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water’s county board answers to their questionnaire.

The topic today is the goals of the candidates.

Only five of the candidates answered today’s question. Incumbent Sue Draffkorn declined to provide her vision of what she would accomplish during another four years on the county board.

Let’s see what the five have to say about this open-ended question.

Sue Draffkorn, D-4, Republican: Did not respond to this question.

Jeff Thirtyacre, D-4, Democrat: I would like to start by addressing our tax policy, then look into our education system to control the spending problem in some of the school districts. Look into the water problems in the county; stop illegal dumping of hazardous materials on property near our wetland and conservation districts; look into hazardous roads and intersections and quit kissing up to the rich people in Lake-In-The-Hills & Algonquin. There are other places that need attention. We need new business in McHenry County so taxpayers don’t have to commute so far, generate jobs and fine companies with revolving door policies or set up credits for companies that supply benefits for their employees.

Virginia Peschke, D-5, Republican: I intend to continue working on the projects at hand: agricultural and open-space protection, conservation development initiatives, health and safety issues, including strategies to help citizens, particularly seniors retain home-ownership, disaster preparation for pandemics and other causes and improvement of public transit.

Ersel Schuster, D-6, Republican: My past work on this board included reduction of county government. I will continue that work when elected. Additionally, I will work to preserve and protect our agricultural land by working with fellow board members so they understand the many reasons for agreeing with that philosophy.

Harry Alten, Jr., D-6, Republican: I would try to develop allies on the board to come together with a comprehensive plan to preserve and protect our county and its natural resources. Also, we must manage growth responsibly.

Andrew “Drew” Georgi, Jr., D-6, Democrat: We need to plan our growth better that includes transportation, jobs, housing, and the effects of this growth on our county as a whole. We need to improve both our roads and public transportation. Bring in affordable housing that our people can buy. We need to bring in jobs that let our people both live and work within the county. We need to all of this and make sure we do not affect our environment in a negative w

This is the third installment of McHenry County Board candidates’ answers to the joint McHenry County Defenders and Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water’s county board answers to their questionnaire.

The topic today is the goals of the candidates.

Only five of the candidates answered today’s question. Incumbent Sue Draffkorn declined to provide her vision of what she would accomplish during another four years on the county board.

Let’s see what the five have to say about this open-ended question.

Sue Draffkorn, D-4, Republican: Did not respond to this question.

Jeff Thirtyacre, D-4, Democrat: I would like to start by addressing our tax policy, then look into our education system to control the spending problem in some of the school districts. Look into the water problems in the county; stop illegal dumping of hazardous materials on property near our wetland and conservation districts; look into hazardous roads and intersections and quit kissing up to the rich people in Lake-In-The-Hills & Algonquin. There are other places that need attention. We need new business in McHenry County so taxpayers don’t have to commute so far, generate jobs and fine companies with revolving door policies or set up credits for companies that supply benefits for their employees.

Virginia Peschke, D-5, Republican: I intend to continue working on the projects at hand: agricultural and open-space protection, conservation development initiatives, health and safety issues, including strategies to help citizens, particularly seniors retain home-ownership, disaster preparation for pandemics and other causes and improvement of public transit.

Ersel Schuster, D-6, Republican: My past work on this board included reduction of county government. I will continue that work when elected. Additionally, I will work to preserve and protect our agricultural land by working with fellow board members so they understand the many reasons for agreeing with that philosophy.

Harry Alten, Jr., D-6, Republican: I would try to develop allies on the board to come together with a comprehensive plan to preserve and protect our county and its natural resources. Also, we must manage growth responsibly.

Andrew “Drew” Georgi, Jr., D-6, Democrat: We need to plan our growth better that includes transportation, jobs, housing, and the effects of this growth on our county as a whole. We need to improve both our roads and public transportation. Bring in affordable housing that our people can buy. We need to bring in jobs that let our people both live and work within the county. We need to all of this and make sure we do not affect our environment in a negative w

McHenry County is not destined to get water from Lake Michigan, so what county board members do on water policy is an important issue.

Some forces want to take water from the rural parts of the county (mainly District 6) and pipe it to areas that have grown or want to grow beyond their underlying aquifers ability to provide water. Carpentersville has actually investigated drilling a well in the Harvard area and piping it southeast.

The McHenry County Defenders and the Alliance for Land, Water and Agriculture (A-LAW) put together questions for county board candidates. So far, only six have responded. Maybe more will do so before the fall elections.

Here are the answers of four Republicans and two Democrats to the following questions:

Sue Draffkorn, D-4, Republican: I would like to see developers take it upon themselves to create subdivision plats that protect our natural resources. McHenry County is developing a conservation design ordinance that will require developers to incorporate the preservation and protection of natural resources.

Jeff Thirtyacre, D-4, Democrat: We need a water filtration plant to collect rain water and filter it to have for when water is lacking so not to waste ground water quantities. And to aid in land preservation for farmers. Established water banks can take the overload when water levels are low.

Virginia Peschke, D-5, Republican: I am currently on the Agricultural Preservation Committee and a Board Member of The Land Conservancy (TLC). I have spoken with municipal leaders regarding inter-governmental agreements that facilitate transfer of development rights, yielding income to farmers while preserving ag use. The success of TLC is proof that farmers do want to preserve agriculture.

Ersel Schuster, D-6, Republican: I am convinced that we need an independent water authority in the areas where the greatest recharge of our groundwater occurs. I plan to help fellow board members see the wisdom in that concept and will work to secure their assistance to see that it happens while we can still realize the benefits of having done so.

Harry Alten, Jr., D-6, Republican: Again, we need a viable Agricultural Land preservation plan and hold to that commitment.

Andrew “Drew” Georgi, Jr., D-6, Democrat:
First we need to protect the water and make sure those that are contaminating it stop and clean it up. Second, we need to make sure that we do not let the existing water be over used by approving too many new building projects. And last we need to add reservoirs to both new building projects and to our conservation areas.

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Again, I unfortunately do not have Harry Alten’s photograph. I should have also taken a picture of Jeff Thirtyacre looking left so the spacing would have been better.