McHenry County Blog

In one of the first county board fund raisers of the year, McHenry County College Board member Donna Kurtz gathered supporters at The Cottage at the corner of Crystal Lake Avenue and Brink Street Thursday night.

Kurtz is running to replace either incumbent County Board Chairman Ken Koehler or member Lyn Orphal in the early February Republican primary election.

Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Thorsen introduced the candidate.

“I am very, very, very enthusiastic supporter of Donna Kurtz,” he said. “We need someone with her honesty and integrity in county board government.”

Kurtz said she was inspired by her mother former State Rep. Rosemary Kurtz’ concern for environmental protection and former State Rep. Cal Skinner’s fiscal conservativeness. Rep. Kurtz defeated Rep. Skinner in the 2000 GOP primary election.

Former State Reps. Rosemary Kurtz and Cal Skinner, plus McHenry County College Board member and County Board candidate Donna Kurtz. (Jeff Thorsen commented that this should be sent to Ripley's Believe It or Not.)

“As many of you know, the world goes full circle.”

Kurtz said she running for the board of directors of a $260 million organization, McHenry County government.

Reflecting on her service on the McHenry County College Board, Kurtz said it had taught her this lesson:

“You gotta do your own research. Everyone’s got their own agenda.”

She didn’t say she was reflecting on her support of building a minor league baseball stadium on college property and, then, changing her mind with the announcement being at the Crystal Lake City Council meeting the night re-zoning was being discussed, but that might be a good guess.

“My courage was driven by my thought I couldn’t stand not to do the right thing,” she stated.

Besides Thorsen, City Council members Carolyn Schofield and Brett Hopkins were in attendance, as were park board members Mike Walkup and Richard Sexton.

McHenry County Recorder of Deeds Phyllis Walters, who actually lives in District 2 in the tiny bit of Algonquin in the district was also in attendance, as was Nunda Township Supervisor John Heisler.

Members of A-LAW, the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water were in attendance. The group recently proposed strict potential conflict disclosure rules for county elected and appointed officials.  The Alden Road Alliance was also represented. District 3 county board candidate Craig Steagall, who actively opposes the location of the proposed Ridgefield Metra station on Country Club Road, also was present.

Touchdown Sponsor

• Tamara Kurtz

Field Goal Sponsors

• Erv & Louise Lecoque
• Dr. Robert & Carol Minkus

Safety Sponsors

• Jeannine Thoms
• Connie Zukowski
• Scott Summers
• Jewel Hahn
• Jill Hartman

Extra Point Sponsors

• Keith & Marge Nygren
• Phyllis Walters
• Bill & Alice Howenstine
• James & Diane Gesler
• Lou Ann & Jerome Majewski
• Jean Plews
• Patricia Floeter
• Brett & Tina Hopkins

At last Thursday’s meeting of the McHenry County College Board, former State Representative Rosemary Kurtz addressed the board during the brief time allowed for public comments.

I included some of what she said, but asked her if she would send me the entire text. She has and it can be read below.

You can see why newly elected student trustee Tom Kendzie was so impressed with what she said.

Good Evening.

There’s a wise saying that makes me think of Erv LeCoque, your former Board Trustee and Foundation member.

“A bird in the hand is
worth more than 2 in the bush.”

At your December meeting he reminded you of his initiative to set up a fund, called the “Promise” which would provide tuition to any needy high school graduate who wanted to go to MCC. There are some Big Donors who have set a goal of $4 million as the first step.

Mr.LeCoque then announced that these donors have $2 million in hand right now to contribute to the “Promise” for student tuition.

How noble!

How generous!

These extremely successful business men and women, these donors, from their vast experience say that the College Board and President should drop the Minor League Stadium enterprise because this is a business that they know nothing about.

If the Board goes back to the business it was created for by the voters, which is EDUCATION, then these new donations of millions of dollars from these generous industrialists will be a “win-win” situation for the students and for all of us in McHenry County.

How did we end up with this business of a Stadium?

It is just a year ago when you were about to plunge into this unknown venture of risky investment with a Limited Liability Company.

To me it seems like “hedging your bets,” like buying into a hedge fund for us the taxpayers.

Investors don’t know what their hedge fund manager is doing.

His decisions are secret and it’s like a CLOSED meeting at the College. The investor is in the dark.

He may know the manager takes a big percentage, but it’s worth it to take the risk.

Every good economic advisor will tell you,

“if it’s too good to be true,
then it probably is.”

The message:

BEWARE.

Referring to the shady world of hedge fund management, I believe that the Public, the people who pay the bills for MCC have been forced into the same kind of secrecy by your Closed Meetings.

According to the Open Meetings Act and conversations I have had with the Attorney General’s assistant,

a unit of government does not always
HAVE to go into Closed Meeting.

The Act says that the officials “May” close the people out of certain discussions; but they are not mandated to do so.

I don’t believe that you had to go into secret session when you were entering into a relationship with the Stadium developers.

We were kept in the dark for 5 months until it surfaced with the petition before the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission.

In the future, I hope you restore the trust we the Public had in MCC from the time we voted the College into existence.

I hope you will open up those meetings to the Public because YOU TRUST THEM and YOU RESPECT THEM.

They only want what is best for this Place of Learning.

INDIVIDUALS, among Your Public, are EXPERTS in areas that elected officials and your loyal staff are not aware of. This County College deserves to hear that expertise in finance, construction, and land use in OPEN Meetings.

In conclusion, please reflect on Erv LeCoque’s business advice and his offer of millions for your students.

Please remember you Don’t Have to go into secret session (closed meetings) as often as you have done in the past. Put some Trust in Your Public who is very well-intentioned.

WE Care.

= = = = =
Newly elected McHenry County College student trustee Tom Kendzie is in the head shot at the top. Former State Rep. Rosemary Kurtz is see addressing the MCC Board. The other photographs of Kurtz were taken earlier. Crystal Lake retired investment banker Barry Glasgow is at the bottom.

At last Thursday’s meeting of the McHenry County College Board, former State Representative Rosemary Kurtz addressed the board during the brief time allowed for public comments.

I included some of what she said, but asked her if she would send me the entire text. She has and it can be read below.

You can see why newly elected student trustee Tom Kendzie was so impressed with what she said.

Good Evening.

There’s a wise saying that makes me think of Erv LeCoque, your former Board Trustee and Foundation member.

“A bird in the hand is
worth more than 2 in the bush.”

At your December meeting he reminded you of his initiative to set up a fund, called the “Promise” which would provide tuition to any needy high school graduate who wanted to go to MCC. There are some Big Donors who have set a goal of $4 million as the first step.

Mr.LeCoque then announced that these donors have $2 million in hand right now to contribute to the “Promise” for student tuition.

How noble!

How generous!

These extremely successful business men and women, these donors, from their vast experience say that the College Board and President should drop the Minor League Stadium enterprise because this is a business that they know nothing about.

If the Board goes back to the business it was created for by the voters, which is EDUCATION, then these new donations of millions of dollars from these generous industrialists will be a “win-win” situation for the students and for all of us in McHenry County.

How did we end up with this business of a Stadium?

It is just a year ago when you were about to plunge into this unknown venture of risky investment with a Limited Liability Company.

To me it seems like “hedging your bets,” like buying into a hedge fund for us the taxpayers.

Investors don’t know what their hedge fund manager is doing.

His decisions are secret and it’s like a CLOSED meeting at the College. The investor is in the dark.

He may know the manager takes a big percentage, but it’s worth it to take the risk.

Every good economic advisor will tell you,

“if it’s too good to be true,
then it probably is.”

The message:

BEWARE.

Referring to the shady world of hedge fund management, I believe that the Public, the people who pay the bills for MCC have been forced into the same kind of secrecy by your Closed Meetings.

According to the Open Meetings Act and conversations I have had with the Attorney General’s assistant,

a unit of government does not always
HAVE to go into Closed Meeting.

The Act says that the officials “May” close the people out of certain discussions; but they are not mandated to do so.

I don’t believe that you had to go into secret session when you were entering into a relationship with the Stadium developers.

We were kept in the dark for 5 months until it surfaced with the petition before the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission.

In the future, I hope you restore the trust we the Public had in MCC from the time we voted the College into existence.

I hope you will open up those meetings to the Public because YOU TRUST THEM and YOU RESPECT THEM.

They only want what is best for this Place of Learning.

INDIVIDUALS, among Your Public, are EXPERTS in areas that elected officials and your loyal staff are not aware of. This County College deserves to hear that expertise in finance, construction, and land use in OPEN Meetings.

In conclusion, please reflect on Erv LeCoque’s business advice and his offer of millions for your students.

Please remember you Don’t Have to go into secret session (closed meetings) as often as you have done in the past. Put some Trust in Your Public who is very well-intentioned.

WE Care.

= = = = =
Newly elected McHenry County College student trustee Tom Kendzie is in the head shot at the top. Former State Rep. Rosemary Kurtz is see addressing the MCC Board. The other photographs of Kurtz were taken earlier. Crystal Lake retired investment banker Barry Glasgow is at the bottom.

The students at McHenry County College elect a student trustee each year.

Replacing Katie Claypool will be Tom Kendzie.

Kendzie lives in Crystal Lake. He won the election 180-150. (I told him I won my first contest by 72 votes out of about 13,000–33%-, 33%, 33%+).

Sorry about the slightly fuzzy photo and that of Lowe below, but without being able to use the camera’s flash attachment, the lens has to be open longer and that increases the probability of my shaking the camera. Claypool’s was taken before the ban took effect.

Kendzie was asking Claypool why the college board met in secret. (In last night’s case, it was to discuss employee contract negotiations.)

He was reacting to former State Rep. Rosemary Kurtz’ comments to the board, which she almost finished before MCC Board Chairman George Lowe interrupted her to tell her time (3 minutes and opposed to 5 the Crystal Lake City Council allows) was up.

Kurtz pointed out that Erv LeCoque and his friends “already (had) several millions in hand” for the every high school graduate can go to MCC scholarship fund, “if the MCC Board of Trustees drops the minor league baseball enterprise.”

Based on what happened at the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, Kurtz expressed optimism that would happen. It “gave me great hope.”

“If you go back to your (educational) focus, (you will be well served), Kurtz said.

She then compared the proposed baseball investment to what people do when they invest in a hedge fund.

Kurtz explained that hedge fund investors “don’t know what their hedge fund manager is doing, (because) they do it in secret.”

Investors also know that “the hedge fund manager takes a big share,” she continued.

Then the part that Kenzie was inquiring about:

“According to the open meetings act, you don’t have to go into a secret meeting when (you negotiate a contract).

“I hope you will open up those meetings to the public.”

Kurtz pointed out that MCC taxpayers have expertise in areas beyond what the board members and staff have and that the board would do well to utilize it.

Then, Lowe interrupted Kurtz.

= = = = =

Mr. Kendzie could find the secret meetings that got the college in so much trouble by typing “secret meeting” into McHenry County Blog’s search engine. Indeed, if he or others want to be brought up to date on how McHenry County College hid the baseball stadium proposal from the public and the incredible amount of trouble MCC got into as a direct result, just type “baseball stadium” in the search engine. McHenry County Blog broke the story and has certainly covered it more extensively than any where else, including Monday’s death knell announcement by President Walt Packard.

The students at McHenry County College elect a student trustee each year.

Replacing Katie Claypool will be Tom Kendzie.

Kendzie lives in Crystal Lake. He won the election 180-150. (I told him I won my first contest by 72 votes out of about 13,000–33%-, 33%, 33%+).

Sorry about the slightly fuzzy photo and that of Lowe below, but without being able to use the camera’s flash attachment, the lens has to be open longer and that increases the probability of my shaking the camera. Claypool’s was taken before the ban took effect.

Kendzie was asking Claypool why the college board met in secret. (In last night’s case, it was to discuss employee contract negotiations.)

He was reacting to former State Rep. Rosemary Kurtz’ comments to the board, which she almost finished before MCC Board Chairman George Lowe interrupted her to tell her time (3 minutes and opposed to 5 the Crystal Lake City Council allows) was up.

Kurtz pointed out that Erv LeCoque and his friends “already (had) several millions in hand” for the every high school graduate can go to MCC scholarship fund, “if the MCC Board of Trustees drops the minor league baseball enterprise.”

Based on what happened at the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, Kurtz expressed optimism that would happen. It “gave me great hope.”

“If you go back to your (educational) focus, (you will be well served), Kurtz said.

She then compared the proposed baseball investment to what people do when they invest in a hedge fund.

Kurtz explained that hedge fund investors “don’t know what their hedge fund manager is doing, (because) they do it in secret.”

Investors also know that “the hedge fund manager takes a big share,” she continued.

Then the part that Kenzie was inquiring about:

“According to the open meetings act, you don’t have to go into a secret meeting when (you negotiate a contract).

“I hope you will open up those meetings to the public.”

Kurtz pointed out that MCC taxpayers have expertise in areas beyond what the board members and staff have and that the board would do well to utilize it.

Then, Lowe interrupted Kurtz.

= = = = =

Mr. Kendzie could find the secret meetings that got the college in so much trouble by typing “secret meeting” into McHenry County Blog’s search engine. Indeed, if he or others want to be brought up to date on how McHenry County College hid the baseball stadium proposal from the public and the incredible amount of trouble MCC got into as a direct result, just type “baseball stadium” in the search engine. McHenry County Blog broke the story and has certainly covered it more extensively than any where else, including Monday’s death knell announcement by President Walt Packard.

For the last two years, that is, the first two years of McHenry County Blog’s existence, there’s been an article about the “Most” this and the “Most” that. This is a bit late, but I hope you enjoy it.

If you want to compare my “Mostests,” here is 2005’s and 2006’s.

McHenry County College Trustees Donna Kurtz and Scott Summers.

After voting with a unanimous majority and without any public discussion to build an addition, including a minor league baseball stadium, to McHenry County College, Kurtz and Summers told of their change of mind at the most dramatic time—right before the Crystal Lake City Council was to vote on the necessary rezoning. They had expressed their qualms before , but it took real courage to express them while their colleagues were sitting in the audience fervently hoping for a favorable outcome.

Jeff Thorsen, Brett Hopkins and Ralph Dawson.

The three Crystal Lake City Councilmen provided the three votes necessary to defeat the rezoning.

The entire Crystal Lake City Planning and Zoning Commission.

This may be a mis-ranking since without the courage of these officials—all appointed by Crystal Lake Aaron Shepley, who strongly favors construction of the baseball stadium—the others listed as more courageous might not have had the courage to take the stands they did.

In any event, without the commissioners’ votes of disapproval, http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2007/09/mcc-baseball-stadium-idea-strikes-out.html a supermajority of 5 votes would not have been required by the city council and the rezoning would have been approved.

Those commissioners are Chairman Tom Hayden and Commissioners Jim Batastini, Angel Collins, Vincent Esposito, Jeff Greenman, James Jouron, Carolyn Schofield, Allan Skluzacek,

Minor league baseball team and stadium promoter Pete Heitman.

Without risking much of his own money and refusing to identify his investors, Heitman asked McHenry County College taxpayers to guarantee repayment of the money borrowed to finance the stadium and the interest. Virtually no profit was project for the first five years.

EquityOne’s Mark Houser.

Houser, who showed up with Heitman at a private MCC meeting , both being identified as from EquityOne Sports, got a $400,000 no-bid contract “to oversee and coordinate the development, construction, operation, and marketing processes for the Health, Wellness, and Athletic Complex.” That was on top of his $70,000 no-bid contract. In that $70,000 September 28, 2006, contract the college board gave Houser this right:

” At the completion of the feasibility study and independent review, if the College elects to proceed with the project, the College will contract with EquityOne or it’s (sic) assigns to develop the project on the College’s behalf.”

Richard Starr, the man from Economic Research Associates who was in charge of writing the devastating critique of Equity One’s Mark Houser’s rosy analysis of Pete Heitman’s revenue projections.

After the rezoning was rejected by the Crystal Lake City Council, Starr gave a sales pitch to the McHenry County College Board. He argued ERA could put together a successful public-private partnership. The implication that Houser’s firm had failed to do so.

In this photo he points to the MCC Mission Statement. Click on the photo and see if you can find the word “entertainment.”

Former teacher Geraldine Cowlin generously pledged significant money for scholarships for county high school graduates who could not afford to attend McHenry County College. She decided that the effort to put a baseball stadium on campus was not true to the college’s educational mission and withdrew her $1 million pledge. The stadium’s original cost was $10 million (plus interest, of course). Cowlin showed that continued pursuit of stadium approval would have a significant tangible cost.

Without a doubt, Erv LeCoque. This former MCC board member used his behind the scenes persuasive skills on everyone he thought might be able to derail the baseball stadium. He had been attending Crystal Lake zoning and council meetings on the subject, but his opposition was made public at a meeting of opponents by the Northwest Herald.

The former CEO of Aptar also delivered his neighbor Geraldine Cowlin’s message to the MCC Board.

“There’s a pony in this pile of horseshit somewhere.”

Retired investment banker Barry Glasgow gets credit for this zinger. He asked so many penetrating questions at this first meeting of the McHenry County College Board he had ever attended.

If you read the article explaining Barry Glasgow’s comments to the MCC Board, you would never recognize them from the official minutes of the meeting:

“Mr. Glasgow spoke about the need for a nursing program.”

It was if he said nothing unfavorable about the baseball stadium proposal.

Not to worry. The board majority has since decided not to include any of the content of those who speak in public session. Their names will be listed, however.

Huntley School District 158 School Board President‘s characterization of fellow board members Aileen Seedorf and Larry Snow as “terrorists running roughshod over the rest of us.”

Prairie Grove Grade School District 46.

Without a warning to yours truly, the board called police to evict yours truly for taking pictures through an open Venetian blind and laughing as now Board President Charlotte Kremer yanked them shut.

The McHenry County Board.

It proposed banning flash cameras and banishing cameramen to the back corners of its dimly lit room. Those proposed rule changes brought quite a bit of local newspaper coverage.

Reporters who gave the most fits to local school boards and administers.

The Daily Herald’s Jeff Gaunt was named here last year and, even though he has moved on to bedevil the Elgin School District, he continued to give fits to Districts 300 and 158 until his transfer.

David Fitzgerald, reporter for the Northwest Herald, obtained significant respect for his probe of District 300’s secret meeting minutes. Other coverage revealed details I’ll bet the District 300 board members wished had not been printed.

Gaunt was replaced by Jameel Naqvi, who gave District 158 more of a benefit of the doubt than its administrators and board members probably deserve. But, he learned quickly. I don’t think the District 158 ruling clique is wishing that Gaunt were back, but I’ll bet they can’t wait for Naqvi to be replaced. He’s getting quite dangerous.

Pioneer Press’ Pete Gonigam is playing the same role at McHenry County College.

Certainly having citizen-inquirer Aileen Seedorf run first in the Huntley School Board election was a surprise.

The upset victories of home school dad John Ryan and Monica Clark in District 300 certainly qualify as surprising.

In McHenry Grade School District 15, home school dad John O’Neill won election, even though the establishment used his family’s decision to save the school district money against him.

The Rockford Cherry Vale Mall Black Muslin terrorist story strikes me as a harbinger of things that might come. This American had previously lived with another with terrorist tendencies. What if this is just the first Black Muslim to turn terrorist? That might be important. I did not see what this guy actually said anywhere but on McHenry County Blog.

The McHenry County Republican Cat Tax

Rosemary Kurtz and the man she defeated in the 2002 GOP primary election, Cal Skinner. The two joined together to fight the MCC baseball stadium.

The Economics Research Associates’ devastating criticism of Mark Houser’s Equity One “evaluation” of his buddy Pete Heitman’s baseball stadium revenues for MCC.

Carol Marin, who still has not acknowledged that her good buddy Joe Cari, a prominent Democratic Party fund raiser, did not deserve the praise she gave him two days before he was indicted.

For the last two years, that is, the first two years of McHenry County Blog’s existence, there’s been an article about the “Most” this and the “Most” that. This is a bit late, but I hope you enjoy it.

If you want to compare my “Mostests,” here is 2005’s and 2006’s.

McHenry County College Trustees Donna Kurtz and Scott Summers.

After voting with a unanimous majority and without any public discussion to build an addition, including a minor league baseball stadium, to McHenry County College, Kurtz and Summers told of their change of mind at the most dramatic time—right before the Crystal Lake City Council was to vote on the necessary rezoning. They had expressed their qualms before , but it took real courage to express them while their colleagues were sitting in the audience fervently hoping for a favorable outcome.

Jeff Thorsen, Brett Hopkins and Ralph Dawson.

The three Crystal Lake City Councilmen provided the three votes necessary to defeat the rezoning.

The entire Crystal Lake City Planning and Zoning Commission.

This may be a mis-ranking since without the courage of these officials—all appointed by Crystal Lake Aaron Shepley, who strongly favors construction of the baseball stadium—the others listed as more courageous might not have had the courage to take the stands they did.

In any event, without the commissioners’ votes of disapproval, http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2007/09/mcc-baseball-stadium-idea-strikes-out.html a supermajority of 5 votes would not have been required by the city council and the rezoning would have been approved.

Those commissioners are Chairman Tom Hayden and Commissioners Jim Batastini, Angel Collins, Vincent Esposito, Jeff Greenman, James Jouron, Carolyn Schofield, Allan Skluzacek,

Minor league baseball team and stadium promoter Pete Heitman.

Without risking much of his own money and refusing to identify his investors, Heitman asked McHenry County College taxpayers to guarantee repayment of the money borrowed to finance the stadium and the interest. Virtually no profit was project for the first five years.

EquityOne’s Mark Houser.

Houser, who showed up with Heitman at a private MCC meeting , both being identified as from EquityOne Sports, got a $400,000 no-bid contract “to oversee and coordinate the development, construction, operation, and marketing processes for the Health, Wellness, and Athletic Complex.” That was on top of his $70,000 no-bid contract. In that $70,000 September 28, 2006, contract the college board gave Houser this right:

” At the completion of the feasibility study and independent review, if the College elects to proceed with the project, the College will contract with EquityOne or it’s (sic) assigns to develop the project on the College’s behalf.”

Richard Starr, the man from Economic Research Associates who was in charge of writing the devastating critique of Equity One’s Mark Houser’s rosy analysis of Pete Heitman’s revenue projections.

After the rezoning was rejected by the Crystal Lake City Council, Starr gave a sales pitch to the McHenry County College Board. He argued ERA could put together a successful public-private partnership. The implication that Houser’s firm had failed to do so.

In this photo he points to the MCC Mission Statement. Click on the photo and see if you can find the word “entertainment.”

Former teacher Geraldine Cowlin generously pledged significant money for scholarships for county high school graduates who could not afford to attend McHenry County College. She decided that the effort to put a baseball stadium on campus was not true to the college’s educational mission and withdrew her $1 million pledge. The stadium’s original cost was $10 million (plus interest, of course). Cowlin showed that continued pursuit of stadium approval would have a significant tangible cost.

Without a doubt, Erv LeCoque. This former MCC board member used his behind the scenes persuasive skills on everyone he thought might be able to derail the baseball stadium. He had been attending Crystal Lake zoning and council meetings on the subject, but his opposition was made public at a meeting of opponents by the Northwest Herald.

The former CEO of Aptar also delivered his neighbor Geraldine Cowlin’s message to the MCC Board.

“There’s a pony in this pile of horseshit somewhere.”

Retired investment banker Barry Glasgow gets credit for this zinger. He asked so many penetrating questions at this first meeting of the McHenry County College Board he had ever attended.

If you read the article explaining Barry Glasgow’s comments to the MCC Board, you would never recognize them from the official minutes of the meeting:

“Mr. Glasgow spoke about the need for a nursing program.”

It was if he said nothing unfavorable about the baseball stadium proposal.

Not to worry. The board majority has since decided not to include any of the content of those who speak in public session. Their names will be listed, however.

Huntley School District 158 School Board President‘s characterization of fellow board members Aileen Seedorf and Larry Snow as “terrorists running roughshod over the rest of us.”

Prairie Grove Grade School District 46.

Without a warning to yours truly, the board called police to evict yours truly for taking pictures through an open Venetian blind and laughing as now Board President Charlotte Kremer yanked them shut.

The McHenry County Board.

It proposed banning flash cameras and banishing cameramen to the back corners of its dimly lit room. Those proposed rule changes brought quite a bit of local newspaper coverage.

Reporters who gave the most fits to local school boards and administers.

The Daily Herald’s Jeff Gaunt was named here last year and, even though he has moved on to bedevil the Elgin School District, he continued to give fits to Districts 300 and 158 until his transfer.

David Fitzgerald, reporter for the Northwest Herald, obtained significant respect for his probe of District 300’s secret meeting minutes. Other coverage revealed details I’ll bet the District 300 board members wished had not been printed.

Gaunt was replaced by Jameel Naqvi, who gave District 158 more of a benefit of the doubt than its administrators and board members probably deserve. But, he learned quickly. I don’t think the District 158 ruling clique is wishing that Gaunt were back, but I’ll bet they can’t wait for Naqvi to be replaced. He’s getting quite dangerous.

Pioneer Press’ Pete Gonigam is playing the same role at McHenry County College.

Certainly having citizen-inquirer Aileen Seedorf run first in the Huntley School Board election was a surprise.

The upset victories of home school dad John Ryan and Monica Clark in District 300 certainly qualify as surprising.

In McHenry Grade School District 15, home school dad John O’Neill won election, even though the establishment used his family’s decision to save the school district money against him.

The Rockford Cherry Vale Mall Black Muslin terrorist story strikes me as a harbinger of things that might come. This American had previously lived with another with terrorist tendencies. What if this is just the first Black Muslim to turn terrorist? That might be important. I did not see what this guy actually said anywhere but on McHenry County Blog.

The McHenry County Republican Cat Tax

Rosemary Kurtz and the man she defeated in the 2002 GOP primary election, Cal Skinner. The two joined together to fight the MCC baseball stadium.

The Economics Research Associates’ devastating criticism of Mark Houser’s Equity One “evaluation” of his buddy Pete Heitman’s baseball stadium revenues for MCC.

Carol Marin, who still has not acknowledged that her good buddy Joe Cari, a prominent Democratic Party fund raiser, did not deserve the praise she gave him two days before he was indicted.

Northwest Herald reporter Regan Foster got this quote from million scholarship pledger Geraldine Cowlin:

“That baseball idea is absurd. It has nothing to do with education, and this is a college that really needs money for education.”

Despite her quite forthright statement, MCC fund raiser Joseph Like “said it still was too early to tell whether the proposal would have an impact on donations to the college,” according to the article.

I guess fund raising executives are always optimistic, but losing $1 million seems to mean that the baseball stadium brouhaha had a negative affect on donations.

Monday night, as McHenry County Blog reported, former MCC trustee Erv LeCoque, who lives across the street from Cowlin, told the board that a $1 million donor had withdrawn a pledge.

But, in predicting that the project would not succeed as long as the baseball stadium was on the table, LeCoque was not as detailed as he was to Foster. Here’s what he told her:

“I can’t tell you how many calls I got. People would ride their bikes right up to the front door … and say ‘What are you doing in the baseball business?’”

Northwest Herald reporter Regan Foster got this quote from million scholarship pledger Geraldine Cowlin:

“That baseball idea is absurd. It has nothing to do with education, and this is a college that really needs money for education.”

Despite her quite forthright statement, MCC fund raiser Joseph Like “said it still was too early to tell whether the proposal would have an impact on donations to the college,” according to the article.

I guess fund raising executives are always optimistic, but losing $1 million seems to mean that the baseball stadium brouhaha had a negative affect on donations.

Monday night, as McHenry County Blog reported, former MCC trustee Erv LeCoque, who lives across the street from Cowlin, told the board that a $1 million donor had withdrawn a pledge.

But, in predicting that the project would not succeed as long as the baseball stadium was on the table, LeCoque was not as detailed as he was to Foster. Here’s what he told her:

“I can’t tell you how many calls I got. People would ride their bikes right up to the front door … and say ‘What are you doing in the baseball business?’”

First a definition:

“B.S.” means “Baseball Stadium” when it appears in this story.

In the “B…S… Talks and Money Walks” category is the announcement by former McHenry County College Trustee Erv LeCoque that a $1 million contribution to an MCC scholarship program aimed at providing tuition and fees to any local high school graduate has been withdrawn because of the college’s push for said B.S.

LeCoque said he had been involved with McHenry County College for 12 years and had been helping solicit money for the campaign. In fact, he resigned from the MCC Foundation to devote himself to the scholarship program that is modeled after the $100 million endowment in Kalamzoo, Michigan.

The first person LaCoque talked to offered $1 million.

Then the B.S. idea came up.

LeCoque related how many people came to him asking about the B.S. concerns. He saw the community being divided.

He realized that he could not raise millions in a divided community.

As LeCoque explained, when you go out and ask for money, you can’t be on the defensive.

The B.S. led to the withdrawal of the $1 million scholarship offer.

The money is off the table, he said.

LeCoque predicted if the B.S. continued, it’s going to get worse.

If the B.S. continues, the money will never come back again. The McHenry County Promise scholarship program will lose its momentum.

he said.

Perhaps more significantly, one person told LeCoque,