McHenry County Blog

“This is nothing, absolutely nothing,”

Northwest Herald reporter Amber Krosel quotes newly-sworn in Grafton Township Trustee Gerry McMahon at Thursday night’s meeting.

This was the same day that McMahon and his fellow trustees were given their third McHenry County Court smackdown concerning their illegal attempts to build a new township building.

McMahon was giving a lecture about how insignificant the taxpayer meerkat’s concern about paying for the over $5 million new township hall the township trustees are trying to shove down their throats.

The cost was so small. It was like comparing a meerkat to an elephant. That’s what McMahon argued.

What McMahon just can’t comprehend is that the meerkat taxpayers might just want to be asked their permission before being put in debt for $5 million.

The “trust me” argument from public officials went out of style with President Jimmy Carter.

President Ronald Reagan brought the “trust, but verify” method of dealing with the Soviet Union.

Ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich and other crooked and arrogant Illinois state and local officials have brought citizens to the stage of

The surface reason for issuing the over $5 million in debt is that current township facilities are inadequate.

But the real reason is that if the township board even doesn’t take as much money as it can get, it forever will lose whatever that stream of income is.

It’s a function of the tax cap, which allows local governments to take from us what they got last year, plus the increase in the cost of living.

If a district ever takes less than the maximum allowed, its “base” is lower for the next year and every year thereafter.

Oh how I wish there were more public officials who did not adhere to the

philosophy.

Township Assessor Bill Ottley gave me this insight after the annual town meeting while inquiring why I, who lives right across the township line in Algonquin Township, cared about what Grafton Township was doing.

Proponents of the debt certificate financing scheme the township trustees are trying to put in place argue that taxes will not go up.

What they mean is that tax bills will remain the same. They won’t be higher than they already are.

There most certainly will be more taxes extracted from Grafton Township taxpayers.

You can’t pay back more than $5 million without someone’s pocketbook being lighter than it would be without bearing that burden.

But, proponents keep arguing,

Daily Herald reporter Jeffrey Gaunt suggests such a pitch is worthy of a used car salesman.

But as Gaunt so persuasively wrote about the Carpentersville School District 300 referendum in January 2006:

“It’s a little like tacking 10 years onto a five-year prison sentence. You’re already in prison, the argument goes, so what’s a few more years.”

In Grafton Township’s case, it’s tacking on 20 years.

For argument’s sake, let’s say the impact on Grafton Township tax bills is too small to worry about.

Is anything else wrong with the town hall picture?

I can think of two things.

The first concerns the democratic process.

Township government is supposed to be, but is less and less, the government of the people.

I can remember when uppity township electors wrote in $1 for each line item in the Nunda Township Road Commissioner’s budget. I think the commissioner was Leroy Geske. That was around 1970.

Residents of a private subdivision road wanted township taxpayers to improve it, but the township road commissioner, citing state law, refused.

Retaliation didn’t deprive him of his salary because it’s in the Town Fund.

That was the same year that Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare’s supporters added $500 in legal fees to sue the McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments Willard Hogge for having equalized Algonquin Township’s property values higher than they should have been.

The township attorney frittered away the money telling the township board, which did not want the suit to go forward, why it couldn’t be done.

The Illinois General Assembly, always being responsive to township officials, plugged that hole.

It prohibited electors from voting on budgets.

The second reason will be addressed tomorrow.

= = = = =
The other articles in this series are can be found here:

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 1

The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 3

when I saw the Chicago Tribune editorial on McHenry County’s former Democratic State Representative Tom Hanahan, I sent his and my former State Senator Jack Schaffer an email asking for his memories. It gave me two of the five belly laughs that everyone should have every day to keep healthy. It follows:

Sorry Cal, I don’t check my emails as often as I should.

I did have an opportunity to talk to Tommy about a week before he died. While you could tell the disease was getting to him, you could also tell that the old Tommy was still there. You are right, I do have a lot of memories of Tommy.

In 1974 when the RTA was being created, I was a little curious as to what Tom was going to do about it because the labor unions were very much for the new unit of government and Tom was first and foremost a labor guy.

He must have convinced his leaders that he had to oppose it or he wouldn’t be back (a very accurate perception), which led to a very unusual election in that primary with the four of us; Tommy, you, Bruce and I out stomping against the RTA.

I recall one meeting in Crystal Lake (at the Nature Center) at which all 4 of us took different approaches as to why the RTA was evil – Tommy said it was bad for working men and women. As the meeting broke up a proponent for the RTA, who I knew, thought the four of us had covered every negative angle he could think of against the RTA.

The crowd was so hostile, I felt the need to walk the proponent back to his car. And as you know, 90%+ of the voters voted no with the largest primary turnout in history.

Another time, Tom and I were working on a piece of legislation to give homeowners property tax breaks if they improve their homes, or put an addition on.

I got wind, through a friend in the Dept. of Rev., that the Dept. was about to adopt rules that would require three inspections to qualify for the exemption.

I got hold of Tommy and we both went to see the Director of the Dept of Rev. I don’t recall that I got 5 words in during the meeting but Tom did such a war dance on his desk and threatened him and his descendents…the rule came out with a simple procedure.

During the RTA fights, we came up with the idea to send Gov. Walker petitions signed by people in the area opposing the RTA.

The problem was Tom got along with the democratic Governor Walker no doubt about as well as Jack Franks did with democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich…probably for some of the same reasons.

Governor Walker indicated he’d be happy to meet with me but refused to meet with Tom.

So we issued press release saying that opposition in McHenry County was bipartisan and if the Governor wouldn’t meet with Tommy then I wouldn’t meet with him either.

You’ve already talked about Tommy’s famous/infamous (choose your own word) opposition to the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), but one of the things that I do definitely remember the time during candidates nights when the speeches and Q & A were over;

• you would be in the corner talking about property tax assessment,
• Bruce in another corner discussing creeping socialism,
• I would be talking with a group about Mental Health and the state budget, and
• Tommy would be in the front of the room talking to every good looking woman there about the ERA with a huge grin on his face.

It’s almost impossible today to explain the cumulative voting system that allowed for a minority party member in every district, and while the system certainly had its flaws, we did see some incredible individuals elected because of it.

And Tommy Hanahan was one of those.

About the only thing Tommy and I had in common was the same constituency and because of that we worked together fairly well.

I doubt we’ll see his likes again.

Thanks for letting me share some of my thoughts with you (it’s more than the local paper did!!!!!)!

The pamphlet printed on my father’s offset printing machines–180,000, maybe more–can be seen interspersed throughout the article. The little kNOw RTA clip-on button, front and back, is also shown.

Other stories about Tom Hanahan:

Johnsburg Democratic Party State Rep. Tom Hanahan Dies – Part 1

Johnsburg Democratic Party State Rep. Tom Hanahan Dies – Part 2

More Memories on McHenry County’s State Rep. Tom Hanahan

Jeff Ladd Calls for RTA Tax Hike

The Wiring of Rep. Pete Pappas

There are six people who figured out sixty days before the election that they could run a write-in campaign and registered such an intention with the county clerk. That’s what a new state law requires.

Two of the six write-in contests are sure winners.

Jeff Mason has filed to run as a write-in candidate for the Crystal Lake Grade School District. Two people are running and three seats are available. With one, vote Mason will elect himself.

Similarly, Stacy Iwanicki, a write-in candidate for the Rural Woodstock Public Library District, will get elected because there are three 6-year seats and only two candidates on the ballot. That’s assuming she votes for herself.

As mentioned in a previous article, Dan Ziller, Jr., is running an independent campaign against the four township trustee candidates nominated at the Republican primary election.

He has a real campaign with a phone call survey campaign and, late this week, a post card based on his opposition to the $3.5 million township hall pushed by John Rossi and the incumbent township trustees. Rossi was narrowly defeated by Linda Moore, largely on her opposition to the new township hall.

You can see the post card here. Click to enlarge.

Ziller has a real campaign. Look at his endorsements:

• Mayor Chuck Sass, President of the Village of Huntley
• Paul Mercer, Huntley Village Trustee
• Niko Kanakaris, Village of Huntley Trustee
• Scott Breeden, McHenry County Board Member
• Mary McCann, McHenry County Board Member

But let me point out that Chicago Sun-Times political reporter Lynn Sweet said my 2002 campaign for governor against Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan was “a real campaign.”

That got me 2% of the vote and I was on the ballot.

The same problem of a write-in running against people on the ballot faces Greenwood Township Road Commissioner candidate Tom Borta.

From looking at signs throughout Greenwood Township, I can tell you he has a “real campaign.” Besides this homemade one, there are professionally printed yard signs.

But Borta has three opponents on the ballot:

• Tom Ganka
• Donald Goad
• Thomas Wise

They also have “real campaigns.”

There are two write-in candidacies in the hotly contested Island Lake village election. Former village trustee Sally Fleissner is running for mayor against John Ponio and Debbie Herrmann. Both are village trustees. Herrmann is an ally of outgoing Mayor Tom Hyde. Ponio has been one of Hyde’s strongest critics. David Meeks is running for trustee against six others who are on the ballot. I don’t know what kind of a campaign the write-ins are waging, but the two factions have full slates on the ballot and seem likely to wipe out the write-ins.

I will repeat, for a write-in to run against someone on the ballot is almost unheard of.

The story of the most famous McHenry County write-in victory, that of Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest B. Hare’s 1973 re-election victory, is contained in these two articles:

To Let People Vote in Township Primaries or Not – Part 1

To Let People Vote in Township Primaries or Not – Part 2

The candidates nominated in the Grafton Township Republican primary election don’t have any opposition on the ballot, but Dan Ziller, Jr., is running one of the more high profile write-in candidacies in recent memory.

Early last week, there was an automated telephone survey asking Grafton Township residents if they favored building a new $3.5 million township building.

A second question asked if people wanted an opportunity to vote on the issue in a referendum.

Only after the two questions, did listeners learn that the robo-calls were connected to a write-in campaign for township trustee for Dan Ziller, Jr.

You may remember that Linda Moore based her campaign to oust Supervisor John Rossi on her opposition to that proposal.

Rossi has not used his control of the issue on the current township board to push the issue.

Across from the Lakewood Village Hall, I found the sign you see here.

It says,

Not a bad sign, in fact, an excellent color choice for a snowy background, but Grafton Township is a big one. It will take a lot of signs to get the message across.

I have observed only one successful write-in campaign in my political life.

It was Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare’s re-election campaign in 1973. He had been ousted (of maybe not, because no recount was allowed) by 3 votes in a township caucus in which the exhausted judges finished counting paper ballots in mid-morning darkness. Hare won the write-in with about 60% of the vote in an intensively organized campaign and radio support virtually every weekday from WIVS-AM talk show host Mal Bellairs, who incensed that the Algonquin Township Republican Central Committee would not allow a recount.

The details are contained in these articles:

To Let People Vote in Township Primaries or Not – Part 1

To Let People Vote in Township Primaries or Not – Part 2

It should be noted that none of the Democrats running for Algonquin or Nunda Township office were nominated at the ballot box. All were picked in party caucuses on one of the coldest nights of the winter.

You’d think there was a hot primary election in Grafton Township today.

There were mailing from both incumbent John Rossi and challenger Linda Moore.

Both distributed literature door-to-door.

Moore had made phone calls on Wednesday, Friday, Monday and today.

I’d post a picture of the Chezak Elementary School polling place for three precincts at 11:45 this morning, but I have uploaded so many photos onto Google’s Blogger that now I must pay an annual fee.

I paid it yesterday afternoon, but, apparently, it has not been processed yet, so please imagine a big room that is empty, except for bored judges from three big precincts.

Grafton Township Precinct 12 had 24 voters, Grafton 19 a mere 5 voters and Grafton 20 – 10 voters.

39 in all.

My own precinct is numbered Algonquin Township 7. I was the fifth voter at 3:30 this afternoon before picking up my son. I think Algonquin 19 had twelve.

And, coincidence of coincidences, both Algonquin 19’s GOP committeeman Joe Stecker and I were voting at the same time. Both of our polling places are at the Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach House.

The judges couldn’t get past the front gate until 6:30 AM. It was cold standing outside trying to find someone with a key.

And the one they found?

The park district employee with the snow blower.

The judges didn’t indicate that anyone was disappointed in not being able to vote that early.

And, why are there township primaries?

In a sentence, incumbent Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare’s overwhelming write-in defeat of the winner of the 1973 Republican Township caucus in 1973. Details are in these stories:

Democrats in Nunda and Algonquin Township selected their candidates in caucuses on pretty much the coldest night of the year. Don’t know how many people showed up at each, but I’ll bet it was not many.

You’d think there was a hot primary election in Grafton Township today.

There were mailing from both incumbent John Rossi and challenger Linda Moore.

Both distributed literature door-to-door.

Moore had made phone calls on Wednesday, Friday, Monday and today.

I’d post a picture of the Chezak Elementary School polling place for three precincts at 11:45 this morning, but I have uploaded so many photos onto Google’s Blogger that now I must pay an annual fee.

I paid it yesterday afternoon, but, apparently, it has not been processed yet, so please imagine a big room that is empty, except for bored judges from three big precincts.

Grafton Township Precinct 12 had 24 voters, Grafton 19 a mere 5 voters and Grafton 20 – 10 voters.

39 in all.

My own precinct is numbered Algonquin Township 7. I was the fifth voter at 3:30 this afternoon before picking up my son. I think Algonquin 19 had twelve.

And, coincidence of coincidences, both Algonquin 19’s GOP committeeman Joe Stecker and I were voting at the same time. Both of our polling places are at the Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach House.

The judges couldn’t get past the front gate until 6:30 AM. It was cold standing outside trying to find someone with a key.

And the one they found?

The park district employee with the snow blower.

The judges didn’t indicate that anyone was disappointed in not being able to vote that early.

And, why are there township primaries?

In a sentence, incumbent Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare’s overwhelming write-in defeat of the winner of the 1973 Republican Township caucus in 1973. Details are in these stories:

Democrats in Nunda and Algonquin Township selected their candidates in caucuses on pretty much the coldest night of the year. Don’t know how many people showed up at each, but I’ll bet it was not many.

Yesterday, the scene was set for explaining why Algonquin Township has had primary elections instead of caucuses as the method of selecting candidates for township office since the mid-1970’s.

It all started when incumbent Republican Township Assessor Forrest Hare was defeated by 3 votes in a 3000-ballot township caucus, but denied a recount by the majority of precinct committeemen on the township committeemen who wanted the young reformer out of office.

That outraged Forrest’s supporters, among whom was WIVS radio station owner Mal Bellairs.

Forrest decided to run as a write-in candidate.

You know that write-ins very, very rarely are victorious.

Every weekday morning from the caucus to the general election, Mal put the heat on the local Republican Party in support of Forrest’s candidacy.

I remember driving down Route 47 on the way to Springfield and wishing I could hear his whole program that was disappearing between Mazon and Dwight.

The short of it was that Forrest beat the Establishment candidate about 2-1. About 3,500 people voted and Hare got about 2,000.

After Forrest won, I was over in the state senate chamber for something or other and my high school classmate, then state senator, Jack Schaffer approached me in the back of the Republican side. He suggested that we had to do something to make sure such a fight never happened again. He had backed the teacher.

We decided that township central committees should have the right to have a primary election governed by state law, rather than the township central committee. And, with Republicans in control of both the Senate and the House, we passed such a law.

Since then, Algonquin Township has always opted for a primary election. I remember Nunda Township’s having followed suit at least once.

Contention of township office, a not bad paying set of jobs, has been minimal except when a public official retires or dies. Active primary contests resulted when Township Road Commissioner Del Miller died and when Township Supervisor Tom Schober died.

An upset occurred when Fox River Grove True Value hardware store co-owner John Opatrny and a friend ran as a team for township trustee. They sent out a joint post card and won.

Right now Algonquin Township’s Republican precinct committeemen are being polled to see whether they support a caucus or a primary election.

I’ve cast my vote for a primary.

I think voters ought to have a direct say in who is on the ballot for township office.

Yesterday, the scene was set for explaining why Algonquin Township has had primary elections instead of caucuses as the method of selecting candidates for township office since the mid-1970’s.

It all started when incumbent Republican Township Assessor Forrest Hare was defeated by 3 votes in a 3000-ballot township caucus, but denied a recount by the majority of precinct committeemen on the township committeemen who wanted the young reformer out of office.

That outraged Forrest’s supporters, among whom was WIVS radio station owner Mal Bellairs.

Forrest decided to run as a write-in candidate.

You know that write-ins very, very rarely are victorious.

Every weekday morning from the caucus to the general election, Mal put the heat on the local Republican Party in support of Forrest’s candidacy.

I remember driving down Route 47 on the way to Springfield and wishing I could hear his whole program that was disappearing between Mazon and Dwight.

The short of it was that Forrest beat the Establishment candidate about 2-1. About 3,500 people voted and Hare got about 2,000.

After Forrest won, I was over in the state senate chamber for something or other and my high school classmate, then state senator, Jack Schaffer approached me in the back of the Republican side. He suggested that we had to do something to make sure such a fight never happened again. He had backed the teacher.

We decided that township central committees should have the right to have a primary election governed by state law, rather than the township central committee. And, with Republicans in control of both the Senate and the House, we passed such a law.

Since then, Algonquin Township has always opted for a primary election. I remember Nunda Township’s having followed suit at least once.

Contention of township office, a not bad paying set of jobs, has been minimal except when a public official retires or dies. Active primary contests resulted when Township Road Commissioner Del Miller died and when Township Supervisor Tom Schober died.

An upset occurred when Fox River Grove True Value hardware store co-owner John Opatrny and a friend ran as a team for township trustee. They sent out a joint post card and won.

Right now Algonquin Township’s Republican precinct committeemen are being polled to see whether they support a caucus or a primary election.

I’ve cast my vote for a primary.

I think voters ought to have a direct say in who is on the ballot for township office.

That is the question that Republican and Democratic township central committees are now considering.

Precinct committee have very little power.

In their precincts, if they develop a rapport with local residents, they can influence elections.

But, they can have real power if decide to hold a caucus to select nominees for township office every four years.

Prior to Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare’s razor thin defeat in a 1973 township caucus, there was no option.

There was no provision in state law to hold a primary election to allow voters to select who should be on the April ballot for their party.

In 1969, Forrest, who was 25, defeated Henry Seigmeier, an older gentlemen. He had passed now-mandatory tests that the incumbent had not and ran an active campaign.

It was based on promising to protect new home purchasers by assessing them at the same percentage of market value that older homes were assessed.

At that time, official, yet illegal, guidelines were handed out by McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue.

The guidelines told assessors to assess homes at 60% of market value.

As county treasurer I discovered that 50% was the real guideline, but the guy in the Revenue Department told me he was telling me only because I was a county treasurer.

Top secret, hush hush, it seems.

I later discovered that the assessment percentages for all counties and large townships was published annually, but this guy made it sound like I had been admitted to the inner sanctum.

It was clear that homes in Crystal Lake’s newest subdivision, Coventry, were being assessed at 60% of sale price.

So, Forrest’s promise to lower then to 50% propelled him to victory over Seigmeier, who basically said he was just doing what the Supervisor of Assessments told him to do.

Well, Forrest not only followed the law and assessed all homes, even the older ones that were assessed lower than 50%, at the “official” state level, but he assessed vacant property the same way. There was no official break for farm land in state law, although, in practice, it was assessed no where near what it would sell for.

Forrest was the first township assessor in the state to computerize the calculation process. My neighbor Ted Tolleffsen, who was in data processing at United Airlines was in the publicity picture we took.

The most valuable vacant land at the time was where Best Buy is now. As I remember, it was owned by the Cowlin family. Bill, who was state’s attorney at the time was quite disturbed at the increase that Forrest imposed and I think I understate his reaction, which I just got second hand.

Alexander MacArthur, who owned a big farm in Barrington Hills, was incensed.

I still remember the manure spreader he entered into Crystal Lake’s Thanksgiving Parade that went through Colby’s Subdivision in 1972.

It had some play on words about “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” I think there were images of computer data cards.

Quite in keeping with Alex’s imaginative mind.

The township had no choice but to hold a caucus. I had just been elected state representative, so couldn’t be much help in Forrest’s campaign.

His theme was “Homeowners for Hare.” His sister made probably the best campaign signs I have ever seen.

Establishment Republicans recruited a 26-year old District 26 grade school teacher as their candidate.

The township central committee decided to have three polling places, one at Cary-Grove High School, one in Algonquin and a third at Crystal Lake Community High School.

After the polls closed, all of the ballots were brought to the CLCHS field house. I wish I could have been there.

The judges counted ballots until about 3 AM.

Forrest came up about 3 ballots short, losing to a District 26 young school teacher whom the GOP Establishment folks had put up. (You may have gathered that Forrest and I were not considered “establishment.”)

Forrest asked the judges if they were sure they had counted correctly and their reply was in the negative.

Forrest then asked the precinct committeemen on the township central committee for a recount.

It was denied.

Tomorrow – Part 2

That is the question that Republican and Democratic township central committees are now considering.

Precinct committee have very little power.

In their precincts, if they develop a rapport with local residents, they can influence elections.

But, they can have real power if decide to hold a caucus to select nominees for township office every four years.

Prior to Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare’s razor thin defeat in a 1973 township caucus, there was no option.

There was no provision in state law to hold a primary election to allow voters to select who should be on the April ballot for their party.

In 1969, Forrest, who was 25, defeated Henry Seigmeier, an older gentlemen. He had passed now-mandatory tests that the incumbent had not and ran an active campaign.

It was based on promising to protect new home purchasers by assessing them at the same percentage of market value that older homes were assessed.

At that time, official, yet illegal, guidelines were handed out by McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue.

The guidelines told assessors to assess homes at 60% of market value.

As county treasurer I discovered that 50% was the real guideline, but the guy in the Revenue Department told me he was telling me only because I was a county treasurer.

Top secret, hush hush, it seems.

I later discovered that the assessment percentages for all counties and large townships was published annually, but this guy made it sound like I had been admitted to the inner sanctum.

It was clear that homes in Crystal Lake’s newest subdivision, Coventry, were being assessed at 60% of sale price.

So, Forrest’s promise to lower then to 50% propelled him to victory over Seigmeier, who basically said he was just doing what the Supervisor of Assessments told him to do.

Well, Forrest not only followed the law and assessed all homes, even the older ones that were assessed lower than 50%, at the “official” state level, but he assessed vacant property the same way. There was no official break for farm land in state law, although, in practice, it was assessed no where near what it would sell for.

Forrest was the first township assessor in the state to computerize the calculation process. My neighbor Ted Tolleffsen, who was in data processing at United Airlines was in the publicity picture we took.

The most valuable vacant land at the time was where Best Buy is now. As I remember, it was owned by the Cowlin family. Bill, who was state’s attorney at the time was quite disturbed at the increase that Forrest imposed and I think I understate his reaction, which I just got second hand.

Alexander MacArthur, who owned a big farm in Barrington Hills, was incensed.

I still remember the manure spreader he entered into Crystal Lake’s Thanksgiving Parade that went through Colby’s Subdivision in 1972.

It had some play on words about “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” I think there were images of computer data cards.

Quite in keeping with Alex’s imaginative mind.

The township had no choice but to hold a caucus. I had just been elected state representative, so couldn’t be much help in Forrest’s campaign.

His theme was “Homeowners for Hare.” His sister made probably the best campaign signs I have ever seen.

Establishment Republicans recruited a 26-year old District 26 grade school teacher as their candidate.

The township central committee decided to have three polling places, one at Cary-Grove High School, one in Algonquin and a third at Crystal Lake Community High School.

After the polls closed, all of the ballots were brought to the CLCHS field house. I wish I could have been there.

The judges counted ballots until about 3 AM.

Forrest came up about 3 ballots short, losing to a District 26 young school teacher whom the GOP Establishment folks had put up. (You may have gathered that Forrest and I were not considered “establishment.”)

Forrest asked the judges if they were sure they had counted correctly and their reply was in the negative.

Forrest then asked the precinct committeemen on the township central committee for a recount.

It was denied.

Tomorrow – Part 2