McHenry County Blog

Google blew away the articles I wrote in the first two or three years of McHenry County Blog.  That was after the company labeled this a “spam blog.”

That loss included my article on the inauguration of the 22nd Circuit Court.  That was when McHenry County was separated from Lake County and made a separate Circuit Court District, thanks to legislation sponsored by State Rep. Jack Franks.

The most memorable part of the December, 2006, ceremony occurred when then-Circuit Court Clerk Bill Kays unveiled a mock seal for the newly independent court system.  You can see it below, thanks to a search for another series of photos:

Circuit Court Clerk Bill Kays makes his sense of humor evident in the mock 22nd Circuit Court seal he designed and presented before the real one was unveiled.

You will note that he calls it “The Double Deuce Circuit Court.”

Above a pair of dice showing twos, one can see, “Take a Gamble on Us!”

The lower part of the outer circle asks, “Are you feeling lucky?”

A press release from State Senator Pam Althoff in which the subhead I like best reads,
“Permanent Spending/Temporary Revenues“:

Senate Week in Review: March 4-8, 2013

Springfield, Ill. – In his annual budget message delivered March 6, Gov. Pat Quinn laid out a $35.6 billion General Funds spending proposal for the coming year.

Once again, the Governor proposed a budget that relies on temporary revenues to fund permanent government services State Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) said, explaining that the budget builds in expenditures based on the income tax increase that is set to expire in 2015.

Permanent Spending/Temporary Revenues

The practice of building long-term spending increases into budgets using short-term revenues has been characteristic of both Quinn and his former running mate, imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Although the temporary tax hike adopted by Quinn and his fellow Democrats in 2011 was sold to the public as a means of paying off the state’s backlog of bills, it has instead been used to fund ongoing state expenses, even as the bill backlog continues to climb.

Illinois owes $1.6 billion more in unpaid bills today than when the tax hike was adopted.

Pam Althoff and Mike Tryon

Education on the Chopping Block

The Governor’s budget takes deep swipes at education funding in Illinois, both at the local school level and at public universities and community colleges. By making significant reductions in a politically- and publicly-sensitive policy area like education, Althoff said the cuts were an obvious attempt to build political pressure for pension reform.

Yet, the biggest challenge to achieving pension reform in Illinois is not a lack of pressure, but instead a lack of leadership from the Governor.

While Quinn has offered vocal support for the concept of pension reform, he has neither produced his own plan nor rounded up votes for other plans.

Group: Quinn’s Job to Make Pension Reform Happen

As the non-partisan “Reboot Illinois” noted the day after the speech, “…as governor, it’s Quinn’s job to make it happen. So far, Quinn has a slim record of success in walking delicate and difficult legislation through the legislature’s political minefield.”

The Governor’s Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) proposal for Illinois’ operating budget totals $62.4 billion. Of that amount, $31.2 billion originates from General Funds. Included in this number is a $929 million increase for the state’s pension payment.

When spending items such as debt service payments and other statutory transfers are accounted for, total FY14 General Funds spending in this plan reaches $35.6 billion. This level of General Funds spending represents an increase of $1.2 billion over FY13.

Senate Republicans Offer Detailed Analysis

To encourage public participation in the budget process, Senate Republicans have made their own detailed internal analysis available to the public on their Web site www.senategop.state.il.us.

Gambling Expansion

In the speech, Quinn also opened the door to a gambling expansion. Within hours, supporters pushed a major gambling bill through the Senate’s Executive Committee, clearing the way for a vote before the full Senate. The measure would authorize a casino in Chicago, open the state up to Internet gambling, allow slot machines at horse racing tracks and allow four new casinos or riverboats in cities outside Chicago.

Details of Proposed Gambling Expansion

The proposed gambling expansion is contained in Senate Bill 1739 and includes the following major provisions:

• Chicago Casino: Creates a “Chicago Casino Development Authority,” which would be granted a license for a 4,000-position Chicago casino. The Authority would be run by a five-member board appointed by the mayor of Chicago and vetted by the Illinois Gaming Board. The Authority would also be able to offer slot machines at O’Hare and Midway airports.
• Internet Gambling: Authorizes Internet-based gambling, including Internet poker. Internet gambling would be limited to persons older than 21 and wagers could be accepted only within Illinois.
• Slot Machines at Horse Tracks: Allows for electronic gambling, including slot machines, at the state’s six racetracks – Arlington Park, Hawthorne, Maywood, Balmoral, Fairmont and Quad City Downs.
  New Riverboats/Casinos: Authorizes four new riverboats or casinos in Rockford, Danville, Lake County and Southern Cook County. Each would be allowed up to 1,200 gambling positions.
• Campaign Contribution Ban: Prohibits gambling licensees (including terminal operators from video gambling) and their affiliated entities (includes horse racing associations) from making political contributions to officeholders and candidates for the following offices:
  • State Constitutional Officers
  • General Assembly
  • county or municipal officeholders
  • candidates where a gambling facility is located or proposed
  • county or municipal officeholders and candidates where the county or municipality receives gambling revenue

The building that looks like a glass ski slope or a huge hot dog stand located across from Chicago’s City Hall was named for Governor James R. Thompson.

People call it the Thompson Center.

Land on which it sits used to be occupied by the Civic Center Bank and the Sherman House.

Both had interesting political connections.

Civic Center Bank stock was involved in financial shenanigans (read the political names in this court motion for more about the Civic Center Bank) uncovered by the late Sherman Skolnick. What he found resulted in two Illinois Supreme Court Justices (Associate Roy J. Solfisburg, Jr. and Chief Justice Ray Klingbiel) resigning. (A third resigned for “health” reasons, as I remember.)

The Sherman House was owned by the Teamsters Pension Fund.

And the State of Illinois bought both properties.

And built a new headquarters across the street from the old State of Illinois Building.

A labor and business leader are promoting use of the Thompson Center as a quick way to get a casino up and running in Chicago.  Perhaps a casino’s owners would remove the atrocious black and white Gumby-like statue on the corner.

Now comes the head of the Chicago Federation of Labor, Jorge Ramirez, agreeing to a suggestion by Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Roper that the Thompson Center should be turned into a casino.

A friend of mind describes government as a way those in control can reward friends and campaign contributors.

If the Thompson Center is turned into a casino, more friends and campaign contributors will be rewarded, of course, but some small number to taxpayers will become winners, too.

Unfortunately, it will not have a 20-foot sign on its facade warning, “Losers.”

The Sun-Times article notes that the building is 28-years old and needs renovating.

When it was built, a crucial element was cut to save money. The windows were supposed to be double-paned, but the second, energy-saving layer of glass was eliminated in one of the worst false economies in Illinois governmental construction history.

A video gambling machine in Crystal Lake.

The Crystal Lake City Council is set to discuss whether slot machines and video poker machines should be allowed in Crystal Lake bars and restaurants Tuesday night.

While one can comment early on, Mayor Aaron Shepley usually encourages those who want to speak on an agenda item to wait for it to be called.

Way down at the bottom of the agenda is Number 23:

“Video Gaming – Discussion Only”

Language that will be discussed Tuesday night at the Crystal Lake City Council meeting. Click to enlarge.

The following got coverage in the Springfield State Journal-Register today and we reprint it with the permission of its author:

Get citizens’ input on casino

One of the best buttons ever: CasiNO.

Gov. Pat Quinn recently rattled his sword in support of a casino in Chicago and four other sites in Illinois.

He also touted the feds giving the OK for Illinois to begin selling lottery tickets online.

Then he cited with enthusiasm video poker would be ready to start later in 2012.

Quinn in his rush to negotiate a suitable gambling expansion bill for Illinois has now become the “gambling king” in the United States.

What Quinn has not disclosed:

In order for the state to be successful at being a gambling winner, you the citizen must be the loser.

In December, the 1.3 million customers of Illinois’ 10 casinos lost $102 for each visit.

That is an average figure, taking into account winners and across all levels of gambling amounts wagered.

Quinn used to be in favor of citizen input into public policy issues.

But not anymore.

Now Quinn consults with legislators, who receive millions of dollars in campaign contributions from gambling interests, to decide for the “little people” what is best for them.

I am not a moralist opposed to gambling.

I play a game of skill called poker with my friends.

However, I never would waste my money at a casino on slots that are programmed for the fat cat casino owners and the state through taxes to win.

Casino gambling promoted by the state is a losing proposition for the citizens of Illinois.

If Chicago, a proven place of corruption, should consider a casino, it should be through a fair referendum of its citizens.

We urge Gov. Quinn to return to his former political self and save Chicago from a fate this world-class city does not need.

— Doug Dobmeyer, The Task Force to Oppose Casino Gambling, Chicago

John Hammerand, Chairman of the McHenry County Board’s Liquor and License Committee has informed McHenry County Blog that the question of whether an advisory referendum will be put on the February 2nd primary election ballot will be voted upon November 3rd.

About a month later, the question of whether to ban video poker, as it is euphemistically called by proponents, will be discussed December 1st.

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From left to right are McHenry County Board members Bob Bless, Mary McCann, License and Liquor Committee Chairman John Hammerand, Assistant State’s Attorney’s Sara Jansen and Cynthia Schaupp and County Board member Barb Wheeler.

In reporting the 57-53 defeat of the bill to force every Illinois citizen to pay $30 to subsidize the CTA/RTA last Thursday, the Chicago Tribune had this sentence:

”Senate President Emil Jones earlier called the construction and gambling package the ‘big elephant that’s in the room.’’

That immediately reminded me of an elephant we saw at Disney World during Thanksgiving week.

Armed with my long lens, I was besieged with instructions from my family to take a picture of this or that animal on our “safari.”

I didn’t get this elephant’s dump in motion. It is in the “splat” stage.

And its stinky mess is what I think a greatly expanded gambling will smell like in Illinois.

Maybe worse.

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McHenry County Blog doesn’t have smell-a-vision, but you can get a better look by clicking on the photograph.

In reporting the 57-53 defeat of the bill to force every Illinois citizen to pay $30 to subsidize the CTA/RTA last Thursday, the Chicago Tribune had this sentence:

”Senate President Emil Jones earlier called the construction and gambling package the ‘big elephant that’s in the room.’’

That immediately reminded me of an elephant we saw at Disney World during Thanksgiving week.

Armed with my long lens, I was besieged with instructions from my family to take a picture of this or that animal on our “safari.”

I didn’t get this elephant’s dump in motion. It is in the “splat” stage.

And its stinky mess is what I think a greatly expanded gambling will smell like in Illinois.

Maybe worse.

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McHenry County Blog doesn’t have smell-a-vision, but you can get a better look by clicking on the photograph.