McHenry County Blog

The Chicago Tribune ran a long articleabout a deal that had been cut with the Village of Northfield and the Illinois Department of Transportation to finally widen Willow Road to four lanes.

The forty-year fight over widening Willow Road settled.

It bought back memories of the horse trading for support among legislators for Governor George Ryan’s infrastructure bill.

He called it Illinois FIRST and, yes, the letters stood for something.

I remember my price was too high.

I asked for four-lanes on Route 47 from the Tollway Reed Road and four lanes on Algonquin Road from Route 31 to Route 47.

In addition, I requested that the State take over Algonquin Road from Route 31 to 47.

I pointed out that every other east-west State road in McHenry and Kane County went west to at least Route 47, except Route 62.

Ryan’s Transportation Secretary would not agree to that.

So I voted against the bill. which it turned out, pretty much screwed the six-county area.

Our percentage of highway money from 43-44% (which Lake Villa’s Bob Churchill negotiated in 1989 when he sponsored a gas tax hike) spent down to 40%.

The six county area has about 56% of the vehicles and about 55% of the lane miles, so 40% is manifestly too low.

But, back to Willow Road.

The State Rep. that represented the area asked if she could make sure a project was not built if she voted “Yes.”

Folks were pretty much stunned at the request. I imagine no one had ever heard one like it before.

“I’ll vote to tax my constituents, if you will spend the money in your districts.”

That was the message I heard.

Now she is no longer in the General Assembly and the road is being widened.

That’s the headline of Tribune reporter Jon Hilkevitch’s article about Chicago State Senator Martin Sandoval’s press conference taking on the disproportionately low proportion share of Motor Fuel Taxes that the Chicago metropolitan area has been getting since 1999.

As I mentioned yesterday, after the 1989 gas tax hike sponsored by Lake County’s Bob Churchill, our area’s share increased from 40% to 45%.

Then came Governor George Ryan’s 1999 Illinois FIRST, which pushed the Chicago area’s share back down.

Last year the Chicago area only got 37.5% of the road money.

Compare that to the 54.7% of the miles driven up here in the six county Chicagoland area.

Sandoval held a press conference yesterday at the Statehouse.

Today, this headline appeared in the Bloomington Pantograph:

Chicago wants more downstate money for road work

Metro East State Senator Bill Haine, D-Alton, when informed just now of the Chicagoans’ complaints:

Guess he hasn’t heard of the new toll bridge across the Fox River planned south of Algonquin.

That new Mississippi River bridge in Haine’s area won’t be a toll bridge, though.

No wonder he can be so cavalier. (See first definition for its use as a adjective.)

Here’s the headline from St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Kevin McDermott’s blog article:

Chicagoans say they don’t get fair share of state budget. (Seriously.)

Here’s the start of McDermott’s article:

“A group of Chicago-area state senators just conducted a news conference to complain that their region is getting short-changed in state road funding, and to demand that Chicagoland get a greater share of the state’s budget pie.

“(If you’re a southern Illinois reader, we’ll pause here to let you stop laughing and compose yourself.)”

I would note that while Downstate parks closed by Governor Rod Blagojevich have been re-opened, the busiest recreational waterway in Illinois, the Fox River and Chain of Lakes in McHenry and Lake Counties has had the lock through its dam threatened with closure Mondays and Tuesdays, as well as fewer hours the rest of the week.

And need I remind Downstaters that their de-populating schools continue to get State Aid to Education for empty classrooms (as a result of the delayed recognition of student growth in the suburbs), while newly full classrooms in Chicago’s suburbs get no state aid that first year.

If this sounds like I’m giving Downstate legislators a lot of credit, that’s right. They deserve it for consistently fleecing their Chicago area colleagues.

And, Chicago area media?

Only the Chicago Tribune thought this topic was worth a story.

I see that the Daily Herald’s Kerry Lester has written an article about leaders in McHenry County wanting more money for roads.

And that they don’t really care where it comes from.

Lester points out that U.S. News and World Report said that McHenry County has the worst traffic congestion in Illinois.

Build houses without building roads and that’ll happen to you.

Here’s what McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler told the Daily Herald:

“ …he sees gambling expansion as a ‘logical form’ of revenue enhancement, which he favors over tax increases.

“’Gambling is going to take place, whether it happens here or in Indiana. It’s ridiculous to see busloads of people heading out to spend money at casinos in other states.’”

Algonquin Village President John Schmidt agreed with Koehler, yet I haven’t seen any indication that the jackpot would include money to build the Bowles Road bridge as a free bridge, rather than a toll bridge.

The article says Lake in the Hills Village President Ed Plaza agrees that casinos are the way to go.

Their support certainly prepares the way for State Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) and State Senator Pam Althoff (R-McHenry) to vote for more casinos and slot machines at race tracks.

No doubt about that.

Maybe we should go back to the days when the mob has slot machines in most of the bars and fraternal clubs. Maybe the McHenry County Board could figure out how to tax it.

And, what about prostitution?

I vividly remember Mrs. Martinetti coming into the bar while we Crystal Lake Jaycees were having some drinks after a meeting.

She saw some young women. She ordered them back to the motel next door.

“I told you to stay over there,” she said quite forcefully.

When I was county treasurer during the last four years of the 1960’s, I was told how Sheriff Ed Dowd raided the bars in Algonquin and seized the slot machines.

They were full of coins when they were taken to Woodstock.

When they were destroyed, they were empty.

Anyone want to bet that the money didn’t end up in the county treasury?

After all this is the county sheriff who had his checks mailed to Texas during the latter part of his term.

House Speaker Mike Madigan takes a position I share.

It is that gambling destroys too many families.

I suspect Madigan will cave on the casino bill, because casino taxes sound like free money to weak-kneed legislators…until another McHenry County deputy sheriff steals from the evidence room to support his gambling habit.

Just an example that comes to mind, because it has happened.

Such thefts are just as likely to occur in any sort of establishments.

Tomorrow: a little “I told you so.”

I see that the Daily Herald’s Kerry Lester has written an article about leaders in McHenry County wanting more money for roads.

And that they don’t really care where it comes from.

Lester points out that U.S. News and World Report said that McHenry County has the worst traffic congestion in Illinois.

Build houses without building roads and that’ll happen to you.

Here’s what McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler told the Daily Herald:

“ …he sees gambling expansion as a ‘logical form’ of revenue enhancement, which he favors over tax increases.

“’Gambling is going to take place, whether it happens here or in Indiana. It’s ridiculous to see busloads of people heading out to spend money at casinos in other states.’”

Algonquin Village President John Schmidt agreed with Koehler, yet I haven’t seen any indication that the jackpot would include money to build the Bowles Road bridge as a free bridge, rather than a toll bridge.

The article says Lake in the Hills Village President Ed Plaza agrees that casinos are the way to go.

Their support certainly prepares the way for State Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) and State Senator Pam Althoff (R-McHenry) to vote for more casinos and slot machines at race tracks.

No doubt about that.

Maybe we should go back to the days when the mob has slot machines in most of the bars and fraternal clubs. Maybe the McHenry County Board could figure out how to tax it.

And, what about prostitution?

I vividly remember Mrs. Martinetti coming into the bar while we Crystal Lake Jaycees were having some drinks after a meeting.

She saw some young women. She ordered them back to the motel next door.

“I told you to stay over there,” she said quite forcefully.

When I was county treasurer during the last four years of the 1960’s, I was told how Sheriff Ed Dowd raided the bars in Algonquin and seized the slot machines.

They were full of coins when they were taken to Woodstock.

When they were destroyed, they were empty.

Anyone want to bet that the money didn’t end up in the county treasury?

After all this is the county sheriff who had his checks mailed to Texas during the latter part of his term.

House Speaker Mike Madigan takes a position I share.

It is that gambling destroys too many families.

I suspect Madigan will cave on the casino bill, because casino taxes sound like free money to weak-kneed legislators…until another McHenry County deputy sheriff steals from the evidence room to support his gambling habit.

Just an example that comes to mind, because it has happened.

Such thefts are just as likely to occur in any sort of establishments.

Tomorrow: a little “I told you so.”