McHenry County Blog

Back when I was running for office, the Gunowners of America were more supportive of Second Amendment rights than the NRA. Of course, the National Rifle Association has a bigger mailing list and it uses it to send last-minute post cards telling of its endorsement.

I remember being disgusted when the NRA endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan, a candidate who was decidedly in favor of policies the NRA was on record against.

I was told that the NRA never endorsed Third Party candidacies like mine on the Libertarian Party ticket.

I didn’t understand the Illinois State Rifle Association’s logic in 2002. It made no sense to endorse someone who was on record of undercutting gunowners’ rights, but they did it anyway.

In any event, here is the press release sent out by Congressman Joe Walsh:

GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA “PROUD” TO ENDORSE CONGRESSMAN WALSH

Earlier this week, the nation’s second-largest Second Amendment organization announced its endorsement of Congressman Joe Walsh (R-McHenry).

In announcing the endorsement, Gun Owners of America Vice Chairman Tim Macy said, “Congressman Walsh is a leader on Second Amendment issues, plain and simple. When it comes to defending the right to keep and bear arms, Joe Walsh is at the forefront of the battle and was the clear choice in our decision to endorse.”

The Gun Owners of American has been described by Congressman Ron Paul (T-TX) as, “the only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington.”

“During his long tenure as an elected figure, Randy Hultgren has shown little interest in upholding gun rights,” said Macy.

“Walsh, on the other hand, is a true defender of the Second Amendment who in his short time in Congress has already become a leading voice for gun owners all across America.”

Rep. Walsh is a cosponsor of two concealed carry reciprocity bills in the U.S. House, and he recently chided his own state for trampling the gun rights of its citizens.

“We are an embarrassment (in Illinois),” Walsh said.

“We are the last state standing when it comes to concealed carry.”

Although Illinois is the only state that will not benefit from congressional legislation, Walsh hopes that the passage of national reciprocity will spur his state to action.

Recently, the freshman Congressman became the first member of Congress to officially call for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation because of the growing Fast and Furious scandal. More than 30 members of Congress have since joined the call for Holder to step down.

“The American people deserve to know the truth regarding Attorney General Eric Holder’s knowledge and role in the Fast and Furious operation,” said Walsh in a statement.

“This program was deliberately designed to attack law-abiding American gun owners and gun dealers. Why else would an anti-gun Administration force licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals?”

“Our gun rights frequently come under attack in Washington,” said GOA’s Mr. Macy. “Gun owners and sportsmen around the country have a trusted friend in Congressman Walsh.

“Gun Owners of America is proud to make this endorsement, and we encourage friends of the Second Amendment from Illinois and around the country to stand with Rep. Walsh with their encouragement and financial support as well.”

Congressman Walsh reacted to the endorsement by saying,

“I am pleased to have the support of this wonderful organization and I will continue to be a tireless advocate for the Second Amendment, which I believe to be the most important amendment in the Bill of Rights.”

This endorsement comes on the heels of the congressman receiving

• the Family Research Council’s “True Blue” Award for maintaining a 100% Pro-Family voting record, as well as
• earning a 95% ranking on the Heritage Foundation’s Legislative Scorecard, which recognizes those members of Congress who are “fighting for freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society.”

That was the takeaway message for me from the Huntley Tea Party’s forum on gun control.

Bill Jenkins, whose 16-year old son was killed in Richmond, Virginia, put declining gun ownership statistics on the screen arguing that John Lott’s “More Guns, Less Crime” analysis was false, that Concealed Carry legislation was not the cause of less crime, rather the end of a 1990′s crime spree was.  I’ll tell you.  I’d drive to Chicago to hear them debate.

Jenkins also showed a slide showing crime increasing in Concealed Carry states at the same time it was increasing in states without that privilege.

“You cannot use the ‘decreases crime’ argument to support Concealed Carry legislation,” he said.

Illinois State Rifle Association President Richard Pearson took on another of Jenkins’ statistics, that of the small  percentage of gun owners who use their guys to deter crime.

He offered two examples from his own life.

He told of a guy walking into his jewelry store, locking the door behind him and asking, “What would you do if I tried to rob your store?”

“I’d shoot you with my 45,” Pearson replied  as he pulled his gun from the holster behind his back.  The man immediately unlocked the door and left.

He told the audience at the Huntley Park District Building Auditorium that he did not report the incident, that the Police Department was across the street and couldn’t have done anything to help him.

A second incident occurred when a car with men pulled next to them in a threatening way.  The drive of the pickup in which Pearson was a passenger pulled onto a dirt road, made some dust fly, stopped the pickup and when the car following the two came into view its occupants faced a shotgun.

Needless to say, they drove away.

Pearson didn’t report that to the police either.

The point he was trying to make was that one statistic upon which Jenkins was relying might not be as important as Jenkins thought.

There were fascinating comments by Todd Vandermyde about how the military had found a 50-caliber rifle developed for hunting and turned it into a sniper’s rifle used by the military after Jenkins said he favored restricting the ownership of military grade guns.

Clearly, Vandermyde knew that part of the issue better than Jenkins.

That was the issue part of the evening.

Tomorrow, McHenry County Blog will report on the electoral side.

The event was chaired by former Huntley School Board member Jim Carlin.

Coordinator of the Huntley Tea Party is Linda Bakwell.

Here’s the press release with the details:

Public Forum on the 2nd Amendment and Conceal Carry

The Huntley Area Tea Party will present a Public Forum on Tuesday September 27th on the Subject of the 2nd Amendment and the Right of Citizens to Conceal Carry. This will be held in the Willow Room at the Cosman Cultural Center in Huntley Illinois starting at 6:30pm.
Featured Panel members will be:

• State Representative Mike Tryon (co-sponsor) of the bill to enable Conceal Carry in Illinois
• A Representative from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
• A Representative from the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA)

Each panel member will present their views on these issues along with specific reasons and facts supporting their views. The panel will then take questions from the audience.

By presenting both sides of this controversial issue we hope to provide the public with factual information and stimulate meaningful and respectful discussion.

The Cosman Cultural Center is located 12015 Mill Street in Huntley, Illinois 60142

Gun owners are planning ahead for the March 10th lobby day in Springfield.

A bus, costing $35, will go from the Fox Lake Police Department, leaving at 6 AM.

This is a bus ride that could be different from any other that you have taken.

A Utah Conceal Weapons Permit instructor will teach the Utah Concealed Carry Weapon Permit on the bus for an additional fee of $65.  The course would be completed on the ride down.

So for $100, a person can get to Springfield and tell one’s legislators that he or she has just finished qualifying for a Utah Concealed Carry permit, pointing out that a whole lot of states recognize it and asking if the legislator wouldn’t like to help make Illinois safer by passing a reciprocity law here.

The contact information is mike@anywhereccw.com or 815-534-GUNS (4867).

McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren got a headline saying he was in favor of a concealed carry law in today’s Northwest Herald, as you can see below.

I’d try to find the NW Herald article that I believe quoted a Crystal Lake Police Chief Keith Nygren as being against concealed carry in the 1990′s, but, with the NW Herald charging for its archives, that’s expecting too much. (And I didn’t buy today’s paper. I’m a second hand user.)

Beyond what I remember as a flip-flop from when I was state representative, Woodstock Advocate writer and Green Party sheriff’s candidate against Nygren, Gus Philpott, wrote in a comment about Nygren’s speech to the McHenry County Concealed Carry Association that

“Nygren was at the meeting and presented the position of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, which is to support concealed carry; however, at no point did Nygren ever say that HE supports concealed carry.

“What’s your position, Keith?”

It appears that question has been answered in today’s NW Herald.

But, as they say, actions speak louder than words.

Democratic Party challenger Mike Mahon points out that Nygren will not let about 230 his own trained and certified employees carry their weapons when off duty.

You know how you hear about off-duty Chicago policemen interrupting crimes while on their own time. They have guns.

Back when I was state representative, I was told of an Illinois Department of Corrections Office who was shot after he got off work by a gang banger friend of one of the inmates at either Joliet or Stateville prisons.

Illinois stupidly does not allow correctional officers to take their weapons home to defend themselves with. They have to lock them up in the prison. They can’t even have their own guns in the prison parking lot.

The result was that one correctional officer died on his way home to his Chicago neighborhood.

I introduced a bill, got it out of committee and to the House floor to rectify that situation. No help from the Illinois State Rifle Association. The legislation would have allowed correctional officers, both state and county, plus retired law enforcement officers, to carry handguns while not on the job.

My logic was that there would be that many more good guys on the street should some gang banger or crook or just plain nutcase decides to do something in their presence.

The State Rifle Association sat on its hands as a drunken Peoria area Democratic state representative took aim after a well-lubricated dinner.

The ISRA didn’t want any bill passed unless everyone was included.

And my bill lost.

Now, Mahon is calling out Nygren about allowing his own jailers and other trained and certified employees to be armed while off duty.

“Let them carry weapons while off the job,” Mahon is, in effect, saying.

“The community will be safer and you won’t be subject to the charge of being a hypocrite.”

I repeat, those were not Mahon’s words. You can read his words in his press release below:

The following statement was released Tuesday by McHenry County Sheriff candidate Mike Mahon:

Mike Mahon

“I find it interesting that Sheriff (Keith) Nygren has appeared to have gotten religion recently with respect to ‘concealed carry,’ when in fact he has had the capability to reinforce crime fighting in McHenry County for over a decade and has refused to do so.“

I am speaking of the over 230 trained McHenry County correctional and court security officers and process servers whose ability to carry firearms outside of the scope of their official duties has been denied by the same Sheriff Nygren who now states, according to a Northwest Herald article published March 2, 2010, that ‘when something happens to you or your family…the likelihood that there will be a policeman standing next to you is probably not very great’ and therefore that ‘private citizens who have guns could prove especially helpful in circumstances in which police were not instantly at the scene of an incident.’

“Now that the issue of concealed carry in Illinois might be getting some traction, Sheriff Nygren seems to be signaling some lukewarm support.

“But for years and years he could have permitted his officers, who have all completed the State of Illinois Law Enforcement mandatory firearms training course, who work for his office and whom he could keep a close eye on, to carry firearms not only as they travel to and from work but also when off-duty and in the community.

“The list of mass killings like Columbine, Virginia Tech and, closer to home, Northern Illinois University, unfortunately continues to lengthen. An off-duty officer in Utah was instrumental in halting an incident there within the last several years.

“But in McHenry County the additional cavalry are unarmed.

“I, for one, will be far more ready to believe in Sheriff Nygren’s new-found conversion to concealed carry if he immediately lifts his own restriction on the sworn, trained, and certified officers under his command.

“I will also ensure the people of McHenry County that one of my first acts as Sheriff, after a thorough review of personnel records, will be to allow the sworn and trained officers of the Sheriff’s department to carry their firearms off duty.

“This will instantly put hundreds more trained and vetted public servants on the street during their off-duty hours which will therefore bring a higher level of public safety to all citizens of the county.”

For more information contact the Mike Mahon for Sheriff Campaign at 847.515.4772.

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I will again point out that there was a woman who had Armed Forces training who was sitting in the front of the NIU auditorium when the massacre occurred.   She could have taken out the little squirrel who did the shooting from the stage, but, instead, she got killed.

NIU is what my campaign manager for governor (when I ran in 2002) called “a protection free zone.”

One more thing.  In John Lott’s “More Guns, Less Crime,” he points out the harder laws make it for people to obtain their own personal protection in the form of a gun, the less likely it is for those people really in need of such protection will be able to qualify.

So, if you want to discriminate against inner city residents, make the hurdles high.

Earlier today, I apparently misread what I heard and didn’t hear before two political advocacy ads on News Radio 78.

The Illinois State Rifle Association is running an ad which encourages people who support the Second Amendment rights to bear arms to come to Springfield for its annual lobby day on March 10th.

Before that ad is a disclaimer pointing out that it is a political ad.

A second ad sponsored by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association asking for insurance company reform is also on the air.

But it had no warning that it is a political ad.

I emailed Mark A. Day, the station’s ad manager, last night asking for clarification and his reply disabuses me of my conspiratorial thoughts that political organizations on the right hand side of the political spectrum are being treated less favorably than those on the left hand side.

Day emailed that both ad should have disclaimers:

“I didn’t hear the ads yesterday but both should have disclaimers.

“Might have been a production error……or just a glitch.  Sometimes the system jumps.

“Thank you for bringing it to our attention.  I’ll let the newsroom know.”

Over a two-day period, I heard two issue advocacy radio ads on WBBM.

One was preceded by a disclaimer saying it was a political ad.

The other wasn’t.

The one with the disclaimer, making it less likely that people would pay attention to it, in my opinion, was sponsored by the Illinois State Rifle Association. It was a membership pitch, but it also urged people to come to Springfield for the annual day of lobbying, March 10th.

The one without a disclaimer was paid for by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. It knocked back doctors and insurance companies and urged passage of legislation to more tightly regulate insurance companies.

Both groups are powerful state lobbies.

One is closely with Democrats and depends on money to work its will.

The other has closer ties to Republicans, but has much support among Downstate Democrats.

You get one guess which special interest group’s ad that WBBM News Radio 78 put the the political ad disclaimer in front of to catch my attention.

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Read an update here.

OK, so it’s still January.

Nevertheless the approaching 500 people who showed up at the Operating Engineers Local 150 Lakemoor Banquet Hall was impressive.

On the dias were, from left to right, county board candidate Nick Provenzano, McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren, McHenry County Right to Carry Association President Lou Rofrano, McHenry County Sportsman Association’s Lee Lexow, 8th Congressional District candidate Joe Walsh, the Illinois State Rifle Associations’ Mike Weisman and IllinoisCarry.com’s Valinda Rowe.

Below is a press release explaining what happened at the meeting:

McHenry County Right to Carry Association Holds Packed Town Hall Meeting

Lakemoor, IL – McHenry County Right to Carry Association, MCR2CA, held its inaugural Town Hall Meeting Thursday night, January 21st, 2010 at the Lakemoor Banquet Hall with over 475 attendees crowding the standing room only venue.

Second Amendment supporters gathered to hear a panel of guest speakers discuss the Right to Carry and how to bring this right to Illinois. “The citizens of Illinois deserve the same right to personal self protection as those currently enjoyed by the citizens of 48 states in the Union” said Lou Rofrano, President, McHenry County Right to Carry Association.

Rofrano welcomed the crowd, introduced the panel and explained the mission and objectives of the MCR2CA:

Mission:
The McHenry County Right to Carry Association is a non-partisan group of like minded individuals dedicated to advancing the right to carry for the citizens of Illinois.

Objectives:
1. The McHenry County Right to Carry Association will work to educate Illinois citizens in the benefits of the right to carry in the state of Illinois.

2. The McHenry County Right to Carry Association will work to inspire individual citizens and members to actively work for advancing the right to carry in Illinois in 2010.

3. The McHenry County Right to Carry Association will work to educate individuals and community organizations in the safe handling and responsibilities associated with the legal use and ownership of firearms.

4. The McHenry County Right to Carry Association will inspire the highest levels of good citizenship, safety and adherence to all local, state and federal laws.

Nick Provenzano, County Board candidate discussed how he led the fight to pass the “Pro-2nd Amendment Resolution” at the McHenry County Board. “Through Chairman Ken Koehler’s leadership this resolution passed the County Board unanimously” stated Provenzano, who is also a member of the MCR2CA Board of Directors.

Provenzano also announced “If I am honored to be elected to the County Board, I promise you tonight that I will take another resolution back to the board supporting our right to carry and together we will send a message to the county, state and the city of Chicago that enough is enough, we want our constitutional right to carry – right here in McHenry County”.

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Photos by Ryan Provenzano

RyanProPhotos ryanprophoto@hotmail.com

Last night at Crystal Lake’s 1776 restaurant will be a night that Jason Plummer, an aggressive Downstate candidate for lieutenant governor, will remember forever.

How do I know?

Because I’ve been on the same route he took twice, once in 1982 when I ran for State Comptroller against Roland Burris and twenty years later when I ran for governor in 2002 against Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan.

A statewide candidate doesn’t remember all the stops on the campaign trail, but some are memorable.

Like the night at some big meeting hall in Carbondale when all the candidates on the ticket were standing under a big photo of us all and Jim Thompson was commenting on the St. Louis Globe’s endorsement that day.

“Even Skinner got endorsed,”

he exclaimed.

Of course, I thought and still think I was more qualified than incumbent Burris to be State Comptroller, but even I was surprised I had received the endorsement.

Last night the McHenry County Young Republicans held a candidates’ night for county board candidates.

Thank goodness, the YR’s were not as hidebound as the DeKalb League of Women Voters in 1982, when I was not allowed to speak because I wasn’t a legislative candidate.

In any event, the tallest Republican candidate I have seen since Thompson walked to the podium and was told, as the other candidates had been told, that he had five minutes and that when he was at the four minute mark, he would be told.

He started by pointing out the Illinois lieutenant governor had “no constitutional duties.”

He cited the three statutes giving the office some things to do—probably all enacted while Neil Hartigan was serving under Governor Dan Walker—and said,

“Clearly it’s not an overwhelming workload.”

Plummer talked about his having created jobs in companies he had started, as well as his role in the family lumber business, RP Lumber, with 43 yards in Illinois and two in Missouri.

He told of how he was in intelligence in the Navy Reserve, had worked at the Heritage Foundation and for U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald.

And, how he had returned from Washington to run for Madison County Republican Party Chairman.

He talked about fighting corruption in Madison County, something that no knowledgeable person would deny exits.

“I battled corrupt legislators, a corrupt county board and a corrupt judiciary.”

Plummer said,

“The state needs someone who knows how to sign the bottom of a check, not just the back of a check.”

Great line, don’t you think?

While at a trade convention in Indiana, he told a woman he was running for lieutenant governor.

“In Indiana?” the woman asked.

“No, Illinois.”

The New Jersey resident reacted with dismay, wondering why anyone would want to run for office in our corrupt state.

“When the people of New Jersey are questioning the ethics of Illinois, (we’re in trouble).”

Then, a very bright light put up by YR President Bryan Javor went out.

Then came the best quip of the night:

“Is that what you do at one minute?”

I’m still chuckling.

Tell me that Plummer won’t remember last night for the rest of his life.

In that last minute, Plummer listed some endorsements. I caught the Illinois State Rifle Association and the Illinois Federation of Right to Life.

Afterward I got a photo of Plummer with his campaign manager, Ray Marachiori. Marachiori staffed my Privatization Committee during the 1995-96 legislative session.

Plummer stayed until the end of the meeting. I guess he figured everybody in the room would vote in the GOP primary election.

I noticed 6th District county board candidate carrying one of Plummer’s signs out of the restaurant.

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“Jason Plummer calling“