McHenry County Blog

Generally the Northwest Herald is quite protective of establishment figures in McHenry County.

But Sunday’s editorial calls out McHenry County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill out in no uncertain terms for her 708 Board nomination bypass of the Public Health and Human Resources Committee.

The editorial says she comes off “as heavy-handed and power hungry, and the move raises questions about her motivations.”

And the NWH advises members to vote against Cathy Ferguson, Hill’s choice to fill a vacancy on the McHenry County Mental Health Board, because of Hill’s circumvention of the committee process.

With regard to Hill’s intention of replacing Pioneer Center Sandy Salgado with former Family Services Executive Director Bob Martens, the editorial writers conclude,

“If Salgado’s representation on the Public Health and Human Services Committee is a conflict, certainly Martens’ is as well.”

Tonight’s “Best Show in Town” begins at 7 in Woodstock’s McHenry County Administrative Center.

With McHenry County Chairwoman Tina Hill labeling Sandra Salgado’s service on the the Public Health and Human Services Committee “The Epitome of Conflict of Interest,” Fox River Grove Republican Precinct Committeeman has written a story entitled,

“The Epitome of Conflict of Interest” – Backroom Politics

Hill bases that characterization on the fact that Salgado works for Pioneer Center and Pioneer Centers gets financial support from the 708 Mental Health Board, whose Board members the Public Health Committee recommends.

[Of course, the last recommendation, Scott Summers was rejected by the Hill followers listed below on the County Board:

[Those opposing the nomination were

• Michele Aavang
• Yvonne Barnes
• Sue Drafkorn
• Joe Gottemoller
• Jim Heisler
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Ken Koehler
• Bob Martens
• Mary McCann
• Mary McClellan
• Anna May Miller
• Bob Nowak
• Nick Provenzano
• Ersel Schuster
• Carolyn Schofield
• Mike Skala
• Paula Yensen

In favor were

• Nick Chirikos
• Diane Evertsen
• John Hammerand
• Donna Kurtz
• Sandy Salgado
• Mike Walkup

[And the last recommendation of Donna Kurtz' Committee--after Hill announced that she would bypass the Committee--Jeff Thorsen, was not even placed on tonight's County Board agenda.  She has recommended Cathy Ferguson, a colleague of Thorsen on the Crystal Lake City Council.]

With that as background, Gasser’s conclusion might be of interest.  Playing off Hill’s “epitome of conflict of interest” statement, Gasser concludes

“The real conflict of interest is Hill’s nominee of former Family Services & Community Mental Health Center for McHenry County CEO and current board member Bob Martens (Spring Grove).”

Why?

He points to what he calls about a $140,000 “Golden Parachute” for Martens when he was listed as “Former CEO” of  the Family Services and Community Health Center for McHenry County.   (He found that information on the agency’s IRS Form 990.)

Gasser continues,

“This same year the McHenry Mental Health Board gave a loan to Family Services & Community Mental Health Center for McHenry County $719,981 when no other lending institution would do so because of the risk.”

Gasser then asks a series of questions that readers might find of interest.

One of them has to do with the August 2012 collapse of Family Services after Martens retired and while he was one of four GOP candidate for County Board in District 4.

Gasser asks,

“Should this person really be the liaison between the county board and the Mental Health Board?”

There is more, but, again, I suggest you go to the source of this story on Andrew Gasser’s blog.

As mentioned previously, replacement of Salgado with Martens will change the balance of power on the Public Health Committee.  It will put Hill loyalists in control by a 4-3 margin.

For 708 Board purposes, that means that Hill can name replacements for the two seats whose terms expire January 1, 2014, without bypassing the committee for a second time:

• Vice President Brett  Wisnauski
• Secretary Connee Meschini

Ferguson’s term, if approved, would expire at the same time.

The meeting at which Hill’s replacement recommendation will be considered in tonight at 7 PM in the building north of the McHenry County Jail.

Below you will see McHenry County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill’s letter to Board members about her recommendation of Crystal Lake City Councilwoman Cathy Ferguson to the 708 Mental Health Board.

The County Board’s Public Health & Human Resources Committee, chaired by Donna Kurtz, voted to recommend Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Thorsen, but, immediately thereafter Hill said that she would not put Thorsen’s to a vote before the County Board.

Thorsen is a finance guy.

He is a banker who has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

Ferguson is a counselor who handles drug abuse, among other problems.

She talked a little about that when she voiced her opposition to decriminalizing marijuana in Crystal Lake (giving tickets where the city would get the money, rather than running criminal cases through the court system in which the city does not benefit financially.)

She said she thought the issue was important because marijuana was a gateway drug.

Newly-sworn in Algonquin Township Trustee Larry Emery is the second Republican Precinct Committeeman to weigh in on what he saw at Tuesday’s McHenry County Board Public Health and Human Services Board meeting.

You can read his story here.

The article is entitled,

To Serve or to Politic, that is the question. 708 Board

Emery asked “the committee focus on a candidate that would support transparency, measurable goals match to the 708 board mission statement, and job descriptions match required needs to achieve the measured goals.”

He tells of the 4-0 vote to nominate Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Throsen for the vacancy (created after the County Board voted 18-6 against Scott Summers–with none of Summers’ opponents saying a word as to why they were voting, “No.”)

He reports County Board Chairwoman Tina Hill’s answer when asked whether she would put Thorsen’s name on the agenda.

Looks as if there will be anther article about the 3:30 PM meeting of the McHenry County Mental Health Board at its Crystal Lake headquarters on Thursday.

Last night while I was at the marathon Prairie Grove Elementary School Board meeting, Democratic County Board member Paula Yensen called to tell me why she had missed the Public Health & Human Services Committee meeting.

Sometime after 1 AM, I emailed her asking her what the inaccuracy was.

Eighteen hours later and I have received no reply.

But I did just read Northwest Herald reporter Kevin Craver’s blog in which he takes an unnamed “other county news sources” to the woodshed.

He writes Yensen had a work conflict, McCann was in the meeting room next door chairing a Finance Committee meeting and Miller was recovering from an auto accident.

Of course, two of the three could have attended by phone, as Hill did at one County Board meeting, and the third could have walked through the partition for the vote.  All she would have needed was someone to tell her when the vote was.  (She could have briefly recessed her meeting and cast her vote.)

Craver implies that the word “boycott” implies “collaboration.”

I’m not sure I buy that, but I’ll admit the word may have been a stretch.

I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether deciding not to vote on Jeff Thorsen’s nomination was justified.

Regardless, take a look at what Craver has to say in his latest post,

Reporter’s Notebook: Mental Health Board showdown

because it beyond whether the missing members were AWOL.

And just because people shouldn’t forget who voted against former McHenry County College Board President Scott Summers’ nomination without saying one single solitary word about why, here’s the list again:

Those opposing the nomination were

• Michele Aavang
• Yvonne Barnes
• Sue Drafkorn
• Joe Gottemoller
• Jim Heisler
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Ken Koehler
• Bob Martens
• Mary McCann
• Mary McClellan
• Anna May Miller
• Bob Nowak
• Nick Provenzano
• Ersel Schuster
• Carolyn Schofield
• Mike Skala
• Paula Yensen

In favor were

• Nick Chirikos
• Diane Evertsen
• John Hammerand
• Donna Kurtz
• Sandy Salgado
• Mike Walkup

If you have time, the 708 Board meets at 3:30 Thursday afternoon at its Crystal Lake office.

Fox River Grove Republican Precinct Committeeman Andrew Gasser was at mid-day the Public Health & Human Resources Committee meeting and wrote an article.

He ends his first paragraph with

“So much for transparency.”

Commenting on Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Thorsen’s nomination, he wrote,

“This is the second candidate put forward by the PH&HS Committee who has a strong business and financial background which is so desperately needed on the McHenry County Mental Health Board (McMHB).”

Read Gasser’s whole article, as well as McHenry County Blog’s, as well as Kevin Craver’s in the Northwest Herald.

Chaired by Donna Kurtz a majority of four nominated Crystal Lake City Councilman, banker and holder of an MBA Jeff Thorsen to fill the vacancy on the 708 Mental Health Board.

A vacancy remains because an 18-6 majority vote on the McHenry County Board refused to ratify the nomination of former McHenry County College Board President and 2012 Democratic Party Board candidate Scott Summers for the post.

Voting for Thorsen were Kurtz, John Hammerand, Sandy Salgado and Mike Walkup.

The other three members of the committee–Paula Yensen, Anna May Miller and Mary McCann–boycotted the meeting.

Following the eighteen “No” votes, Chairwoman Tina Hill informed the Board that she would submit her own choice to fill the vacancy.

After the Public Health Committee vote Hill was asked by Mike Walkup whether she would put the nomination on the agenda for the County Board’s May 21st meeting and she said she would not be putting the name up for the County Board’s consideration.

Then Walkup said,

“The Chair promised us in her State of the County speech that this would be a new day.

“Instead she has now plunged us into darkness.

“I suggest that everyone make sure they have extra batteries for their flashlights because it will be a long, dark night.”

John Hammerand asked why anyone should attend committee meetings.

Others considered for the post by the Committee members were

• Danijela Sanberg
• Charles Wheeler
• Catheryn Perfetti
• Cathy Ferguson
• David Barber

After the vote Sandy Salgado said she was not leaving the committee voluntarily. Salgado is employed by Pioneer Center.

Those opposing the nomination were

• Michele Aavang
• Yvonne Barnes
• Sue Drafkorn
• Joe Gottemoller
• Jim Heisler
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Ken Koehler
• Bob Martens
• Mary McCann
• Mary McClellan
• Anna May Miller
• Bob Nowak
• Nick Provenzano
• Ersel Schuster
• Carolyn Schofield
• Mike Skala
• Paula Yensen

In favor were

• Nick Chirikos
• Diane Evertsen
• John Hammerand
• Donna Kurtz
• Sandy Salgado
• Mike Walkup

None of the opponents offered a word as to why they were voting against Summers.

The two elected and one appointed incumbent Crystal Lake City Councilmen won  the right to sit up front for the next four years.

Here are the results:

• Jeff Thorsen – 1841
• Ralph Dawson – 1,808
• Cameron Hubbard – 1,798
• Jim Tomasello – 1,394
• Charles Ebann – 987

I think my analysis after the debate was accurate. Neither of the challengers sufficiently differentiated himself from the incumbents.

Running against the Republican candidate for Grafton Township Road Commissioner, Tom Poznanski, is Independent Tim Hoeft.

Hoeft is part of the Restore Grafton Township slate of Independents.

Although I have heard nothing from Poznanski (but would be willing to publish his literature and any mailings he has made), Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Thorsen has sent the following endorsement of his opponent Hoeft:

“Tim Hoeft is a well qualified candidate for township road commissioner in Grafton.

“I have had the opportunity to meet with him often over the past few months and I know he is a very competent and resourceful man. His credentials are extensive.

“He knows what needs to be done in the field, but he also has a firm grasp of what it takes to run the office as well.

“Tim is community oriented and serious about the duty to Grafton Township residents.

“That is why I will vote for Tim Hoeft on April 9, 2013.

The final sentence, of course, indicates that Thorsen lives in the Grafton Township part of Crystal Lake.”

Jeff Thorsen is a long-time Crystal Lake City Councilman known for not kowtowing to the “party line” at meetings.

He also is not endorsing Pam Fender, the Republican candidate for Grafton Township Supervisor.

Thorsen, a Grafton Township resident is supporting James Kearns.

He send me an email with his reasoning. It is below:

“I just want to offer you my perspective…and why I have it.

“There was a spreadsheet passed around 4 years ago illustrating the the financing mechanism for the repayment on the proposed and at that time approved Township facility debt.

“Combined with the income available to service the debt illustrated on the document, and compared to the financial results (AUDITED) from years past, the result was fairly anticipated…..it indicated that all things being equal, the Township would have been in need of alternative funding to finance the new facility [township hall]…

“I was the one originating that document and to this day I have not heard the premise nor the conclusion of that illustration challenged…..So I throw it out again.

“My estimate for the need for an alternative funding source i. e. tax anticipation warrants…came out in the fifth or sixth year…on that document, as I recall.

“The Tax anticipation warrant funding mechanism, would have lasted as a resource (mathematically) for a period longer than what would be acceptable to the holder of the warrant i. e. the bank.

“However, it would have stopped by law in (I think it was) the 8th or 9th year; thus requiring a NEW levy on the township taxpayers….

“That said, I supported the candidate that promised a termination of the project.

“I am not ashamed of that. (Trouble is we are 4 years down a different road and we are close to the need for tax anticipation warrants now…and no bank seems to want to offer that funding mechanism to our township.)

“Fast forward.

Jim Kearns

“It soon became clear a personal township cat box conflict accelerated into something more than I can conceive of even in comparison to the outrageous actions the state and federal government representatives can sometimes be capable of.”About two years ago I had a conversation with Jim Kearns…We had just met but I knew of him for many years and I know to this day as I did then that Jim is a man of his word and his hand shake.

“I know that by his reputation and because I do business with him.

“Anyway, when we talked about Grafton Township, he indicated then that he was so dissatisfied with the activities on the board…en masse..that he was considering a run for Supervisor.

“I immediately offered my support.

“I am proud of that.

“I know that Jim is the most qualified candidate for the Supervisor position.

“He is a fiscal conservative and he hates paying lawyers.

“Most importantly, he wants to serve his neighbors, as a neighbor should, with respect and faith.

“He, unlike his opponent, was not a part of and an escalating insider to the disaster that unfolded. Please consider Jim when you print about Grafton Township.

“Tell your neighbors to VOTE FOR JIM!