Walkup Reflects on Franks’ “I want to run McHenry County” Ambition

Jack Franks’ Republican opponent for the McHenry County Board Chairmanship wrote the following comment under the article about the ambition Franks’ revealed on Justin Kaufmann’s WGN radio show on Wednesday night: Here is how county government and the county chairman position … Continue reading

Committee Unanimously Approves End to County Board IMRF Pensions

Every member of the Human Resources Committee voted to abolish Illinois Municipal Retirement Pensions for County Board members starting in December. Outside the meeting members expressed the opinion that this will make the IMRF requirement for work logs go away. … Continue reading

Township Republicans Reorganize

Four more McHenry County Townships elected officers to lead Republican Party efforts for the next two years. First up was Nunda Township. There was not vote as candidate Nick Provenzano withdrew his candidacy in favor of Joe Gottemoller’s. Mark Daniel, … Continue reading

Nunda Township GOP Chairmanship Now Provenzano v. Gottemoller

Two Nunda Township McHenry County Board  members are facing off against each other for the Chairmanship of the Township Republican Central Committee. The first report I received had three men competing for the post: Lee Jennings, Township Supervisor Nick Provenzano, … Continue reading

Three-Way Race for Nunda Township GOP Chairman

With Nunda Township Republican Chairman Mike Shorten having lost his post of Precinct Committeeman to McHenry County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller, a three person contest has developed to replace him. Township Supervisor Lee Jennings is one candidate. Another is County … Continue reading

IMRF’s Attack on McHenry County Board Members

While state legislators were conferring about the statewide implications of the pension attack started by Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers and State Rep. Jack Franks, an April Fool’s Day letter was being sent from the Illinois … Continue reading

Vote on $2.2 Million Woodstock Road Project Tomorrow, Even Though Defeated in Transportation Committee

Saturday I wrote an article entitled, Charles and Raffel Roads Roundabout Proposal Comes Around Again, Despite Defeat in Committee Day after Election I apparently misunderstood where the proposal to award $2,229,600 to Curran Contracting Company of Crystal Lake was scheduled. … Continue reading

What Impact Do Newspaper Endorsement Have?

Candidates court newspaper endorsements. They fill out questionnaires. I remember enjoying matching wits with the Chicago Tribune folks most…especially the year when they asked questions about education funding. (The statistics did not favor the answer the questionnaire wanted.  Naturally, I … Continue reading

The Walkup Upset – Re-Posted Because Walkup’s Color on Map IDed Wrong

Last week I and commenters tried to answer the question, Why did Gottemoller Lose? in and under this article. Today examine this map and answer the question, Where did Walkup win? Which color represents each candidate? Remember, they are both … Continue reading

Steve Willson Wonders How Intent to Defraud Can Be Proven in IMRF Pension Situation

Under this story, local resident Steve Willson offers his opinion on the McHenry County Board’s pension problem: It was a witch hunt, pure and simple, and a selective one at that, given that former board members and downstate County board … Continue reading

Shift of GOP Power Evident in Mike Tryon Endorsement Piece

Of course, the 2014 Republican Party Convention showed that a significant shift in power had occurred when Sandra Salgado was selected over outgoing Chairman Mike Tryon’s choice–Mark Daniel. But, those in control during the Al Jourdan legacy years still were … Continue reading

County Board Vents at Jack Franks and IMRF Exec.

The Thursday night meeting of the McHenry County Board consisted mostly of criticizing Democratic Party State Rep. and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Executive Director Louis W. Kosiba had been invited to the meeting. No one used the word “pawn” to … Continue reading

Walkup Takes County Board Chairmanship, Tirio Recorder, Kenneally State’s Attorney, Cowlin Judge – Election Results Posted about 10 AM Day after the Election

The people winning last night at 3 AM ended up winning when final (except for absentees) were posted about 10 this morning. At least I think they are final results. Unlike all last night, the number of precincts included in … Continue reading

12 More Precincts Added at 3 AM, 68 of 212 Now Missing

McHenry County Clerk Mary McClellan posted the results for twelve more precincts at about 3 AM. That leaves 68 of 212 unaccounted for. Let’s look at where that leaves the County races. For County Board Chairman, Mike Walkup now leads … Continue reading