McHenry County Blog

I started noticing it when I looked at Friday’s mail.

Republican candidates are sending mailings to puff themselves up.

Or just to let us know they exist.

Candidates can’t count on precinct committeemen anymore. Besides GOP political organizations in the suburbs being shadows of what they used to be, what candidate in their right might would count on committeemen going door-to-door on February 2nd.

How much will have the snow have melted by then, even if we have a warm spell?

Setting the primary on Feb. 2nd was just another step in Mike Madigan’s centralization of power in the hands of those at the top.

This is the room at Liberty Outdoor where candidates laid out literature and signs for precinct committee to take last Friday night and Saturday morning. You can see Appellate Court Justice and candidate therefor Mary Schostok conversing on the right. Central Committee Executive Director Geri Davis is facing the camera next to the Dillard sign. Behind here is Ray Marachiori, Lt. Gov. Jason Plummer's campaign manager and my former staffer when I was chairman of the House Privatization Committee. He is talking to Lt. Gov. candidate and Sprinfield businessman Don Tracy, who is a candidate for Lt. Gov. Half of Tracy's head did not make it in the photo. Sheriff Keith Nygren talks with county board candidat John Jung in the center background. The top of his wife Marge's head can be see to Jung's left. Over Jung's shoulder appears a bit of Donna Kurtz.

I picked up my literature Friday night and took the photo you see above about 7:30. By the time closing time had rolled around on Saturday, about forth of some 200 precinct committeemen (if all the precincts were manned) had shown up to get literature. Most will mail what they picked up.

Friday I got an over-sized post card from Congressman Mark Kirk, the favorite to be the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama and occupied by Roland Burris.

The seat ought to be a pick-up, except for Kirk’s liberal congressional voting record, which has enraged many conservative Republicans.

Like Kirk Dillard, he plays the Jim Edgar card. There’s a photo of Edgar and Kirk and the message side of the postcard leads with this quote from Edgar:

“Mark has a superb record of integrity and ethics,
and he has a great record on the issues as well.”

Kirk plays to his strong points, promising

“Lower Taxes…Less Government…Tough on Corruption”

He actually has a record in those areas which would please a lot of Republicans.

I looked for any information on social issues, but no mention is made of any of his positions.

Kirk also stresses his military record, as you can see if you click on the image of the address side of the piece and enlarge it.

While two twelve-year-olds were enjoying Skinner (no relation) Carnival’s $15 for all the rides you take in four hours’ deal, I wondered around the opening day of the McHenry County Fair looking for political and religious booths.

If only our Illinois General Assembly and Congress equipped taxpayers with safety restraints such as these two carnival rides have. Somehow, I have the feeling we taxpayers will be flung to the winds before next year’s elections.

I think I found all the political booths, but I know I didn’t get pictures of all the religious ones. For instance, after I had sent my camera to the car with too-soon tired-out kids, I saw the Fellowship of Christian Farmers tent. That was the first I had heard of them.

Nevertheless, in order of my sightings, here are the political booths I spotted:

The McHenry County Citizens for Choice had a booth next to one for Democratic Party Congresswoman Melissa Bean.

Next was the McHenry County Republican Party’s booth. A broadly smiling Marge Nygren greeted me.

At 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo’s booth, I found former Libertarian Party candidate for State Representative Jim Young talking to Frank Sexton.

And, I found this chart showing the Republican explanation of President Barack Obama’s and the congressional Democrats’ health care plan.

The next political booth I saw was for Secretary of State Jesse White. It was unmanned at just after 12, so many the state employee was at lunch. Or, maybe the very presence of the booth means there is still room for budget cutting.

McHenry County Libertarians were next on my tour. Ben Hancock (on the left) and Jim Young were manning the booth.

A second booth about abortion was around the corner. There (seen left to right) Megan Kraft of Woodstock, Betty Marie Leslie, also of Woodstock, and McHenry’s Connie Freund (second from the right) were handing out balloons for 1st Way Pregnancy Support Services.

At the Democratic Party booth were Mary Erlenborn of Bull Valley and Cary’s Dan Giallombardo. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, now running for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate, is scheduled to come Saturday. Someone (not while I was at the booth) told me that State Rep. Jack Franks was again in Canada. Undoubtedly, the dicussion will be about what office Franks should seek now that the media have made the Democratic primary into a two-way race between appointed-Governor Pat Quinn and State Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Another booth dedicated to the pro-life movement was sponsored by McHenry County Deanery Respect Life. You see Jan Doyle and Rosemary Kondritz, both from Johnsburg.

Next I visited the turkeys.
Didn’t even have to go to Springfield or Washington
to see one of them flaring.

The 4-H food tent had wonderful cheeseburgers for $3.50.

Making a second pass in an exhibit building, I saw Algonquin Township Trustee Lowell Cutsforth and Debbie Justus had joined Marge Nygren.

Since I took photos of the congressional and secretary of State’s booths, I guess I should have taken some of Sheriff Keith Nygren’s governmental booths, but I forgot.

I did pick up a rumor about a potential Democratic Party opponent for Nygren. If it pans out, that would make three people running for the office. Gus Philpott has already announced he is going to run on the Green Party ticket. There was no Green Party booth.

All of the booths mentioned, by the way, could undoubtedly use your assistance, if you are so inclined.