McHenry County Blog

If you ever wondered how liberal former District 300 School Board member Mary Fioretti is, just take a look at her front yard.

It has a sign showing her support for Barack Obama for president.

While most people would remember Fioretti as the Carpentersville District 300 board member beaten by Algonquin Republican Precinct Committeeman John Ryan, others will also remember that ex-McHenry County Republican Central Committee Chairman Bill LeFew appointed her to be a Republican precinct committeeman.

The McHenry County Yearbook for 2007-2008 says she was assigned Algonquin Township precinct 63.

Click to enlarge the photo.

If you ever wondered how liberal former District 300 School Board member Mary Fioretti is, just take a look at her front yard.

It has a sign showing her support for Barack Obama for president.

While most people would remember Fioretti as the Carpentersville District 300 board member beaten by Algonquin Republican Precinct Committeeman John Ryan, others will also remember that ex-McHenry County Republican Central Committee Chairman Bill LeFew appointed her to be a Republican precinct committeeman.

The McHenry County Yearbook for 2007-2008 says she was assigned Algonquin Township precinct 63.

Click to enlarge the photo.

Former District 300 School Board President Mary Fioretti, defeated for re-election by John Ryan, has emerged from her defeat as feisty as ever.

She is leading the effort to convince people to contact their legislators to support a tax hike.

Where’s she doing it?

The Northwest Herald’s comment board on a letter to the editor from Huntley teachers union President Christy Henderson. Henderson went down to the State Capitol to lobby for higher taxes.

What do you want to bet that Fioretti runs for the District 300 school board again in two years?

Not a lot of taxpayer types are rebutting her views.

And, yes, I let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, yesterday.

Former District 300 School Board President Mary Fioretti, defeated for re-election by John Ryan, has emerged from her defeat as feisty as ever.

She is leading the effort to convince people to contact their legislators to support a tax hike.

Where’s she doing it?

The Northwest Herald’s comment board on a letter to the editor from Huntley teachers union President Christy Henderson. Henderson went down to the State Capitol to lobby for higher taxes.

What do you want to bet that Fioretti runs for the District 300 school board again in two years?

Not a lot of taxpayer types are rebutting her views.

And, yes, I let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, yesterday.

I really had a hard time believing this comment from former Carpentersville School District 300 Board President Mary Fioretti, which I found posted under a letter to the editor from the Huntley teachers union president in the Northwest Herald:

mary fioretti wrote on May 25, 2007 6:35 AM:

” The legislature, as it always does, tears apart a bill to “fit” their desires. So it’s a big guess on what they would glean out of HB750. If it’s a 2% increase in income tax multiply that by what you make each year. An income tax credit is available in the legislation for certain income levels.”

Let’s see.

We have a three percent income tax on individuals right now.

A 2% increase would make the rate 3.06%.

Think that’s what Fioretti really means?

Or might she mean a two-percentage point income tax increase, which would, of course, be almost a 67% increase in income tax.

The comment above was right below this one:

mary fioretti wrote on May 25, 2007 6:33 AM:

“Dave, to your statements. This is not at all difficult to understand. Just like in any profession or owning a home, you have to acquire basic understanding. Don’t let people make you crazy it’s about the forumula. Look at the dollar portion of your school tax bill. Multiply that by 20% then do another calculation of 25%. That will be your potential abatement. Remember, not everyone owns a home.”

Too bad that Fioretti and her allies at Advance 300 don’t understand how to do a cost-benefit study. If the state income tax is increased, this area will not be among the “winners.”

I really had a hard time believing this comment from former Carpentersville School District 300 Board President Mary Fioretti, which I found posted under a letter to the editor from the Huntley teachers union president in the Northwest Herald:

mary fioretti wrote on May 25, 2007 6:35 AM:

” The legislature, as it always does, tears apart a bill to “fit” their desires. So it’s a big guess on what they would glean out of HB750. If it’s a 2% increase in income tax multiply that by what you make each year. An income tax credit is available in the legislation for certain income levels.”

Let’s see.

We have a three percent income tax on individuals right now.

A 2% increase would make the rate 3.06%.

Think that’s what Fioretti really means?

Or might she mean a two-percentage point income tax increase, which would, of course, be almost a 67% increase in income tax.

The comment above was right below this one:

mary fioretti wrote on May 25, 2007 6:33 AM:

“Dave, to your statements. This is not at all difficult to understand. Just like in any profession or owning a home, you have to acquire basic understanding. Don’t let people make you crazy it’s about the forumula. Look at the dollar portion of your school tax bill. Multiply that by 20% then do another calculation of 25%. That will be your potential abatement. Remember, not everyone owns a home.”

Too bad that Fioretti and her allies at Advance 300 don’t understand how to do a cost-benefit study. If the state income tax is increased, this area will not be among the “winners.”

Remember when District 300’s outgoing Board President Mary Fioretti justified the closed door meeting to rent the Sears Centre for Graduation on the grounds of safety?

David Fitzgerald of the Northwest Herald discovered this violation of the Opening Meetings Act in January while reviewing minutes from closed meetings. District 300 got whomped for it.

This is what the board president told Fitzgerald:

“This last time, they darn near did get hit by lightning [at the outdoor graduation ceremony]. We were going to break a culture of having [graduation] at Carpenter Park. But I think we did it the right way.”

Mary Fioretti did not win re-election, being defeated by John Ryan, a vociferous opponent of the 55-cent tax hike and $185 million bond issue last year.

Well, it seems the school board may have decreased the safety of its graduating seniors significantly.

The following is from the daily announcements at Jacobs High School:

SENIORS

Your Graduation Rehearsal is on Thursday, May 31st. We will be
leaving the school at 8am and returning around 11am. If you are unable to drive or carpool with another senior to the Sears Centre, please come down to the Main Office and sign up for bus transportation by the end of this week.

One might wonder if it will be safer to have hundreds of kids find their own way to the Sears Centre than to walk to the athletic field for rehearsal.

Remember when District 300’s outgoing Board President Mary Fioretti justified the closed door meeting to rent the Sears Centre for Graduation on the grounds of safety?

David Fitzgerald of the Northwest Herald discovered this violation of the Opening Meetings Act in January while reviewing minutes from closed meetings. District 300 got whomped for it.

This is what the board president told Fitzgerald:

“This last time, they darn near did get hit by lightning [at the outdoor graduation ceremony]. We were going to break a culture of having [graduation] at Carpenter Park. But I think we did it the right way.”

Mary Fioretti did not win re-election, being defeated by John Ryan, a vociferous opponent of the 55-cent tax hike and $185 million bond issue last year.

Well, it seems the school board may have decreased the safety of its graduating seniors significantly.

The following is from the daily announcements at Jacobs High School:

SENIORS

Your Graduation Rehearsal is on Thursday, May 31st. We will be
leaving the school at 8am and returning around 11am. If you are unable to drive or carpool with another senior to the Sears Centre, please come down to the Main Office and sign up for bus transportation by the end of this week.

One might wonder if it will be safer to have hundreds of kids find their own way to the Sears Centre than to walk to the athletic field for rehearsal.

A District 300 Friend of McHenry County Blog came up the question of who will be the next District 300 school board president:

With the stunning victories of John Ryan and Monica Clark in the District 300 school board elections this week, it will be interesting to see who will succeed defeated Board Member Mary Fioretti as the President of the D300 School Board. 

Ryan and Clark, along with the other two winners on Tuesday, Chris Stanton and Joe Stevens, will join School Board Members Anne Miller, Mary Warren and Karen Roeckner on the new board which will be sworn-in next month.

So among these 7 board members, who will be the next president?

While it is unlikely newcomers Ryan, Clark, Stanton, as well as Stevens will ascend to leading the D300 board meetings, which of the other 3 would, or should, be the next D300 board president?

Between the 3 choices, this “Friend of the Blog” would prefer Anne Miller, who, given her election to the School Board in 1997, is the longest-serving member of the D300 Board.

Miller, who is an attorney by profession, would bring a legal mind to the head of the school board table, and she would help guide the D300 board in keeping in compliance with various laws, most notably the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information statutes.

Anne Miller

While Miller was initially elected to the D300 board with the backing of the then Citizens Organized for Responsible Education (CORE), a previous incarnation of Advance 300, Miller’s outspokenness during her first term, most notably her standing up to CORE during the high school boundary changes debates of 1999, made her a target for defeat by the former leaders of CORE during the 2001 School Board elections, when a slate led by Mary Warren and Richard Traub were running.

Miller survived the electoral opposition to her first term and served with both Warren and Traub on the School Board, and was re-elected to a 3rd term in 2005 when all of the D300 school board members won election/re-election without opposition.

Miller has never served as D300 School Board President, but given her legal background and her seniority of service, this makes Miller the best candidate, in my own honest opinion.

What does everyone else think?

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The photograph is of District 300 board member Anne Miller.

A District 300 Friend of McHenry County Blog came up the question of who will be the next District 300 school board president:

With the stunning victories of John Ryan and Monica Clark in the District 300 school board elections this week, it will be interesting to see who will succeed defeated Board Member Mary Fioretti as the President of the D300 School Board.

Ryan and Clark, along with the other two winners on Tuesday, Chris Stanton and Joe Stevens, will join School Board Members Anne Miller, Mary Warren and Karen Roeckner on the new board which will be sworn-in next month.

So among these 7 board members, who will be the next president?

While it is unlikely newcomers Ryan, Clark, Stanton, as well as Stevens will ascend to leading the D300 board meetings, which of the other 3 would, or should, be the next D300 board president?

Between the 3 choices, this “Friend of the Blog” would prefer Anne Miller, who, given her election to the School Board in 1997, is the longest-serving member of the D300 Board.

Miller, who is an attorney by profession, would bring a legal mind to the head of the school board table, and she would help guide the D300 board in keeping in compliance with various laws, most notably the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information statutes.

While Miller was initially elected to the D300 board with the backing of the then Citizens Organized for Responsible Education (CORE), a previous incarnation of Advance 300, Miller’s outspokenness during her first term, most notably her standing up to CORE during the high school boundary changes debates of 1999, made her a target for defeat by the former leaders of CORE during the 2001 School Board elections, when a slate led by Mary Warren and Richard Traub were running.

Miller survived the electoral opposition to her first term and served with both Warren and Traub on the School Board, and was re-elected to a 3rd term in 2005 when all of the D300 school board members won election/re-election without opposition.

Miller has never served as D300 School Board President, but given her legal background and her seniority of service, this makes Miller the best candidate, in my own honest opinion.

What does everyone else think?

= = = = =
The photograph is of District 300 board member Anne Miller.