McHenry County Blog

In one of the first county board fund raisers of the year, McHenry County College Board member Donna Kurtz gathered supporters at The Cottage at the corner of Crystal Lake Avenue and Brink Street Thursday night.

Kurtz is running to replace either incumbent County Board Chairman Ken Koehler or member Lyn Orphal in the early February Republican primary election.

Crystal Lake City Councilman Jeff Thorsen introduced the candidate.

“I am very, very, very enthusiastic supporter of Donna Kurtz,” he said. “We need someone with her honesty and integrity in county board government.”

Kurtz said she was inspired by her mother former State Rep. Rosemary Kurtz’ concern for environmental protection and former State Rep. Cal Skinner’s fiscal conservativeness. Rep. Kurtz defeated Rep. Skinner in the 2000 GOP primary election.

Former State Reps. Rosemary Kurtz and Cal Skinner, plus McHenry County College Board member and County Board candidate Donna Kurtz. (Jeff Thorsen commented that this should be sent to Ripley's Believe It or Not.)

“As many of you know, the world goes full circle.”

Kurtz said she running for the board of directors of a $260 million organization, McHenry County government.

Reflecting on her service on the McHenry County College Board, Kurtz said it had taught her this lesson:

“You gotta do your own research. Everyone’s got their own agenda.”

She didn’t say she was reflecting on her support of building a minor league baseball stadium on college property and, then, changing her mind with the announcement being at the Crystal Lake City Council meeting the night re-zoning was being discussed, but that might be a good guess.

“My courage was driven by my thought I couldn’t stand not to do the right thing,” she stated.

Besides Thorsen, City Council members Carolyn Schofield and Brett Hopkins were in attendance, as were park board members Mike Walkup and Richard Sexton.

McHenry County Recorder of Deeds Phyllis Walters, who actually lives in District 2 in the tiny bit of Algonquin in the district was also in attendance, as was Nunda Township Supervisor John Heisler.

Members of A-LAW, the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water were in attendance. The group recently proposed strict potential conflict disclosure rules for county elected and appointed officials.  The Alden Road Alliance was also represented. District 3 county board candidate Craig Steagall, who actively opposes the location of the proposed Ridgefield Metra station on Country Club Road, also was present.

Touchdown Sponsor

• Tamara Kurtz

Field Goal Sponsors

• Erv & Louise Lecoque
• Dr. Robert & Carol Minkus

Safety Sponsors

• Jeannine Thoms
• Connie Zukowski
• Scott Summers
• Jewel Hahn
• Jill Hartman

Extra Point Sponsors

• Keith & Marge Nygren
• Phyllis Walters
• Bill & Alice Howenstine
• James & Diane Gesler
• Lou Ann & Jerome Majewski
• Jean Plews
• Patricia Floeter
• Brett & Tina Hopkins

The team was named the “CornBelters.“

Nice play on words.

The “Corn Crib” is what the stadium will be called.

I wonder if it will be decorated like South Dakota’s Corn Palace. It’s covered with murals made out of corn cobs. One local told us it was “the world’s biggest bird feeder.”

How’s construction going?

“Concrete has been set around home plate for the sitting bowl, from which fans will be able to view all the action of the CornBelters Baseball excitement front and center.“The outfield is starting to take shape for its players, while the field surface is being laid into place. The first and third base side dugouts have been installed and will begin forming the outer line of the dugout for the CornBelters, as well as their opposing teams.

“The concourse is also starting to look warm and inviting for all the CornBelters’ fans to enjoy.“

The name of the team mascot?

Corny.

You can find more on the team here.

McHenry County College’s location for baseball stadium, of course, is still a corn field.

The first home game in Normal is scheduled for May 21st.

That’s the month baseball promoter Pete Heitman wanted his team to start playing at MCC.

No construction has begun on the replacement Woodstock site across from Centegra Hospital.

Former McHenry County College Trustee Scott Summers has written about the Ridgefield train station that Metra has proposed. His essay follows:

A Metra station at Ridgefield: Making a Good Thing Better
by Scott Summers

Much has been said of Metra’s plans to buy land in Ridgefield for a new commuter train station. A parcel already is under contract, subject to contingencies. The City of Crystal Lake is weighing annexation and other matters.

There is, however, a much better location for the station: about three blocks to the south and east, at the intersection of Tartan Drive and Ridgefield Road. It’s the easterly entrance to McHenry County College.

Why is it better?

Because the public already owns fifty-seven acres of vacant land there!

Two years ago, MCC “land banked” this acreage in order to assure plenty of room for future growth.

So if the public owns considerable property in the vicinity already – why spend in excess of a million dollars for more?

Especially for land that’s roughly three blocks farther away from what’s likely to be the largest generator of passengers for the station — McHenry County College!

Let’s be clear:

MCC’s land is not contiguous to the train.

Ridgefield Road lies between the MCC entrance and the tracks. Land for the station proper needs to be purchased.

But parking? Place the requisite commuter parking on the presently unused MCC property. The College can lease (rather than sell) the land to the City of Crystal Lake, which would in turn manage the lots. In the event the land is required for campus expansion some decades hence, a lease would permit easy reversion to MCC.

By leasing out MCC’s vacant property, the Metra land acquisition funds can be freed up instead for station and traffic improvements, including a bike and walking trail covering the three or so blocks from the station site up to the campus proper.

Traffic issues – very difficult in Ridgefield, to be sure – would be mitigated through lot entrances and vehicle flows concentrated along Tartan Drive.

Let’s sketch out some of the other benefits of a train station at Ridgefield.

Access – or, more correctly, lack thereof – has been a chronic problem at the College ever since the facility was sited on Route 14 almost forty years ago.

Public transit options are severely limited: the Crystal Lake train station is almost four miles away, and PACE bus service is sporadic.

In other words – unless you can drive to MCC, you’re basically out of luck.

And given the ever-worsening countywide traffic congestion, and suboptimal roads, and winter and nighttime driving hazards, and gas prices, and climate change, well – driving is not exactly ideal in any event.

A public transportation option for the College grows more compelling every day.

A train stop three blocks away (as opposed to six blocks, under the present plan) would of course benefit the students and faculty and staff directly.

But it would benefit all of the county as well.

It would ease automobile traffic.

It would open up attendance opportunities at the College.

It would make the campus a county – indeed, a regional – focus for concerts and other cultural events.

There’s more.

A Ridgefield station would drive economic development in the vicinity.

The stretch of Route 14 between Crystal Lake and Woodstock already is slated for business and retail uses.

A commuter train station in the vicinity would be a boon to businesses, workers, retailers, and shoppers alike.

So let’s marry two of our very best public resources – Metra and MCC. And let’s use vacant public land for the purpose!

We all know that McHenry County is a great place to live. Let’s make it better.

“Take a train to college!” Our good fortune in this respect would be the envy of communities throughout the country.

This magnificent opportunity is ours for the taking. Let’s seize it!

= = = = =

Scott Summers was a trustee at McHenry County College between 2005 and 2009. Summers is also the Green Party candidate for State Treasurer.

The resolution points out that

• the station is not next to the MCC campus
• there are no sidewalks from the train station to the college
• there are railroad track crossing issues
• it “does not provide for safe and convenient access” for students and staff

The resolution asks the Metra Board to conduct

“additional analysis and consideration of land purchase options…(of a site) contiguous with and, within walking distance of, the MCC campus.”

Former McHenry County College Trustee Scott Summers is running for State Treasurer on the Green Party ticket.

Last year he was the Green Party candidate for Congress in the 16th Congressional District.

On his campaign web site, Summers offers this “sampling” of “programs and outreach:”

* Enforce fiscal responsibility, including advocacy for a balanced state budget and debt reduction
* Champion “microcapitalism” through a program of home and community-based businesses, using microloans and microgrants
* Develop green-collar jobs and training programs
* Recognize that economy and ecology really are bound up as one: commit to a statewide “eco-eco” program of business and development
* Stand up for citizens, and work hard to rein in predatory financial practices and dubious lending schemes
* Foster financial education as early as grade school, and equip children and adults alike with smart money management skills for their personal lives

Here’s what he says about himself:

“Scott Summers has been an attorney for over twenty years. He concentrates in estate planning, probate, and business. In addition to his law degree from Northern Illinois University, Summers holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a liberal arts degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

“Summers has long been active in a wide variety of civic pursuits. Between 2005 and 2009, he served as an elected trustee at McHenry County College. Scott was a member of the Board of Visitors of Northern Illinois University’s College of Law between 1997 and 2004. During the 1980s, he was treasurer for three nonprofits: Harvard Community Memorial Hospital, Hospice for McHenry County, and a church in Woodstock, IL. Before becoming a lawyer, Scott worked as an executive in the public sector, including four years with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.

“Summers also is the author of two ‘how-to’ volumes. Guardianship and Conservatorship: A Handbook for Lawyers appeared in 1996. Advance Health Care Directives: A Handbook for Professionals was released in 2002. Both titles are published by the American Bar Association.

“Born in Evanston and raised in Wilmette, Scott has resided in Chicago and Oak Park. For over thirty years, he and his wife and have lived on a small farm near Harvard, in far northern McHenry County. They are the parents of two adult sons.”

If you had your choice, would you spend the winter in Crystal Lake or the Florida Keys?

The McHenry County College Board selected Larry Tyree to be its interim president after Walt Packard was handed his walking papers last spring, albeit with a golden parachute costing taxpayers something in the range of $200,000. He left after only about a month in Crystal Lake for family reasons.

Now Tryee, has landed a similar gig at Florida Keys Community College, according to a story in KeysNet.com.

The story says that Tryee could receive almost $200,000 for working a full year on the job.

Ironically, the woman he is replacing also has a golden parachute.  One question the Florida community college has that MCC did not is what office Tryee will occupy. The outgoing president in the Keys has not yet vacated the president’s office.

The headcount at the college is about 2,000.

Wireless Estimator, Craig Lekutis’ online source for things aerial, had an article on BMB Communication Management’s attempt to build a 1,500 foot broadcast tower on property purchase from McHenry County College.

The problem, Lekutis summarizes, was that John Maguire’s “persuasive powers that worked with college officials couldn’t sway the FAA.”

At the McHenry County College Town Hall meeting a couple of weeks ago, 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo listed nine reasons why private health insurance companies would be driven out of business by the version of the health care reform bill passed by House Democrats.

If you would rather watch and hear than read it, go here.

Below is what he said:

1. Section 221 – Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish a Public Option that is supposed to compete with and yet play by the same rules as private plans in the new Health Insurance Exchange. However, the bill requires the government to set the benefits of all the plans, including its own, creating an implicit advantage for the Public Option.

2. Section 102- Individual private plans are grandfathered and cannot enroll any new insureds (except dependents) or make any plan modifications after Jan. 1,2013. How can insurance companies stay in business if they can’t add new clients?

3. Section 161 – Private plans must remit to their insureds any excess of premium payments minus what the government determines the insurance companies should payout in benefits. This rules out any opportunity for a plan to be run in the private sector because there is no room for even the smallest amount of profit.

4. Section 223 – Public Option will not pay taxes or have large administration costs because the reimbursement rates to health care providers are Medicare rates, which are below what it costs hospitals and physicians to provide services. In fact, the average American family pays about $1,800 in additional insurance premiums each year to help subsidize the Medicare underpayment for health care providers.

There is no way a private insurance company can compete with a Public Option that doesn’t pay taxes and reimburses providers at low Medicare rates.

5. Sections 311 and 313 – An employee must offer a “qualified health benefit plan” to all employees. If an employee declines the employer’s coverage because he or she is covered by other approved insurance, the employer must nevertheless pay the equivalent of 8 percent of that employee’s income into the Health Insurance Exchange.

This means the employer will have to pay a tax (penalty) for an employee
who already has insurance.

Therefore, it’s cheaper to put all the employees in the public option because it will be the least expensive insurance and the employer won’t have to deal with two plans.

6. Section 312 – An employer must pay at least 72.5 percent of an individual’s coverage and 65 percent of family coverage, but the employer must automatically enroll an employee in the plan option with the lowest employee premium. Only the employee has the right to opt out. Since the Public Option pays no taxes and will reimburse at low Medicare rates, it will offer the lowest premium; thus, all new
employees will be enrolled in the public option. Because an employer will not want to maintain employees on two separate plans, he will likely simply chose the Public Option for all employees.

7. Section 222 – Gives $2 billion and as much money as is needed to pay claims for 90 days from the Treasury to the public option. It only requires the public option to repay the money over 10 years and without any interest payments, giving the public option an enormous capital advantage over private plans.

8. Section 223 – This section shelters the Public Option for many administrative or judicial review of any payment rate or methodology it uses. No doctor, hospital or employer can appeal the Public Option for price fixing. Private plans are subject to review and suits.

9. Section 1802- Every private health insurance plan is taxed – including self-insured plans – with money going into a trust fund to conduct comparative effectiveness research that could be used to ration care.

Upsetting the District 2 Republican apple-cart is McHenry County College Board member Donna Kurtz’ announcement that she is seeking one of two party nominations for the county board.

She is contesting the re-nomination of McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler and member Lynn Orphal.

So far, no Democrats have surfaced to provide a fall contest.

An opponent to having slot machines in bars and restaurants, the Kurtz candidacy could provide impetus for at least one District 2 county board member, Orphal, to vote to ban the machines in order to neutralize the issue or to at least support allowing citizens to offer input in a February advisory referendum.

The county board’s License and Liquor Committee is holding a public hearing next Wednesday, October 7th, starting at 6 PM to take input from the public.  Kurtz told McHenry County Blog she intends to attend.

The last time Kurtz provided public testimony at a governmental body was when the Crystal Lake City Council was considering whether or not to allow a baseball stadium at McHenry County College.  She and trustee Scott Summers testified against the plan.

For that action, their MCC Board colleagues censured them. Read the linked article and you will see that Kurtz and Summers achieved near folk hero status.

Among other issues that are almost sure to come up are the Metra purchase of 17 acres of land half-owned by County Board Chairman Koehler.

Although Metra board members argued that a Ridgefield train stop was needed near McHenry County College, the board selected the least convenient location possible.  While no one has suggested Koehler did anything wrong in agreeing to sell the land to Metra, it certainly could become an issue, considering Kurtz is on the MCC board and not happy with the location.  And, especially since no one from Metra consulted with community college personnel prior to the inconvenient-to-students site’s selection.

Issues on Kurtz’ handout include

• Make honesty & integrity the #1 priority in gov’t.
• Fight corruption, self-interest, and “roads to nowhere,” i.e., Alden Road.
• Work for real road and transportation solutions.
• Demand fiscal responsibility.
• Champion a McHenry County that remains beautify, productive, and economically vibrant.

= = = = =
The head shot is of Lynn Orhpal.

Handing Donna Kurtz an American Flag and a flowers is former Crystal Lake Park Board member Leona Nelson.  This was done after her and Scott Summers’ censure by fellow McHenry County College Board members.

Larry Tyree said he quit as McHenry County College’s interim president because of family reasons.

Now the Florida Keys Keynoter reports Tyree is one of four candidates for interim president at Florida Keys Community College.

Here’s how he is described:

“Larry Tyree of Sarasota. This would not be Tyree’s first stint as an interim community college president. He’s had that gig four times in the past three years at two colleges in Kansas, one in New York and one in Illinois.

“Tyree is also a former president of Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City. He has been working in higher education administration since 1967.”

And the situation at the sunny community college?

The current president is “out.”  And, as is McHenry County, she gets paid through the end of her 2010 contract.  She’ll be on “sabbatical.”

“Until her contract expires, (President Jill) Landesberg-Boyle will continue to get pay, benefits, use of a college-owned vehicle, and housing and cell phone stipends. She makes $159,000 annually, not including $37,000 in benefits and a $3,000 monthly housing allowance.”

Pretty much the exit strategy that was used with McHenry County College Board President Walt Packard.