McHenry County Blog

Keith Nygren

Lou Bianchi

In case you haven’t noticed the forces grouped behind McHenry County Sheriff are at war with the forces behind McHenry County State’s Attorney.

I have no clue when the war started, but it was manifested in Sheriff Keith Nygren‘s not emceeing State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s re-election kick-off.

DanRegna

The recruitment of Dan Regna, an assistant state’s attorney under the discredited regime of State’s Attorney Gary Pack intensified the battle.

The use of sheriff’s deputies and another former assistant state’s attorney to induce the now 25-year old college student Amy Dalby, who worked for Bianchi, to take and provide computerized internal documents, including ones which looked political, for what certainly appears to be political purposes added to the intensity.

Regna didn’t fade away, instead sought and received a special prosecutor from Associate Judge Gordon Graham to look into charges that Bianchi used his office for political forces.

Friday a Grand Jury was authorized with former Judge Skip Tonigan continuing as the special prosecutor named by Graham.

Zane Seipler

Supporters of Regna are also supporters of Graham. That they seek a negative outcome for Bianchi is a given.

Sally Wiggins

Nygren primary opponent Zane Seipler has asked for a similar special prosecutor to look into Nygren’s use of his office for political purposes.

Enter the wild card of attorney Sally Wiggins, who at this very moment is seeking petitions to run against Graham as an Independent.

Rest assured this has not gone unnoticed by Bianchi supporters.

Pete Gonigam’s First Electric Newspaper has reported and confirmed that Bianchi has hired defense attorney Terry Ekle to represent him in the investigation that Graham set in motion.

Mike Mahon

Gus Philpott

Meanwhile, Nygren has both a Democratic and Green Party candidates lined up in opposition in the November general election. Most observers think that having both Democrat Mike Mahon and Green Gus Philpott, who writes the Woodstock Advocate, will help Nygren emerge victorious.

The Northwest Herald continues to prop Nygren up, while the Woodstock Advocate, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Exposed, which supported Seipler in the primary election, and, once in a while (yesterday, but not today), former Democratic Party candidate for Coroner Dave Bachmann’s Dirty Keith vs. Dirty Harry weigh in on the pros and cons of the candidates.

New Democratic Party Central Committee Chair Mike Bissett helps teach campaign techniques before his recent election.

The Democratic Party, with new party Chair Mike Bissett (husband and campaign manager of McHenry County Board District 5 member Paula Yensen), has not played a visible role yet.

McHenry County Monopoly, a campaign piece local Democrats put out in 2008.

But, surely Republicans remember the devastating McHenry County Monopoly piece mailed out two years ago. Then, there wasn’t enough money to get it to everyone, but you can see below now good it was.  See

There was no "GO" square on the game of McHenry County Monopoly.

McHenry Dems Attack Republican Monopoly

Democrats Gof for Republican Vulnerabilities – 1

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 2

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 3

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 4

Democrats Go for Republican Vulnerabilities – 5

How’s Your Town Ranked by Local Democrats?

Local Republicans have never come up with something as creative as the Democrats’ monopoly piece.  It didn’t do them any good in the countywide races, but the Dems did pick up two county board seats.

Can’t you think of new items that could be added this year?

I certainly can. There are

• two Metra Railroad Stations with political connections (think of variations on “Take a Ride on the Reading”)
• suits to fire Sheriff’s deputies that the deputies win costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and wages for time denied work, plus interest on the late paid wages
• the shooting range incident
• the Grand Jury probe of Bianchi
• the 2030 plan
• the 75% sales tax increase in Crystal Lake imposed by an all-Republican city council
• the Grafton Township follies with different factions of the local Republican Party doing everything by facing off with paintball guns at 10 paces
• the reluctance of Republican Party township officials in Dorr Township to allow and up and down vote on whether to return $1 million to township taxpayers
• Valley Hi’s management problems
• McCullom Lake’s ground water pollution
• traffic congestion (always a good negative for non-incumbents)
• whatever sports complex/baseball stadium gets millions of dollars of Federally-subsidized money from the County Board
• property taxes staying high while property values have fallen
• and I’m sure those reading this will add to my quickly thought up list in the comment section.

McHenry County Democrats have sent out an imaginative post card based on the game of Monopoly.

They obviously want people to think that McHenry County Republicans have a monopoly on local office.

While that is not true—think of the Democrats on school boards—the partisan offices at the county level are dominated by Republicans, even though at least one used to be a Democrat.

All of the countywide officials are Republicans and only one of twenty-four county board members is a Democrat (Jim Kennedy of Lake in the Hills in District 5).

This article will address where your town has been placed on the McHenry County Monopoly board.

What town is where Boardwalk is? Who’s Park Place?

I would have thought Boardwalk would have been Bull Valley or Barrington Hills and Park Place one of those two as well.

But, that’s not the case.

So, this isn’t exactly a reality game.

Marengo is where Boardwalk usually appears and Ringwood is identified as McHenry County’s Park Place.

Crystal Lake, Huntley and Lakewood are the placed where the next most valuable lots are on the real Monopoly board.

The yellow lots just before where the “Go To Jail” sign on regular Monopoly appears are Algonquin, Hebron and Lake in the Hills.

McHenry, Trout Valley and Prairie Grove are the red lots next to where free parking.

Do you notice a lack of uniformity in what appears to be almost a random placement of village and city names?

The orange ones are labeled McCullom Lake, Cary and Woodstock.

Oakwood Hills, Richmond and Harvard are on the same side next to the jail.

Spring Grove, Union and Johnsburg are right before the jail, but they aren’t the color I remember on the original board (but I’m color blind to some extent, maybe I’m wrong).

The two cheapest properties on the regular Monopoly board were named Wonder Lake and Fox River Grove. I wonder if residents there will take offense.

McHenry County Democrats have sent out an imaginative post card based on the game of Monopoly.

They obviously want people to think that McHenry County Republicans have a monopoly on local office.

While that is not true—think of the Democrats on school boards—the partisan offices at the county level are dominated by Republicans, even though at least one used to be a Democrat.

All of the countywide officials are Republicans and only one of twenty-four county board members is a Democrat (Jim Kennedy of Lake in the Hills in District 5).

This article will address where your town has been placed on the McHenry County Monopoly board.

What town is where Boardwalk is? Who’s Park Place?

I would have thought Boardwalk would have been Bull Valley or Barrington Hills and Park Place one of those two as well.

But, that’s not the case.

So, this isn’t exactly a reality game.

Marengo is where Boardwalk usually appears and Ringwood is identified as McHenry County’s Park Place.

Crystal Lake, Huntley and Lakewood are the placed where the next most valuable lots are on the real Monopoly board.

The yellow lots just before where the “Go To Jail” sign on regular Monopoly appears are Algonquin, Hebron and Lake in the Hills.

McHenry, Trout Valley and Prairie Grove are the red lots next to where free parking.

Do you notice a lack of uniformity in what appears to be almost a random placement of village and city names?

The orange ones are labeled McCullom Lake, Cary and Woodstock.

Oakwood Hills, Richmond and Harvard are on the same side next to the jail.

Spring Grove, Union and Johnsburg are right before the jail, but they aren’t the color I remember on the original board (but I’m color blind to some extent, maybe I’m wrong).

The two cheapest properties on the regular Monopoly board were named Wonder Lake and Fox River Grove. I wonder if residents there will take offense.

For our next look at the McHenry County Monopoly game that was introduced from a Cleveland, Ohio, mail house, we’ll look at two cards, one from COMMUNITY CHEST, the other from the CHANCE card pile.

One of the COMMUNITY CHEST and one of the CHANCE cards are flipped over on the Democrats Monopoly board.

The COMMUNITY CHEST card says,

That’s cute, but not really biting, because no new offices but the health department-animal control center in Crystal Lake have been opened in the last two years.

Considering how much that was attacked two years ago, I’m surprised there was no follow-up.

The CHANCE card is interesting.

The Get Out of Jail Free card, which is shown face up, says,

Think this one was vetted by an attorney?

Think the Democratic Party will print up this game and sell it?

If so, a copy would certainly end up in the McHenry County Historical Museum in Union.

One final thought.

Wouldn’t it be something if Cook County Republicans could run a similar campaign?

On the McHenry County Monopoly board that the Democrats sent to some, but not all parts of the county, there is a reference to a $177 million county administrative complex expansion plan.

The Dems call it a “Spending Spree.”

Wednesday’s Daily Herald has an article by Chuck Keeshan about how the county plans to spend $4.5 million buying the Klehm property, which was nursery when Mr. Klehm tried to get me to waive interest when he showed up at the McHenry County Treasurer’s Office a day after his real estate tax bill was due. (You would guess correctly that I made him pay the late penalty.)

The article also says the county wants to purchase Cardunal Savings Bank. It’s on Route 14 south of the county administrative property.

For our next look at the McHenry County Monopoly game that was introduced from a Cleveland, Ohio, mail house, we’ll look at two cards, one from COMMUNITY CHEST, the other from the CHANCE card pile.

One of the COMMUNITY CHEST and one of the CHANCE cards are flipped over on the Democrats Monopoly board.

The COMMUNITY CHEST card says,

That’s cute, but not really biting, because no new offices but the health department-animal control center in Crystal Lake have been opened in the last two years.

Considering how much that was attacked two years ago, I’m surprised there was no follow-up.

The CHANCE card is interesting.

The Get Out of Jail Free card, which is shown face up, says,

Think this one was vetted by an attorney?

Think the Democratic Party will print up this game and sell it?

If so, a copy would certainly end up in the McHenry County Historical Museum in Union.

One final thought.

Wouldn’t it be something if Cook County Republicans could run a similar campaign?

On the McHenry County Monopoly board that the Democrats sent to some, but not all parts of the county, there is a reference to a $177 million county administrative complex expansion plan.

The Dems call it a “Spending Spree.”

Wednesday’s Daily Herald has an article by Chuck Keeshan about how the county plans to spend $4.5 million buying the Klehm property, which was nursery when Mr. Klehm tried to get me to waive interest when he showed up at the McHenry County Treasurer’s Office a day after his real estate tax bill was due. (You would guess correctly that I made him pay the late penalty.)

The article also says the county wants to purchase Cardunal Savings Bank. It’s on Route 14 south of the county administrative property.

I’m not sure what the last COMMUNITY CHEST substitution has to do with McHenry County Republicans.

But, what the heck.

This is a political piece and most won’t look at it as closely as I am.

Let’s cut them some slack even though it was the Clinton Administration that pushed for loosening mortgage qualifications.

It has the guy pulling his empty pants’ pockets out again with the message

Where Luxury Tax usually appears are another three monkeys.

This time it says,

Water and air pollution are under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Pollution Control Board, but the McHenry County Health Department did prepare a report that was far less than complete.

Before returning to the “STOP” game starting place, the Democrats have replaced the last CHANCE SPOT with something a bit different

A CHANCE SPOT near Boardwalk and Park Place still has a question mark, but above it is the word

That’s what the advertising piece is designed to push people toward, isn’t it?

Voting Democrat, rather than Republican.

Change.

And between Boardwalk and Park Place is another card with a bag of money.

$5,000 this time.

What’s that?

Who’s it from?

Tomorrow – Part 5 of McHenry County Monopoly – How Is Your Town Ranked by Local Democrats?

I’m not sure what the last COMMUNITY CHEST substitution has to do with McHenry County Republicans.

But, what the heck.

This is a political piece and most won’t look at it as closely as I am.

Let’s cut them some slack even though it was the Clinton Administration that pushed for loosening mortgage qualifications.

It has the guy pulling his empty pants’ pockets out again with the message

Where Luxury Tax usually appears are another three monkeys.

This time it says,

Water and air pollution are under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Pollution Control Board, but the McHenry County Health Department did prepare a report that was far less than complete.

Before returning to the “STOP” game starting place, the Democrats have replaced the last CHANCE SPOT with something a bit different

A CHANCE SPOT near Boardwalk and Park Place still has a question mark, but above it is the word

That’s what the advertising piece is designed to push people toward, isn’t it?

Voting Democrat, rather than Republican.

Change.

And between Boardwalk and Park Place is another card with a bag of money.

$5,000 this time.

What’s that?

Who’s it from?

Tomorrow – Part 5 of McHenry County Monopoly – How Is Your Town Ranked by Local Democrats?

Today we look at the third side of the McHenry County Monopoly board.

Where the second CHANCE space usually appears after FREE PARING. the same man with his hands pulling out his pockets.

The Dems could have done something with Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley’s 75% city sales tax hike that took effect on July 1st.

No ballot box vote was required because Crystal Lake is a “Home Rule” unit and its ordinances generally are as important as state law because of that special status that can only be challenged by passing a petition seeking a vote on whether to repeal Home Rule status.

Shepley is an appointed Vice Chairman of the county GOP–for “Community Outreach,” of all things!

That huge sale tax hike went into effect on July 1st.

And, after all, all of the city council members are Republicans.

But they are elected on a non-partisan basis. Maybe that is why the Democrats gave them a pass.

Where the third railroad would be is a third bag of money.

Oh, I get it.

Each board side’s money bag is $500 more than the one before.

The utility just before the regular “GO TO JAIL” has three more monkeys,

One candidate for office, the Democrat’s man for County Coroner, Dave Bachmann, has said he won’t take the authorized raise during the first year, should he win election.

The “Go to Jail” space at the next corner has been replaced with

I would have put the apostrophe after the “S,” but that’s a small quibble.

Tomorrow – McHenry County Monopoly – Side 4