McHenry County Blog

There is was all the time.

A symbol for McHenry County was sitting right there on the license plate that celebrated the sesquicentennial of the founding of McHenry County.

I’m told a variation is under consideration for a new McHenry County Seal.

Somewhere in the basement is probably the original artwork that my father submitted to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. He didn’t design it.

I was in the room when Dixie O’Hara announced the winner of the of the design contest.

You should have seen the shock on the winning boy’s face when he looked at the way the judges had altered his submission.

He had submitted some building (maybe more than one), but the new Northern Illinois Medical Center hospital was not included.

O’Hara never really adequately answered why the design had been so radically changed from what the youth had submitted.

Maybe you can see something there that points to Crystal Lake or Algonquin or Cary or Fox River Grove.

I can’t.

I do see Woodstock’s Opera House and Old Courthouse.

I see a gazebo, which could be from either Woodstock or Huntley. (I’m not a gazebo expert.)

I think that’s St. John’s Church in Johnsburg, not surprising considering the power that Johnsburg’s Al Jourdan had in the courthouse at that time.

And, there is the new McHenry Hospital.

And lots of farm symbols.

Nothing indicating that water might have played a big role in McHenry County’s development.

Nothing about the main railroad line that cuts the county in half.

Some previous McHenry County Seal Posts:

1. Sealed With A Dis
2. The Great Seal Of McHenry County Not Great Enough
3. McHenry County Eye Candy
4. McHenry County Seal Makeover Makes The News
5. Baseball, Hot Dogs, Community College, and County Seals
6. The Passive-Aggressive State of Illinois Seal
7. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 1: The Mechanics
8. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 2: Credentials
9. Another Great McHenry County Seal
10. Best Option Re Final Candidates For New McHenry County Seal
11. The McHenry County Seal Slaughter
12. Dick Tracy Fails to Get the Ladies’ Vote – Part 1
13. Dick Tracy Fails to Get the Ladies’ Vote – Part 2
14. Dick Tracy Fails to Get the Ladies’ Vote – Part 3

The Ladies of the McHenry County Management Services Committee’s rejection of Dick Tracy for the post of county seal has brought Dick Tracy to tears.

That’s what Allan Showalter, author of Heck of a Guy blog, is my contact with Dick Tracy.

Showalter headlines his article,

Dick Tracy Defends County’s Right To Make Bad Choices

Here’s how Showalter describes Dick Tracy’s reaction to his rejection:

“An obviously saddened but unbowed Dick Tracy reports he is still steadfastly loyal, despite the apparent lack of reciprocation, to the County where his creator, Chester Gould, made his home for many years.

“Tracy, in fact, remains unhesitant in his support of the powers that be, pointing out that the capacity to make the wrong decision is the bedrock of local government.2

“Tracy goes on to explain that he is disappointed but unsurprised by the result.

“When they said they wanted a seal that was unique, easily identifiable, and not boring, I felt I fit that description and so, I had a responsibility to volunteer to serve.

“Somewhere along the line, it began to look as though those qualities weren’t really what was wanted – or maybe someone changed their mind.

“I can’t say it didn’t hurt, but I still have my day job righting wrongs, protecting the weak, bringing treacherous villains to justice, and whatnot so I’ll be all right.”

Dick Tracy also has his park in Woodstock, where

If you want to know Showalter’s answer to the ladies’ negative take on Dick Tracy for County Seal, you can read it on his blog today or wait for me to get to it.

If you want to read about the meeting:

“Dick Tracy Fails to Get the Ladies‘ Vote: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.”

The Ladies of the McHenry County Management Services Committee’s rejection of Dick Tracy for the post of county seal has brought Dick Tracy to tears.

That’s what Allan Showalter, author of Heck of a Guy blog, is my contact with Dick Tracy.

Showalter headlines his article,

Dick Tracy Defends County’s Right To Make Bad Choices

Here’s how Showalter describes Dick Tracy’s reaction to his rejection:

“An obviously saddened but unbowed Dick Tracy reports he is still steadfastly loyal, despite the apparent lack of reciprocation, to the County where his creator, Chester Gould, made his home for many years.

“Tracy, in fact, remains unhesitant in his support of the powers that be, pointing out that the capacity to make the wrong decision is the bedrock of local government.2

“Tracy goes on to explain that he is disappointed but unsurprised by the result.

“When they said they wanted a seal that was unique, easily identifiable, and not boring, I felt I fit that description and so, I had a responsibility to volunteer to serve.

“Somewhere along the line, it began to look as though those qualities weren’t really what was wanted – or maybe someone changed their mind.

“I can’t say it didn’t hurt, but I still have my day job righting wrongs, protecting the weak, bringing treacherous villains to justice, and whatnot so I’ll be all right.”

Dick Tracy also has his park in Woodstock, where

If you want to know Showalter’s answer to the ladies’ negative take on Dick Tracy for County Seal, you can read it on his blog today or wait for me to get to it.

If you want to read about the meeting:

“Dick Tracy Fails to Get the Ladies‘ Vote: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.”

All of the women on the Management Services Committee of the McHenry County Board–Yvonne Barnes, Marie Chmiel, Barb Wheeler and Mary Lou Zierer–made negative comments about putting Dick Tracy on the McHenry County Seal.

But, after her committee members had spoken, the discussion continued with chairwoman Tina Hill put in her two cents in favor or Dick Tracy.

At least my excitement got through to one committee member.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler suggested that a tractor made “a stronger statement (for agriculture) than corn.”

He also said he like the artwork in submission number 4, a drawing of the top of the old courthouse with stalks of wheat around the sides.

Koehler commented favorably on the conservation-open space themed entrant with a heron in the foreground in a lake and a river or stream behind.

Marie Chmiel said she liked the one with a barn and silo.

Hill said nice things about the one which seemed to me to be the busiest. It had a multistory factory in the background, two story houses, waves indicating water and a barn and silo in the front.

“That’s a good idea, but you don’t seen any factories like that,” she said.

I had mentioned that the current flag gives homage to townships, which probably is not deserved since local newspaper don’t even assign a reporter to cover their meetings. I suggested that a diagonal line depicting the Chicago & Northwestern (now Union Pacific) Railroad line from Fox River Grove through Harvard could be used as a dividing line, if Dick Tracy were not selected.

“What would be great would be if you could follow Cal’s idea and work in the train,” Koehler added later.

“It would be a shame to abandon completely Dick Tracy. Cal is 100% right. It’s a huge marketing tool for the county.

“I think the tourism people should really jump on that.

Committee member Pete Merkel came in the committee room after the McHenry County Seal discussion.

So, it seems as if the county seal will end up looking like it was created by a committee.

I guess that’s appropriate because it will have been created by a committee.

Some previous McHenry County Seal Posts:

1. Sealed With A Dis
2. The Great Seal Of McHenry County Not Great Enough
3. McHenry County Eye Candy
4. McHenry County Seal Makeover Makes The News
5. Baseball, Hot Dogs, Community College, and County Seals
6. The Passive-Aggressive State of Illinois Seal
7. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 1: The Mechanics
8. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 2: Credentials
9. Another Great McHenry County Seal
10. Best Option Re Final Candidates For New McHenry County Seal
11. The McHenry County Seal Slaughter

All of the women on the Management Services Committee of the McHenry County Board–Yvonne Barnes, Marie Chmiel, Barb Wheeler and Mary Lou Zierer–made negative comments about putting Dick Tracy on the McHenry County Seal.

But, after her committee members had spoken, the discussion continued with chairwoman Tina Hill put in her two cents in favor or Dick Tracy.

At least my excitement got through to one committee member.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler suggested that a tractor made “a stronger statement (for agriculture) than corn.”

He also said he like the artwork in submission number 4, a drawing of the top of the old courthouse with stalks of wheat around the sides.

Koehler commented favorably on the conservation-open space themed entrant with a heron in the foreground in a lake and a river or stream behind.

Marie Chmiel said she liked the one with a barn and silo.

Hill said nice things about the one which seemed to me to be the busiest. It had a multistory factory in the background, two story houses, waves indicating water and a barn and silo in the front.

“That’s a good idea, but you don’t seen any factories like that,” she said.

I had mentioned that the current flag gives homage to townships, which probably is not deserved since local newspaper don’t even assign a reporter to cover their meetings. I suggested that a diagonal line depicting the Chicago & Northwestern (now Union Pacific) Railroad line from Fox River Grove through Harvard could be used as a dividing line, if Dick Tracy were not selected.

“What would be great would be if you could follow Cal’s idea and work in the train,” Koehler added later.

“It would be a shame to abandon completely Dick Tracy. Cal is 100% right. It’s a huge marketing tool for the county.

“I think the tourism people should really jump on that.

Committee member Pete Merkel came in the committee room after the McHenry County Seal discussion.

So, it seems as if the county seal will end up looking like it was created by a committee.

I guess that’s appropriate because it will have been created by a committee.

Some previous McHenry County Seal Posts:

1. Sealed With A Dis
2. The Great Seal Of McHenry County Not Great Enough
3. McHenry County Eye Candy
4. McHenry County Seal Makeover Makes The News
5. Baseball, Hot Dogs, Community College, and County Seals
6. The Passive-Aggressive State of Illinois Seal
7. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 1: The Mechanics
8. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 2: Credentials
9. Another Great McHenry County Seal
10. Best Option Re Final Candidates For New McHenry County Seal
11. The McHenry County Seal Slaughter

Yesterday, I started the tale of how Tina Hill’s Management Services Committee considered citizen-submitted suggestions for a new McHenry County Seal.

I told of my relaying Heck of a Guy blogger Alan Showalter’s suggestion that the center of the seal be the face of Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould in Bull Valley.

Cutting this old guy to the quick was county board member Barb Wheeler’s opening comment:

“With all due respect to the elderly…”

Now, I readily admit that Dick Tracy has had a long professional career. 77 years.

Wheeler’s relegation of Dick Tracy to the dustbin of McHenry County history made my quaking hands shake so much I didn’t get down what she said about her children and Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny, by the way, is younger than I am.

“It’s cute and it would definitely add some entertainment, (but) it’s not professional, not stately enough for a seal.”

Dick Tracy “not professional?”

The nerve of that youngin!

Dick Tracy is nothing, if not professional.

Her comments came after comments from the not-so-elderly-as-I McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, whose father was a Dick Tracy fan when the family moved to Crystal Lake.

“We knew where Dick Tracy was from.”

“With all fairness to Cal, we don’t often agree, but…”

His appreciation for the role Dick Tracy could play came out so fast I couldn’t get his exact words, but my pen did reengage with the back of the agenda when he said,

“There’s a a lot of great possibilities.”

I think he was thinking about using Dick Tracy to market McHenry County, something that apparently has not occurred to the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Koehler did say, “Dick Tracy could be part of (a quadrant-designed) seal.”

Marie Chmiel, who is retiring and suggested that her opinion didn’t count, didn’t mention Dick Tracy in her list of favorites.

“The one with the courthouse looks very nice, but I like the different segments.

“It’ll give it notoriety, but personally I don’t think we should go with a cartoon character. I don’t think it should be strictly agriculture…or conservation.”

“Hire a consultant to do it,” was Chmiel’s final advice.

“Notoriety?”

The word’s definition certainly does not fit Dick Tracy:

“The quality or condition of being notorious”

Notorious:

“Known widely and usually unfavorably.”

Dick Tracy “notorious?”

Maybe to Flattop or The Brow.

But calling Dick Tracy “notorious” is akin to calling U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald “notorious.”

And, Fitzgerald is only considered notorious by those whom he indicts and their friends.

(And, yes, I know Chmiel was talking about Chester Gould’s drawing, not the character’s character.)

County board member Yvonne Barnes belonged to the cut and paste faction.

“I like bits and pieces of a number of them. I’d like to see a combination.”

Later, Barnes said she wanted a seal which would reflect “current McHenry County and reflect what it will look like 10-20 years from now.”

“We’re trying to recruit.”

Her favorite was the one with the factories, homes, barn and silo and water.

Continued tomorrow.

Yesterday, I started the tale of how Tina Hill’s Management Services Committee considered citizen-submitted suggestions for a new McHenry County Seal.

I told of my relaying Heck of a Guy blogger Alan Showalter’s suggestion that the center of the seal be the face of Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould in Bull Valley.

Cutting this old guy to the quick was county board member Barb Wheeler’s opening comment:

“With all due respect to the elderly…”

Now, I readily admit that Dick Tracy has had a long professional career. 77 years.

Wheeler’s relegation of Dick Tracy to the dustbin of McHenry County history made my quaking hands shake so much I didn’t get down what she said about her children and Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny, by the way, is younger than I am.

“It’s cute and it would definitely add some entertainment, (but) it’s not professional, not stately enough for a seal.”

Dick Tracy “not professional?”

The nerve of that youngin!

Dick Tracy is nothing, if not professional.

Her comments came after comments from the not-so-elderly-as-I McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, whose father was a Dick Tracy fan when the family moved to Crystal Lake.

“We knew where Dick Tracy was from.”

“With all fairness to Cal, we don’t often agree, but…”

His appreciation for the role Dick Tracy could play came out so fast I couldn’t get his exact words, but my pen did reengage with the back of the agenda when he said,

“There’s a a lot of great possibilities.”

I think he was thinking about using Dick Tracy to market McHenry County, something that apparently has not occurred to the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Koehler did say, “Dick Tracy could be part of (a quadrant-designed) seal.”

Marie Chmiel, who is retiring and suggested that her opinion didn’t count, didn’t mention Dick Tracy in her list of favorites.

“The one with the courthouse looks very nice, but I like the different segments.

“It’ll give it notoriety, but personally I don’t think we should go with a cartoon character. I don’t think it should be strictly agriculture…or conservation.”

“Hire a consultant to do it,” was Chmiel’s final advice.

“Notoriety?”

The word’s definition certainly does not fit Dick Tracy:

“The quality or condition of being notorious”

Notorious:

“Known widely and usually unfavorably.”

Dick Tracy “notorious?”

Maybe to Flattop or The Brow.

But calling Dick Tracy “notorious” is akin to calling U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald “notorious.”

And, Fitzgerald is only considered notorious by those whom he indicts and their friends.

(And, yes, I know Chmiel was talking about Chester Gould’s drawing, not the character’s character.)

County board member Yvonne Barnes belonged to the cut and paste faction.

“I like bits and pieces of a number of them. I’d like to see a combination.”

Later, Barnes said she wanted a seal which would reflect “current McHenry County and reflect what it will look like 10-20 years from now.”

“We’re trying to recruit.”

Her favorite was the one with the factories, homes, barn and silo and water.

Continued tomorrow.

Tina Hill was kind enough to remind me Sunday that her Management Services Committee would be considering candidates for McHenry County Seal yesterday morning.

I made it in time and was asked to sit in the empty press session, where visitors usually sit, Hill told me.

When public comment time came, I got up and made my pitch for Dick Tracy for County Seal.

Apparently, the contest didn’t make it on the General Election ballot. All that campaigning for nothing.

Being a fictional character, Dick Tracy couldn’t even sign up to be a write-in candidate.

Gone are the days of votes for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that Mike Royko used to report after every election.

The Chicago and Springfield pols got tired of the ridicule and required people vote for real people who wanted to be voted for.

So, all those write-ins a week ago were wasted, folks.

As in, not counted.

Admitting that the current county seal, based on the state seal is “boring,” I plunged ahead.

I told the all-female attending committee members that I had been trying to think of something that would represent McHenry County for McHenry County Blog, but couldn’t come up with anything better that Dick Tracy. I pointed out that Crystal Lake blogger Alan Showalter of Heck of a Guy blog had come up with the idea.

I pointed out that the State of Illinois Tourism folks had paid $2,000.

I suggested that international publicity would result from putting Dick Tracy on the county seal. It could be the centerpiece of a tourism campaign.

The Illinois Department of Tourism paid $2,000 to get the rights to use Dick Tracy’s image in a poster saying,

I suggested that $2,000 a year might end up being a good tourism expenditure, considering I’d heard the county gives the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau $150,000 a year.

And, by selling the county seal and related Dick Tracy merchandise, county government could probably recoup the cost of licensing.

Why the county could even open a web store.

But, the state tourism poster was advertising a now-closed museum in Woodstock and, as committee member Mary Lou Zierer put it,

“I connect Dick Tracy with Woodstock. If we’re going to have a county seal that designates a certain town in the county, I like the old courthouse. I think a combination of the new and old would be good to have.”

During my pitch, I pointed out that Chester Gould had told me (or maybe I didn’t mention my source) that his inspiration for Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty came when he was driving past the old Crystal Lake Dump on Virginia Street Road. It’s now covered with gravel trucks and a row of storage units.

And as soon as I saw former Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue after I was elected county treasurer I thought he looked like Pruneface. (Don’t you wonder what kind of a fight led Gould to make him a villain in his cartoon strip?)

In any event, the committee was shown all the entries from the public.

Dick Tracy was shown first because Alan Showalter sent it in first.

Continued tomorrow.

Tina Hill was kind enough to remind me Sunday that her Management Services Committee would be considering candidates for McHenry County Seal yesterday morning.

I made it in time and was asked to sit in the empty press session, where visitors usually sit, Hill told me.

When public comment time came, I got up and made my pitch for Dick Tracy for County Seal.

Apparently, the contest didn’t make it on the General Election ballot. All that campaigning for nothing.

Being a fictional character, Dick Tracy couldn’t even sign up to be a write-in candidate.

Gone are the days of votes for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that Mike Royko used to report after every election.

The Chicago and Springfield pols got tired of the ridicule and required people vote for real people who wanted to be voted for.

So, all those write-ins a week ago were wasted, folks.

As in, not counted.

Admitting that the current county seal, based on the state seal is “boring,” I plunged ahead.

I told the all-female attending committee members that I had been trying to think of something that would represent McHenry County for McHenry County Blog, but couldn’t come up with anything better that Dick Tracy. I pointed out that Crystal Lake blogger Alan Showalter of Heck of a Guy blog had come up with the idea.

I pointed out that the State of Illinois Tourism folks had paid $2,000.

I suggested that international publicity would result from putting Dick Tracy on the county seal. It could be the centerpiece of a tourism campaign.

The Illinois Department of Tourism paid $2,000 to get the rights to use Dick Tracy’s image in a poster saying,

I suggested that $2,000 a year might end up being a good tourism expenditure, considering I’d heard the county gives the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau $150,000 a year.

And, by selling the county seal and related Dick Tracy merchandise, county government could probably recoup the cost of licensing.

Why the county could even open a web store.

But, the state tourism poster was advertising a now-closed museum in Woodstock and, as committee member Mary Lou Zierer put it,

“I connect Dick Tracy with Woodstock. If we’re going to have a county seal that designates a certain town in the county, I like the old courthouse. I think a combination of the new and old would be good to have.”

During my pitch, I pointed out that Chester Gould had told me (or maybe I didn’t mention my source) that his inspiration for Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty came when he was driving past the old Crystal Lake Dump on Virginia Street Road. It’s now covered with gravel trucks and a row of storage units.

And as soon as I saw former Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue after I was elected county treasurer I thought he looked like Pruneface. (Don’t you wonder what kind of a fight led Gould to make him a villain in his cartoon strip?)

In any event, the committee was shown all the entries from the public.

Dick Tracy was shown first because Alan Showalter sent it in first.

Continued tomorrow.

It appears that Dick Tracy has not found favor with county board members in his campaign for McHenry County Seal.

The Daily Herald is reporting that the deadline for nomination has been extended to November 5th.

That’s the day after Election Day.

Do you think they are waiting to see if Dick Tracy wins the election in a write-in?