McHenry County Blog

With well over 100 people in attendance, Bill Prim, one of three men seeking the 2014 nomination for McHenry County Sheriff to replace Keith Nygren, raised over $50,000 at the Bull Valley Country Club, according to preliminary estimates.

The $500 fund raiser was highlighted by a speech by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Ever the optimist, Gingrich predicted, “I believe we will outlast Obama.”

He gave three examples for predicting that American ingenuity will bring the economy roaring back:

1. A project by Google in which computers drive cars. Developed by Sebastian Trund, Gingrich said this is allowed in California, Nevada and Florida. 300,000 miles have been clocked with one car having been rear-ended and a second accident caused by the driver overriding the computer.
2. The same man believes the cost of higher education can be cut by 90% through online courses.  (Gingrich said the GOP should set as a goal a minimum of a 50% cut in university costs.)
3. Thirdly, Gingrich pointed to the man who developed fracking after twenty years of trying. His success, Gingrich predicted, will result in natural gas being one-fourth of the cost of natural gas in China. The result will be “the rise of American manufacturing on a global scale.”

Asked if he would run for President again, he said that he had a campaign debt from the last campaign and would consider running if it were paid off.

Prim was introduced by Brian Kelly, who observed,

“Bill owes no favors to the local McHenry county political Establishment for this job.”

He touted Prim’s

• Strong leadership
• Integrity
• Independence

When he spoke, Prim thanked his Host Committee–Gary Rabine, Tom Merryman, Brian Kelly and Lou Bianchi.

He also thanked former Congressman Joe Walsh for his “endorsement for me last week.”

He said in his campaign for Sheriff he gets asked most often, “Can you please be an honest Sheriff?”

Another recurring question is whether he will “ensure” people’s “civil liberties.”

“Absolutely, positively ‘Yes,’” Prim emphasized

In an assurance to the rank and file Deputies in the Patrol Division, Prim pledged, “We won’t affect the Patrol Division.”

He did, however promise to “eliminate all the administrative extra employees that suck up all the money.” He pointed specifically to the Equal Opportunity Affairs Office and/or Legal Affairs Officer, saying that the State’s Attorney’s Office could represent the Sheriff’s Office.

Prim supported a concealed carry law for Illinois.

“It’s not a gentler country, not a less violent country” than when he started as a police office, the retired Des Plaines Police Commander said.

“I believe it’s everybody’s right to own a firearm to protect their families.

“It is reprehensible that we’re the only state in the entire country that doesn’t have a concealed carry law.”

In a shot at Nygren’s penchant for putting his name on anything that moves, Prime said, “I will not emblazon my name over every vehicle the County owns while I’m sitting in my house in Wisconsin or Florida.

“We will restore dignity to the Sheriff’s Office.”

Gingrich has kind words for Joe Walsh.

“I believe {he has] a substantial future whether in Springfield or the U.S. Senate.

“You have probably as bad a state government as any state in the country. It would be really hard for Springfield to be more stupid or more corrupt than California [but it is].”

He noted that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel is floating his name for U.S. President.

“President of Venezuela [maybe],” he cracked.

Gingrich told the audience that it was time to listen to voters.

• “Listen to Latin Americans.
• “Listen to Black Americans
• “Listen to professional women.”

“If you write off enough groups, you write off a majority.”

“The level of avoidance or reality is breathtaking,” he said referring to Carl Rove, George W. Bush’s political guru and Stu Stevens, Mitt Romney’s campaign manager.

A press release from Bill Prim, one of three 2014 candidates for the Republican nomination for Sheriff to replace retiring Keith Nygren. The other two are Jim Harrison and Andy Zinke.

NEWT AND CALLISTA GINGRICH TO HEADLINE BILL PRIM FUND-RAISER

Republican candidate for McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim announced Friday that former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and recent presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista will headline a fund-raiser for Prim in Woodstock February 18.

“Hosted by Gary Rabine, Tom Merryman, Brian Kelly and Lou Bianchi,

the fund-raiser will kick his campaign for Sheriff into a higher gear as the March 2014 Republican primary election approaches,” Prim said.

“I am very grateful to Speaker and Mrs. Gingrich for agreeing to assist me in this way,” Prim said.

“Newt will give a short talk on his views of the current political situation nationally and I can’t be the only one who looks forward to hearing his perspectives.

“I’ve always admired the Speaker’s principled stands on the issues and more than one of them could be adapted to our own county.

“For example, he thoroughly understands that tax revenues don’t just magically appear somehow, they come out of the pockets of taxpayers.”

“That’s a view I share without question.”

Prim added, “I also owe a debt of thanks to Mr. Rabine and the distinguished host committee for putting the pieces together for a memorable evening.”

The fund-raiser will take place at Bull Valley Country Club and attendance is by invitation.

Prim said he intends to use the funds generated to put his campaign on a firmer footing financially and move forward on the task of making his plans for Sheriffs Office better known throughout the County.

Newt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. house for the first time in 40 years.

After he was elected Speaker, he moved power out of Washington and back to the American people, passed the first balanced-budget in a generation, and passed the first tax cut in 16 years.

A prolific author, he has published 24 books both fiction and non-fiction, and remains active in Republican Party politics.

Callista Gingrich is the President and CEO of Gingrich Productions, a multimedia company based in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Gingrich is the author of the New York Times best-selling children’s series featuring Ellis the Elephant. Callista also serves as the President of the Gingrich Foundation, a charitable non-profit foundation, which sponsors scholarships in music and the arts.

The Algonquin Public Library is offering to reward pre-schoolers for reading.

This idea reminds me of something I heard Newt Gingrich explain while he was heading up GOPac in preparation to running for House Speaker.

Each month my friend State Rep. Bernie Pedersen would forward a tape from GOPac on which Gingrich held forth on some subject.

One month he talked about how he had started a pay-to-read summer program near a public housing project.

He knew, of course, that most educators and librarians didn’t believe in paying children to read.  They think kids should read for the pure job of it.

But, he pointed out that the adult world is runs on an incentive program based on money exchanging hands for effort expended.

He told of a meeting held with neighborhood kids.  For every book read, a child would be paid $2. (This was probably in the late 1980′s.)  Come the next Saturday and explain to an adult volunteer what it was about and get $2.

Two sisters, one about 10 and the other 13 heard the pitch.

Only the younger one understood the message.

The next week the 10-year old came home with $10.

“Where’d you get that money?” the 13-year old asked.

“Readin’,” was the answer.

That was all the older sibling needed.

She read enough books that summer to buy a new paid of Nikes.

Having listened to Gingrich over the years, I find he is pretty much the only Republican who speaks to citizens, regardless of where they live.

The Algonquin Library reading program explained in the press release below doesn’t off the pre-schoolers money, but it does provide positive reinforcements.

1,001 Books Before Kindergarten Program

The Algonquin Area Public Library District begins Early Literacy Reading Program

The Algonquin Area Public Library District’s is enthusiastic to create young readers!

Literacy is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child, and learning the skills needed for reading and writing begins at infancy into childhood.

Beginning January 7, 2013, the Library kicks-off its 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten program. 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten was designed to get parentsactively involved in reading to their child from birth and help foster a lifelong love of reading as children gain pre-literacy skills.

1,001 Books Before Kindergarten is a reading program for families with children birth through age five.

Parents will be able to register their child/children for the program with their Algonquin Area Public Library Card at the Youth Services Desk beginning January 7, 2013.

At registration, information will be given about the program and the Library, the children’s collection and recommended reads, early literacy skill and early literacy practices, and a book log for the first 100 titles recorded in 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten.

After each set of 100 books are read and logged; Parents and children can return to the Youth Services Desk, pick-up a prize and pages for the next 100 books, and receive additional information about upcoming programs at the Library.

When 1,001 books are reached, your child will get a graduation ceremony, a book and their picture on our wall of stars.

1,001 books read over time will make reading together a special time and become part of a daily routine.

Every time you read a book to your child it counts in this program, and there will be favorite books children will want to hear over and over again. Have fun and enjoy the adventure along the way!

Sign up during the first week, January 7- 13 and receive a special registration prize.

This reading program is for babies to children 5 years old, not yet in kindergarten and an Algonquin Library Card is required to register for this program.

When Grafton Township’s Matt McNamara was at McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s fund raiser a week ago, he told me that he would be providing security for Newt Gingrich again.

I didn’t see him on the floor Wednesday night, but I did get a shot of the Gingrichs.

Got pretty much the same negative message about Presidential candidate Rick Santorum this morning that I got yesterday morning.

Same “Santorum is not Pro-Life” message the middle of last week.

Funny how McHenry County Pro-Lifers went to hear Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

I’ve been listening to Newt Gingrich since former State Rep. Bernie Pedersen starting sending me GOPAC tapes every month during the late 1980′s.

What impressed me was that his visions embraced the entire country–from suburbs to inner city.

I was particularly impressed with the privately-funded program to pay public housing kids to read books. The best line was when an older sister who had pooh-poohed the concept saw the money that her little sister brought home after a week.

“Where’d you get that money?”

“Readin’,” the little sis answered. (There was a verification process, sort of a verbal book report.)

The next week the older sister got with the program and read enough to buy a pair of Nike’s with what she earned by reading.

Of the Republican Presidential candidates, Gingrich clearly gives the best speech.

Today he performed at Ray Polte’s airplane hanger at the Lake in the Hills (used to be and could still have been Crystal Lake) Airport.

Inspired by the aircraft in the hanger, Gingrich talked about the efforts of the Wright Brothers to learn how to fly.

He said what Orville and Wilbur had in their favor was that they knew they didn’t know how to fly.

After being told by the U.S. Weather Bureau where the winds were most reliable, they headed to Kitty Hawk on the train.

They took extra wood, Gingrich explained, because they knew they were going to fail.

And they failed 499 times.

But on the 500th attempt they succeeded.

Orville ran next to the plane on its first flight so he could balance the plane manually if he needed to to save his brother’s life, Gingrich said.

Within three years they flew a plane around Manhattan.

Gingrich attributed this to the technological advances American inventors and engineers are capable of, if the government doesn’t get in the way.

Gingrich brought laughter to the crowd of a couple of hundred by asking what the Congressional hearing would have been like, after hundreds of crashes, if there had been a government subsidy involved.

Then, he pointed out that the Smithsonian Institution had been given a $50,000 grant to build an airplane.

A premier scientific institution, those working on the project knew they knew how to fly.

They built a catapult, a concept still used on aircraft carriers.

They aimed the catapult out over the Potomac River.

The basic problem was that they didn’t plan for failure, Gingrich said.

While the Wright Brothers had soft sand upon which to land, if the Smithsonian’s plane crashed, there was no chance for a second try.

If the plane didn’t break up on impact and sank, lifting it from the bottom would have demolished it.

There was an Associated Press reporter for the first Kitty Hawk flight.

The Smithsonian invited the press, who, after the crash, wrote of the spectacular failure.

Gingrich told this story to let people know he was enthusiastic about science even though he had denigrated President Obama’s pitch to use algae to fuel cars.

He presented himself as the candidate of Wright, Edison and Henry Ford, “people who invented the modern world without government subsidies.”

He then moved on to the theme of the campaign, $2.50 a gallon gasoline.

That’s what the sign on the podium said.

Gingrich criticized Obama for praising Brazil for doing offshore drilling, while preventing it in United States waters.

He criticized Obama for his elation at convincing the Saudis to increase oil production, which Obama said would lower prices.

Then, Gingrich pounced.

If increased oil production in the Mideast would lower gasoline prices, why wouldn’t increased oil production here have the same effect.

And, of course, anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the laws of supply and demand would know that.

So, the real question is whether the President should be “a purchasing agent” of oil abroad or someone trying to create jobs in the United States.

Gingrich pointed to North Dakota with its oil boom and 3.5% unemployment rate.

And he pointed to the drop in natural gas prices because of the huge new supply resulting from using the new technology of fracking.

Gingrich drew an analogy with oil prices, which may or may not be valid, because natural gas has a domestic use and distribution system, while oil prices are set on the world market.

He pointed out that in North Dakota alone, the recoverable oil was estimated to be 150 million barrels fifteen years ago.

Until last week, the new estimate was 4 billion barrels.

And within the last seven days the number has been increased to 24 billion barrels.

He predicted that within two years, when technology is developed to get oil from 800 feet down, the reserves would be estimated at 500 billion barrels.

Using his natural gas price drop analogy argument, he thinks that the price could go lower than the $2.50 a gallon pump price he is merchandising.

Besides North Dakota, he points to tremendouse acreage in Alaska and offshore drilling to provide additional supply.

The Presidential candidate argued that the Strategic Oil Reserve could do little to lower the price of gas.

Gingrich said his goal as President would be to make us energy self-sufficient.

He drew applause when he said, “I do not ever again want to see an American President bow down to a Saudi King. The Saudis are not our allies.”

At one point Gingrich read an attack on him by President Obama after Gingrich made fun of Obama’s having said that algae would help solve the energy problem.

“They make jokes about biofuels. They must have been founding members of the flat earth society.”

Gingrich’s reply was the Obama must belong “to the flat earth Sierra Club society.”

That brought a laugh from the audience.

= = = = =
A commenter adds something I didn’t put above:

After the speech Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista worked the front of the crowd.

I was at the airport and saw Newt and His lovely wife.Newt spoke on a lot of topics without a teleprompter and did not stumble over his words or use lots of Umms in between his thoughts.

Great Speaker!

Then his solution to eliminate the Federal Deficit is outstanding and the 300 or so people loved it too.

His solution is open federal lands for oil and take the oil royalties paid to Government and put them in a special account to pay off the deficit and not be used for other purposes.

There is a certain magnetism to a Presidential candidate.

The royalties are said to be worth 18 TRILLION dollars!

This program will make USA and energy supplier to the world and let us be energy independent! He got big applause for this.

I am very glad that my wife and I were able to see him live.

Very Impressive man!

I took lots of photos and got some very good ones.

While my wife and I were eating outside at Colonial Cafe, my son took a robo-call that turned out to be from the Mitt Romney campaign.

It said that Rick Santorum was not Pro-Life.

Could have fooled me.

All the people I know who passed Santorum petitions were Pro-Life.

My guess is that Romney or whoever the call was from (maybe a SuperPAC that would give him deniability) were referring to some omnibus budget bill in which there was some money that went to Planned Parenthood.

In any event, it struck me as devious.

It was problem designed to push Santorum votes to Newt Gingrich.

My 14-year old also said he had taken a robo-call which requested people to push buttons concerning how they felt about various candidates. Probably the District 2 County Board one.

“I pushed all the wrong buttons. I said all of the candidates were “very unfavorable.”

So, candidates, if you linked my name to my son’s responses, please unlink it.

= = = = =
Anyone else getting any calls?

I know that both Kent Gaffney and Dave McSweeney have phone banks.

More recent information indicates that Newt Gingrich will be at the airport at 2:30, not 3;30.

= = = = = =

Here’s what I learned from Crystal Lake Tea Party honcho Mary Alger’s email today:

Lake in the Hills Rally with Newt and Callista

March 15, 2012 – 3:30pm – 4:30pm CT
Lake in the Hills Airport
8585 Pyott Road
Lake in the Hills, IL 60156
Note: This event is free and open to the public

Alger is a candidate for the McHenry County Board in District 3, which runs pretty much from Crystal Lake Avenue into the southern part of the City of McHenry.

 

Look at the online headline about the Chicago Tribune’s presidential preference poll:

The results showed

• 35% for Romney
• 31% for Santorum
• 12% for Gingrich
• 7% for Paul

The margin of error was +/- 4%, so the top two are statistically tied.

In a sentence, that means Santorum could win the beauty contest in Illinois’s GOP primary election next Tuesday.

The schedule for the Newt Gingrich campaign in Illinois is trickling out.

Below you see the latest release:

Speaker Gingrich is coming to the Barrington area March 14-15

Tentative Schedule

Wednesday March 14 Rally 3pm Wednesday at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center

9301 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont, IL 60018
Sponsored by MVTRAC
Police motorcade to Barrington Hills Country Club

Reception with Newt and Callista Gingrich

5-6:30pm,
Fundraiser
Wednesday, March 14th
5:00pm – 6:30pm
Barrington Hills Country Club
300 West County Line Road
Barrington Hills, IL 60010
$500 per person minimum contribution
RSVP to Ashley Fischer: afischer@newt.org , (615) 642-0702

Northwest Suburban Republican 2012 Lincoln Day Dinner

Hosted by :
The Townships of Schaumburg, Barrington, Elk Grove, Hanover, Palatine, and Wheeling

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, Reception 6:00 p.m. | Dinner 7:00 p.m.

The Cotillion
360 South Creekside Drive, Palatine, Illinois 60074
(1/2 block west of Rt. 53 on Northwest Hwy./Rt. 14)
Limited Seating | $100 per person
Platinum Sponsor
$1,500 for table of 10 | preferred seating | special recognition

Silver Sponsor
$1,000 for table of 10 | special recognition

R.S.V.P. by March 10, 2012 Tickets will be held at the door |
info@lincolndd.org
Thursday March 15, 2012

9-10 am: Newt Appearance at Barrington High School

Speak to students, parents and community members.
616 W. Main Street
Barrington, IL 60010
Phone: 847-381-1400

9am Callista Gingrich will read to the students at Goddard School Lake in the Hills, Il

4561 Princeton Lane , Lake In The Hills, IL 60156
Phone: 847-669-6390
Fax: 847-669-3031
LakeintheHillsIL@goddardschools.com

10 am: Judson University will host a Public Town Hall Meeting

featuring Former U.S. Speaker of the House and Republican Presidential
Candidate Newt Gingrich

Herrick Chapel at Judson University | 1151 N. State St. | Elgin, IL 60123 |
847.628.2089 | cell 847.989.7723

The event is free and open to the public. Mr. Gingrich has expressed
interest in engaging the Latino population of the greater Elgin area
at this event as he campaigns across Illinois before the state’s
primary on Tuesday, March 20.

10:30 -12 Callista Gingrich will read to the students at Sunny Hills School, 2500 Helm Road, Carpentersville , Il