McHenry County Board Members May Have Signaled Intention to “Tax to the Max” Again

Getting as much money out of taxpayers is pretty much the goal of every tax district official, from school board member to township trustee. To do that, boards need to ask for more than the increase in the Cost of … Continue reading

Who Voted to Raise Your County Taxes?

The McHenry County Board failed to break with the “increase the tax take as much as possible” crowd, but they came close. Barb Wheeler made the motion to remove the CPI and Nick Provenzano seconded it.   Wheeler is a candidate … Continue reading

Status Quo Rules in McHenry County Board Redistricting Comments

A roll call was not taken for the reapportionment straw poll questions asked by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler. Just a series of hand raising. What you see above is a good indication that the size of the county … Continue reading

The Politicians in the Johnsburg Saufen und Spiel Parade

First among the politicians at the Johnsburg parade was McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren. Unlike other parades, there were not four motorcycles accompanying him.  Usually there are two from the Sheriff’s Department and two from the McHenry County Conservation District. … Continue reading

Republicans Hold Play Day Fundraiser

Yesterday was one of the biggest fundraisers for the McHenry County Republican Central Committee. My guess is that parking along the road during previous golf outings has led to the “No Parking” signs there now. Time was that late comers … Continue reading

ALAW Promotes Minority 2030 Plan Report by District 6 County Board Members

Something certainly is at stake in the 2030 County Land Use Plan to be voted upon at Tuesday night’s McHenry County Board meeting. The following press release from the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water might give you an idea … Continue reading

Nowak & Miller, Kurtz & Koehler, Provenzano & Wheeler, Merkel & Salgado, Jung & Hill, McCann & Evertsen

McHenry County Board members Nick Provenzano and John Jung lost their seats two years ago in District 3 and District 5. It wasn’t that Provenzano and Jung didn’t have signs up supporting their re-election. In retrospect, I believe it was … Continue reading

Northwest Herald Adds Weight to Conflict of Interest Ordinance Effort

Yesterday I weighed in with my thoughts on McHenry County Board member Pete Merkel’s apparently harsh criticism of the Alliance for Lake, Agriculture and Water’s proposal for a conflict of interest ordinance. The group asked county board candidates whether they … Continue reading

Minority of Republicans Playing Conflict of Interest Defense

“Hostile” would be fair in characterization of McHenry County Board member Pete Merkel’s reaction to the ALAW conflict of interest proposal, as reported by Kevin Craver of the Northwest Herald Merkel, running unopposed in the Republican primary election, did not … Continue reading

What Happened to the County Board Candidates Who Did Not Fill Out ALAW’s Conflict of Interest Forms

There were only seven McHenry County Board candidates who did not complete the ethics questionnaire proposed by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water. Leading up the list is District 2’s representative and McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, who … Continue reading

Those Who Didn’t Volunteer to Fill Out ALAW’s Conflict of Interest Form

It’s the day before the election and time to do some reviewing of issues that McHenry County Blog has covered on the county level. Most attention was given to the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water’s conflict of interest questionnaire.  … Continue reading

Only 7 Out of 27 County Board Candidates Have Not Yet Revealed Potential Conflicts of Interest

Two more county board candidates have filed their conflict of interest forms with the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water. That brings the total to 20 out of 27 candidates who have answered the ALAW questionnaire. 74%.  Pretty amazing. District … Continue reading

Sheriff’s Candidate Zane Seipler Files ALAW’s Conflict of Interest Form

So far thirteen candidates for the McHenry County Board have filed the conflict of interest forms that the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water have suggested be applied to all county officials. Yesterday, Zane Seipler, who is challenging three-term incumbent … Continue reading

ALAW-Suggested Ethics/Conflict of Interest Ordinance in Management Services Committee Tuesday Morning at 8:30

Thursday, McHenry County Blog told of the conflict of interest and economic interest ordinance proposed by the reform group ALAW. Short for the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water, the group ALAWproposed wide-ranging conflict of interest notification for McHenry County’s … Continue reading

McHenry County Board Bans Video Slot Machines 13-10-1

OK. I was wrong. I predicted last night that the McHenry County Board would approved what proponents insist on calling video poker. But, this morning social conservatives on the board pulled off a 13-10-1 victory. That was with the help … Continue reading

The McHenry County Board’s Gambling Debate – Part 3

This is the fourth article on Tuesday’s gambling debate at the McHenry County Board. Click to find who voted how and for Part 1 and Part 2. Having failed to alter the agenda to allow a Tuesday up or down … Continue reading