Saturday, June 30th, is the day when McHenry County Pro-Lifers hold their annual fund raiser.
It’s a pig roast and, at least in election years, lots of politicians turn out.
Right before the 4th of July, the annual McHenry County Right-to-Life Pig Roast will be held.
It will again be at Irene Napier’s farm on Valley View Road.
Contact numbers are 815-861-5847 and 847-910-5001.
Mark your calendars for June 24th if you want to attend the Pro-Life Pig Roast at Irene Napier’s farm on Valley View Road.
The Pro-Life Victory PAC sent this post card April 19, 2012.
District 6 County Board members and candidates were campaigning in Marengo’s Settlers Days Parade (a story that I will try to get to this weekend), but one has scheduled a fundraiser.
His name is Corey Brackmann and he lives in Marengo.
The invitation to his November 12th barn dance/pig roast follows:
The price is $25 for individuals and $50 for a family. The band Wooden Rockers will perform.
The McHenry Moose was the site of the McHenry Township Republican Pig Roast.
Saturday afternoon, McHenry Township Republicans gathered at the McHenry Moose for a pig roast and to hear candidates make their pitches.
McHenry County Blog prevailed upon attendee Becky Kress to share her photos.
Barb Wheeler presents her request for support.
McHenry County Board member Barb Wheeler, who has announced her intentions to run for State Representative in the 64th District whose southern tip is my precinct in Crystal Lake and Lakewood and goes north to Antioch, was one of the speakers.
Congressman Joe Walsh makes his pitch, while Crystal Lake's Bryan Javor and band member Tim Stewart listen.
8th District Congressman Joe Walsh made a pitch for re-election, even though he doesn’t know who his potential future constituents will be. (He made a second appearance in Aurora at State Senator Chris Lauzen’s Porky Picnic later in the day. Lauzen announced he would give up his Senate seat to run for Kane County Board Chairman.)
Joe Walsh mixed with those in attendance as well as speaking. The women to his immediate left as Wonder Lake Fire Protection District Trustee Cheryl Hammerand. On the right is Barbara Klasen, Greenwood Township Supervisor.
A photo of State Senator Dan Duffy was captured.
State Senator Dan Duffy talks to Barb Wheeler and her husband Joe.
Steven Rooney, recently elected to the Johnsburg School Board is caught with a John O’Neill for County Board tee shirt.
Johnsburg School Board member Steve Rooney
McHenry County Board members Tina Hill and Mary Donner were seen chatting at one table.
Tina Hill and Mary Donner sat at the same table.
The star of the day may have been the pig.
The roasted pig seemed to have no opinion regarding the candidates.
State Senator Dan Duffy got a turn at the microphone.
Dan Duffy speaks.
Both State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Mike Tryon were enjoying the roast pig.
Pam Althoff and Mike Tryon confer. Greenwood Township Supervisor Barbara Klasen (standing) talks to MaryDonner in the center. Kathy Kutcha is on the right.
Newly-appointed State Rep. Kent Gaffney spoke to the gathering, but the photo with his son was really fuzzy.
Kent Gaffney (on the right) attends to some paperwork, as does McHenry Township Road Commissioner Leon Van Every.
The event had at least one McHenry Alderman in attendance–Andy Glab.
Pam Althoff converses with Helen and Andy Glab.
Tina Hill posed with McHenry Township GOP work horse Kathy Kuchta.
McHenry County Auditor Pam Palmer was campaigning for re-election.
Former McHenry County Auditor and GOP Chairman and his wife Carrie are greeting by current Auditor Pam Palmer.
There were many others at the successful fund raiser.
McHenry Township Clerk Bruce Novak chows down.
A two-elected official family, McHenry County Board member John Hammerand and Wonder Lake Fire Protection District Board member Cheryl (seen with Joe Walsh above) were enjoying themselves.
John Hammerand has a discussion with Jim Kelly.
Only $20 for the McHenry Township Republican Central Committee Pig Roast Saturday.
Details are below:
“Help Us Take Back Our State and Our Nation…Rain or Shine” is what two of the headlines that are close together say on the pig roast invitation below from the McHenry Township Republican Central Committee.
Fun, games, music cheap price ($30 for two).
And every candidate who hopes to get votes from McHenry Township voters will be in attendance.
With Special Prosecutor Henry Tonigan’s unsuccessfully trying to link campaign contributions to McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi to a dismissal of a misdemeanor charge against a man who had previously received the group’s report, the Pro-Life Pig Roast Sunday from 1-4 might yield some interesting conversation.
Paying gate crashers will undoubtedly be welcomed to the annual pig roast.
Although former Pro-Life Victory PAC head Sue Suedar denied in an affidavit that a quid pro quo existed and Quest investigator Patrick Hanretty agreed under oath before he disagreed under oath in front of confused court officials and audience in Rockford Friday, such a quid pro quo was part of the criminal indictment against Bianchi.
Tonigan has all but disappeared from the case, leaving his associate Thomas McQueen to present what remains of the case. The two have not submitted a bill since.
But, back to the pig roast.
This is where any candidate courting the pro-life vote in McHenry County ought to be Sunday afternoon.
Here’s a map showing where the event will be:
Where to find the Pro-Life Pig Roast.
With Mike Madigan having split McHenry County into four state rep. and three state senate districts, expect to see lots of candidates for the seats at this event.
For the last several years the Skinner family has been on vacation the weekend pro-lifers gather at Irene Napier’s farm on Valley Hill Road between Route 176 and East Crystal Lake Avenue.
Not this year. Two weeks from today, I’ll be trying to get photos of all the candidates from the 52nd and 64th House districts, plus the 33nd State Senate district. Incumbents without known opponents will probably also come to burnish their pro-life credentials.
Candidates who have never ventured into McHenry County Republican politics will be in abundance. Look for new faces from Lake, Cook and Kane Counties.
The farm is located in the district which has no announced incumbent running. The state representative that Mike Madigan put in the district is JoAnn Osmond, who lives in Antioch. There is no indication that she will run in the newly-carved district which goes as far south, but no farther, that my Algonquin 7 precinct in Crystal Lake and Lakewood.
Certainly if the pro-life Osmond does not attend, that will be strong evidence that she is running elsewhere, probably in the 51st District.
Candidates seeking the support of pro-life voters will be out in abundance at the June 26th Pig Roast. The 64th District, which you see above is almost evenly split between Lake and McHenry County voters, with Lake County having a slight edge.
You can register online for the event here.
Irene Napier received the inaugural Henry Hyde Award Saturday morning from Patriots United from its Executive Director Brian Kelly.
Both Irene Napier and State Rep. Mike Tryon mightily enjoyed one of Brian Kelly's introductory comments.
As Napier sat in her seat, Kelly outlined her accomplishments to the packed D’Andrea’s banquet room.
There were laughs.
And more serious moments.
The death of an infant daughter, plus a son lost in an automobile accident helped motivate Napier to oppose the killing of innocent babies authorized under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.
She could not understand how life could be treated so lightly.
Irene Napier gives her acceptance speech. I think she made reference to a teleprompter her.
Napier has become a “go-to” woman for those seeking office in McHenry County.
I don’t think it would be a misstatement to say that she is the most influential women in McHenry County.
Sigma Pigma Pie pig roast graphic from 2010.
She plugged the Sigma Pigma Pie fund raising event held the last week of June at her Valley View Road farm. Napier said this year it would be a blow-out, noting that she didn’t know how many years she had left.
Kelly present her with a tall wooden mother and child statue, which clearly stunned Napier.
In her acceptance speech, Napier gave God the credit for any accomplishment for which she was being honored.
Irene Napier near the end of her talk.
Brian Kelly had just given a speech about tearing down walls between church denominations, Pro-Life organizations.
“The biggest problem is finding each other and this shows we’ve found each other,” Napier told the crowd.
Retired manufacturer and head of Family Taxpayers Network Jack Roeser sung the praises of his long-time colleague Irene Napier.
Pausing, she entertained the audience by asking, “Where’s my teleprompter?
“I worry about getting praise and honors like this. It really belongs to God.”
She then noted, “I didn’t ever get elected to any office. I guess I’m just the Jesse Jackson of McHenry County.”
The last note I jotted down was, “I’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got.”
After Napier spoke Jack Roeser took the microphone to praise her and present her with a $1,000 check.
There used to be a rundown house on west side of Route 47 near the intersection of Interstate 55 near Dwight.
My father used to see structures like this and observe that it was listed by Century 19, a play on Century 21.
When I was on my way to Bob Wargaski’s Pigapalooza May 3, I saw this farm building that certainly could be listed by the same real estate firm.
It was southwest of the intersection of North Darrell and West Case Roads.
Latest Posts
