McHenry County Blog

The GOP Play Day registration form.

The McHenry County Republican Party  Play Day is July 17th at the McHenry Country Club on the Fox River.

Time to mark your calendars if you want to meet the folks running for office in next year’s Republican Party primary election.

The McHenry County Republican Party Playday Golf Outing is being held Wednesday, July 17th at the McHenry County Club.

If you are a golfer, registration starts at 10:30 with a shotgun start at 11:30. Lunch will be served in the Halfway House on the course. Brats, hot dogs, chips and beer or soft drinks will be served.

For non-golfers, cocktails begin at 4 with dinner and prizes beginning at 5.

Cost for golf is $150 per person, $600 per foursome. Payment must be made in advance.

Dinner is $50.

Everyone running or even thinking about running for countywide or statewide office can be expected to be in attendance.

Candidates or others wishing to impress the golfers can buy a tee sign for $75 or be a beverage cart sponsor for $100.

Details of the GOP Play Day.

The Cook County Treasurer’s Office has put online all sorts of financial information that was previouisly virtually impossible to a taxpayer to find.

Let’s look at the Home Rule municipality of Barrington Hills as an example.

Let’s look at the overall budget and liabilities for starters.

Debt for Barrington Hills is $21.7 million, up over $3 million in one year.

Next, let’s examine property tax revenues for the last ten years.  They almost doubled.

Property tax collections rose from just under $2 million ten years ago to$3.8 million this tax year.

Finally, let’s take a look at pension liabilities.  The fund for police is funded at 40% with a $6.3 million unfunded liability.

Pension liabilities increase

It was over 90 degrees Wednesday when McHenry County Republicans were golfing at the McHenry Country Club.

Two potential contenders for the Republican nomination for Governor spoke to Party faithful at the McHenry County Country Club Wednesday.

During the cocktail time before dinner State Treasurer Dan Rutherford spoke after an effusive introduction by Party Chairman Mike Tryon.

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford got chuckles when he asked those at the McHenry County Republican Play Day to imagine what it was like going to work every day knowing that Illinois had the worst financial situation in the country.

Rutherford left before dinner.

Kirk Dillard

After dinner State Senator Kirk Dillard was introduced as a potential candidate for Governor by Tryon.

But not before Tryon said,

“We’re fixing to have a right turn.”

Pam Althoff didn’t repeat her happy day in front of Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, but she did enjoy talking about trying to imitate Snoopy in her office after she read the McHenry County Blog article that mentioned it.

The former DuPage County GOP Chairman, State Senator and Republican gubernatorial primary candidate who was barely edged out by Bill Brady spoke of the importance of McHenry County in statewide races and why Illinois needed a Republican Governor after Democrat Pat Quinn.

Although Republican Precinct Committeemen were told that Congressmen Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgren would be attending the event, they weren’t there after I arrived at about 4:20.

I was looking forward to chatting with them.

State Senator Pam Althoff enjoyed my comparison of her happy dance to that of Snoopy.

Dave McSweeney

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay was in attendance making post State Senate primary connections.

Also speaking to the group after dinner was GOP State Rep. candidate David McSweeney.

State Senate candidate Karen McConnaughay chatted hospital certification with Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley.

Rumors that Independent opponent Dee Beaubien might attend the event were found to be incorrect.

McSweeney has developed a good “stump speech” which takes first aim at replacing Democrat Mike Madigan as Illinois House Speaker.

I continue to bemoan the fact that besides electing McSweeney, a sure vote for Madigan’s opponent Tom Cross, with no opposition being fielded against Democrat State Rep. Jack Franks, the only thing McHenry County residents for major chance in Springfield can do is help Mike Tryon put together the $10,000 he is assessed annually for GOP House races elsewhere and the $20,000 that Pam Althoff has to provide for State Senate races where a Democrat might be taken out.

There were a number of McHenry County Board members at the event.

Caught in the camera’s lens were Woodstock Mayor Brian Sager in the foreground, Algonquin Township Trustee Dan Shay, District 3 McHenry County Board candidate Joe Gottemoller and County Board incumbents Tina Hill and Anna May Miller.

With the possibility of having missed some County Board members and candidates, here are the ones I saw or heard introduced:

Grafton Township GOP Central Committee Chairman Tom Poznanski catches me in the act of taking his photo while he and District 4 County Board candidate Michael Rein were chatting.

• Mary Donner
• John Hammerand
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Ken Koehler
• Donna Kurtz
• Mary McCann
• Anna May Miller
• Nick Provenzano
• Ersel Schuster
• Michael Rein

Most countywide officers and candidates were present, too:

• Katherine Keefe
• Dr. Anne Majewski
• Pam Palmer
• Kathie Schultz
• Phyllis Walters

Missing were the two men:

• Lou Bianchi
• Keith Nygren

The event turned out to be a big day for John Cole of Woodstock. He won$445 in the 50-50 raffle.  Patti Boyd, standing in the center verified Cole’s ticket number.  Geri Davis can be seen on the left.

Leslie Schermerhorn, the newly-appointed Regional Superintendent of Schools was in Springfield meeting with Illinois State Superintendent of Education Christopher Koch and attending Health/Life/Safety inspection training, she told me.

The winner of the main door prize was newly-elected Republican Precinct Committeeman from Fox River Grove Andrew Gasser.  It was a Jack Daniels barbeque kit, complete with a pint of the real stuff.

The 50-50 raffle was won by Woodstock’s John Cole.  He took home $445.

GOP Executive Director thanked Crystal Lake Committeeman Jim Thompson for making the calls to make the event the best in the last six years.

The biggest fund raiser for the McHenry County Republican Party is coming up in July.

It’s called Play Day and is dominated by golfing, a sport I have never taken up.

The invitation to the 2012 Republican Play Day says the cost of the dinner is $50.

But, there is a dinner at which political types and their supporters talk things over.

If I’m in town, I try to go.

Below is more information about the July 18th event:

Maybe by July 18th, the Mitt Romney campaign will have its act together well enough to have bumper stickers* (which were not readily available at the weekend Republican State Convention). Click to enlarge.

Don’t put it on the calendar in my house and you lose.

So, instead of attending the $50 dinner at the McHenry Country Club, which is the major fund raiser for the local Republican Party, I’m home while my wife is out of the house.

It’s a pretty good meal for a fund raiser with steaks cooked outside, if past tradition is followed.

And all the juicy gossip I’ll miss.

Maybe some of you will fill me in.

I’m pretty sure they will accept walk-ins.

Don’t put it on the calendar in my house and you lose.

So, instead of attending the $50 dinner at the McHenry Country Club, which is the major fund raiser for the local Republican Party, I’m home while my wife is out of the house.

It’s a pretty good meal for a fund raiser with steaks cooked outside, if past tradition is followed.

And all the juicy gossip I’ll miss.

Maybe some of you will fill me in.

I’m pretty sure they will accept walk-ins.