McHenry County Blog

The view of Paulson Road after Hartland Township Road Commissioner Mike Murphy's crew finished clearing downed trees off the road.

An observer in Hartland Township sent this “after clean-up” photo of Paulsen Road.

Here’s the commentary that accompanied it:

Interesting that on Monday morning Alden Road was closed to work on ONE tree that was felled during the storm on Sunday night. Here are some pictures that that show the result of the work done by Mike Murray as noted by Ruth in your post.

Note the white fence on the right, This is the same white fence shown in the picture the night before. This is the location where the entire road was covered with trees for a distance of about two hundred feet.

And below is a “before” shot:

Paulson Road was impassible after Sunday night's storm.

How strong was the wind?

Look at these uprooted trees beyond the white fence:

These trees near Paulson Road were uprooted.

Commenting on the Northwest Herald web site Jeremiah P. of Harvard wrote or seeing a tornado near the Route 173 welcome sign:

I wonder how the evergreens near the Route 173 welcome sign look now.

The Harvard, Illinois, welcome sign on Route 173 on a pleasant day.

John Hammer, President of the McHenry County Historical Barn Preservation Association, is seeking Grafton and Dorr barn lovers for the fall tour. Here’s his pitch to folks who are already members. I’m told it’s OK to share with non-members now.

The McHenry County Barn Tour is an all day event where three coach buses venture in to McHenry County’s countryside to see the magnificent barns of our county. This year the tour will feature the barns located in two townships – Grafton & Dorr. The tour date is October 10, 2009.

As a member and supporter of the McHenry County Historical Barn Preservation Association, you will have first preference to enjoy the barn tour before it is offered to the general public.

There are 150 seats available and will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis. The tour usually fills within 2-3 weeks, so if you are interested I would recommend acting immediately. If you are interested in going on the barn tour please print the attached information and Registration Form, detach and fill out the Registration Form portion, and mail it in with your payment to register for the tour. Also, please note that you can save on the tour by renewing your membership if it is not current.

 
The barn show is on Route 173 between Hebron and Greenwood Road. It will not be on the tour.

This is really a twofer.

It was the new “Welcome to Illinois” sign that I wanted.

It’s the first one put up since 1973, when the last Democratic Party governor, a guy named Dan Walker, put ones up that took off the name of the governor and rightly bragged about it.

He claimed to be the “people’s” governor and the sign said the “People of Illinois” welcome you.

I even sent out a press release praising the change.

Now, Illinois has another governor who is a Democrat.

Although as or more confrontational than Governor Walker, this one has decided having the “people” welcome travelers to Illinois is inadequate.

He has put “Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor” on the sign.

So, “welcome to Illinois” signs have come full cycle.

At least “The Land of Lincoln” is in bigger letters.

And, the twofer?

There is precious little state road work being done in McHenry County this summer.

This sign indicates that the two miles on Route 47 between the Illinois-Wisconsin line and Route 173 in the heart of Hebron are being re-surfaced.

Not exactly done in priority order, I am certain people who drive on Route 31 between McHenry and Crystal Lake would suggest.

This is really a twofer.

It was the new “Welcome to Illinois” sign that I wanted.

It’s the first one put up since 1973, when the last Democratic Party governor, a guy named Dan Walker, put ones up that took off the name of the governor and rightly bragged about it.

He claimed to be the “people’s” governor and the sign said the “People of Illinois” welcome you.

I even sent out a press release praising the change.

Now, Illinois has another governor who is a Democrat.

Although as or more confrontational than Governor Walker, this one has decided having the “people” welcome travelers to Illinois is inadequate.

He has put “Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor” on the sign.

So, “welcome to Illinois” signs have come full cycle.

At least “The Land of Lincoln” is in bigger letters.

And, the twofer?

There is precious little state road work being done in McHenry County this summer.

This sign indicates that the two miles on Route 47 between the Illinois-Wisconsin line and Route 173 in the heart of Hebron are being re-surfaced.

Not exactly done in priority order, I am certain people who drive on Route 31 between McHenry and Crystal Lake would suggest.

This blur is a Richmond policeman manning a speed trap just east of Route 31/12 on Route 173.

He was parked across from the golf course when he clocked someone going east faster than the speed limit.

I think it was 35 miles per hour.

The policeman sped across our lane of traffic with lights flashing.

We continued on our way to Crystal Lake.

Obviously, I was not prepared to take the photo when the opportunity arose.

This blur is a Richmond policeman manning a speed trap just east of Route 31/12 on Route 173.

He was parked across from the golf course when he clocked someone going east faster than the speed limit.

I think it was 35 miles per hour.

The policeman sped across our lane of traffic with lights flashing.

We continued on our way to Crystal Lake.

Obviously, I was not prepared to take the photo when the opportunity arose.

We McHenry County “Subjects” of the Illinois Tollway barons have long been forced to labor in the fields while others got the benefits of our tolls on the long-since paid for Northwest Tollway.

We have one state highway with no access.

That’s Route 23.

We have another—Route 47—with access only from the east. (Yes, I know it is in Kane County, but most traffic originates in McHenry County.)

Want to drive to Rockford on a four-lane highway?

You have to take the back roads to Route 20 in Hampshire.

Tollway officials insist on a complete re-configuration of how Route 47 crosses the Tollway before western entrance and exists are built.

And a good chunk of local money is required.

Northwest Herald reporter David Fitzgerald wrote just this week that the Tollway expects “half of the $65.7 million interchange” to come from local funds.

The point of the story was that Huntley’s $5,000 a month lobbyist, Kim Morreale, had convinced the Tollway to pony up half of the cost.

But look what happened in Winnebago County.

I’ll quote just one sentence from Rockford Register-Star reporter Zack Creglow’s Thursday story:

“The $19.5 million project, paid with federal and state dollars, took about a year to construct.”

Anybody notice a disconnect between what is happening in McHenry County with Route 47 and what’s happening with the Route 173 exchange north of Rockford?

It’s obvious that the animals on the farm in McHenry County still walk on all fours, while those in Winnebago County stand upright.

= = = = =
The photograph is of the Northwest Tollway looking west from Route 47, where looking is all one can do because of no westbound entrance.

We McHenry County “Subjects” of the Illinois Tollway barons have long been forced to labor in the fields while others got the benefits of our tolls on the long-since paid for Northwest Tollway.

We have one state highway with no access.

That’s Route 23.

We have another—Route 47—with access only from the east. (Yes, I know it is in Kane County, but most traffic originates in McHenry County.)

Want to drive to Rockford on a four-lane highway?

You have to take the back roads to Route 20 in Hampshire.

Tollway officials insist on a complete re-configuration of how Route 47 crosses the Tollway before western entrance and exists are built.

And a good chunk of local money is required.

Northwest Herald reporter David Fitzgerald wrote just this week that the Tollway expects “half of the $65.7 million interchange” to come from local funds.

The point of the story was that Huntley’s $5,000 a month lobbyist, Kim Morreale, had convinced the Tollway to pony up half of the cost.

But look what happened in Winnebago County.

I’ll quote just one sentence from Rockford Register-Star reporter Zack Creglow’s Thursday story:

“The $19.5 million project, paid with federal and state dollars, took about a year to construct.”

Anybody notice a disconnect between what is happening in McHenry County with Route 47 and what’s happening with the Route 173 exchange north of Rockford?

It’s obvious that the animals on the farm in McHenry County still walk on all fours, while those in Winnebago County stand upright.

= = = = =
The photograph is of the Northwest Tollway looking west from Route 47, where looking is all one can do because of no westbound entrance.