McHenry County Blog

A press release from State Representatives Kent Gaffney and Sandy Cole:

Kent Gaffney

Cole & Gaffney Host an Evening with Our Veterans

WHO: State Representative Sandy Cole (R-Grayslake), State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) & Lake County Veterans

WHAT: An evening with our veterans encompasses free food, handouts and information pertaining to important state issues specifically for our veterans and their families.

WHEN: Thursday, September 29, 2011 -5:30pm-7:30pm

WHERE: American Legion Post 911, 515 S. Main Street, Wauconda, IL 60084

WHY: As State Representatives, Rep. Cole & Rep. Gaffney continue to advocate for the men and women who have served our country in uniform. Notwithstanding our State’s significant financial challenges and the slow economy, they remain committed to protecting veteran’s access to affordable health care, educational advancement and employment opportunities.

INTERVIEWS: State Representative Cole & State Representative Gaffney will be available to answer media questions prior to or directly after the event.

Th closest thing I could find to a debate in a forum at which constiutents did not have to pay was at a Grayslake supermarket after the primary election. No wonder she is spooked about defending her record of supporting Obamacare and Stimulus Packages.

Congresswoman Melissa Bean has agreed to come out of her Bean Bunker on October 20th.

She will actually appear on the same stage as her opponents Republican Joe Walsh and Green Party candidate Bill Scheurer.

It won’t be in McHenry County though.

We are not important enough to merit a public appearance with

her opponents.

The last time that happened was before Labor Day in 2006 when she ran against Republican Dave McSweeney and Bill Scheurer.

Over four years ago.

That was a debate she lost.

It's about a half an hour from McHenry to Grayslake High School.

This year’s only debate will be at the inconveniently located (at least for McHenry County) Grayslake Central High School, 400 N. Lake St., Grayslake.

The high school is located where you see the star.

Half an hour from McHenry, assuming you don’t get lost and the traffic is light, which it won’t be.

It starts at 6:30.

The Lake County League of Women Voters will screen questions, a most frustrating format the League is known for.

Besides 8th Congressional District candidates, those from the 62nd State Rep. contest will be featured. They are Republican incumbent Sandy Cole and Democrat challenger Rich Voltair.

So, mark your calendars and plan to arrive early so you can get a seat.

Melissa Bean's last public appearance with opponents, David McSweeney and Bill Scheurer then, was in 2006 at a Northwest Herald-sponsored debate at McHenry County College.

And, if you plan to attend and have a camera, please take some photos for me. I’ll be at a McHenry Marlins swim practice when I would otherwise be driving east along crowded Route 120. If some folks will send me some notes of what the candidates say, that would be helpful, too.

It occurs to me that all the Chicago TV stations will cover this event, so undoubtedly partisans of each candidate will have people holding signs outside that will be seen on television later that night.

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State Rep. Sandy Cole emails that “the debate also includes the 31st Senate district candidates… Senator Michael Bond & County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt.”

McHenry County State Rep. Jack Franks is the only Democrat who made the “Taxpayer Friends” list of National Taxpayers United of Illinois.

He scored 69% on NTU’s Tax Survey, tying with Republicans Sandy Cole, Bill Mitchell,  Ruth Munson, Dennis Reboletti, David Reis, Keith Sommer and Jill Tracy.

The rankings were based on 2007-2008 legislative votes.

Two GOP state senators got the same score:  Gary Dahl and John O. Jones.

The brainchild of founder Jim Tobin, who used to give Governor Jim Thompson fits, the rating of legislators is regularly used in political campaigns.  And, in the interest of full disclosure, Tobin was my lieutenant governor candidate when I ran for governor on the Libertarian Party ticket against Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan in 2002.  We also worked together to kill Lee Daniels’ and Pate Philip’s 1993 bill to allow tax districts to sell bonds without a referendum.  We won in the first time, but lost when Daniels became House Speaker.

[Trivia question:  What 2002 gubernatorial candidate's fund raiser(s) has still not been convicted--or even charged--with a Federal felony?

[Hint:  It's not one of the power party candidate's.]

This year, National Taxpayers United of Illinois has selected thirteen bills on which to judge state senators.  I’ll list below, just in case you want to look them up here (the descriptions provided are from NTU; if not provided, you’ll have to look up the bill for yourself):

• House Bill 664, a property tax cut increasing tax exemptions for seniors, vets, the disabled, etc.
• SJR Constitutional Amendment 92, graduated income tax



• House Bill 656, doubling CTA (I usually call it the RTA) sales tax hike, but as the Sun-Times headline clearly shows, Tobin is correct
• House Bill 656 with amendatory veto to provide free rides for seniors
• House Bill 405, allowing increase in park district taxes for aquarium, park and museum maintenance with referendum
• Senate Bill 345 allows counties to raise sales taxes for public safety and roads (Senate sponsor Bill Peterson)
• House Bill 1562 allows school boards to raise taxes without a referendum to pay lawyers
• House Bill 1921 imposes a 25 cent tax on every disposable lighter (Jack Franks co-sponsor)
• House Bill 556 increases the cigarette tax by 75 cents a pack
• Senate Bill 837 doubles Chicago’s 911 tax
• Senate Bill 835 allows 101 counties to raise local sales taxes to pay for school construction and maintenance, referendum required
• Senate Bill 835, veto override vote
• House Bill 3866, legislative pay raise

In the House, the legislation used to judge state representatives was the same as the senate with these two exceptions:

• HJR Constitutional Amendment 42, a 100% income tax hike that would have doubled the personal income tax on those with over $250,000 in income
• House Resolution 402, which condemned the Gross Receipts Tax

So,if Franks received a 69% rating, how did the other local legislators stack up?

State Senator Pam Althoff got a 54% score.

Senate colleague Dan Duffy is not ranked because the ratings only considered 2007-2008 bills, but the man he replaced Republican Bill Peterson came out with 46%.

State Rep. Mike Tryon received a 54% rating, the same as his state senator.

State Rep. Mark Beaubien got 31%.

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Local legislators ranked are seen above.  Jack Franks is on the top of the story.

Grouped together at the bottom are State Senator Pam Althoff, State Rep. Mark Beaubien and State Rep. Mike Tryon.

Here are photos that Drew Veeneman took Sunday at the Young Republicans regional candidates’ day in Barrington.

Adam Andrzejewski, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. Andrzejewski prospered in the private sector. His web site touts “Adam for Illinois.”

Bob Schillerstrom, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. His web site touts “Bob for Illinois.” It emphasizes his opposition to the video poker (read “slot machine”) law supported by oh-so-many Republican legislators, but not their constituents. It does not emphasize his role in breaking suburban unity with regard to the Regional Transportation Authority resulting in tripling the RTA sales tax.

Bill Brady, candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. His web site uses his last name.

Robert Zadek is running for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. Here is the Rockford resident’s web site.

Paul Mitchell is a candidate for the Republican nomination for state representative who is running against incumbent 62nd District Sandy Cole in Lake County. His web site is headlined, “Pro Life, Pro Liberty, Pro Happiness.”

It was a hot day, as can been seen by looking at the candidates.

The band Clone Radio is playing above. Also appearing was Bros & Joes’ band.

You can see the banners for the Lake and McHenry County Young Republicans in this shot of the stage.

So, what should Family PAC’s Paul Caprio do?

Declare victory because his campaign to kill the RTA sales tax hike succeeded.

House Speaker Mike Madigan has played medical examiner and pronounced it dead.

Instead of raising sales taxes in the six county area, Madigan indicates he is willing to accept House Republican Leader Tom Cross’s plan to rip $380 off the top of the General Fund.

While most lobbying organizations attempt to convince their members to call their legislators on an issue, Family PAC commissioned phone calls to be made to eleven legislators’ constituents.

Now one quarter of one percent in the collar counties, the RTA sales tax proposal would have increased it to three quarters of one percent.

That doesn’t sound like much, but my calculations for McHenry County families led me to conclude that it would cost an extra $200 per year for each family.

That would have been a pretty steep price to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority.

At this point, let me point out that an attempt was made to buy off collar county board members. Half of their sales tax hike would go for roads. What no one mentions is that county boards, if they have the guts to propose it, could already ask voters to approve a sales tax hike to finance roads.

This CTA bail-out bill would have allowed collar county boards to short circuit the sales tax referendum process.

No “short circuit” is too kind a word.

It would have allowed county board members to ignore their constituents.

But, back to what Family PAC did.

Caprio targeted eleven suburban legislators and poured 90,000 phone calls into their suburban districts.

Whose staffs got the privilege of fielding the calls?

Republican Beth Coulson of Glenview
Republican Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn
Republican Ruth Munson of Elgin
Democrat Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates
Recently turned Democrat Paul Froehlich
Republican Sandy Cole of Grayslake
Democrat Careen Gordon of Morris
Republican Renee Kosel of New Lenox
Republican Mike Fortner of West Chicago
Republican Joe Dunn of Naperville
Republican Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills
Republican Ed Sullivan of Mundelein
Republican JoAnn Osmond of Antioch

“As a result of these calls and other grassroots pressure,” Caprio wrote, “Madigan did not have the votes to pass the sales tax increase which would have cost taxpayers in Cook and the collars more than $380 million annually to further subsidize a failed transit system.

“We won this battle, but as long as the Legislature is still in Session the threat of a tax hike continues.

“State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna also worked hard in opposing the Tax Increase and House Minority Leader Tom Cross came out against it. It is amazing to me what we can accomplish when we all work together. Lets keep up the pressure!”

How about that?

A political action committee actually doing something to keep taxes from being hiked.

So, what should Family PAC’s Paul Caprio do?

Declare victory because his campaign to kill the RTA sales tax hike succeeded.

House Speaker Mike Madigan has played medical examiner and pronounced it dead.

Instead of raising sales taxes in the six county area, Madigan indicates he is willing to accept House Republican Leader Tom Cross’s plan to rip $380 off the top of the General Fund.

While most lobbying organizations attempt to convince their members to call their legislators on an issue, Family PAC commissioned phone calls to be made to eleven legislators’ constituents.

Now one quarter of one percent in the collar counties, the RTA sales tax proposal would have increased it to three quarters of one percent.

That doesn’t sound like much, but my calculations for McHenry County families led me to conclude that it would cost an extra $200 per year for each family.

That would have been a pretty steep price to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority.

At this point, let me point out that an attempt was made to buy off collar county board members. Half of their sales tax hike would go for roads. What no one mentions is that county boards, if they have the guts to propose it, could already ask voters to approve a sales tax hike to finance roads.

This CTA bail-out bill would have allowed collar county boards to short circuit the sales tax referendum process.

No “short circuit” is too kind a word.

It would have allowed county board members to ignore their constituents.

But, back to what Family PAC did.

Caprio targeted eleven suburban legislators and poured 90,000 phone calls into their suburban districts.

Whose staffs got the privilege of fielding the calls?

Republican Beth Coulson of Glenview
Republican Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn
Republican Ruth Munson of Elgin
Democrat Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates
Recently turned Democrat Paul Froehlich
Republican Sandy Cole of Grayslake
Democrat Careen Gordon of Morris
Republican Renee Kosel of New Lenox
Republican Mike Fortner of West Chicago
Republican Joe Dunn of Naperville
Republican Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills
Republican Ed Sullivan of Mundelein
Republican JoAnn Osmond of Antioch

“As a result of these calls and other grassroots pressure,” Caprio wrote, “Madigan did not have the votes to pass the sales tax increase which would have cost taxpayers in Cook and the collars more than $380 million annually to further subsidize a failed transit system.

“We won this battle, but as long as the Legislature is still in Session the threat of a tax hike continues.

“State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna also worked hard in opposing the Tax Increase and House Minority Leader Tom Cross came out against it. It is amazing to me what we can accomplish when we all work together. Lets keep up the pressure!”

How about that?

A political action committee actually doing something to keep taxes from being hiked.