McHenry County Blog

When we went west two years ago, I insisted we at least drive by the Corn Palace.

My family had toured it over 50 years ago and it certainly was worth a look.

I had just done a year or two before before when I went with Penny Pullen to a Pro-Life referendum committee meeting at Chamberlain.

Neither time did we go inside.

Time was the factor earlier this decade.  So we just did a drive-by in Mitchell, South Dakota.

My cheapness and mid-1950′s memory of there being not much worth seeing inside was the reason during our 2009 trip.

But when I was reading the December 3, 2010, article about the Corn Palace in the Chicago Tribune, I discovered there is no entrance fee.

Attendance is down from 500,000 twenty years ago to 279,000 in 2009.

In 2010, it was up to 311,000.

So, what has the city council done?

Besides making the price right, it still has a corn museum and a gift shop, but they’re trying to make it more of a destination.

The next time we go west, it will be through S.D. and we’ll again take the highway exit from Interstate 94 at Mitchell.

And, my wife and son will go inside and look around while I take pictures, rather than their waiting for me in the car in a spot within eyesight of the Corn Palace.

And, you know I look for things political everywhere I go.

What I found in the local newspaper, the Daily Republic, was an article that, knowing George McGovern was born in Mitchell, North Dakota, might make perfect sense.

Good Samaritan Becky Handrahan was giving rides to people the way FISH of Crystal Lake did back in the 1970′s.

She was accepting tips to help pay for the gas.

The Mitchell City Council decided she needed a license like a taxi.

Read it for  yourself.

If it moves, regulate it, I guess.  Then, tax it.

Previously McHenry County Blog has looked at the questions on the Healthy Communities 8,000 household survey concerning

• Parks & Recreation and
• Citizen Desires for More Services

Today we look at the transportation questions:

TRANSPORTATION

37-39. If you were to choose the highest priorities for spending McHenry County transportation funds, which THREE would you choose? (Mark only three)

(1) Improving existing highways by widening and/or upgrading intersections.

(2) Building or extending a limited access (possibly interstate) highway through the county.

(3) Adding and improving pedestrian paths, sidewalks and bike paths.

Slide of the location of the proposed Ridgefield Metra Station presented to the Crystal Lake City Council by Executive Director Phil Pagano.

(4) Establishing new train stations, increasing frequency of service and commuter parking.

(5) Improving car and van pooling to major work destinations.

Taxis at Crystal Lake Train Station.

(6) Expanding a subsidized taxi, van voucher program.

Where the CVS Pharmacy sits on Radow Road was annouced to be a bus station and park and ride facility for those using Randall Road in times past. The only park and ride lot near McHenry County sits north of the Wisconsin state line on Route 12.

(7) Creating more and improved “park and ride” sites for buses to Cook, Kane, Lake sites including Metra.

(8) Establishing scheduled bus service among major McHenry County communities.

Scheduled PACE bus on Thompson Road east of Wonder Lake.

(9) Expand on-call PACE transit, Dial-a-Ride

(10) Other (write in)

Can’t wait to see the answers to these questions. I do wonder where the question molders think McHenry County government is going to find enough money to build an interstate highway. And, where they would put it. There is one existing four-lane right-of-way. It’s what I first heard called the “Bunny Expressway.” In McHenry County it runs from east of McHenry between McHenry and Johnsburg, up west of Richmond to meet the Wisconsin interstate that goes to Lake Geneva.

This is the highway that rumor has it Arlington Park Racetrack owner Marge Everett bought land west of Richmond in the late 1960′s (secret land trust, don’t you know?) for a new track.

Without consulting local state legislators (at least those of us who were state representatives), McHenry County Republican Party Chairman Al Jourdan got this FAP420 designated a part of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority system when the Will County extension was approved. All McHenry County legislators voted against his plan.

The following press release arrived from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago:

CHICAGO MAN CHARGED WITH PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT
TO AL QAEDA BY ATTEMPTING TO SEND FUNDS OVERSEAS

CHICAGO — A Chicago man who claims to be acquainted with an alleged terrorist leader in Pakistan was arrested today on federal charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization for allegedly attempting to provide funds overseas to al Qaeda, federal law enforcement officials announced.

Although the defendant, Raja Lahrasib Khan, a Chicago taxi driver and native of Pakistan who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1988, allegedly discussed attacking a stadium in the United States this summer, there was no imminent domestic danger, officials said.

The investigation leading to Khan’s arrest is unrelated to a separate investigation that resulted  in federal terrorism charges against Chicagoans Tahawwur Hussain Rana and David Coleman Headley in connection with the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai and a plot to attack targets in Denmark, the officials added.

Khan, 56, of the city’s north side, was charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorism in a criminal complaint that was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and unsealed today following his arrest, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The investigation is continuing, they said.

Khan was arrested this morning while working in downtown Chicago without incident by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.  He was scheduled to appear at 3:30 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown in Federal Court in Chicago.

“While there was no imminent danger in the Chicago area or elsewhere, these charges, once again, affirm that law enforcement must remain constantly vigilant to guard against domestic support of foreign terrorist organizations.  I am deeply grateful to the FBI agents and other members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their extremely hard work on this matter,”

said Mr. Fitzgerald.

Mr. Grant said:

“Over the past six months, FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the country have disrupted plots, charged and apprehended a number of individuals and secured significant intelligence, which has been of benefit here and to our allies overseas.

“Notable as most of these successes have been, it also illustrates the reality of the environment we face today, along with the critical responsibility domestic law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have in protecting the public from the violent designs of others.

“It is a complex threat that we face and we are pleased with the results today.”

“Today’s arrest and charges are the result of an outstanding cooperative law enforcement and intelligence effort and underscore the domestic and international aspects of the terror threat we face,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

According to a 35-page complaint affidavit, by at least 2008, Khan, who claims to have known Ilyas Kashmiri for approximately 15 years, learned that Kashmiri was working with al Qaeda, and that Kashmiri was purportedly receiving orders from al Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden.

According to Khan, during his meeting or meetings with Kashmiri, among other things, Khan learned that Kashmiri wanted to train operatives to conduct attacks in the United States; Kashmiri showed Khan a video depicting the detonation of an improvised explosive device; and  Kashmiri told Khan that he needed money, in any amount, to be able to purchase materials from the “black market.”

The complaint identifies Kashmiri as the leader in Kashmir of Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HUJI), a Sunni extremist group located in Pakistan and Kashmir with links to al Qaeda.

In a reported interview last October, Kashmiri purportedly said that he had joined forces with al Qaeda.  In January 2010, Kashmiri, together with a former Pakistani military officer, Rana and Headley, were indicted in Chicago for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to murder and maim persons in a planned attack against the facilities and employees of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, in Denmark, as retribution for the publication of cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammed.

The charges against Khan allege that on Nov. 23, 2009, he sent a money transfer of approximately $950 from a currency exchange located on North LaSalle Street in Chicago to Individual A, who was in either Mirpur or Bhimber, in Pakistan.

Khan later spoke with Individual A by telephone and instructed him to give “Lala” 25,000 Pakistani rupees (approximately $300) of the money he had sent.  According to the affidavit, Khan told an undercover agent that “Lala,” which means “older brother” in Urdu, is a nickname Khan uses to refer to Kashmiri, who he told the agent he had met most recently in 2008 in Miran Shah in northwest Pakistan.

Khan also told the agent that Khan believed that his telephones were being monitored, and if Khan or the undercover agent were ever questioned about their discussions regarding “Lala,” they should claim to have been referring to Khan’s actual older brother.

Just two weeks ago, on March 11, Khan and an associate, identified as “Individual B,” allegedly had a discussion during which they appeared to talk about attacking a stadium in the United States in “August.”

Among other things, Khan described that bags containing remote controlled bombs could be placed in several different locations, and then

“boom, boom, boom, boom.”

Khan further said that he would ask “Lala” [Kashmiri] to teach him how to conduct such an attack, the complaint alleges.  However, there are no allegations that Khan either knew Kashmiri’s current whereabouts or had yet discussed his stadium plan with him.

On March 17, after agreeing to personally deliver to Kashmiri any funds that the undercover agent wanted to provide, Khan allegedly accepted $1,000 (ten $100 bills) from the agent.

The complaint states that Khan accepted these funds after having had prior conversations with the undercover agent in which:

• Khan confirmed that Kashmiri was working with al Qaeda;
• Khan assured that Kashmiri would use the undercover agent’s funds to purchase weapons and, possibly, other supplies;
• Khan assured that he had provided Kashmiri with money in the past, including in approximately December 2009; and
• Khan discussed the possibility of having his son transport the money from the United States to England, where Khan would rendezvous with his son, retrieve the money, and deliver it to Kashmiri in Pakistan.

On March 23, government agents at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport came into contact with Khan’s son, who was traveling to England.  During this contact, agents discovered that Khan’s son possessed seven of the ten $100 bills that the undercover agent had given to Khan, according to the affidavit.

Each count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  If convicted, the court is required to impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Chicago FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, with particular assistance from the Chicago Police Department, the Illinois State Police, and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Veatch and Steven Dollear, of the Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains mere allegations that are not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

McHenry County Blog has some thoughtful thinkers.

One has posted the comment below under the last article.

Certainly people are talking about abolishing Grafton Township.   Two trustees have told me that might even favor the idea. I found one at last night’s meeting who had inquired how to do it by petition and referendum.

I asked Road Commissioner Jack Freund how abolishing the township would affect his operation.

His basic answer was that it wouldn’t. That’s because the Road District is a separate municipal corporation.

And the Assessor’s Office?

Well, someone has to do the work. It might end up under county jurisdiction. After all, the County Supervisor of Assessments is charged with assessing all property.

What would happen to Assessor Bill Ottley and his employees?

Since Ottley has the most uniform assessments in McHenry County (the last time I looked), he would undoubtedly head up the operation.

Where would the office be?

Probably right where it is or in some other area space rented by the county. Ottley could probably even find a great deal in this economy.

Another possibility occurs to me.  The bill I sponsored back in the 1970′s to create the office of Multi-Township Assessor could be modified to allow for the election of such an official from a neighboring township, plus Grafton Township.  An analysis by then-Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare convinced me that bad (defined as having a large margin of error) assessments were much, much more likely to occur in townships with less than 5,000 people than those larger.  The reason, I believe, is that larger townships could afford a full-time assessor.  I guess the still existing township board would handle the bill paying and oversight functions.

Then, there’s the other services that Grafton Township provides.

For starters, people should know that virtually all such services were permitted by law at the request of township officials trying to justify their existence.

Townships have only three mandated functions:

• Maintaining some local roads
• Assessing property
• Administering General and Emergency Assistance

All the rest are add-ons.

However, let’s say bus service for seniors and the handicapped is considered by the community to be necessary.

I would note that senior bus service is provided by the Road Commissioner in Algonquin Township. The same could happen in Grafton Township, if Freund were amenable to the idea.

Gus Philpott, in his Woodstock Advocate, suggests there may be a much cheaper way to provide transportation services to seniors and the disabled. Subsidize taxis and handicapped equipped vans. Or subsidize PACE, I would add.

Since most of the service is provided Huntley residents, the village itself could even assume the responsibility.

Bingo can be run by any entity. The same with helping with handicapped vehicle hangers and handing out batteries for hearing aids.

The food pantry is already off on its own. The subsidies of the past are over, if not accounted for.

The General and Emergency Assistance is minimum. I believe one of the last year’s of former Grafton Township Supervisor John Rossi’s administration is was about $12,000. I guess the area would operate the same way the one-third of Illinois counties do now. There are no townships in Southern Illinois.

Compare that to the $16,000 in legal bills for Ancel, Glink last month.

When would the township go out of business if such a referendum were put on the ballot and passed?

I can’t tell you. I think I remember some provision that says elected officials serve out their terms.

Too much from me. Here’s the reader comment:

“Dear” Grafton Township Elected Officials and “Hired” (more like appointed) Employee(s),

The money you are so droolingly intent on spending for Your WANTS not NEEDS is OTHER PEOPLE’S money.  It’s not your private little world and check book.  It doesn’t matter if you are taxing $5 or $200 dollars, you are still taxing.

Stop trying to grow what some people consider a no longer needed layer of govt. BIGGER.  In Grafton, it would make sense to allow other govt. entities to absorb most or all of what Grafton does.

There are plenty of places for bingo, food pantires, meeting rooms, yada yada yada and they are spread across Grafton Township – not just in Huntley.  Certain types of transportation services can be worked out with local Taxi companies eliminating the need to own vehicles/buses, pay for gas, labor, insurance, upkeep, schedulers, etc.

If you absolutely MUST MUST MUST have Grafton Township’s name on such things instead of cooperating with others, then RENT them.  The events would still be called Grafton Township Bingo but it doesn’t require a multi million dollar building and loan interest.  I repeat, it’s far cheaper than a multi-million building and loan interest.

Trying to recreate the wheel and sliced bread in this case sure seems to be  ego driven.  The way it’s being handled reminds me of Washington DC/Chicago tactics.

NOTE:  Huntley isn’t a small place anymore.  Have the elected and “hired” people not noticed? Perhaps when it was small, there was a dream in someone’s mind to make the Township more important, provide missing services, and so on.  That was then.  ”We” aren’t living in “then” anymore.  Grafton Twp. elected officials and “hired” employees, are YOU still living in the “then” in the “dream”?  If so, as one movie character once succinctly said “Snap out of it!”

Is someone looking to have their name engraved on a room, a program, ………….a political ballot?