McHenry County Blog

“All politics is local,”

said Democratic Party House Speaker Tip O’Neill.

Too many Tea Party people haven’t figured that out.

These signs on Randall Road in Algonquin don't have a local angle. Dissatisfaction is directed at the national government. There are lots and lots of vacancies for GOP Precinct Committeeman in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills.

You can tell by the signs at the early demonstrations.  Most were aimed at President Obama and Obamacare.

True, elements were deeply involved in the victory of Joe Walsh over incumbent Melissa Bean.

But, for 2010, I can identify only three new McHenry County Republican Precinct Committeeman candidates who were at a demonstration:

• Diane Evertsen of Hartland 1, who also ran for the McHenry County Board and won
• Shawn Green of Coral 3, then-President of the Huntley Park Board, now running for the County Board
• Rita Heuel of Algonquin 13 in Crystal Lake’s Coventry subdivision

It’s now 2012.

Both Evertsen and Heuel are running for re-election as Precinct Committeeman, while Green is not.

But, there is a new crop.

Not large, but enthusiastic.

They cover all four corners of the county.

In the northwest corner is 19-year old [not 23, as originally posted] McHenry County College student Melissa Denker. She is running in Dunham Township, which is the southern part of Harvard and points south.

Lori Lee White

In the northeast section there are two candidates, also women:

• Mary B. Joestgen in Richmond 4
• Lori Lee White in Burton 3, active in the Antioch Tea Party. White provided most of the content of this weekend’s article,

Spring Grove Tea Party Members Rally for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

In southeastern Algonquin Township Heuel has been joined by Andrew Gasser in Algonquin 4, a Fox River Grove precinct south of the tracks.

Andrew Gasser

Gasser is a coalition coordinator within the tea party movement and also leads the TEA Party in Space.

During the debt ceiling debate, he worked in DC to spread the Tea Party message of fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets.  Gasser reaches out to state and local Tea Party leaders to ensure message clarity to maximize impact in Washington DC. He most recently worked the SOPA and PIPA issue informing leaders and members of the tea party who to contact in Washington, besides their local Congressman, which lead to SOPA and PIPA being dropped.  In McHenry County, he works closely with the Algonquin Tea Party and Crystal Lake Tea Party.

Although not running for GOP Precinct Committeeman, Nunda Township’s Mary Alger, head of the Crystal Lake Tea Party, is running for the McHenry County Board in District 3.

You can tell from Mary Alger's yard sign that she is a TEA Party Republican. Look especially st the upper left hand corner where Alger has turned the stylized GOP elephant into a tea pot.

Of course, there are others who identify with the Tea Party folks, but pre-date the movement.

If I missed anyone activated by the TEA Party movement, please tell us in the comment section.

Earlier this weekend, I ran an article about how McHenry County Democrats had been encouraged to go to Wisconsin to work on the Recall Scott Walker effort.

Looking at the crowd in Wauwatosa Saturday. The sign you attempts to frame the recall campaign. It crosses out "Union Privileges" and touts"Taxpayer Rights."

Saturday Lori Lee White and her husband went to a Wisconsin rally for the retention of Governor Scott Walker in office. They live in the border town of Spring Grove in the most northeastern township in McHenry County and have a business in Wisconsin.

A man wearing the cheese head hat that a Wisconsin company produced in reaction to Illinos residents' mocking reference to our neighbors to the north has a bumper sticker that says, "Stand with Walker."

When I learned where they had gone form a Friend of McHenry County Blog, I asked if she would convey some a message that I would appreciate some photos of the event.

A view of the crowd in Wawautosa.

White, who is running for Republican Precinct Committeeman in Burton Township’s 3rd precinct (the only one running in any of the three precincts), did better than send photos. She wrote why they traveled above the state line to support Governor Walker in Wauwatosa.

Another view of the crowd supporting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

An Associated Press said “hundreds rally.” Fox News in Green Bay, also citing the AP, reported “over thousand.”

Take a look at the photo in the Milwaukee Journal (whose cut line says “a couple thousand”) or the ones White took and judge for yourself.

Below is what White wrote:

Lori Lee White

The reason my husband and I attended the rally for Governor Walker, is that we are business owners in Wisconsin.

We see the positive changes Governor Walker has made in only one year of being Governor. In just one election, Wisconsin turned over a majority of elected seats to Republicans.

I am intrigued as to how a state can turn over and win majority, a majority the state hasn’t held in 50 years.

The positive changes Governor Walker has done in one year,

• balanced their state budget,
• Wisconsin property owners have a permanent property tax freeze,
• they have voter ID law,
• conceal carry (2nd amendment), and
• Governor Walker just passed the “Castle Doctrine”.

Not only did Wisconsin balance their budget, they turned a deficit into a surplus.

In just one year.

What is not to celebrate if you are from Wisconsin?

The unions and the Democrats are not happy that the balanced budget gave the union employees choices.

Freedoms as to whether or not they want to even be part of a union.

Freedoms and choices in their healthcare providers.

The sign you can read relates to teacher health insurance premiums and pension payments. "We don't think having to pay for 12% of your own health care and 5% of your own pension is too much to ask." On the left hand side, it says, "Scott Walker, The Taxpayers HERO! We pay for our own health care. Why should we have to pay for 100% of yours?"

The unions are fighting to keep their money flow from the taxpayers.

That is why they are recalling Governor Walker.

Governor Walker is standing up for the taxpayers and our grandchildren’s generation.

The canine did not boast a "Dogs for Walker" sign. This was about when the crowd peaked.

The rally was a thank you to Governor Walker for doing what is right and protecting the taxpayers.

That was the theme of the speeches that we heard, from

• Rebecca Kleefisch-(Lt.Governor),
• Tommy Thompson-(WI Senate Candidate & previous Gov.),
• Tonette Walker (Governor Walker’s wife),
• Jeff Fitzgerald(Wi Assembly Speaker),
• several young Republicans,
• a 16 yr old varsity football player, and
• a Marquette University young Repbublican leader.

So, many more were lined up to speak. To thank Governor Walker!!!!

Many of the speeches compared the unions and the Democrats to Illinois.

They compare themselves to what Illinois is like.

Wisconsin just got a credit upgrade, Illinois is downgraded. I

Illinois raised their taxes and still can’t balance a budget, Wisconsin balances their budget and turns a deficit into a surplus.

We, Illinois residents, are a laughing stock to Wisconsinites.

They are doing the right thing, they are supporting their Governor who works for them, gives the Wisconsin residents a voice.

We in Illinois do not have a voice.

Our representatives don’t work for us, they don’t listen to us.

They should have been at the rally to see how to get their job done.

It was an awesome, AWESOME, inspiring day!!!!!

Those who wish to assist Governor Walker could do so now, by volunteering for the recall signature verification project.

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Another Friend of McHenry County Blog took photos at last February’s rally and counter rally around the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.  That was the time period when the Wisconsin Demcoratic Party Senators were hiding in Harvard and Woodstock.

Into my inbox today arrived the results of the Rockford Tea Party online Presidential survey.

To its credit, the organization reveals the number of participants–281.

As you can see most were Republicans.  Two-thirds self-identified themselves as such.

Significantly, however, the Rockford Tea Party has attracted a large percentage of Independents.  Twenty-five percent said that was what they were.

“Other” was a high 8.2%.  Considering the concentration of Libertarians in Rockford and looking at the high support of Presidential candidate Ron Paul in the poll (he ran first), my guess is that most of these were supporters of the Libertarian Party.

Party affiliations of thoes participating in the Rockford Tea Party Presidential Poll

Ron Paul won more votes in the Rockford Tea Party poll than anyone else. He got almost 29% of the vote.

Second was Ron Santorum with 22%.

Newt Gingrich came in third with 18.5%.  I would note that the poll started while Gingrich was riding high…before he declared that he would be the Republican Presidential nominee.

Michele Bachmann had 13.9%.

Rick Perry got 7.8%, beating Mitt Romney’s 6.8%.

Only John Huntsman was lower than Romney with 1.8%.

The winner was Ron Paul. Rick Santorum ran second.

A photo the protestors at Crystal Lake Outback Steakhouse sent yesterday. "Fired for a bracelet. HONK -4- Free Speech."

Yesterday, this story was posted from information provided by McHenry County Blog readers.

Now a reader has forwarded a reply that she got from Crystal Lake Joint Venture Partner Bob Irons:

“Thank you for contacting the Outback Steakhouse website.

My name is Bob Irons and I am the Joint Venture Partner for Outback in the Chicago area which includes the Crystal Lake, IL location.

I am aware of the media story about a waitress who was allegedly terminated for wearing a tea party bracelet.

Please be assured that this story is not true. We have not terminated a waitress for wearing a tea party bracelet.

To learn more about Outback, please visit our website www.outback.com - Company Info / Operation Feeding Freedom / Thanks for Giving.

Thank you again for your feedback.

Sincerely,

Bob Irons

Joint Venture Partner

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After posting this, I found a video interview from the night of the protest. You can find it here on Breakdown of America.

This is the web site that posted the Crystal Lake Outback Steakhouse interview.

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The following came as a comment from Outback Steakhouse below this article. I thought it deserved to be put in the article:

Thank you for your interest in Outback Steakhouse.

The employee was not let go because of her Tea Party bracelet. On the night in question two separate tables complained about her lack of attention – one flagging down the manager to pay their bill as they could not find her and another going to the bar because they received the wrong drink and could not find her.

Outback Steakhouse in Crystal Lake, Illinois

When the manager spoke to the employee about this she responded by yelling at him with a hostile attitude. This is why she was fired.She was not fired because a customer complained about her bracelet. That would have simply been handled by asking her to take off the bracelet.

As to the Illinois Department of Employment Security letter stating she was fired for wearing the bracelet – this simply reflects what the employee told them. No hearing was held that we participated in, nor did we submit any information regarding her claim.

I would also point out this bracelet is not a Marine Corps bracelet nor is it a bracelet supporting our troops. The bracelet has only the motto “Don’t Tread on Me” followed by “November 6, 2012”. November 6, 2012 is the next Presidential election. The bracelet does not have any Marine Corps insignia. When the customer asked the employee about the bracelet, she said it was a Tea Party bracelet.

You can find information on what our company does to honor our military and support our veterans on our website http://www.outback.com – click Company Info then click Operation Feeding Freedom and Thanks for Giving.

Thank you.

Joe Kadow
Outback Steakhouse

A post on FaceBook from Tonya Franklin, the mother of a waitress fired by Crystal Lake Outback Steakhouse, led to a demonstration at the restaurant Sunday afternoon.

The demonstrators posed in front of Outback Steakhouse in Crystal Lake last night.

Most of the message follows:

Boycott Outback Steakhouse ~ Don’t Tread On Me!

Here's the message: "State of Illinois stated she was Wrongfully Terminated! MAN UP - Outback Steak House."

My daughter was fired from Outback Steakhouse after a customers (husband/wife) got very upset over her wearing this bracelet, the woman kept asking where she got it and what it meant and when my daughter said my mom got it at a TEA Party convention the woman flipped.

Flags were flying in the wind on Route 14 in front of Outback.

“Those were the wrong two words to say to me. The Tea Party is ruining this Country and you need to get yourself educated little girl”.After the woman was finished insulting her she said, “Box up my damn food, get me some more water and while your at it get me your damn manager”.

She sent the owner over and he was at the table for close to 10 mins or longer and then he said he had 2 complaints tonight and that he was letting her go.

He is insisting it isn’t over the bracelet, but she has been with the corporation for several years and a couple of transfers.

No one ever requested she not wear it.

I for one am boycotting Outback forever.

I also used to bartend for them back in the day.

BTW I just ordered 400 more of these bracelets and they say “Don’t Tread On Tea”.

Now a 3-4 yr work history, 2 Carraba’s locations and an Outback reference down the drain.

And a report about the demonstration:

"Fired for a bracelet. HONK 4 Free Speech," the sign says.

“The event at Outback Steakhouse was a huge success.

“There were about 60-75 people there at it’s peak; I’d say about 45-50 people were there the whole time, 4:30-6:30.

“We were in the Outback parking lot for awhile, and the other half of the people on Rte. 14, then the police came about 5:15 and politely asked us to stand out on the easement on Rte. 14.

“CONSTANT honking of horns throughout the evening!

“The Northwest Herald came and interviewed the fired employee, and took pictures.

“Meghan has a document from the State of Illinois that states that she was wrongly fired.”

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

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Posted Monday night:  Outback Steakhouse management sent an email to a protestor late Monday.  You can find it here.

You may have read that incumbent State Senator Suzi Schmitt, the one who seemed to throw around her weight when calling 911 about a domestic argument, decided not to run for re-election.

Now Tea Party leader Lennie Jarratt is announcing his intentions to seek the seat.

You can bet that Establishment Republicans, who are supporting former Republican State Central Committeeman Bob Neal’s son Joe, will not want him elected.

Here is the press release:

Linwood “Lennie” Jarratt Launches Campaign

(Round Lake, IL – November 7, 2011) Lennie Jarratt is officially announcing his candidacy for the 31st State Senate District.

Lennie Jarratt, whose State Senate campaign theme is running to support "families, not government."

I am running on the platform of supporting families, not government.

Too many families in the 31st State Senate District are losing their jobs and homes due to the bad policies coming from Springfield.

These bad policies now have Illinois ranked in the 48th worst financial position.

Springfield is broke and their only solution it to squeeze more money from families with higher income taxes, high gas taxes, and internet taxes that destroyed extra income for many home based businesses.

These policies slow the startup of many small businesses started by families and negatively affect the 1.1 million Illinois small businesses with 5 or less employees.

My track record of holding local officials accountable for their actions puts Springfield on notice that I am coming to change the culture and end the back room deals.

Together, we can restore fiscal sanity and once again have Springfield policies supporting families, not government.

Please visit http://LennieJarratt.com for more information.

A press release from Congressman Joe Walsh:

Congressman Joe Walsh Slams President Obama for Comparing Occupy Wall Street to the Tea Party

Joe Walsh

Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh released the following statement in response to President Obama’s comments yesterday comparing the Occupy Wall Street Protests to the Tea Party Movement:

“President Obama, you are dead wrong when you try to compare the Wall Street protests of the past few weeks with the now almost four-year-old tea party movement.

“The tea party movement is an organic, bottom up movement of millions of Americans who are upset with how big government is getting and how we’re bankrupting future generations.

“These Wall Street protests are top down, well funded, and coordinated efforts by very leftist individuals to protest and disrupt commerce and advocate for more and bigger government.

“I won’t speak for the Occupy Wall Street protestors – their goal seems to be to trash parks and sidewalks and add to local taxpayer’s bills.

“But, I will speak for tea party folks.

“When you say that these folks feel separated from their government, you are either purposely misrepresenting them or you really don’t understand American history.

“Tea party folks feel suffocated by their government.

“They want government off their backs.

“Your policy of over regulating, over taxing, and over spending is killing the private economy and saddling future generations with an unforgivable debt.

“President Obama, you don’t understand what makes this country great and your support for the Occupy Wall Street crowd only reinforces how out of touch you are.

“That crowd only wants to cause disruption.

“They aren’t serious about what’s best for this country and the vast majority of Americans will ignore their socialistic ideas.

“By coordinating your message with theirs, you once again are playing politics and not being straight with the American people.

“Thankfully, most voters now understand your aims.”

Illinois Democrats have succeeded in one of their goals–making sure at least one of the five freshman Congressman won’t return to Washington.

The following email to friends and supporters of 8th District Congressman Joe Walsh announces that he will be running the the 14th District, which is where both he and Randy Hultgren were placed after redistricting.

Up until this announcement, it had been unclear to this observer whether Walsh would run in the 8th or 14th District.  He attended the Schaumburg Labor Day Parade and held his Small Business Jobs Forum on the night President Barack Obama gave his “jobs” speech to a Joint Session of Congress in Schaumburg.  Both are in the new 8th District.

Friends and Supporters,

Joe Walsh at his Wauconda Town Hall Meeting during the summer recess.

I want to let you all know that I’ve made my decision as to where I’ll be running in 2012.

As you know, the Democrats controlled the entire redistricting process in Illinois and they’ve drawn a map which attempts to overturn the 2010 election. The Republicans have filed suit to challenge the Democrat drawn map and have presented the court with their own fair map. We should get an answer from the Court in November but I didn’t want to wait that long to let you all know what I’ll be doing.

No matter which map prevails, I’ve decided to run for re-election from the district in which I live and where I represent most of my current constituents. If the Democrat map stands, I will be running in what is the new 14th district which entails a good portion of Lake County, almost all of McHenry County, Kane County, Kendall County, and some of Will and DeKalb Counties. I live in McHenry and my current District office is in Northern Lake County. This area is home.

I understand that there is another Republican Congressman drawn into this new district, Randy Hultgren, and it would be unfortunate if we had to run against each other.

But the new 14th District, if it stands, doesn’t belong to any Incumbent or any politician.

The district belongs to the people of this district and they will have to decide who their next representative is.

Randy Hultgren

And if they have to decide between two Republican Incumbents, so be it – in many ways Randy and I are both good conservatives who share many of the same values but there are also healthy differences between the two of us, we’ve both had a very different initial tenure in Washington, and the voters in the new district will decide which one of us will best be their voice in DC.

I decided to run for Congress almost exactly two years ago because as I said at one of my first events,

“I felt like I was losing my country and I was angry at both political parties for putting us on a path which would bankrupt future generations and suffocate the freedoms we’ve always revered.”

I proudly said I was a child of the growing tea party movement, a movement of patriotic folks intent on stopping the growth of government and restoring our most basic freedoms.

ABC reporter asks, "Are you going to be a one-term wonder?"

I said during the campaign I was going to go to Washington and scream from the mountaintop about the frightening direction our country was heading and that’s what I’ve done, becoming one of the most outspoken voices in Congress.

Friends, we’re in a fight, a fight we can’t lose.

This President doesn’t understand what makes America great.

His policies are destroying what makes this the greatest and freest country in the history of this planet, and the only way we will defeat him and those who agree with him is to respectfully fight him with everything we’ve got.

Now is not the time to have career politicians in Washington who will just get along, compromise too much, and do what their party leadership tells them to do.

We need members of Congress right now who will fight for the folks back home, do what’s right, and not worry about the next election.

I went to Washington because I believe America is going through a revolution over her very soul and I wanted to do my part to help win this fight.

• It’s why I’ve been so vocal this first year,
• it’s why I’ve been a leader in the fight for the balanced budget amendment,
• it’s why I was one of 22 Republicans who voted against my own Speaker’s final debt ceiling compromise,
• it’s why I sleep in my office,
• why I’ve limited myself to no more than six years in Congress,
• it’s why I turned down my Congressional health and retirement benefits, and
• it’s why I did not attend President Obama’s joint session speech the other week and instead came home and listened to 100 small business owners, the real job creators in this country.

We are at a crucial point in our country’s history and our side — the side that believes in freedom and limited government — has to win.

I do hope we overturn the Democrat drawn map, but if we don’t, I will be running where I live and I invite you all to join me in continuing this fight.

I also look forward to meeting fellow “revolutionaries” in Kendall, Kane, Will, and DeKalb Counties.

I said during the Campaign that I am a tea party conservative first, and a Republican second.

You see, I believe the tea party movement is bigger than either party — it consists of every American frustrated, concerned, angry and scared with how big government is getting and the debt we’re placing on ourselves and future generations.

This “silent majority” has put their faith in the Republican Party one last time to get it right.

We took a good first step in getting it right this past year. Let’s make sure we Republicans continue to do what’s right. Go to www.walshforcongress.com and join us in this fight.

Thank you,

Congressman Joe Walsh

Tuesday’s editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times made it clear that the paper has no use for the message being forcefully delivered by Congressman Joe Walsh.

The headline was

“Joe Walsh has a loud voice, but nothing to say“

Walsh, as you may remember, used the word “liar” to describe President Barack Obama’s statement that failure to raise the debt ceiling would result in Social Security checks being sent out.

Since monthly Federal revenues are far in excess of the required interest payments on the national debt, Social Security, it would be the President’s choice whether payments to the old and disabled should be suspended or other less politically explosive expenditures.

Needless to say,  the liberal talking heads on TV were livid that Walsh had forced that fact into the national spotlight.
Now a suit filed by Walsh’s ex-wife for over $100,000 in child support and alimony has allowed the Sun-Times to hammer Walsh on its front page.

The basic charge is hypocrisy.

The small print on the front page reads,

“Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh, who sharply lectures President Barack Obama on fiscal responsibility, owes more than $100,000 to his ex-wife and three children, according to documents his ex-wife filed in their divorce case in December.”

The headline blares,

“TEA PARTY REP. SUED FOR $100,000 IN CHILD SUPPORT“

A press release from Defend the Vote:

EXPLOSIVE REPORT – 2011 Chicago Elections – 59% Ballot Boxes Unsealed

Will My Vote Count in 2012? Explosive report on the security of Chicago elections.

Chicago Illinois, July 22, 2011: “Vote early and vote often” is the infamous phrase attributed to Chicago elections going back to the days of William Hale Thompson, mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931.

“Will my vote count?”

That is the question teams of pollwatchers set out to answer during the first ever citizen-run security assessment of the Chicago Board of Election’s processes and procedures.

On April 5th, 2011 – Election Day for the municipal runoff elections – 239 precincts were evaluated according to the CBE’s security procedures.

215 of these (90%) failed in at least one of 11 security procedures, and most of them failed in more than one area.

Incredibly, 139 (59%) did not secure the ballot box to the ballot scanning device!

On Thursday, July 28th (5-7pm) at the Chicago Union League Club, we will release this explosive report!

The report outlines severe lapses in security around the seals that protect memory devices on election equipment.

Besides Election Day procedures, we will discuss how the Chicago Board employs non-citizens to run some early voting sites in Chicago.

In addition, the CBE is non-compliant in Federal I-9 regulations for identifying the legal status of workers operating polling places for early voting.

Hundreds of 1-9′s of these employees do not identify their legal right to work.

Why are these forms not filled out correctly? If the CBE cannot get the simple I-9 forms filled out, how effective are they in maintaining secure elections?

A graphic from a March 1980 Illinois Issues story about Operation LEAP. A link to it is included in the story. Copyright Illinois Issues. Reprinted with permission from Illinois Issues. Dennis Fraden's "Election judges LEAP to clean up Chicago vote fraud," photo published by The University of Illinois at Springfield, IL 62794-9243.

The results of this audit of Chicago elections has inspired Defend the Vote, along with various Tea Party groups, to work with voters across Illinois to launch the first citizen-driven security assessment of voting processes across the State’s 110 election districts.

We frequently do not get to ask “if” our vote was tampered with.

How can we assess vulnerabilities when there is no data collected by election officials?

Security procedures for elections remain largely unavailable to the public.

Defend the Vote and the groups joining us aim to change that before the 2012 November election.

On Primary Day in March 2012, thousands of voters across Illinois will conduct a statewide security audit of election processes and procedures at their polling place.

While a portion of the audit will look at Election Day procedures, the entire process of elections in Illinois will be assessed, including

• early voting,
• absentee voting,
• nursing home voting,
• warehouse storage, and
• inventory and shipping procedures.

Security measures around the machines and their memory devices will be reviewed and documented as part of a system-wide vulnerability assessment.

For too long, voters in Illinois have uttered the phrase we are infamous for “vote early and vote often.”

In 2012 voters across the state of Illinois will step up to hold their local election authorities accountable for holding honest and transparent elections.

Join us on July 28th to learn more!

Contact: Defend the Vote – Empowering Citizens to Protect Elections
847-382-1100 Sharon@defendthevote.com

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Back in at least the 1970′s and 1980′s there was an organization called Operation LEAP. The “LEAP” stood for “Legal Elections in All Precincts.” The late Tom Roeser was its president in 1980.

I can testify to ballot problems in 1974′s Regional Transportation Authority referendum. Paper ballots were used. The victory margin of its supporters was under 13,000.

State Rep. Don Totten (R-Schaumburg) and his organization color coded the election results of every Chicago precinct. I still remember one that went 100% for the RTA referendum. About 80 “Yes” votes, no “No” votes and about 60 spoiled ballots. The rest of the ward was voting about 60% in favor of RTA.

My guess is that someone put “identifying marks” on the 60 “No” votes and the Democratic Party judges declared them “spoiled ballots.”

Vote fraud is more sophisticated now and oversight is definitely needed.

It was funded by good government business types, who apparently lost interest after Richard Daley was elected Mayor.