McHenry County Blog

There are 27 people running for the McHenry County Board.

As of now, over half the candidates have filled out questionnaires aimed at identifying potential conflicts of interest–14 in all.

Might this be an indicator that those wanting to serve on the board have discovered voters don’t trust their public officials.

The latest two to submit the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water are

• Crystal Lake City Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller, running as a Republican in District 2
• Former McHenry County Board member and Vice Chairman John Jung, running in District 5

Ellen Brady Mueller

Brady Mueller becomes the second candidate to submit the form to the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water. The first was fellow challenger Donna Kurtz.

County Board Chairman Ken Koehler and fellow incumbent Lyn Orphal have thus far ignored the ethics questionnaire, which ALAW asked the county board to enact before the February 2nd primary election.  Challenger Sandra DePaul has, as well.

John Jung

In District 5, former county board member John Jung has now filled out and sent in the form. The only incumbent in the district, Tina Hill, did so earlier. Challenger Dave Frederick has not.

The Management Services Committee referred the ALAW-suggested language to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office. Here is the story about the State’s Attorney’s reply.

There will be a candidates’ night Friday at 7 at McHenry County College sponsored by Patriots United.  Candidates will start arriving about 6:30, if you want to talk to them ahead of the forum.

One of the roles McHenry County Blog plays is alerting daily newspapers of stories they otherwise might not think of.

This might be one of those articles.

The Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water came up with an idea to help remove the suspicion that many members of the public have that county board members use their office for personal gain.

If you tell me people you have talked to haven’t brought this up, I’d suggest you are not very deeply into local citizenship.

The questionnaire idea was presented at the committee level of the McHenry County Board, received a chilly reception, and sent to the State’s Attorney’s Office for reviews, that is, to see if any or all of it would be legal for a non-Home Rule unit of local government to impose upon its officials.

Then, District 3 challenger Craig Steagall decided to fill out the form and submit it to ALAW.

District 2 challenger Donna Kurtz followed suit.

As of now, seven challengers and three incumbents have submitted such information about their personal financial situation.

Ten in all.

Considering Steagall is in District 2 and has demonstrated deep enough pockets to buy full page ads in the Northwest Herald, perhaps it is not surprising that two of his opponents—former County Board member Nick Provenzano and incumbent Barb Wheeler– have decided to make voluntary disclosure.

In District 5, incumbent Tina Hill has filed. In District 6, Mary McCann is among three candidates who have made disclosure.

So, three incumbents running for re-election are willing to stand up for reform.

Barb Wheeler

Tina Hill

Mary McCann

And, they are all women.  Does that tend to re-enforce my analysis that voters think women are less likely to be crooks than men?

Only three, it should be noted. They deserve to have their photos here, don’t you think?

And no one not up for reelection has yet to file a form.

Below is ALAW’s press release:

CANDIDATES DISCLOSURES KEEP COMING

Ten candidates for County Board in the upcoming primary have now voluntarily sent ALAW statements pursuant to the ALAW conflicts disclosure ordinance. Disclosure have been received from

• Donna Kurtz (R), District 2;
• Craig Steagall (R), District 3;
• Nick Provenzano (R), District 3;
• Barb Wheeler (R), District 3;
• Jeff Thirtyacre (D), District 4;
• Tina Hill (R), District 5;
• Frank Wedig (Green Party), District 5;
• Diane Evertsen (R), District 6;
• Mary McCann (R), District 6;
• Richard Draper (R), District 6.

(Incumbents are shown in bold face type; party identification has been added.)

The disclosures and the ordinance are both posted on the ALAW web site here.

ALAW expects to receive more disclosures over the next few days and challenges all candidates file statements.

There is no deadline for filing statements, but it is hoped that all candidates will file prior to the February 2 primary election.

ALAW presented the draft ordinance to the County Board on December 1, 2009.

It is currently under review by the McHenry County States Attorney’s office. If passed, the ordinance will require up front disclosure of elected and appointed county official’s real estate holdings and business relationships with the county.

“Our intent is to dispel the perception that our county officials sometimes place personal interest over their duty to their constituents. That idea has been an undercurrent in our county for a long time, and has recently become more widely expressed by the general public,”

said ALAW Director Emily Berendt. “With “transparency in government’ being such a key issue statewide right now, and the primary election approaching, the timing was right to present this ordinance.”

ALAW President Patricia Kennedy said,

“This was certainly unexpected but is a wonderful affirmation of our belief that full disclosure is as welcome by these candidates as it is by the public.”

Alliance for Land Agriculture and Water
PO Box 1021, Woodstock
Contact: Patricia Kennedy
815-943-7223

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Come to think of it, this voluntary disclosure idea probably has as it precedent the voluntary release of income tax forms by Illinois Democratic Party politician Paul Simon.  I remember reading his Atlantic Monthly article in my Aunt Louise Stevens copy while visiting my grandparents in Maryland several years before moving to Illinois in 1958.  His article about the blatant crookedness in Springfield was my introduction to Illinois politics.

Donna Kurtz

Jeff Thirtyacre

Tina Hill

Didn’t know that the pro-abortion Personal PAC went as low as members of the McHenry County Board until District 2 candidate Ellen Brady Mueller told me she had gotten a questionnaire, but had not filled it out.

I asked her for a copy and she provided it at that day’s meeting of the Crystal Lake City Council on which she serves as one of the senior members.

The three people endorsed are

• Donna Kurtz (R), challenger running in District 2
• Jeff Thirtyacre (D), challenger running in District 4
• Tina Hill (R), incumbent running in District 5

So what kind of questions does one have to answer to get an endorsement?

Here are some of them:

• Will you SUPPORT legislation to repeal Illinois’ 1995 Parental Notice of Abortion law?
• Do you SUPPORT Personal PAC’s position that the Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Act of 1995 violates Illinois Constitutional rights to equal protection and privacy?
• Will you OPPOSE legislation that places bans on abortion procedures but does not include an exception to protect the woman’s health?
• Will you SUPPORT legislation restoring abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan?
• Will you SUPPORT legislation to restore state employee’s health insurance coverage for abortion?
• Will you OPPOSE legislation banning embryonic stem-cell research?
• Will you OPPOSE legislation that would require a woman to view an ultrasound before she could have an abortion?
• Will you SUPPORT legislation requiring medical supervisions when an ultrasound is performed on a pregnant woman?
• Will you SUPPORT legislation guaranteeing access to FDA-approved drugs, including ED and other birth control medications?
• Will you OPPOSE legislation mandating that a physician who performs an abortion be required to first show a patient materials about fetal development, at various stages during pregnancy, and other state mandated information designed to dissuade a woman from having an abortion?
• Will you SUPPORT the availability and accessibility of family planning services for everyone in Illinois regardless of age?
• Will you OPPOSE legislation which mandates parental consent or notification before a minor can receive contraceptive care?
• If elected do you plan to act in a manner CONSISTENT with your answers to the above questions?

Lots of the questions have long, one-sided preambles, which you can read here.

While most of the questions may not seem to have any relationship to what a McHenry County Board member might do, there are a couple that have “McHenry County” written all over them. The two in bold face type are they.

Remember the William Saturday scandal of the late 1990’s?

The McHenry County Health Department was dispensing three- month contraceptives to minors without their patent’s knowledge, let alone consent.

At issue was a Federal rule written by the bureaucrats that forced those accepting Title X money to provide birth control devices, information and drugs to everyone, regardless of age.

Saturday was apparently too cheap to buy condoms, so he took his junior high school age “girl friend,” whom he met at North Junior High School in Crystal Lake, to Woodstock on Saturday, when bus transportation was unavailable for shots of Depo- Provera. There’s a story about it here. It looks like the cover story from World Magazine.

In any event, when the affair came to light, there was a big, many month fuss in which county board members decided it was best for them to prohibit minors from obtaining birth control drugs and devices without parental permission.

Deciding that resulting in McHenry County’s not being able to accept Federal Title X money.

There may have been other instances in the country where Title X money has been rejected because its use requires no discrimination based on age, but I don’t know of them.

The furor in McHenry County even worked its way into Congress with 16th District Don Manzullo carrying the torch.

Pro-life endorsements in McHenry County can be found here.

Thursday, McHenry County Blog told of the conflict of interest and economic interest ordinance proposed by the reform group ALAW.

Short for the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water, the group ALAWproposed wide-ranging conflict of interest notification for McHenry County’s elected and appointed officials.

Think about knowing what real estate planning and zoning people have an interest in.

And, who owns land near what highway improvement.

Information like that might begin to explain otherwise really hard to understand county government decisions.

What was it that Deep Throat advised Woodward and Bernstein advised?

“Follow the money.”

I believe I told you last night that the Management Services Committee of the CB was meeting on Thursday morning and the ordinance is on that agenda for discussion.  I need to correct myself, the meeting is Tuesday morning, 8:30 am, and yes the ordinance is on the agenda.

Here are the committee members:

Ersel Schuster, Chairman
Pete Merkel, Vice Chairman
Yvonne M. Barnes
Paula Yensen
Kathleen Bergan Schmidt
Tina Hill
Lyn Orphal

The organization has called for passage before the primary election in the first week of February.

OK. I was wrong.

I predicted last night that the McHenry County Board would approved what proponents insist on calling video poker.

But, this morning social conservatives on the board pulled off a 13-10-1 victory.

That was with the help of all three Democrats on the county board. (Counting only Republicans, the vote would have been tied 10-10.)

Lake in the Hills member Paula Yensen has personal knowledge of how devastating gambling can be to a family.

Patriots United video slot machine debate panels, ban proponents on the right, opponents on the left.

Perhaps also influencing the vote was the leadership that Democratic Party State Rep. Jack Franks has taken on the issue. He attended a Patriots United debate on the subject after returning from one of this fall’s veto sessions.

All Republicans representing McHenry County in the Illinois General Assembly except State Senator Dan Duffy, that is, State Representatives Mike Tryon and Mark Beaubien, plus State Senator Pam Althoff, voted supported video slot machines.

Voting in favor of a ban of the video gambling machines in unincorporated areas were the following, who are grouped by county board district (those up for election this year are show in bold face type):

District 1

• Yvonne Barnes

District 2

• Jim Heisler

District 3

• Ed Dvorak (retiring)
• Kathy Bergan Schmidt
• Barbara Wheeler

District 4

• Sue Draffkorn
• John Hammerand
• Sandy Salgado

District 5

• Paula Yensen
• Jim Kennedy
• Virginia Peschke

District 6

• Mary McCann
• Ersel Schuster

Voting against the ban, thus in favor of expanding gambling were the following:

District 1

• Anna May Miller
• Bob Bless
• Marc Munaretto

District 2

• Scott Breeden
• Ken Koehler
• Lyn Orphal

District 3

• Mary Donner

District 4

• Pete Merkel

District 5

• Tina Hill

District 6

• Dan Ryan

Abstaining from the vote was District 6 Republican Randy Donley.

A month ago the board voted against holding an advisory referendum on the issue. The vote was 13-11-1.

The thirteen board members who voted against allowing their constituents to vote on the issue follow:

• Yvonne Barnes (R-Cary)

• Sue Draffkorn (R-Wonder Lake)

• Paula Yensen (D-Lake in the Hills)

• Ed Dvorak (R-Crystal Lake)

• Jim Heisler (R-Crystal Lake)

• Ken Koehler (R-Crystal Lake)

• Mary McCann (R-Woodstock)

• Pete Merkel (R-McHenry)

• Virginia Peschke (R-Bull Valley)

• Sandy Salgado (R-McHenry)

• Kathy Bergan Schmidt (D-Crystal Lake)

• Barb Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake)

Voting in favor of an advisory referendum were

• Bob Bless (R-Fox River Grove)

• Scott Breeden (R-Lakewood)

• Mary Donner (R-Crystal Lake)

• John Hammerand (R-Wonder Lake)

• Tina Hill (R-Woodstock)

• Jim Kennedy (D-Lake in the Hills)

• Anna May Miller (R-Cary)

• Marc Munaretto (R-Algonquin)

• Lyn Orphal (R-Crystal Lake)

• Dan Ryan (R-Huntley)

Members of the Operating Engineers Local 150 lobbied vigorously against the gambling ban, arguing for the jobs its proceeds would finance.

This is the fourth article on Tuesday’s gambling debate at the McHenry County Board. Click to find who voted how and for Part 1 and Part 2.

Having failed to alter the agenda to allow a Tuesday up or down county board vote on video gambling, Nunda Township’s gambling opponent Barb Wheeler next sought to table the referendum resolution.

This motion was seconded by Ersel Schuster.

As it sat on the agenda, the outright ban was to be considered for 30 days and voted upon the first Tuesday in December.

But that rule can be waived.

Tina Hill asked if the committee was “going to ask to waive the 30-day review (for the gambling ban resolution).”

License and Liquor Committee Chairman John Hammerand related the history of the committee discussion. It started with talk of a ban, then “we decided it would be nice to have the people involved in the decision.”

He said he wanted the county board to have the opportunity to be a leader in the communities, so that municipalities could put similar referendums on the ballot on Feb. 2nd.

“I certainly support the referendum,” he said.

“It’s not my goal to waive the rules,” Hammerand continued.

Cary’s Anna May Miller took the delegate approach:

“I would like to move forward to allowing people with the county weigh in.”

Woodstock’s Hill wondered why there was all the fuss. She listed the number of people in each county board district who would be eligible to vote, 47,923 in all, while there are 200,228 registered voters in McHenry County. That’s not quite 25% of the total living outside of municipalities.

• District 1 – 4,034
• District 2 – 2,340
• District 3 – 11,214
• District 4 – 12,448
• District 5 – 3,254
• District 6 – 14,633

Huntley’s Dan Ryan pointed toward the moral aspect of the issue. He said there was no question from the fiscal point of view:

“Yes, we want the money.”

Ryan voted for a referendum, assuming I would guess that people know what their moral stand on the issue is.

The cost of the referendum also came up. Just under $18,000.

Yvonne Barnes of Cary came down on the trustee side of representation:

“I’m opposed to postponing the vote (on the gambling ban).”

Hammerand re-entered the debate:

“All I’m asking is to have status quo until we have a referendum and let them speak.”

Hill attempted to clarify what would be voted upon. Hammerand seemed to say that a vote on both Tuesday would be acceptable.

Pete Merkel, up for re-election in an unopposed McHenry-Richmond-Burton Township primary, took the trustee approach. He told of two advisory referendums on hot issues which a park board and city council decided to put on the ballot in an attempt to reach consensus.

The votes were 54-46 and 49-51.

No consensus resulted, he noted, supporting the “no advisory referendum” side of the issue.

“That’s why we get paid to make the tough decisions,” Merkel added.

“I’ll bet we’re going to be back here at the end of February with a whole roomful again and we’ll be having the same discussion.

“I think it is a cop out.

“Do we want to do that (have a referendum) with the 2030 Plan, with the public safety building?”

Merkel then pointed out that it was a social issue and questioned whether a “low turnout” primary election would yield a valid reading of public opinion.

Hedging his bet a bit, Merkel concluded,

“I don’t want to say, ‘We don’t want to listen to the people.’”

His vote, nevertheless, was against holding the advisory referendum.

“I totally agree with Mr. Merkel’s position,” Seneca Township board member Ersel Schuster added.

She remembered an advisory referendum that received 80% approval, but was ignored. The subject was whether the county board should require a three-quarters vote to approve conditional use permits.

Bull Valley’s Virginia Peschke agreed.

“I think the referendums should be reserved for asking people if (they want higher taxes).

“This is just government cowardice.”

Sandra Salgado, who like Merkel has not primary opponent, also took the “we can make the decision without voter input.”

“I can’t tell you how aggravated I was when legislators stood up here and said, ‘(You’re) going to make the hard decision.’”

“Obviously, I’m ready to make the tough decision,” Wheeler added.

“You don’t want the people to say you don’t want to hear them. (Let’s) not put the burden on our voters. We are elected to make these tough decisions.”

Also speaking in opposition to a referendum was Yvonne Barnes of Cary.

“I believe as elected officials it is our responsibility to make these decisions.

“This issue affects people throughout the area (county). An advisory referendum does not include (those in incorporated areas) in making the decision.”

Merkel then referred to the provision in the legislation that allows 25% of the voters to petition for a binding referendum.

Hammerand pointed out how extraordinary high that 25% signature requirement is.

“If it is (for) the board to wash out this referendum, I have no objection.”

He then attempted to amend the resolution motion to require a county board vote after the February 2nd primary election.

Tina Hill seconded the motion, “even though we’re probably on different sides of the issue.”

The attempt failed on a voice vote.

Maybe it was the $20,000 salary, plus full and generous health coverage, but whatever the motivation, all the incumbents but District 4 incumbents Sandy Salgado and Pete Merkel, both from McHenry, drew challengers.

Twenty-three people are vying for twelve spots on the fall ballot.

Thirteen are women; ten men.

In District 1, incumbents Anna May Miller and Yvonne Barnes are being challenged by Cary’s Bob Nowak.

In District 2, incumbents Ken Koehler and Lyn Orphal will face not only MCC Board member Donna Kurtz, but Crystal Lake City Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller, but also Sandra DePaul.

Mueller likes to be last on the ballot, but she didn’t wait long enough this afternoon. DePaul gets the coveted spot, worth an extra 5% in a six-person race, probably less in this five-person race.

In District 3, newly energized entrepreneur Craig Steagall, who lives just north of Crystal Lake will take on incumbent Barb Wheeler, former county board member Nick Provenzano and newcomers Veronica Armstrong and Karen Tynis.

Steagall is known for his full-page ads in the Northwest Herald in opposition to Metra’s purchase of 17 acres next to the old 84 Lumber (new Alexander’s Lumber) on Country Club Road.

Those ads have attacked McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler. Less well known is that he put together the people who built Prairie Ridge High School’s soccer field.

In District 5, Dave Frederick filed his nominating papers. The veterinarian will be running against incumbent Tina Hill and former county board member John Jung. The announced candidacy of John Vrett did not materialize.

In District 6, incumbent Mary McCann filed her petitions Monday. She joins incumbent Dan Ryan and challengers Richard Draper of Wonder Lake, Dianne Evertsen of Hartland Township and Victor Naursis of Woodstock.

22-year Cook County Deputy Sheriff Michael Mahon is apparently running for McHenry County Sheriff on the Democratic ticket.

I say “apparently” because I haven’t seen his petitions, as did Woodstock Advocate’s Gus Philpott last Sunday, and I haven’t yet made contact with him.

Ironically, Philpott is an announced candidate for the Green Party candidacy for McHenry County Sheriff.  As such, he could drain votes from the Democratic Party’s choice.

Mahon must have politics in his blood.  I found he had been a candidate for Lake in the Hills trustee two times–2003 and 2005.

Both times he finished fourth.

He received 1,273 votes in 2003.  Running ahead of him were Ray Bogdanowski, James Kennedy and Joe Murawski, in that order.  Murawski beat Mahon by 58 votes.

In 2005, Mahon got 932 votes, losing to Paula Yensen, Elizabeth Wakeman and Steven Harlfinger.  Third place finisher Harlfinger bested Mahon by 278 votes.

Having more than twenty years in his pension system, Deputy Sheriff Mahon is eligible for retirement.

Confirmation has been received that Woodstock’s Frank Wedig will again run for the McHenry County Board in District 5.

That district covers Dorr Township, which covers most of Woodstock and Bull Valley, plus the eastern part of Grafton Township, including parts of Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood and Crystal Lake.

Wedig ran two years ago. You can find out how well he did here.He then ran for Dorr Township Trustee.

Wedig was competitive, running 158 votes behind the lowest Republican, Joseph Evanoff.

Wedig received 84% of the votes of the lowest Republican vote getter. (That is the margin prior to adding in absentee and early voting results, which were not tremendous in this election.)

Most recently,. the Green Party came out against the Woodstock baseball stadium’s being allocated $15 million in Federal Stimulus Recovery Zone Bonds.

There are four Republicans who have taken out primary petitions in District 5:

• Tina Hill (incumbent)
• John Jung (who lost to Democrat Paula Yensen last year)
• Dave Frederick
• John Vrett

The winners will face Democrat Jim Kennedy and Wedig.

Not only may the most rural McHenry County Board district, District 6, have a four-way Republican primary, but District 5 (the one covering most of Woodstock, Huntley and a lot of Lake in the Hills and some of the southwestern part of Crystal Lake) may also.
This is the district in which all four Republicans holding office during most of the first decade of this century had Woodstock zip codes and lived in Dorr Township, while the population center of the district was south in Grafton Township.

With all the new residents in western Lake in the Hills and Huntley, Democrats saw an opening four years ago, running Lake in the Hills Trustee Jim Kennedy.

In a slash and burn campaign, combined with lots of shoe leather, I learned later, incumbent Perry Moy was defeated.

Two years later Lake in the Hills Trustee Paula Yensen ran an extensive door-to-door campaign and unseated Republican incumbent John Jung.

Now, Kennedy is up for re-election, looking apprehensively at the upcoming reapportionment by his GOP county board colleagues.

District 5 Democratic Precinct committee met after the August Democratic Party Central Committee meeting.

With the Barack Obama phenomenon wearing off and groups like Patriots United, while not a participant in partisan politics, drawing over 500 people to a hot button meeting on the Democrats health care reform program, you can imagine that District 5 Democrats are wondering if they can re-elect Kennedy.

Republicans apparently don’t understand that Kennedy’s seat is a “Democratic” one.

Besides incumbent Tina Hill, three others have picked up nominating petitions at the county clerk’s office.

You know about John Jung.  He lost to Yensen, but is running again.

Two others are apparently gathering signatures:

• John Vrett
• Dave Frederick

I hope each will send me a bio, but let me tell you what I know about them.

Vrett served on the Woodstock Unit School District 200 school board. Although he taught in the Marengo Grade School District and Carpentersville’s District 300, his school board service reflected a “protect the taxpayer” point of view. He is an avid hunter and lives on Bull Valley Road just east of Woodstock. Vrett is now retired.

Frederick has served on the McHenry County Regional Board of School Trustees.  He has also run for the District 200 Board. He lives on Mt. Tabor Road about halfway between Route 176 and Lucas Road. He is a veterinarian, specializing in horses.

Both can accurately be described as conservatives.

It should be noted that all of the Republican candidates live in the Woodstock zip code, although Frederick’s children have attended St. Thomas School in Crystal Lake and he lives right on the edge of the Crystal Lake-Woodstock zip code.

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Facing the camera in the photo of District 5 Democratic Party activists at their party’s last Central Committee meeting are McHenry County Board members Jim Kennedy and Paula Yensen.