McHenry County Blog

A couple of weeks ago on January 24th, I asked for the last two year’s legal expenses for the 708 Mental Health Board.

I asked that this information be provided by email, specifically writing, “Thanks for fulfilling this request via email.”

On January 30th, I was told that the Board had invoked an allowed additional five business days to get the information together.

I picked up a stack of legal fee documents on February 7th. I was told that the information was not available in an electronic format.

On February 8th, I asked for an emailed copy of the cover letter, which listed all of the legal expenses by date and vendor.

It arrived February 13th, but in a format which I could not copy and paste for you to read.

I have just sent the following email to the 708 Board:

“Given your board president’s statement that you are a transparent agency, let me re-phrase my request for an emailed copy of the transmittal letter accompanying your reply to my FOIA request for legal fees.

“I am looking for a version with a format that I can copy and paste into McHenry County Blog. From previous responses from other governments, I know that PDF can be made so that it can be copied or protected. You have not sent the version that allows it to be copied on a line by line basis.

“So, I request that the PDF copy you sent me be re-sent in an unlocked version or, my preference, that you send me the version that probably was typed into a Word document in the first place.

“Again, if you feel the need to consider this an FOIA request, please do so.”

The letter was 17 pages long and will probably bore most readers, but its contents will show you how much of your tax dollars are spent on legal fees by the Mental Health Board.

Today Kevin Craver has written a long article about Donna Kurtz’ Public Health Committee’s reappointment interview of 708 Board President Lee Ellis. It is well worth reading.

I found particularly interesting the uncertainty of the administrative expenses of the 708 Board–”from 8.7 percent of the budget in 2008 to 19 percent in 2012.”

Also of interest in the fact that money borrowed at interest rates subsidize by the Federal government’s stimulus program have to be paid back with local tax dollars as a result of “almost quadrupled[ly] the size of its Crystal Lake headquarters through $3 million in federal economic stimulus bonds it now is paying back.”

A press release from Allan Skillicorn concerning his strategy to get accounts payable posted on the East Dundee web site prior to village board vote:

“In an effort to promote greater transparency and accountability, municipalities need to post all accounts payable, vendor payments, and employee salaries on their websites.

“The greatest portions of our property taxes go to local municipalities and school districts.

“Abuse is much more likely if taxpayers cannot see bids, vendor payments, and employee salaries.

“As an elected Trustee in East Dundee, I demand greater transparency for the people I serve.

“You cannot improve, what you cannot measure.

“Starting in January 2013 I pledge to vote against expenditures which are not published on the village website.

“I encourage other taxpayers and elected officials to take a similar stand.

“The public deserves better accountability at all levels of government.”

In planning to attend the McHenry County Mental Health Board meeting Monday, I went to the County web site to check out the time.

The Mental Health Board is a separate tax district and I’m glad that they are trying to get their meeting posted where people might tend to look for meetings for an entity called the McHenry County Mental Health Board.

(The County Board appoints its members and gets to vote up or down on its budget.  Otherwise, the Board is virtually independent, much like the Conservation District Board.)

There is no requirement for posting meetings on the County website, but those looking for Monday’s events, including myself, might be excused for being irritated at not being able to find Monday’s Ethics and Compliance Committee meeting anywhere on the internet.

I also went to the 708 Board’s calendar.  Nothing was listed there about the Ethics and Compliance Committee meeting either, as you can see below:

After discussion with the 708 Board’s attorney Frank Gosser, I conclude that the 5 o’clock meeting was not an “illegal meeting,” as I charged during the Public Comment period of the 6 PM Board meeting, but the notice given certainly would not win any awards for transparency. I apologize for assuming lack of posting on the internet would make the Committee’s meeting a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

In any event, I figured the meeting would be at 7 and saw on both web sites that it was at 6.

Then I got a tip that there was a 5 o’clock meeting, which you will notice is not on either of the above calendars.

I understand that the Mental Health Board staff is trying to make sure such meetings are posted.  I hope they succeed soon.

The Ethics and Compliance Committee meeting was an interesting one, the most important part of which concerned new due process rules.

The goal of the new Audit and Appeal Policy, which was adopted at the 6 PM Board meeting, is to protect both the rights of the Board and the agencies who received primarily real estate tax financial support from it.

Details in a forthcoming article.

But let me get back to transparency.

It seems to me that a local government like the Mental Health Board should provide information about upcoming meetings, including agendas.  That did not happen with the Committee meeting’s agenda.

I checked out the agenda for the Board meeting at 6 and found the following under “New Business:”

Perhaps you can figure out what the last two items refer to, but I couldn’t:

D. 201208-77 Executive Director Contract – FOR ACTION
E. 201208-78 Independent Contractor Agreement – FOR ACTION

I figured the Board was about to hire a new Executive Director to replace Sandy Lewis in the first item above.

The second one? I had no idea.

It turns out that the Executive Director item was the resignation of Sandy Lewis.

This is the way McHenry County College handles a resignation on its August 23rd agenda:

“Accept Resignation of Larry West and Approve Separation Agreement, Board Report #12-199″

Quite clear, wouldn’t you say?

And the independent contractor agreement?

What was that all about?

It contains the number “201208-78″ and there was a document that attorney Gosser was filling out after the meeting, but the Mental Health Board seems to have made the deliberate decision not to share this with people who might be home on the internet.

Earlier in the evening Deputy Director Robert Lesser was feted with a cake and recognized for his service to the agency, even presented with a mock-up of a plaque to be produced later.

He was obviously moved by the presentation.

It turned out the independent contractor mentioned in the agenda is him.

It seems with three of the top four staffers leaving more or less simultaneously, Lesser is the only one available to do the end-of-year paperwork.

I listened to the Board’s discussion, but never did I hear the terms of the unposted contract.

So, after adjournment, I asked attorney Gosser and was told Lesser would be paid $100 an hour with a maximum of 499 hours. A typical work year has about 2000 hours. (Lesser earned $97,645.86 a year in the latest salary rack-up.)

A press release from State Senate candidate Karen McConnaughay:

Leading transparency advocacy group again lauds McConnaughay’s efforts to reform government

Kane County winner of “Sunny Award” for making abundant information available online—one of only 19 Illinois governments to be recognized

Geneva, IL—National government transparency advocacy organization, the Sunshine Review, has again awarded Kane County its highest honor in the pursuit of open government.

The “Sunny Awards” are granted to those local governments “who are doing it right and setting a transparency standard that all governments can, and should, meet,” according to Michael Barnhart, President of Sunshine Review.

The Sunshine Review evaluated over 6,000 government web sites and gave awards to just over 200 entities that are the most transparent with government budgets, expenditures, contracts, personnel records and other vital information that helps the public monitor the performance of their elected officials. (http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/2012_Sunny_Awards)

Kane County’s second Sunny Award is the result of efforts by County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay to make government more accountable, cost effective and transparent.

“When I took office we had no formal procurement office and public disclosure of government contracting was almost non-existent,” said McConnaughay.

“Today the public can see virtually every step in the process—contractor bids, reviews, expenditures and payments, as well as vast amounts of other information. This award is another validation of the great strides we have made towards reform and open government.”

McConnaughay is hoping to promote this same transparency as a member of the State Senate.

“When I get to Springfield, I will work hard to ensure that state agencies are making full use of the technology available to open up government. I won’t put up with excuses for why the public can’t access this information,” she said.

“We were able to make these strides in Kane County during tough budget times while we were cutting spending and headcount, so I know it can be done if the commitment to transparency truly exists,” added McConnaughay.

McConnaughay is seeking the Republican nomination for the State Senate from the 33rd District which includes northeast Kane and southeast McHenry Counties.

= = = = =

McConnaughay is running against Cliff Surges.

A couple of weeks ago I praised the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department for enabling people like me to copy press releases from that page on the Sheriff’s Department web site for the first time.

I wish the Sheriff’s Department would put McHenry County Blog on its press release list, as the Crystal Lake Police Department has, but that’s in the Sheriff’s Department’s discretion and, while a potential lost to readers here, no big deal, except for what it says about the Department’s willingness to share public information.

Most readers of McHenry County Blog come to its front page to read the most recent articles.

A number of readers, however, are looking for something that happened in the past, however.

I have found it is not unusual to have two percent of the hits on an article entitled,

“Finding Someone in County Jail“

My guess is that people are trying to find out if a friend or relative is in the McHenry County Jail.

Alas, the article, written a year and a half ago, has no link to a resource that would provide that information.

It does show such links for virtually all big counties in Illinois. Take a look at what I found in May of 2010:

I speculated that new Undersheriff Andy Zinke had taken the step to make it possible to copy press releases.

Now I wonder if he might see if he could get some software from another big Illinois county so people trying to find folks in jail might do so without a phone call.

Giving the public more information was the idea behind the heavy black bordered ads placed by tax districts who are increasing their levies by more than 5%.

This decade, “transparency” is the word.

The ads were a campaign gimmick by newly-elected Governor James R. Thompson in 1977.

He had his troops pass advisory referendum petitions to ask the public if they would like warnings like this. It was called the Thompson Proposition.

It was nothing but a campaign ploy to make people think Thompson was more on the taxpayers’ side than the Democrat.

Petitions were being passed the same time Lake in the Hills folks were seeking state help to rebuild their dam, which was in danger of collapsing.

I remember night after night my father and I went to the LITH Property Owners’ Association club house to meet with concerned citizens.

We had Congressman Robert McClory speak one night. After all, it had been the Feds who had blown the whistle, so to speak, on the danger presented by the land developer’s old dam.

Governor Thompson wanted petition signatures, so I told the residents that one way to try to catch his attention was to fill petitions. We discovered a lot of people were not registered, so we registered them to vote.

Now, State Rep. Mike Tryon seems to have come up with the same idea that Thompson had.

In his Veto Session Report last week, he includes the following:

“I have plans to file a bill which will require taxing bodies to publish in the newspaper the percentage increase of their tax rate as budgets are being finalized.

“I believe this new level of transparency would allow stakeholders to have additional information and an increased opportunity to be involved as taxing bodies’ budgets and levies and finalized.”

Take a look at the ad that I saw last week in the Chicago Sun-Times.

It warns that Veterans Park District in Melrose Park will increase its levy for corporate and special purposes by 7% over last year, but the levy for debt service will decrease 5%.

When one compares the amount of taxes billed last year–$4,480,714–the levy is a 5% increase over the year before.

Of course, because the Real Estate Tax Cap limits all non-Home Rule districts’ tax takes to an increase of 1.5% more than they got last year, pretty much all this ad did is to put money in the pockets of the Chicago Sun-times.

I had stopped looking at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department’s press release page.

That’s because I always read them in the Northwest and Daily Heralds before they were posted for public consumption.

And, the press releases could not be copied and pasted.

Not much evidence there of an interest in transparency.

The Sheriff’s Department refuses to put me on its media list, so, I figure why bother to publish outdated information, especially if I was going to have to re-type the release.  Not worth the time.

Recently, however, I notice that the releases now can be copied.

Not as transparent as being on the Sheriff’s press release email list, but an improvement.

Maybe new Undersheriff Andy Zinke is making some positive changes.

So, now that I can copy and paste, I’ll do so for the last two releases. Those are the ones on the handcuffed escape of a man who may have just been seeking shelter from the rain in a barn near the eastern end of Hillside Road, northeast of Crystal Lake.

Here’s what the Sheriff’s Department had to say in its first press release on the subject, issued the day after the escaped prisoner was lurking around Crystal Lake, resulting in a call from the Grade School about children being kept inside all day:

Prisoner Escapes from Back of Squad

October 20, 2011

Sheriff Keith Nygren announced that at approximately 5:54 P.M. on October 19, 2011, Sheriff’s deputies from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded to a trespassing complaint in the 4000 block of Terra Cotta Road, Crystal Lake, Illinois.

The property owner contacted the Sheriff’s Office with a complaint that person(s) may be illegally occupying their barn. An investigation revealed that James R. Henson was inside the barn without legal justification. Henson was arrested for criminal trespass to real property, burglary, possession of burglary tools, and criminal damage to property.

At approximately 7:39 P.M. Henson escaped from a Sheriff’s Office squad by kicking out the rear passenger window. This occurred in the area of Hillside Road and Walkup Road, Crystal Lake. A thorough search was performed in the immediate area, but Henson was not located.

On October 20, 2011 at approximately 8:30 A.M. Henson was taken into custody by members of the Crystal Lake Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

Henson was arrested near the area of the McHenry County Conservation District Prairie Trail bike path.

The Sheriff’s Office also received assistance from the McHenry County Conservation District.

Additional details into this investigation will be forthcoming.

Keith Nygren, Sheriff

ARRESTED:
James R. Henson (M/W 44 yoa)
5010 W. Bromley Drive
McHenry, IL 60050
CHARGES: (from October 19, 2011)
Burglary Class 2 Felony
Possession of Burglary Tools Class 4 Felony
Criminal Damage to Property Class 4 Felony
Criminal Damage to Government Supported Property Class 3 Felony
Escape Class 2 Felony

The Sheriff’s Office advises the media that the charges against the individual(s) are merely allegations against them. All defendants are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

Here’s the second press release:

Additional Information: Prisoner Captured after Escape from Back of Squad

October 20, 2011

Sheriff Keith Nygren announced that on October 20, 2011 at approximately 8:30 A.M.

James R. Henson was taken into custody after escaping from the back of a Sheriff’s Office squad after he kicked out the rear window.

Henson was arrested for criminal trespass to real property, burglary, possession of burglary tools, and criminal damage to property after an investigation revealed that he had been in a barn in the 4000 block of Terra Cotta Road without legal justification.

Henson escaped in the area of Hillside Road and Walkup Road in Crystal Lake and was apprehended in a wooded area north of Knaack Boulevard near the McHenry County Conservation Prairie Trail.

A search for Henson continued through the night using additional resources including a K9 unit and ATV’s from McHenry County Conservation District.

No injuries occurred throughout the incident. Henson, who is known as a career criminal, was apprehended and taken into custody without further incident.

After Henson escaped, residents in the immediate area of Hillside Road and Walkup Road in Crystal Lake were notified to be on the lookout through a phone message to their residential phones.

The Sheriff’s Office does not have any further charges for Henson forthcoming.

The Crystal Lake Police Department is investigating an incident where Henson is a suspect.

Sheriff Nygren attributes the success of Henson’s arrest to the joint effort between police agencies and the community. Sheriff Nygren appreciates the community’s efforts and for continuing to update police with suspicious activity updates.

Henson is currently in the custody of the McHenry County Correctional Facility.

As a result of this incident, the Sheriff’s Office plans to evaluate squad car security and procedures.

Keith Nygren, Sheriff

ARRESTED:
James R. Henson (M/W 44 yoa)
5010 W. Bromley Drive
McHenry, IL 600
CHARGES: (McHenry County Sheriff’s Office)
Burglary Class 2 Felony
Possession of Burglary Tools Class 4 Felony
Criminal Damage to Property Class 4 Felony
Criminal Damage to Government Supported Property Class 3 Felony
Escape Class 2 Felony

The Sheriff’s Office advises the media that the charges against the individual(s) are merely allegations against them. All defendants are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

I was exciting to read Lawerence Synett’s article about the live streaming of volleyball by McHenry County College.

If that was possible, then there must be enough band width to broadcast Board of Trustee meetings.

Lack of band width was the excuse the Board used when asked last time.

Considering what the Board wanted to hike–let’s remember

• the baseball stadium that we taxpayers would be left to pay for after the minor league team went under and
• the broadcast tower that would blight Crystal Lake’s skyline–

one can see why the board members then would have preferred to limit it audience to the few outsiders who showed up in person.

I wondered if current Board meetings are being made available to people at home, so I called the President’s Office.

It was 4:30 this afternoon and guess who answered?

You’re right.

The President herself.

She told me that the Board meetings were not being live streamed. I told her that the band width reason seemed not to still be relevant and asked her why volleyball games and not Board meetings.

Her answer:

“It has not come up.”

Well, now it has.

It would be a step toward needed transparency.

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There’s a meeting tonight starting with a budget hearing at 6:30 and the regular monthly Board meeting immediately thereafter.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, when District 300 did not reveal the details of its teachers’ contract prior to its early June public vote.

The 2008 Huntley School Board allowed taxpayers to read the document before it was approved.

I figured the teachers’ contract approved at an official open meeting of the District 300 Board of Education would be posted immediately after the meeting. It wasn’t.

Details were released, but not the document that was voted upon.

Just a summary.

I had been told that District 300′s teacher contract would be made available by July 15th.

When that date came and went, I emailed asking where the contract was.

Communications Director Allison Strupeck replied yesterday,

“We had anticipated the document would be completed by mid-July.

“There are numerous parties involved in finalizing all of the wording and details.

“We have a legal obligation to ensure that all parties have been able to thoroughly vet the document before it is finalized and published.

“A very conservative estimate of the remaining steps in this process would be another couple of months.”

Undoubtedly those who are teachers in this school board budget meeting audience from 2006 know what is being changed in the contract after agreement was reportedly reached.

Taxpayers do not.

The biggest item in every local government’s budget is employee salaries.

And the teachers’ contract is the biggest part of that budget segment.

District 300′s Board approved the contract with the IEA local called LEAD (what does that stand for?) Wednesday night.

But the public was NOT allowed to see its language prior to approval by either the teachers’ union or the Board.

In 2008, Huntley School District 158 idisclosed a new contract BEFORE it was voted on.

District 300 kept this big secret from taxpayers until it is a too late to say anything about it.  Strangely, the two Heralds don’t object to this important lack of transparency.  And, as you will read in the last paragraph of the press release, District 300 was not prepared to post the contract immediately after it was approved.

A press release reveals some details. Here it is:

Tonight (Wednesday, June 1, 2011) at a special public meeting of the District 300 Board of Education, the contract with the Local Education Association District (LEAD) 300 teachers’ union was approved by the Board.  The contract was ratified by the  teachers yesterday (Tuesday).

The contract is for a 1-year period (July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012) and contains the following:

• A salary freeze for the year
• Changes to the insurance plan
• Changes in overload, lunch duty and bus duty pay
• Calendar changes to better facilitate academic needs
• Creation of a Collaborative Council to address ongoing district educational initiatives and programs

In addition to the above, the board approved the recall of the 363 teachers who were released on March 24, 2011.

In addition to approving the LEAD contract and the recalling of staff, the Board also approved a salary freeze for all administrators.

As is customary with all employee contracts, the district will publish the new contracts on the D300 website in the near future, on the Human Resources page: http://www.d300.org/staff/human-resources.