McHenry County Blog

Jack Franks is running away from his Democratic Party label.

Assuming that he hasn’t paid back his biggest contributors, as he began to do
with $400,000 being returned to himself and his father in late June, Democrat State Rep. Jack Franks has about three-quarters of a million dollars in his campaign kitty.

Most of that came from big contributions, the smallest of which was $50,000, put in Franks’ campaign fund in June of 2009 to make him look like a viable candidate for Governor.

Since July 1st, Franks has raised about $81,000.

Lots came from trial lawyers.  The minimum expected  seems to have been $250.  Some who didn’t give that much at first ponied up the rest later.

How much he spends will be determined by how much he feels threatened by John O’Neill, the first Republican with guts enough to run against him in six years.

O’Neill raised less than  half as much as Franks.

From his first mailing, one can see that Franks in the worst way does not want voters to remember that he is a Democrat who has voted to make Mike Madigan House Speaker six times.

And, as we published earlier, Franks has even taken an expensive (donated) poll, the first time I have  noticed such an expenditure for state representative.  Undoubtedly it told him that being a Democrat this year is not a good selling point.

His reportable contributions from July 1, 2010, through October 3^rd (over $150 follow), plus those $500 or more since then.

You see them in alphabetical order below from those who are not Political Action Committees. The ones in bold face type have a McHenry County address.

• $500 – A OK Inc, Harvard
• $250 – Alexander, Valerie & Michael, Chicago
• $500 – Alliance Contractors Inc, Woodstock
• $1,000 – Attorneys Title Guaranty Fund Inc., Chicago
• $190 – Ayers, Margaret, Spring Grove
• $1,000 – Baizer, Robert S, Attorney, Baizer Kolar & Lewis PC, Highland Park
• $250 – Bauer, Michael, Chicago
• $1,000 – BNSF Railway Company, Fort Worth, TX
• $200 – Bowman& Corday LTD, Chicago
• $250 – Boykin, Richard, Chicago
• $200 – Carey Jack Attorney, Belleville
• $200 – Castaneda, PC, John J., Chicago
• $250 – Castle, John and Nancy 465 Merry Oaks Drive, Sycamore
• $250 – Christopher B. Burke Engineering LTD., Rosemont
• $1,000 – Cooney And Conway, Chicago
• $250 – Davi and Associates PC, Western Springs
• $250 – DeFranco, Leonard S, Oak Brook
• $250 – Deitch, I. Walter & Nina, Deerfield
• $250 – Diageo North America Inc, Norwalk, CT
• $1,000 – Dorris Law Firm PC, Bloomington
• $300 – Dujmovich, DVM, Thomas M & Linda J, Marengo
• $2,500 – Eychaner, Fred, Consultant, Chicag
• $160 – Falcioni, Robert. Monee
• $250 – Felice, Richard, Wheaton
• $1,000 – Fernando, Rajiv, Consultant, Chicago
• $1,000 – Foszcz, Russell & Sara, Instructor, McHenry County College, Richmond
• $250 – Gall, Eugene W, Woodstock
• $500 – Genentech. San Francisco, CA
• $500 – Gillman, Seth & Michael, Lincolnwood
• $160 – Gitlin, H Joseph, Woodstock
• $500 – Gold, Laurence, Barrington
• $2,500 – H S Crocker Co Inc, Huntley
• $500 – Law Office of Robert Hanaford, Chicago
• $500 – Hannigan Richard D. Ltd., Mundelein
• $500 – Harrahs Operating Company Inc, Las Vegas, NV
• $250 – The Healy Law Firm, Chicago
• $1,000 – Hebeisen, Keith A & Jodi B, Clifford Law Offices, Northbrook
• $250 – Hennessy & Roach PC, Chicago
• $400 – Henning, Ralph J & Susan M, Belvidere
• $250 – Hoppe, Tom & Dinah, Woodstock
• $200 – Intren Inc., Union
• $250 – Johnson, Gregory & Marian, McHenry
• $250 – Johnson, Iver R, McHenry
• $200 – Karchmar & Stone, Chicago
• $250 – Karlin & Fleisher, Chicago
• $500 – Kinney, Orrin & Karen, Harvard
• $500 – Law office of James A. Knepper PC, Chicago
• $500 – Konicek & Dillon, Geneva
• $250 – Lambruschi, Philip & Helene, Lakewood
• $250 – Leinenweber Baroni Daffada LLC, Chicago
• $250 – Lichte, Theresa A, McHenry
• $250 – Michling Hoffman Vinton Plaza & Wick, Woodstock
• $500 – Moltmann, Mary L., Bull Valley
• $500 – Morici Figlioli & Associates, Chicago
• $500 – Motorola, Schaumburg
• $500 – Muenster, Thomas, Sioux Falls, SD
• $500 – Nager, Jean & Benjamin, Crystal Lake
• $500 – Oasis Legal Finance Co LLC, Northbrook
• $250 – OBrien Farms Inc, River Forest
• $2,000 – Pickering & Associates LLC. Elgin
• $1,000 – Power Rogers & Smith PC, Chicago
• $550 – Preferred Capital Lending Inc , Chicago
• $500 – QC Holdings Inc., Overland Park, KS
• $250 – Reyes, Leo A & Sharon A, Woodstock
• $200 – Riley, Edward M & Marilyn L, Woodstock
• $200 – Ronan Alfred G Ltd, Oak Park
• $2,500 – Rubin, Arnold G, attorney, Chicago
• $750 – Sanctuary Farms,Woodstock
• $250 – Schmelzer, Karl Brad, Woodstock
• $1,500 – Schostok, Michael P., Attorney, Salvi Schostok & Pritchard PC, Libertyville
• $1,000 – Scot Forge, Spring Grove
• $200 – Scott, Bruce A & Sharon L, Crystal Lake
• $250 – Sexton John Sand & Gravel Corp, Hillside
• $200 – Shapiro, James A., Chicago
• $750 – Shefsky & Froelich Ltd, Chicago
• $250 – Skinners’ Amusements Inc, Crystal Lake
• $500 – Sorling Northrup Hanna Cullen & Cochran LTD, Springfield
• $250 – The Roosevelt Group, Chicago
• $250 – Thelen Sand & Gravel Inc, Antioch
• $250 – Tzitzon, Nicholas, Glenview
• $500 – Wiedner & Mcauliffe, Chicago,
• $200 – Woodward, Carl, Bloomington
• $1,000 – Worker’s Comp Chicago LLC. Chicago

Political action committees tomorrow.

Yesterday in an article entitled

Kirk Dillard Woos McHenry County Women

McHenry County Blog started a three-part series on what happened when the GOP candidate came to Crystal Lake.

Stephanie Dillard talks with Irene Napier and Joyce Story after the breakfast at 1776.

Besides covering pensions and a new tax credit for contributions to charitable organizations, Dillard also spoke favorably about subsidizing private schools, noting that their being open saved taxpayers lots of money.

He said he wanted to increase it (the tax credit) to “make it meaningful.”

There were lots of claps in the roomful of women.

A business woman asked the candidate about reforming Workers Compensation.

“I’ve already begun talking to unions about this,” he said. Dillard advanced a voluntary arbitration plan which would “cut the trial lawyers out of the system,” encouraging “faster payment and more money.”

He stressed that it would not be mandatory, but would be accomplished through collective bargaining.

Advocating an “agreed bill” process he said,

“I’m going to lock these folks (business and union officials) in a room in the mansion (until they bring) Workers Comp costs in line with the nation.”

In a nod to the historically-minded, Dillard told of having spent ten years trying to get his father-in-law to donate the bedroom set in his house to the Executive Mansion.

I can’t remember the number of great-greats, but one of those great-grandmothers of Dillard’s wife Stephanie bore a child in the bed while her husband, Gov. Richard Oglesby, was in office during the mid-1900′s. Oglesby nominated Abraham Lincoln for president.

If her husband is elected governor, Mrs. Dillard promised,

“I won’t be giving birth in the mansion.”

Near the end of the formal part of the gathering, the state senator urged the women to go back to work to improve the economy and, incidentally, the health of the state’s finances.

“That’s the best way to grow the economy.”

He wants them to shop, too, I guess, because he added,

“We need the sales tax revenue.”