McHenry County Blog

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.

It won’t be on watershed of Crystal Lake watershed at McHenry County College.

But it will be just up the road across Route 12, north of Centegra’s Woodstock hospital.

It will include a minor baseball stadium.

But, it will not it will not cost county taxpayers any money.

And, it won’t be just for baseball. Being promoted are lacrosse, soccer, football, concerts, trade shows, antique shows, car shows and festivals.

And the same guys who fleeced McHenry County College taxpayers are apparently among the driving forces behind the proposal.

Mark Houser and Pete Heitman building a sports facility without a public subsidy.

The 250-acre site will preserve 53 acres of wetlands and 22 acres of oak savannah, seen to the right of the stadium. Click to enlarge.

The area is also being held out as a possible new home for the McHenry County Fair. More specifically, most of the land between the railroad track, Lily Pond Road, where I lived for a while, and Route 14.

The site is also being promoted as a place for not-for-profits and service agencies to locate.

Victor Narusis has been the glue that has put this idea together for the McHenry County Community Foundation. When he told me at the Pro-Life Pig Roast at the end of June that he had several million dollars committed and that there would be no tax dollars involved, I wished him luck.

“We are proud to present this project with no request for public funding,” Narusis said (with my piecing together parts of two sentences from the press release.)

He said the site selected “rose to the top of the list” because it is “located in the central part of the county and along a regional traffic corridor” providing “convenient access for all county residents.”

The sports stadium will sit 6,500 or 10,000 with lawn seating.

The land is being donated and graded by Rick Zirk of Woodstock’s Merryman Enterprises. After site preparation, the remaining land will be made available to the Foundation and the McHenry County Fair Board.

“This approach supports smart land use, economic resource planning, wise budget practices and would provide numerous resources with the many benefits of tourism,” McHenry County Community Foundation Board Chairman Mark Ehlert.

You can read the MCCF press release here.

It won’t be on watershed of Crystal Lake watershed at McHenry County College.

But it will be just up the road across Route 12, north of Centegra’s Woodstock hospital.

It will include a minor baseball stadium.

But, it will not it will not cost county taxpayers any money.

And, it won’t be just for baseball. Being promoted are lacrosse, soccer, football, concerts, trade shows, antique shows, car shows and festivals.

And the same guys who fleeced McHenry County College taxpayers are apparently among the driving forces behind the proposal.

Mark Houser and Pete Heitman building a sports facility without a public subsidy.

The 250-acre site will preserve 53 acres of wetlands and 22 acres of oak savannah, seen to the right of the stadium. Click to enlarge.

The area is also being held out as a possible new home for the McHenry County Fair. More specifically, most of the land between the railroad track, Lily Pond Road, where I lived for a while, and Route 14.

The site is also being promoted as a place for not-for-profits and service agencies to locate.

Victor Narusis has been the glue that has put this idea together for the McHenry County Community Foundation. When he told me at the Pro-Life Pig Roast at the end of June that he had several million dollars committed and that there would be no tax dollars involved, I wished him luck.

“We are proud to present this project with no request for public funding,” Narusis said (with my piecing together parts of two sentences from the press release.)

He said the site selected “rose to the top of the list” because it is “located in the central part of the county and along a regional traffic corridor” providing “convenient access for all county residents.”

The sports stadium will sit 6,500 or 10,000 with lawn seating.

The land is being donated and graded by Rick Zirk of Woodstock’s Merryman Enterprises. After site preparation, the remaining land will be made available to the Foundation and the McHenry County Fair Board.

“This approach supports smart land use, economic resource planning, wise budget practices and would provide numerous resources with the many benefits of tourism,” McHenry County Community Foundation Board Chairman Mark Ehlert.

You can read the MCCF press release here.

Reported last night were four contributions for McHenry County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Tryon’s private Chairman’s Circle.

Here are the donors:

$2,500 – Claire & Vic Narusis, Woodstock
$500 – Emtech, Woodstock
$500 – Jean A. Rinn, Crystal Lake
$500 – Valley Aggregates, Woodstock

Tryon also reported a $1,000 contribution to his state rep. PAC from TitleMax Corporation A/P of Savannah, GA.

Reported last night were four contributions for McHenry County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Tryon’s private Chairman’s Circle.

Here are the donors:

$2,500 – Claire & Vic Narusis, Woodstock
$500 – Emtech, Woodstock
$500 – Jean A. Rinn, Crystal Lake
$500 – Valley Aggregates, Woodstock

Tryon also reported a $1,000 contribution to his state rep. PAC from TitleMax Corporation A/P of Savannah, GA.