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.

As reported the day it happened, Crystal Lake businessman Jim Heisler (R-Crystal Lake) defeated McHenry board member Sandy Salgado (R-McHenry) 15-9.

All three Democrats supported Salgado, along with four of her female colleagues.

Let me give you an idea of what led up to the vote—at least the county board part.

Cary’s Yvonne Barnes nominated Salgado. Mary McCann (R-Woodstock) put Heisler’s name in nomination.

Then, Randy Donley (R-Union) nominated Barb Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake), who had just lost her chairmanship race to Ken Koehler.

Wheeler declined Donley’s nomination.

Just as he did with the county board chairman candidates, Democrat Jim Kennedy asked the candidates to tell why they were running for the office.

Anna Miller (R-Cary) read a prepared statement in support of Heisler, arguing it is the “vice chairman’s role to support the chairman.”

She also cited Heisler’s “strong personal skills.”

Barnes described Salgado’s “long history of working hard for the good of the people.”

She pointed out that her candidate had “no personal motivations,” was “goal oriented, results driven and a person of compassion.”

Salgado herself rose to Kennedy’s request saying,
“This was an opportunity I did not see presenting itself…but when it did, I welcome it.”

Perhaps Salgado was thinking of outgoing vice chairman John Jung’s loss to Lake in the Hills Trustee Paula Yensen.

Heisler received the support of the following 15 Republicans:

Bob Bless – District 1
Scott Breeden – District 2
Randy Donley – District 6
Mary Donner – District 3
Ed Dvorak – District 3
John Hammerand – District 4
Jim Heisler – District 2
Tina Hill – District 5
Ken Koehler – District 2
Mary McCann – District 6
Marc Munaretto – District 1
Anna Miller – District 1
Lyn Orphal – District 2
Dan Ryan – District 6
Ersel Schuster – District 6

Republicans for Salgado follow:

Yvonne Barnes – District 1
Sue Draffkorn – District 4
Virginia Peschke – District 6
Sandra Salgado – District 4
Barb Wheeler – District 3

= = = = =
McHenry County Board member Sandra Salgado is seen in the top photo; Jim Heisler in the one at the bottom.

As reported the day it happened, Crystal Lake businessman Jim Heisler (R-Crystal Lake) defeated McHenry board member Sandy Salgado (R-McHenry) 15-9.

All three Democrats supported Salgado, along with four of her female colleagues.

Let me give you an idea of what led up to the vote—at least the county board part.

Cary’s Yvonne Barnes nominated Salgado. Mary McCann (R-Woodstock) put Heisler’s name in nomination.

Then, Randy Donley (R-Union) nominated Barb Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake), who had just lost her chairmanship race to Ken Koehler.

Wheeler declined Donley’s nomination.

Just as he did with the county board chairman candidates, Democrat Jim Kennedy asked the candidates to tell why they were running for the office.

Anna Miller (R-Cary) read a prepared statement in support of Heisler, arguing it is the “vice chairman’s role to support the chairman.”

She also cited Heisler’s “strong personal skills.”

Barnes described Salgado’s “long history of working hard for the good of the people.”

She pointed out that her candidate had “no personal motivations,” was “goal oriented, results driven and a person of compassion.”

Salgado herself rose to Kennedy’s request saying,
“This was an opportunity I did not see presenting itself…but when it did, I welcome it.”

Perhaps Salgado was thinking of outgoing vice chairman John Jung’s loss to Lake in the Hills Trustee Paula Yensen.

Heisler received the support of the following 15 Republicans:

Bob Bless – District 1
Scott Breeden – District 2
Randy Donley – District 6
Mary Donner – District 3
Ed Dvorak – District 3
John Hammerand – District 4
Jim Heisler – District 2
Tina Hill – District 5
Ken Koehler – District 2
Mary McCann – District 6
Marc Munaretto – District 1
Anna Miller – District 1
Lyn Orphal – District 2
Dan Ryan – District 6
Ersel Schuster – District 6

Republicans for Salgado follow:

Yvonne Barnes – District 1
Sue Draffkorn – District 4
Virginia Peschke – District 6
Sandra Salgado – District 4
Barb Wheeler – District 3

= = = = =
McHenry County Board member Sandra Salgado is seen in the top photo; Jim Heisler in the one at the bottom.

All of the women on the Management Services Committee of the McHenry County Board–Yvonne Barnes, Marie Chmiel, Barb Wheeler and Mary Lou Zierer–made negative comments about putting Dick Tracy on the McHenry County Seal.

But, after her committee members had spoken, the discussion continued with chairwoman Tina Hill put in her two cents in favor or Dick Tracy.

At least my excitement got through to one committee member.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler suggested that a tractor made “a stronger statement (for agriculture) than corn.”

He also said he like the artwork in submission number 4, a drawing of the top of the old courthouse with stalks of wheat around the sides.

Koehler commented favorably on the conservation-open space themed entrant with a heron in the foreground in a lake and a river or stream behind.

Marie Chmiel said she liked the one with a barn and silo.

Hill said nice things about the one which seemed to me to be the busiest. It had a multistory factory in the background, two story houses, waves indicating water and a barn and silo in the front.

“That’s a good idea, but you don’t seen any factories like that,” she said.

I had mentioned that the current flag gives homage to townships, which probably is not deserved since local newspaper don’t even assign a reporter to cover their meetings. I suggested that a diagonal line depicting the Chicago & Northwestern (now Union Pacific) Railroad line from Fox River Grove through Harvard could be used as a dividing line, if Dick Tracy were not selected.

“What would be great would be if you could follow Cal’s idea and work in the train,” Koehler added later.

“It would be a shame to abandon completely Dick Tracy. Cal is 100% right. It’s a huge marketing tool for the county.

“I think the tourism people should really jump on that.

Committee member Pete Merkel came in the committee room after the McHenry County Seal discussion.

So, it seems as if the county seal will end up looking like it was created by a committee.

I guess that’s appropriate because it will have been created by a committee.

Some previous McHenry County Seal Posts:

1. Sealed With A Dis
2. The Great Seal Of McHenry County Not Great Enough
3. McHenry County Eye Candy
4. McHenry County Seal Makeover Makes The News
5. Baseball, Hot Dogs, Community College, and County Seals
6. The Passive-Aggressive State of Illinois Seal
7. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 1: The Mechanics
8. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 2: Credentials
9. Another Great McHenry County Seal
10. Best Option Re Final Candidates For New McHenry County Seal
11. The McHenry County Seal Slaughter

All of the women on the Management Services Committee of the McHenry County Board–Yvonne Barnes, Marie Chmiel, Barb Wheeler and Mary Lou Zierer–made negative comments about putting Dick Tracy on the McHenry County Seal.

But, after her committee members had spoken, the discussion continued with chairwoman Tina Hill put in her two cents in favor or Dick Tracy.

At least my excitement got through to one committee member.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler suggested that a tractor made “a stronger statement (for agriculture) than corn.”

He also said he like the artwork in submission number 4, a drawing of the top of the old courthouse with stalks of wheat around the sides.

Koehler commented favorably on the conservation-open space themed entrant with a heron in the foreground in a lake and a river or stream behind.

Marie Chmiel said she liked the one with a barn and silo.

Hill said nice things about the one which seemed to me to be the busiest. It had a multistory factory in the background, two story houses, waves indicating water and a barn and silo in the front.

“That’s a good idea, but you don’t seen any factories like that,” she said.

I had mentioned that the current flag gives homage to townships, which probably is not deserved since local newspaper don’t even assign a reporter to cover their meetings. I suggested that a diagonal line depicting the Chicago & Northwestern (now Union Pacific) Railroad line from Fox River Grove through Harvard could be used as a dividing line, if Dick Tracy were not selected.

“What would be great would be if you could follow Cal’s idea and work in the train,” Koehler added later.

“It would be a shame to abandon completely Dick Tracy. Cal is 100% right. It’s a huge marketing tool for the county.

“I think the tourism people should really jump on that.

Committee member Pete Merkel came in the committee room after the McHenry County Seal discussion.

So, it seems as if the county seal will end up looking like it was created by a committee.

I guess that’s appropriate because it will have been created by a committee.

Some previous McHenry County Seal Posts:

1. Sealed With A Dis
2. The Great Seal Of McHenry County Not Great Enough
3. McHenry County Eye Candy
4. McHenry County Seal Makeover Makes The News
5. Baseball, Hot Dogs, Community College, and County Seals
6. The Passive-Aggressive State of Illinois Seal
7. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 1: The Mechanics
8. How To Create An Official Seal – Part 2: Credentials
9. Another Great McHenry County Seal
10. Best Option Re Final Candidates For New McHenry County Seal
11. The McHenry County Seal Slaughter

Yesterday, I started the tale of how Tina Hill’s Management Services Committee considered citizen-submitted suggestions for a new McHenry County Seal.

I told of my relaying Heck of a Guy blogger Alan Showalter’s suggestion that the center of the seal be the face of Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould in Bull Valley.

Cutting this old guy to the quick was county board member Barb Wheeler’s opening comment:

“With all due respect to the elderly…”

Now, I readily admit that Dick Tracy has had a long professional career. 77 years.

Wheeler’s relegation of Dick Tracy to the dustbin of McHenry County history made my quaking hands shake so much I didn’t get down what she said about her children and Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny, by the way, is younger than I am.

“It’s cute and it would definitely add some entertainment, (but) it’s not professional, not stately enough for a seal.”

Dick Tracy “not professional?”

The nerve of that youngin!

Dick Tracy is nothing, if not professional.

Her comments came after comments from the not-so-elderly-as-I McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, whose father was a Dick Tracy fan when the family moved to Crystal Lake.

“We knew where Dick Tracy was from.”

“With all fairness to Cal, we don’t often agree, but…”

His appreciation for the role Dick Tracy could play came out so fast I couldn’t get his exact words, but my pen did reengage with the back of the agenda when he said,

“There’s a a lot of great possibilities.”

I think he was thinking about using Dick Tracy to market McHenry County, something that apparently has not occurred to the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Koehler did say, “Dick Tracy could be part of (a quadrant-designed) seal.”

Marie Chmiel, who is retiring and suggested that her opinion didn’t count, didn’t mention Dick Tracy in her list of favorites.

“The one with the courthouse looks very nice, but I like the different segments.

“It’ll give it notoriety, but personally I don’t think we should go with a cartoon character. I don’t think it should be strictly agriculture…or conservation.”

“Hire a consultant to do it,” was Chmiel’s final advice.

“Notoriety?”

The word’s definition certainly does not fit Dick Tracy:

“The quality or condition of being notorious”

Notorious:

“Known widely and usually unfavorably.”

Dick Tracy “notorious?”

Maybe to Flattop or The Brow.

But calling Dick Tracy “notorious” is akin to calling U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald “notorious.”

And, Fitzgerald is only considered notorious by those whom he indicts and their friends.

(And, yes, I know Chmiel was talking about Chester Gould’s drawing, not the character’s character.)

County board member Yvonne Barnes belonged to the cut and paste faction.

“I like bits and pieces of a number of them. I’d like to see a combination.”

Later, Barnes said she wanted a seal which would reflect “current McHenry County and reflect what it will look like 10-20 years from now.”

“We’re trying to recruit.”

Her favorite was the one with the factories, homes, barn and silo and water.

Continued tomorrow.

Yesterday, I started the tale of how Tina Hill’s Management Services Committee considered citizen-submitted suggestions for a new McHenry County Seal.

I told of my relaying Heck of a Guy blogger Alan Showalter’s suggestion that the center of the seal be the face of Dick Tracy, drawn by cartoonist Chester Gould in Bull Valley.

Cutting this old guy to the quick was county board member Barb Wheeler’s opening comment:

“With all due respect to the elderly…”

Now, I readily admit that Dick Tracy has had a long professional career. 77 years.

Wheeler’s relegation of Dick Tracy to the dustbin of McHenry County history made my quaking hands shake so much I didn’t get down what she said about her children and Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny, by the way, is younger than I am.

“It’s cute and it would definitely add some entertainment, (but) it’s not professional, not stately enough for a seal.”

Dick Tracy “not professional?”

The nerve of that youngin!

Dick Tracy is nothing, if not professional.

Her comments came after comments from the not-so-elderly-as-I McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, whose father was a Dick Tracy fan when the family moved to Crystal Lake.

“We knew where Dick Tracy was from.”

“With all fairness to Cal, we don’t often agree, but…”

His appreciation for the role Dick Tracy could play came out so fast I couldn’t get his exact words, but my pen did reengage with the back of the agenda when he said,

“There’s a a lot of great possibilities.”

I think he was thinking about using Dick Tracy to market McHenry County, something that apparently has not occurred to the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Koehler did say, “Dick Tracy could be part of (a quadrant-designed) seal.”

Marie Chmiel, who is retiring and suggested that her opinion didn’t count, didn’t mention Dick Tracy in her list of favorites.

“The one with the courthouse looks very nice, but I like the different segments.

“It’ll give it notoriety, but personally I don’t think we should go with a cartoon character. I don’t think it should be strictly agriculture…or conservation.”

“Hire a consultant to do it,” was Chmiel’s final advice.

“Notoriety?”

The word’s definition certainly does not fit Dick Tracy:

“The quality or condition of being notorious”

Notorious:

“Known widely and usually unfavorably.”

Dick Tracy “notorious?”

Maybe to Flattop or The Brow.

But calling Dick Tracy “notorious” is akin to calling U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald “notorious.”

And, Fitzgerald is only considered notorious by those whom he indicts and their friends.

(And, yes, I know Chmiel was talking about Chester Gould’s drawing, not the character’s character.)

County board member Yvonne Barnes belonged to the cut and paste faction.

“I like bits and pieces of a number of them. I’d like to see a combination.”

Later, Barnes said she wanted a seal which would reflect “current McHenry County and reflect what it will look like 10-20 years from now.”

“We’re trying to recruit.”

Her favorite was the one with the factories, homes, barn and silo and water.

Continued tomorrow.

Tina Hill was kind enough to remind me Sunday that her Management Services Committee would be considering candidates for McHenry County Seal yesterday morning.

I made it in time and was asked to sit in the empty press session, where visitors usually sit, Hill told me.

When public comment time came, I got up and made my pitch for Dick Tracy for County Seal.

Apparently, the contest didn’t make it on the General Election ballot. All that campaigning for nothing.

Being a fictional character, Dick Tracy couldn’t even sign up to be a write-in candidate.

Gone are the days of votes for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that Mike Royko used to report after every election.

The Chicago and Springfield pols got tired of the ridicule and required people vote for real people who wanted to be voted for.

So, all those write-ins a week ago were wasted, folks.

As in, not counted.

Admitting that the current county seal, based on the state seal is “boring,” I plunged ahead.

I told the all-female attending committee members that I had been trying to think of something that would represent McHenry County for McHenry County Blog, but couldn’t come up with anything better that Dick Tracy. I pointed out that Crystal Lake blogger Alan Showalter of Heck of a Guy blog had come up with the idea.

I pointed out that the State of Illinois Tourism folks had paid $2,000.

I suggested that international publicity would result from putting Dick Tracy on the county seal. It could be the centerpiece of a tourism campaign.

The Illinois Department of Tourism paid $2,000 to get the rights to use Dick Tracy’s image in a poster saying,

I suggested that $2,000 a year might end up being a good tourism expenditure, considering I’d heard the county gives the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau $150,000 a year.

And, by selling the county seal and related Dick Tracy merchandise, county government could probably recoup the cost of licensing.

Why the county could even open a web store.

But, the state tourism poster was advertising a now-closed museum in Woodstock and, as committee member Mary Lou Zierer put it,

“I connect Dick Tracy with Woodstock. If we’re going to have a county seal that designates a certain town in the county, I like the old courthouse. I think a combination of the new and old would be good to have.”

During my pitch, I pointed out that Chester Gould had told me (or maybe I didn’t mention my source) that his inspiration for Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty came when he was driving past the old Crystal Lake Dump on Virginia Street Road. It’s now covered with gravel trucks and a row of storage units.

And as soon as I saw former Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue after I was elected county treasurer I thought he looked like Pruneface. (Don’t you wonder what kind of a fight led Gould to make him a villain in his cartoon strip?)

In any event, the committee was shown all the entries from the public.

Dick Tracy was shown first because Alan Showalter sent it in first.

Continued tomorrow.

Tina Hill was kind enough to remind me Sunday that her Management Services Committee would be considering candidates for McHenry County Seal yesterday morning.

I made it in time and was asked to sit in the empty press session, where visitors usually sit, Hill told me.

When public comment time came, I got up and made my pitch for Dick Tracy for County Seal.

Apparently, the contest didn’t make it on the General Election ballot. All that campaigning for nothing.

Being a fictional character, Dick Tracy couldn’t even sign up to be a write-in candidate.

Gone are the days of votes for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that Mike Royko used to report after every election.

The Chicago and Springfield pols got tired of the ridicule and required people vote for real people who wanted to be voted for.

So, all those write-ins a week ago were wasted, folks.

As in, not counted.

Admitting that the current county seal, based on the state seal is “boring,” I plunged ahead.

I told the all-female attending committee members that I had been trying to think of something that would represent McHenry County for McHenry County Blog, but couldn’t come up with anything better that Dick Tracy. I pointed out that Crystal Lake blogger Alan Showalter of Heck of a Guy blog had come up with the idea.

I pointed out that the State of Illinois Tourism folks had paid $2,000.

I suggested that international publicity would result from putting Dick Tracy on the county seal. It could be the centerpiece of a tourism campaign.

The Illinois Department of Tourism paid $2,000 to get the rights to use Dick Tracy’s image in a poster saying,

I suggested that $2,000 a year might end up being a good tourism expenditure, considering I’d heard the county gives the McHenry County Convention and Visitors Bureau $150,000 a year.

And, by selling the county seal and related Dick Tracy merchandise, county government could probably recoup the cost of licensing.

Why the county could even open a web store.

But, the state tourism poster was advertising a now-closed museum in Woodstock and, as committee member Mary Lou Zierer put it,

“I connect Dick Tracy with Woodstock. If we’re going to have a county seal that designates a certain town in the county, I like the old courthouse. I think a combination of the new and old would be good to have.”

During my pitch, I pointed out that Chester Gould had told me (or maybe I didn’t mention my source) that his inspiration for Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty came when he was driving past the old Crystal Lake Dump on Virginia Street Road. It’s now covered with gravel trucks and a row of storage units.

And as soon as I saw former Supervisor of Assessments Stanley Cornue after I was elected county treasurer I thought he looked like Pruneface. (Don’t you wonder what kind of a fight led Gould to make him a villain in his cartoon strip?)

In any event, the committee was shown all the entries from the public.

Dick Tracy was shown first because Alan Showalter sent it in first.

Continued tomorrow.

After hearing about the pressure Cary has put on property owners in the Route 14 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to sell their businesses to a certain favored developer, why should I be surprised that one day after the village board elections that Fox Trails homeowners backing up to the farmland to their west?

But I am.

You can see the letter to the right. Click on it, if you want to enlarge the image.

Dated just one day after the election in which three of the four on the incumbent slate were re-elected comes a letter from the risk manager of Meyer Material Company.

“We would be more than happy to entertain any questions that you might have regarding the re-zoning of this property,” writes risk manager Randi Willi.

What the letter does not explicitly state, but minutes from the Village of Cary going back at least to February 7, 2006, (go almost the bottom of the document; way down to page 11) make pretty clear is that the village board is ready and willing to trade $250,000 a year for ten years or more, plus sales tax from a Route 31 commercial development, for cooperating with Meyer Material in surrounding still more of this area with still another gravel pit.

Those wanting details should file a Freedom of Information request for the “project proposal binder” mentioned in those minutes. If you have any trouble, I’ll put you in touch with the right person at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. My number is in the phone book.

And, the village board got to talk to Meyer Material’s president, Steve Warnke, not its risk manager.

The minutes state that Mayor (sic, he’s a village president, not a mayor) Lamal “asked the Board for their comments.”

Trustee Hill noted that she did not have any comments at this time. Trustee Kierna noted that he did not have any comments at this time. Trustee Adams asked how the donation amount was figured….Trustee Barnes noted that she did not have any comments at this time.

Trustee Van Oost asked how the Village would be compensated if the agreement went over the ten year period…(and noted) she would request a penalty if fee in addition for anything over ten years.

Trustee McNamee asked how they proposed to secure the site and protect the surrounding neighbors. (He also asked for an independent engineering firm to review the proposal.)

Trustee McNamee also asked how the noise issues would be addressed. She pointed out that there is no access to the Chally Property from the Fox Trails Subdivision, as shown on the plans.

Mr. Warnke pointed out that there would be an intergovernmental agreement that the Village would also own the lake and the savannas (the Village would also own the previously mined property in Algonquin, adjacent to the Chally Property).

Trustee Barnes expressed her concerns for the neighbors and requested more detailed information on issues that would affect the neighbors.

Trustee Adams noted that he concurs with trustee McNamee’s request to get an outside source for engineering service review.

Trustee Van Oost (agreed with the two and) she also wants to add a disincentive to the length of mining operations….

Trustee McNamee said she wants the area closest to the residential area mined first opposed to the proposed steps as outlined on the presented plans.

Trustee Barnes noted this would be a great to look at and a lot to consider….

Trustee McNamee asked if the project can be done in six years (rather) than in ten years…

Mayor Lamal noted that if there is an agreement for this project, the Board will proceed with further discussion.

More tomorrow.

= = = = =
Thanks to Cary Area Citizens for Responsible Government for providing the map, plus pointing McHenry County Blog to the minutes.