Quick-Take Condemnation Bill Passes for Randall Road & Island Lake Intersection, plus Kane County Intersection

Below is the summary provided legislators of Senate Bill 1518, a bill sponsored by McHenry County legislators State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Barb Wheeler. [The duplicative language has been removed, but may be seen at the link above.] … Continue reading

Skillicorn Opposes $50 Million Kane County Forest Preserve Referendum & Quick Take Condemnation

A press release from State Rep. Allen Skillicorn: Rep. Skillicorn Opposes Referendum & Quick Take Legislation State Representative Allen Skillicorn (R-Dundee) is opposing the Kane County Forest Preserve $50 Million Property Tax Hike Referendum on the April 4th ballot and the … Continue reading

County Going After Quick-Take Condemnation for Highway Work

The McHenry County Department of Transportation seeks approval to condemn property for highway improvements using what is called “quick take.” Quick take allows governments to seize property and argue what it is worth later in court. River Road at Dowell … Continue reading

County Seeks Dilapidated Home’s Condemnation

McHenry County government is seeking court approval to demolish the home at 2811 Mytang Avenue in McHenry Dennis Sanquist explains the situation in this March 7, 2016, email to County Board member Chuck Wheeler: P[lanning] & D[evelopment] and the SAO [State’s … Continue reading

County Postponing the Condemnation Vote

The McHenry County Board has a vote coming up that conservationists are watching. It is whether to condemn sensitive property just north of Island Lake in order to construct a roundabout. The vote was supposed to have happened already, but … Continue reading

McHenry County’s Very Junior College Continues to Lack Transparency

There are two items on the agenda of the McHenry County College Board’s 6:30 meeting tonight, but we citizens aren’t good enough to see the board packet items under consideration. Any hope that this board will be more transparent than … Continue reading

McHenry County College Signals Condemnation of Neighboring Property

On the agenda for this Thursday night’s meeting of the McHenry County College Board of Trustees is a resolution concerning condemnation. Can’t, that is, don’t want to, let the public in on the details, so first the Board is scheduled … Continue reading

Fleming Road’s New Protection Celebration Saturday at 1

The sign invites people to the Fleming Road Alliance’s 1 PM Saturday Celebration. The following press release found in a McHenry County email explains a celebration being held Saturday afternoon by those who don’t want county government to turn Fleming … Continue reading

The Ridgefield Metra Deal

There’s nothing wrong with Northwest Herald reporter Kevin Craver’s front page article about Metra’s board voting to purchase McHenry County Board Chairman’s property in Ridgefield. It contains much of the same information in these McHenry County Blog articles (listed in … Continue reading

Condemnation in the Vulcan Lakes TIF District

The Northwest Herald is running an article about the Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district. Although Mayor Aaron Shepley promised there would be no condemnation of property in the Vulcan Lakes TIF district, there was. And eminent domain court action … Continue reading

Condemnation in the Vulcan Lakes TIF District

The Northwest Herald is running an article about the Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district. Although Mayor Aaron Shepley promised there would be no condemnation of property in the Vulcan Lakes TIF district, there was. And eminent domain court action … Continue reading

Update on Arlington Heights TIF Condemnation Demonstration

At the Monday night Arlington Heights village board meeting, 77 demonstrators held a candle light vigil outside the Senior Citizen Center where the meeting was being held. I wrote a background story last week that might be of interest. They … Continue reading

City of Crystal Lake Has No Access to Vulcan Lakes

Wouldn’’t you have thought that the City Council would have made certain that its employees could drive a vehicle into the Vulcan Lakes property when it cut the deal with Vulcan Materials? Did you assume that the road between the … Continue reading