No Federal Workers Seek General Assistance in Big McHenry County Townships

One of the places one might think laid off Federal workers would approach for emergency assistance is their local township government. Township Supervisors have a special fund called “General Assistance” from which they can dispense assistance. Checking with the Townships … Continue reading

Pension Funding for McHenry County Townships

Looking at the financial shape of townships in McHenry County, a Friend of McHenry County Blog found the following Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund information filed with the State Comptroller for 2017 (for Algonquin, Chemung, Dorr, Grafton, McHenry, Nunda, Riley and … Continue reading

Dorr Township Road Commissioner Got Permission from Annual Town Meeting to Sell Equipment

When I saw the auction that Dorr Township Road Commissioner John Fuller has authorized to sell equipment, I asked whether that had been approved by the Annual Town Meeting. The answer I received from my Freedom of Information request is … Continue reading

New Dorr Township Road Commissioner Selling Equipment

John Fuller, the new Dorr Township Highway Commissioner, is auctioning numerous pieces of heavy equipment according to a notice on Obneauf Auction Service’s web site. These items are located at Dorr Township Hwy Department 12322 Davis Road, Woodstock, IL 60098 … Continue reading

Comparing the Number of Employees of McHenry County Townships

The Illinois State Comptroller has a data base contacting information about tax districts throughout Illinois. Looking at 2017 data from those for the seventeen townships in McHenry County, one finds the number of employees running from a low of 2 … Continue reading

Dorr Township Assessment Results

Dorr Township assessments are, on a three-year average–30.86%. Since state law mandates assessments be at 33.3% of a three-year average, local residents can expect their assessments to be increase by County government by approximately 8%. The margin of error, called … Continue reading

Looking at Assessments in McHenry County

The Chicago Tribune article on assessments has a comment on what constitute acceptable real estate assessment quality. It states that a 15% margin of error is “the highest acceptable coefficient of dispersion (margin of error).” Accuracy in your township Experts … Continue reading

Dorr Township Candidates Show Race for Only Township Road Commissioner

The Republican Party apparently decided not to run candidates in Dorr Township. Of the candidates who filed as Independents, there is only a race for Township Road Commissioner: Tom Thurman (incumbent) John Fuller (current trustee) The following have filed as … Continue reading

What Happened to Township Taxes?

Here is what is happening to taxpayers as a whole: Township  Inc/Decrease  2015-2014 in Total Tax Inc/Decrease 2014-2013 in Total Tax HARTLAND $95.24 ($518.43) ALDEN $1,484.21 ($2,923.60) DUNHAM $877.76 ($10,905.30) HEBRON $4,219.09 ($5,118.21) RILEY ($2,678.90) ($1,172.12) SENECA ($6,000.31) ($4,000.73) GRAFTON … Continue reading

Elected Officials in McHenry County in IMRF Pension System

Thought folks might like to know what elected officials besides most McHenry County Board members participate in the pension fund of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF). I filed a Freedom of Information Request asking for the following: “All employers … Continue reading

Joe Monack’s Precinct Letter

Joseph Monack is running for Precinct Committeeman against Tina Hill in Dorr Township Precinct 9. A friend of mine received his letter and was so impressed that he brought it up at the First Methodist Church of Crystal Lake’s food … Continue reading

Last Chance for Angry Voters to Get Really Involved – Precinct Committeeman Write-In Opportunities

The Washington Post has found an academic, Sam Wang, who says, “based on polling data based on polling data, Donald Trump is in as strong a position to get his party’s nomination as Hillary Clinton in 2016, George W. Bush … Continue reading

Ten Townships’ Welfare Costs

Found this comparison of Township General Assistant handed out and accompanying administrative costs. You don’t have to guess that it came from Bob Anderson … Continue reading

Tax Considerations on Township Consolidation

Commenter Susan has done the math on a couple of the townships which consolidation proponents suggest should be merged. Her analysis is below: Am I missing something, or is the voter’s decision made by simply looking at the comparative tax … Continue reading

Roads Cared for By Township Highway Commissioners

In an attempt to get people thinking about the proposal to combine townships, look at the number of miles of road each Township Road Commissioner maintains: In addition, Algonquin Township Road Commissioner Bob Miller writes that he offers assistance to … Continue reading

A Benefit of Consolidating Township Governments

Back in the 1970’s, Algonquin Township Assessor Forrest Hare computerized his office, probably the first to do so in the State of Illinois. He also took an interest in how assessment could be made more accurate. Hare looked at measures … Continue reading

County Board’s Legislative Committee to Consider Bob Anderson’s Advisory Township Referendum

Thursday, July 10th, at 8:30, the Legislative Committee of the McHenry County Board will consider advisory referendums. One was suggested by township abolition advocate Bob Anderson, a Republican Precinct Committeeman from Wonder Lake. Included in the committee packet is a … Continue reading