McHenry County Blog

The replacement for State Rep. Art Tenhouse acquitted herself well in the Illinois House Impeachment hearings featuring Roland Burris.

I took so many shots of her trying to get a decent one that I did not get any notes.

But the former Assistant Attorney General was good.

So good that her unanswered question may lead to perjury charges for Roland Burris.

Here’s part of the interchange, quoted by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown.

Tracy – “Was it Lon Monk, was that the extent of it was Lon Monk?”

Burris – “That came up in our conversation when we were talking about, you know, if he has some excess clients in the lobbying business, you know, as we try to see whether or not he had conflicts somewhere with some type of a client because of his previous relationship with government. That’s what we were talking about then.

“And it just came up, and in fact I said, ‘Now, Lon, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think I’m qualified to be appointed to the Senate seat.’ And Lon said, ‘Well, Roland, I think you are, too.’ And that was the extent of it.”

Tracy – “So you don’t recall that there was anybody else besides Lon Monk that you expressed an interest to at that point?”

Burris – “No, I can’t recall. Because people were coming to me saying, Roland, you should pursue that appointment, you’re qualified, and this was –“

Tracy – “Is there anybody that comes to mind in that light that you can –“

Brown closes his column:

“Surely, here was one last chance for Burris to clear the air and mention his contacts with Harris, Wyma or the governor’s brother. But who did he name?

“Rich Barber, a friend of his from New Jersey.

“Case closed.”

Could Jil Tracy become Illinois’ Sarah Palin?

Tracy is from Brown County. Her web site biography follows:

Jil’s Background and Biography

I have lived in Brown County for 26 years. My husband, Jim Tracy, and I have 4 children; Rob 24, Ben 21, Mark 17 and Kelsey 16. We’ve enjoyed raising our children in this region.

I’ve worked as a private attorney, and most recently was employed by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General and Director of the West Central regional office.

My family has enjoyed participating in church, community, and school activities. We are members of Holy Family Catholic Church.

I was admitted to the practice of law in May 1980 after graduating from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 1979. I was engaged in the private practice of law in the Mt. Sterling area from 1980 to 1997.

While in private practice, I served as Mt. Sterling City Attorney, Mt. Sterling Fire Protection District attorney, and Ripley and Mounds Station Village attorney. My private practice included a concentration in real estate, wills, domestic relations, adoptions and collections.

In 1997, I was appointed Illinois Assistant Attorney General and Director of the West Central Illinois Regional Office by Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan. I continued to serve as Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Lisa Madigan. My duties as Assistant Attorney General and Director of a Regional Office included representation of all the State of Illinois agencies in a 19 county region and various consumer protection services in the region.

I resigned my work duties in July, 2004 to better assist my parents with temporary elder health matters. I reside in Mt. Sterling with my husband Jim and we are the parents of Rob, Ben, Mark and Kelsey.

I was a founding Board Member of the Brown County United Way.

I served on the Mt. Sterling Park District for over 13 years.

I also served on various Illinois State Bar Committees, Judicial Selection committees and was an appointed member of the Illinois Juvenile Corrections Board. I currently serve on the John Wood Community College Foundation Board, the Make a Wish Regional Council and the Quincy Branch Alzheimer Association Advisory Board.

I was appointed to serve the remainder of former Representative Art Tenhouse’s term in June, 2006.

I was then elected State Representative in the 2006 November General Election. I currently serve on the following House committees:

Aging, Appropriations-Higher Education, Consumer Protection, Judiciary 1-Civil Law, Transportation Regulation Roads & Bridges, Juvenile Justice Reform and Environmental Health.

I am also the Minority Spokesperson of Vehicle Safety, Environmental Health and a member of the Joint House and Senate Manufacturing Board of Directors.