Donna Kurtz Seeks Republican Nod for County Treasurer

From Donna Kurtz: Donna Kurtz Seeks the Republican Nomination for the McHenry County Treasurer Donna Kurtz Donna Kurtz (R-Crystal Lake) formally announces she will seek the Republican nomination for McHenry County Treasurer. The Primary Election will be held on June … Continue reading

Ridgefield Businessman Jim Roden Circulating Petitions for District 2 County Board Seat

I ended my procrastination yesterday. For the fourth time Thursday night, I pretty much finished raking the other people’s leaves from along Lake Avenue lodged against our little rise. That left time and energy Friday for a quick hour of … Continue reading

Crystal Lake Businessman Asks Metra to Probe Ridgefield Station

Jim Roden, owner of the Framery in Ridgefield has sent the following letter to Metra Chairwoman  Carole Dovis. A copy was sent to the railroad commuter agency’s Inspector General Hillard Heintze. Metra Board Chairman, Carole R. Doris 547 W. Jackson … Continue reading

Metra’s Executive Director Phil Pagano of Crystal Lake Under Investigation for Possible Unauthorized $56,000 Payment

That’s what Crain’s Chicago Business is reporting online. Phil Pagano lives in Covered Bridge Trails, which is located north of Hillside Road in rural Crystal Lake. At a salary of $269,625, I can’t imagine any public official/servant living in McHenry … Continue reading

Metra Ridgefield Station Chugs Along, But Planning and Zoning Commissioners Want Traffic Improvements, Too

The Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission gave preliminary approval to Metra’s proposed Ridgefield Train Station, but conditioned it on making multi-million dollar road improvements recommended by city engineering firm Patrick Engineering. The improvements, most overdue, according to Patrick engineers … Continue reading

Making Public Real Estate Commission when Tax Districts Are Involved

Yesterday, I commented on the Northwest Herald’s recommendation that the McHenry County Board move forward on enacting some form of the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water’s proposed conflict of interest ordinance. I disagreed with the NW Herald editorial writers’ … Continue reading

What Happened to the County Board Candidates Who Did Not Fill Out ALAW’s Conflict of Interest Forms

There were only seven McHenry County Board candidates who did not complete the ethics questionnaire proposed by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water. Leading up the list is District 2’s representative and McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, who … Continue reading

Those Who Didn’t Volunteer to Fill Out ALAW’s Conflict of Interest Form

It’s the day before the election and time to do some reviewing of issues that McHenry County Blog has covered on the county level. Most attention was given to the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water’s conflict of interest questionnaire.  … Continue reading

County Board Candidate Craig Steagall Focuses on Tighter Ethics Rules

The man who has taken on Ken Koehler‘s sale of the old Flowerwood nursery property on County Club Road to Metra for a commuter rail passenger station–and I mean really taken him on–is calling for other county board members and … Continue reading

Crystal Lake Council Tells Metra OK for Ridgefield Station…IF

And the “IF” was in capital letters. Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano returned to his home town city council for a second time seeking permission to proceed with plans seeking approval for a new commuter train station in Ridgefield next … Continue reading

Scott Summers, Former MCC Board President, Reflects on a Metra Commuter Station Near the College

Former McHenry County College Trustee Scott Summers has written about the Ridgefield train station that Metra has proposed. His essay follows: A Metra station at Ridgefield: Making a Good Thing Better by Scott Summers Much has been said of Metra’s … Continue reading

Crystal Lake City Council Rejects Metra’s Choice for Traffic Engineer

Traffic will be a major sticking point on Metra’s proposed Ridgefield commuter station the same was it was for the baseball stadium proposed for McHenry County College. The Crystal Lake City Council unanimously approved Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller’s motion to … Continue reading

Donna Kurtz Runs for McHenry County Board

Upsetting the District 2 Republican apple-cart is McHenry County College Board member Donna Kurtz’ announcement that she is seeking one of two party nominations for the county board. She is contesting the re-nomination of McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler … Continue reading

Metra Tries to Quell Ridgefield Land Purchase Firestrom

Look what just popped into my email inbox: Frequently Asked Questions aboutthe Ridgefield Metra parking lot purchase ten days ago. You will notice that no mention is made of McHenry County College in the FAQ’s below: I am in receipt … Continue reading

Metra Makes No Contact with McHenry County College Between Site Selection and Site Approval Vote

When I discovered that the Metra board had approved the purchase of a $1.5 million 17 acre piece of land on the wrong side of the tracks and/or the little early settlement of Ridgefield, I filed a Freedom of Information … Continue reading

Metra Not Fast with Freedom of Information Requests about Ridgefield Station

I emailed a Freedom of Information request to Metra yesterday, asking for “the memo that led to the elimination of the site nearest to Lily Pond Road.” Pretty specific, wouldn’t you say? Here’s the reply: “On August 18, 2009, we … Continue reading

More Thoughts on Ridgefield Metra Station

The following are some observations on the traffic problems brought up by Metra’s proposal to purchase 17.3 acres on Country Club Road in Ridgefield for a new stop. As a long-time resident of Crystal Lake, I am very familiar with … 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