A message from Lakewood Village Trustee Paul Serwatka to his constituents about the last Village Board meeting: Sorry for the delay in reporting on last Tuesday’s village board meeting, I just got back in town. While there isn’t a whole … Continue reading
I have had my problems with internet documents posted by both McHenry County College and McHenry County government They posted documents which could not be searched. MCC was “afraid” someone might copy them and, then, alter them. The documents also … Continue reading
Comment has been made about how costly it is to record public meetings. The College uses UStream to stream/archive video at board meetings (Committee of the Whole and Regular Board of Trustees Meeting). This cost is approximately $99/month for this … Continue reading
A statement given by McHenry County Board member Nick Provenzano to the Finance and Audit Committee Thursday morning: When I was first elected to the County Board I had the opportunity to help shepherd through the first ever Ethics Ordinance in … Continue reading
The Chicago Sun-Times ran an article yesterday that took three years to write. It was about how UNO, the charter school outfit backed by House Speaker Mike Madigan, spent money provided by governments. Since UNO doesn’t operate in our back … Continue reading
Recently, I noted that the measurements for goals in the 2016 McHenry County Action Plan regarding a new contract with the Feds for putting people in the McHenry County Jail were weak. They were what I would call “process” goals, … Continue reading
If you feel ambitious, type in your zip code where indicated in the following email from Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-f-ski): Chairman, American Transparency: In today’s Wall Street Journal, U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn (retired) recognizes our work in his editorial: for … Continue reading
A communication from newly-elected Lakewood Village Trustee Paul Serwatka: Hello everyone, On Tuesday, May 26th, the village board held it’s regularly scheduled meeting. There were four agenda items up for discussion and vote. The first, was an ordinance to allow … Continue reading
The Lakewood Village Board agreed to post on its web site the budget passed unanimously Tuesday night. During both the budget hearing preceding the regular meeting and the meeting thereafter, only Board members and staff had copies of the budget … Continue reading
Wednesday McHenry County Blog ran a piece entitled, “Should Misdeeds Uncovered by Internal Audits Be Made Public?” There has apparently been double billing for providing dental care to Veterans. Both the Veterans department and the County Health Department have been … Continue reading
Here’s most of an interesting resolution that will be considered by the Management Services Committee Monday: WHEREAS, a delegation of authority would guide the County’s staff in their efforts to resolve claims on the County’s behalf fairly and efficiently; and … Continue reading
From State Senator Pam Althoff: In response to recent e-mails and phone calls I have received regarding my yes vote on House Bill 3796, I would like to explain why this legislation, will in fact, increase access to public records … Continue reading
So that potential appointees of the McHenry County Board may know the restrictions of what they are getting into, the complete text of the soon-to-be passed McHenry County Code of Conduct for Appointed Officials to Boards, Commissions and Special Districts … Continue reading
The reply from the McHenry County Department of Transporation to my request for documents relating to the Eisenmann property in Crystal Lake resulted in a denial. I was searching for confirmation that the non-office building portion of the Virginia Street Road … Continue reading
I was off to a luncheon before the McHenry County Board voted on whether to make public an audit performed by the office of McHenry County Auditor Pam Palmer, so I didn’t hear the discussion. I did get the 14-8 … Continue reading
Since the 1970’s I’ve been promoting putting not-for-profit organizations financed with taxpayer dollars or controlled by governments under the Freedom of Information Act. Now the head of the Freedom of Information enforcement agency in Pennsylvania tells the Chicago Sun-Times it … Continue reading
“Not.” That’s the best word to use when talking about transparency of most not-for-profit organizations. If they are financed with government money, however, I have argued since the 1970’s that they should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. … Continue reading
Proponents of transparency are up in arms about efforts by legislators to limit access under the Freedom of Information Act. They point to House Bill 3796. The legislation, passed by both the House and the Senate during the last week of … Continue reading
Adam Andrzejewski, the driving force behind Open the Books, was in Effingham recently promoting transparency. According to the Effingham Daily News, the Effingham County Board came in for praise: Andrzejewski recognized the Effingham County Board as a unit for promising … Continue reading
Association of Community College Trustees holds conventions in big cites which McHenry County College Trustees attend. It also answers questions like My board is considering televising our meetings- what should we take into account before making this decision? Before taking … Continue reading
