A press release from State Rep. Mike Tryon: RTA Reform and Job Creation Bills Lead Tryon 2014 Legislative Agenda SPRINGFIELD….. State Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) met the House Bill filing deadline on Friday by filing a comprehensive package of … Continue reading
There was a transparency vote on the McHenry County Board that mystified me. It was a change in the County Board Rules which would have required the posting of County Board member expenses. The County Board annually budgets $1,000 per … Continue reading
One of the rule changes voted down by the McHenry County Board was a proposal that would have had staff report quarterly on how much each board member spent of the allowed $1,000 per year expense account. John Hammerand argued … Continue reading
A McHenry County College vendor sent student names, Social Security numbers and other personal information to three unidentified community colleges, according to letters sent to students dated July 31st. The vendor was Ellucian, which prides itself on “transparency” and describes … Continue reading
Which is the more important local government, McHenry County or McHenry County College? Looking at the question geographically, McHenry County covers the whole county, which MCC covers all of the county but District 300, while slipping over the Kane County … Continue reading
Because McHenry County College Trustees Ron Parrish, Chris Jenner and Tom Wilbeck refused to provide approval for a $15,000-plus cost overrun for the remodeling of the ceramics lab, the Board will have a special meeting tomorrow at 10:15. Normally, the … Continue reading
The Illinois Policy Institute conducted transparency audits with all 102 Illinois counties and the one to the south of us–Kane County–took top honors with a score of 100%. McHenry County was singled out for comment as follows: ‘The largest county … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago on January 24th, I asked for the last two year’s legal expenses for the 708 Mental Health Board. I asked that this information be provided by email, specifically writing, “Thanks for fulfilling this request via … Continue reading
A press release from Allan Skillicorn concerning his strategy to get accounts payable posted on the East Dundee web site prior to village board vote: “In an effort to promote greater transparency and accountability, municipalities need to post all accounts … Continue reading
In planning to attend the McHenry County Mental Health Board meeting Monday, I went to the County web site to check out the time. The Mental Health Board is a separate tax district and I’m glad that they are trying … Continue reading
A press release from State Senate candidate Karen McConnaughay: Leading transparency advocacy group again lauds McConnaughay’s efforts to reform government Kane County winner of “Sunny Award” for making abundant information available online—one of only 19 Illinois governments to be recognized … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I praised the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department for enabling people like me to copy press releases from that page on the Sheriff’s Department web site for the first time. I wish the Sheriff’s Department would … Continue reading
Giving the public more information was the idea behind the heavy black bordered ads placed by tax districts who are increasing their levies by more than 5%. This decade, “transparency” is the word. The ads were a campaign gimmick by … Continue reading
I had stopped looking at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department’s press release page. That’s because I always read them in the Northwest and Daily Heralds before they were posted for public consumption. And, the press releases could not be copied … Continue reading
I was exciting to read Lawerence Synett’s article about the live streaming of volleyball by McHenry County College. If that was possible, then there must be enough band width to broadcast Board of Trustee meetings. Lack of band width was … Continue reading
I was disappointed, but not surprised, when District 300 did not reveal the details of its teachers’ contract prior to its early June public vote. The 2008 Huntley School Board allowed taxpayers to read the document before it was approved. … Continue reading
The biggest item in every local government’s budget is employee salaries. And the teachers’ contract is the biggest part of that budget segment. District 300’s Board approved the contract with the IEA local called LEAD (what does that stand for?) … Continue reading
A message from State Rep. Mike Tryon to his constituents: Friends, As the General Assembly heads into its final weeks of the legislative session, I wanted to update you on some important pieces of legislation. Budget talks are taking center … Continue reading
112-2. A lopsided vote. Definitely not a controversial bill. It was sponsored by Democrat State Rep. Jack Franks. Here’s what legislators saw when they voted upon it: “Provides that the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP) shall also include a … Continue reading
Here’s the information about the event and the group: Guest Speakers For Transparency Kick-off this Saturday Dan Duffy Joe Walsh On February 5th, this Saturday, at our Transparency Kick-off, one of our own, Congressman Joe Walsh along with Illinois State … Continue reading
