Reporters with a tape recorder or pen and paper can sit in the front of the McHenry County Board room and ply their craft, but those with a camera are about to be banished to the back two corners of the room.

Upon passage of the rules, I believe that no one without a really professional camera lens will be able to get a decent picture of a county board meeting, but I could be wrong.

The flashes and shutter sounds bother board members, Kevin Craver reported in his Northwest Herald story.

I haven’t written much lately about this little dispute with the McHenry County Board.

Maybe it’s because I’ve only been to one county board meeting since starting to write McHenry County Blog. County government really hasn’t been at the top of my list of governments to follow.

Maybe it should be higher on my priority list.

In any event, perhaps a few words are in order.

The original objector was County Board Chairman Ken Koehler. There were others whom he did not name, but who didn’t want their photographs taken while they were in session.

Maybe they remember this picture of Glen Stewart about to shake hands with Huntley School Board President Mike Skala right after his fellow PAC members gave him a $101,000 job without releasing the names or qualifications of any other applicants.

But, that photo was taken after the meeting adjourned.

I wanted to take pictures of the county board’s consideration of the McHenry County Republican Cat Tax.

Fortunately, consideration of the Republican Cat Tax was postponed that day, so I didn’t miss anything.

I actually wrote a note last year after that asked Koehler for permission. Here is the reply I received.

When the county board was sworn in, I got there too late for the ceremony, but just in time for the official photos by Don Peasley.

So, I took pictures.

I got a decent shot of most of the members, but not all of them.

When the time came for the county board meeting when the Republican Cat Tax was to be voted upon, I decided to attend. I spoke and took some photos of the members in their seats. The vote failed by a 12-10 roll call.

During the meeting, Koehler told me to stop taking photographs, so I did.

After the meeting we had a too heated discussion. He said he had an eye problem.

Far be it from me to try to cause pain to someone with an eye problem.

Afterwards we exchanged conciliatory emails.

At State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s re-election announcement party, Ken and I had a cordial discussion in which he explained his eye condition, one I know a bit about because my father had a similar condition that left him almost blind in one eye.

I told him Ken I had enough pictures of him, but one member in particular was hidden behind the person sitting to the front and I still had not been able to get a good shot.

Believe it or not, I almost always use the best picture I have of politician facing in the appropriation direction for the story into which it is inserted. During this last election, one candidate questioned me on that and sent me a better photo when I told him I was using the best picture I could get in the dark room in which I took the picture.

So, the question is whether the proposed rules are reasonable.

They don’t seem so to me.

And, by the way, if you have a picture taking cell phone, be sure to go to the back of the room before you get that candid shot that you might send to McHenry County Blog,

Hey, it’s not so bad. They not saying you have to wear a dunce cap.

And on the house cat front?

Keely can rest easy and get back to house cat things like looking alertly out an open window at those oh-so-tempting chipmunks scurrying through the leaves, instead of hiding from or keeping watch for the McHenry County Republican Cat Tax Collectors.