Mike Tryon and Pam Althoff Meeting Voters at Crystal Lake City Hall – Part 1

Crystal Lake City Hall

The line most in keeping with McHenry County Blog’s philosophy was uttered by State Senator Pam Althoff Tuesday night to crowd of about thirty people in the Crystal Lake City Hall:

“Government is a participatory sport…There is a responsibility on your part.”

Town Hall Meeting at Crystal Lake City Hall.

She had proceeded statement near the end of an hour and a half meeting by saying,

“If you need to find us, we’re not hard to find.”

Mike Tryon thinks the poor economy will force government to contract.

State Rep. Mike Tryon pointed out that he received about 500 emails the week the legislature considered the pension reform bill near the end of the session.

Turn around time?

One to two days people in the audience verified.

But, as Althoff pointed out,

“We don’t always make the right decision on things. Be patient. We’re learning.”

Earlier Tryon commented, “It’s hard to face you guys.”

“Sometimes it takes this kind of a crisis. Then people like you get more engaged and hold us responsible,” Althoff added.

Talk about having fewer governments was led off by Wonder Lake township government opponent Bob Anderson.

The threat re-emerged in a comment by Tryon toward the end of the meeting:

“I think what we’re about to see in this economy is the contraction of government.

“Government’s not going to reform government. The economy is.”

He pointed to his own business need to economize. He has cut the number of employees from 21 to 13.

Crystal Lake Councilman Ralph Dawson added his experience at the Illinois Municipal League Convention in Chicago last week:

“It’s terrible out there. Government has to cut themselves.”

Pam Althoff explaining money is not the answer to better education.

Althoff, who held a Chicago fundraiser in conjunction with the convention, revealed that attendance was down 15%.

When I arrived a bit after the seven o’clock starting time former teacher Althoff was explaining the tremendous amount of money that state taxpayers have pumped into local schools without appreciable change in test scores.

Her point?

Money isn’t the answer.

Not for profit providers of services subsidized by the state were addressed by Tryon in his opening remarks.

“If we tell you we’re going to pay you, we should pay you.”

More tomorrow.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *