I got to Bruce Kaplan’s fund raiser in Cary about an hour after it started, so an accurate count of the number attending is impossible, but I’d guess there were 80-100.
In other words, a good crowd for a municipal fund raiser over two months before the election.
Kaplan is in the real estate business, so, not surprisingly, there were a number of real estate people in attendance.
But there were local political types as well.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi was there. So was Republican McHenry County Sheriff candidate Bill Prim.
The Bob Miller family was well represented. I counted four family Republican Precinct Committee in attendance, including County Board member Anna May Miller.
Demetri Tsilimigras, also a GOP Committeeman from Cary was there, too.
Former McHenry County State Senator and Republican Party Chairman Jack Schaffer was also in attendance.
I only saw one Algonquin Township candidate, Chuck Lutzow, who is running for Township Clerk.
A late arrival was McHenry County Board member Joe Gottemoeller, who reminded me that his District 3 contains part of the Village of Cary.
I asked Kaplan why he entered the political arena.
Before he ran successfully for Village Trustee, the Village requirement of a $95 fee for every real estate sign caught his attention big time.
That had never happened before.
After getting the Illinois Association of Realtors involved, the village dropped the fee to $45, then waived it entirely “for election year,” Kaplan told me and several others.
He also pointed out that before he and his allies were sworn in two years ago, the Village Board denied a homeowner permission to put on a metal roof.
Kaplan said there was no ordinance prohibiting metal roofs, but the Village Board wouldn’t let the man do it anyway.
Such non-written rules are high on Kaplan’s list of things to change in village government.
I had a good talk with Brett Coleman. He came up with this marvelous comment about the state of business in Illinois:
“The only business to be in in Illinois is the moving business.”