The 2016 Recorder of Deeds Race

Tina Hill

Tina Hill

John Hammerand

John Hammerand

Candidates are already lining up to win the Republican Party primary for Recorder of Deeds next spring.

After all, petition passing for next year’s primary election starts around the first of September.

Long-time incumbent Phyllis Walters is expected to retired.  She probably has made every improvement she can think of, including putting every record on digital media.

So who wants to a job that pays over $100,000 a year?

Barb Wheeler

Barb Wheeler

Nick Provenzano

Nick Provenzano

Probably a lot of people, but here are some names I have heard bandied about:

  • John Hammerand, current County Board member
  • Tina Hill, current County Board member and former Board Chairwoman
  • Nick Provenzano, current County Board member, who just came in second while seeking to become County Clerk
  • Barbara Wheeler, former County Board member and current State Representative

There is an attraction to the job for Wheeler that the others don’t have.

The commute to and from Springfield takes as long each week as commuting on the train from Crystal Lake to Chicago. That’s a large part of one’s life.

And for the approximately 25% of the year the legislature is in session, personal interaction with one’s children is limited to weekends.

For all four potential candidates, the salary of the Recorder of Deeds is higher than what they earn now and for all four, that higher salary would increase their Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund pensions a lot.

If Wheeler decides to run for Recorder, that could lead to a vacancy in the legislature.

The district is split pretty evenly between Lake and McHenry Counties.

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If you have heard other names, please mention them in a comment.


Comments

The 2016 Recorder of Deeds Race — 7 Comments

  1. Another candidate set to emerge would be Chris Christensen of Cary, Alg #29 – A veteran, outstanding community leader, school board member, lifelong McHenry County resident!

    Strong Family man.

    He will be an Outstanding Recorder of Deeds.

    Yep you heard me… Chris Christensen

  2. I have an idea: How about we float a referendum next year to abolish the office? With the advent of computerized systems, this office has become archaic. I would suggest the office come under the new Chairman of the Board just like the Assessors office.
    Next step, run a referendum to eliminate the County Clerk for the same reason. Election law is dictated by the State and the federal government, why do we need a local clerk in the middle? Other office functions of the Clerk’s office can easily be absorbed by County Administration due to computerization.

  3. Ms. Tina Hill, really?

    You know Ms. Hill, I never wanted to ever comment on your little problem you had only a few, very few, months back.

    For those who do not know the story, while Ms. Hill was the County Board Chairwoman, she was caught in the morning hours driving under the influence of alcohol. You can find a very brief N.W. Herald story via this link.

    http://www.nwherald.com/2014/12/29/mchenry-county-board-member-tina-hill-pleads-out-on-dui-charge/ajflpuh/

    Like most politicians and the wealthy do, they go from the booking room at the police station after posting bail, and head straight to a ‘rehabilitation’ center.

    This way they don’t have to see the judge right away, they don’t have to talk to the press to answer those pesky questions.

    In plain words, they ‘skate’ from responsibility.

    Even after having blown nearly twice the legal limit!

    This case is very strange indeed.

    Chairwoman Hill goes to rehab just as I explained above.

    Not a day over thirty days after her drunk driving arrest, Hill was right back at the McHenry County Board room.

    Ms. Hill did not seek another term as “Chairperson,” she conceded that idea, but, she was awarded just the same.

    Board members gave Hill the chairmanship of the Management Services Committee, which oversees the overall management of board rules and procedures, and county government’s facilities.

    Now, just two short months after being arrested for drunk driving, Ms. Hill has the stones to run for a $100,000 a year plus job?

    Could it be, Tina Hill, current County Board member and former Board Chairwoman, wants your vote as “Recorder of Deeds?”

    Ms. Hill claims she has medical issues that go beyond any problem she may well have with alcohol.

    I hope she is able to find ‘comfort’ from the chronic pain she must be enduring.

    But you can’t find comfort from chronic pain due to having what I believe are numerous medical procedures.

    But Ms. Hill, come on, you need to take care of your health before you can return to a public servant job leading a team of employees who will depend upon you for leadership.

    I find it particularly disturbing that nobody seems to want to touch the ‘White Elephant’ in the room

  4. Hmmmmmmm

    Tie a yellow ribbon around that white elephant quick!

  5. I don’t think Tina Hill is a wise choice.

    That is a long drive to Springfield and with her DUI and other problems she is facing could be a problem.

    John Hammerand you can’t be in Florida and have a tele conference with a Springfield session.

  6. Tina would not be a welcome addition to McHenry County.

    There is a track record there and not a positive one.

    We are trying to cleanup McHenry County, not leave it behind in the dark ages of the old regime…

    Hang it up Tina!

    As for Mr Hammerand, we do not need a cell phone “Recorder”

  7. The only one I would even consider out of the 4 would be Barb Wheeler.

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