Franks Going Upscale for 2016 Annual Fall Breakfast Fundraiser

Donley’s Banquet Hall in Union apparently is no longer good enough for Jack Franks.

Instead of following tradition, he has selected the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn for his fall fundraiser.

The date is October 1st.

The invitation to Jack Franks' low end (les than $1,000) fundraiser.

The invitation to Jack Franks’ low end (les than $1,000) fundraiser.

The back of Jack Franks' invitation says

The back of Jack Franks’ invitation says you can get in for $40.  No discount for Democratic Party Precinct Committeemen, it seems.

And, here’s the Host Committee.

See if you can find the person who has died.

Jack Franks 2016 Host Committee, A-K.

Jack Franks 2016 Host Committee, A-K.

Jack Franks 2016 Host Committee K-A, plus unions and some businesses.

Jack Franks 2016 Host Committee K-A, plus unions and some businesses.


Comments

Franks Going Upscale for 2016 Annual Fall Breakfast Fundraiser — 19 Comments

  1. The cabal of DEMOCRAT hacks is going upscale ?

    Nothing too good for birds of a feather.

  2. Moderate NOT, go back.to Jacko’s two
    Lovefest websites & continue your
    Adoration there.

  3. Jack Franks, who was quoted in the Northwest Herald by Kevin Craver in 2014 as saying he would not run for County Board Chair in 2016.

    Is running for County Board Chair in 2016.

    The voter elected (as opposed to Board elected) position for which he pushed to be created.

    And now he refuses to debate his opponent, Mike Walkup.

    He refuses to produce his plan to reduce property taxes 10% in every single taxing district in the County until after the election.

    Not one taxing district has produced a plan to reduce its property taxes 10%.

    Downstate Police and Downstate Fire pensions are massively underfunded in many taxing districts in McHenry County.

    A conservative Republican and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Foglia, whom in the past have supported Jack Franks, are not supporting Jack Franks in this election, rather his opponent Mike Walkup.

    Jack Franks wrote a letter to Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2003 asking that his wife, dad, and brother, and John Bartman, in that order, be considered for positions in the Blagojevich administration.

    More specifically, Jack Franks asked that John Bartman be considered for a job at IDOT.

    This was the same John Bartman whom was Chair of the McHenry County Democrat party at the time.

    John Bartman was hired by IDOT in 2003 and worked there until 2015.

    Jack Franks said that he would give up his candidacy as Democrat for 63rd State Representative in the November 8, 2016 election if the following were to occur, reported Peter Gonigan of First Electric Newspaper on May 15, 2016:

    “Later, in a First Electric Newspaper interview, Franks qualified that saying he’d give up the Rep. race if the Committee can pick another candidate who’s both ‘electable’ and holds a political outlook consistent with his own.”

    That person, John Bartman, is a prevailing wage monitor for the IUOE Local 150 labor union affiliate, IIIFFC.

    A prevailing wage monitor checks if prevailing wages set by Illinois government as mandated in Illinois state law (union protection wages) are paid on government funded construction projects.

    Jack Franks has called Republican Governor Bruce Rauner a union buster.

    Bruce Rauner supporters should read the Rauner administration’s Turnaround Agenda when evaluating whether to vote for Jack Franks or Mike Walkup.

    Jack Franks stating he would advocate cutting all property taxes in McHenry County by 10% diverts voters from:

    – Is that possible?

    – How likely is that?

    – Why is he saying that?

    – The County Board Chair has no power over cutting property taxes in any taxing district including the County Board.

    – The County Board Chair cannot cast a vote in County Board meetings, unlike the voter elected County Board Members

    Not to mention, how Jack Franks union supported positions result in hiked property taxes.

    And, what about unfunded mandate state laws which result in hiked property taxes.

    There was a task force that looked into such unfunded mandates.

    Jack Franks was on that task force.

    Jack Franks was on the Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandate Task Force that released its 406 page report to Governor Bruce Rauner on December 15, 2015.

    The Illinois Municipal League submitted a 27 page report to that Task Force on March 15, 2015 titled, “Report to the Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force.”

    The reports listed unfunded mandates by Public Act (state law).

    The first two digits of the Public Act indicate the General Assembly.

    Look at the unfunded mandates in that report by Public Act number to determine which Public Acts Jack Franks would have voted on (or had the opportunity to vote).

    The first step is to understand that Jack Franks was present in the 91st to 99th General Assembly.

    Each General Assembly covers 2 years.

    91st General Assembly, 1999 – 2000
    92nd General Assembly, 2001 – 2002
    93rd General Assembly, 2003 – 2004
    94th General Assembly, 2005 – 2006
    95th General Assembly, 2007 – 2008
    96th General Assembly, 2009 – 2010
    97th General Assembly, 2011 – 2012
    98th General Assembly, 2013 – 2014
    99th General Assembly, 2015 – 2016

    Looking at those unfunded mandates which became state law and which Jack Franks voted yes, is it possible that none of those resulted in a tax hike?

    No.

    But Jack Franks claims he has never voted for a tax hike.

    Well, he voted for unfunded mandates that became state law and resulted in tax hikes.

  4. Omitted a word above.

    Jack Franks is running for County Board Chair in 2016.

    Even though in 2014 he said he wouldn’t run for County Board Chair in 2016.

  5. Understanding Downstate Police and Fire pensions is a key to understanding why sustainable 10% property tax cuts in property taxing districts that have a Downstate Police and Fire pension are next to impossible without tax hikes, legislative reforms, service cuts, or massive productivity increases.

    The benefits have been hiked by state legislators including Jack Franks.

    The salaries have been hiked by locally elected boards.

    This has resulted in hiked pensions.

    These salary and benefit hikes are having a snowball rolling downhill effect on the unfunded liability (taxpayer IOU) in most of these pensions growing bigger and bigger.

    The Downstate Police and Fire pensions are unsustainable.

    Most of the McHenry County Downstate Police and Fire Pensions have large unfunded liabilities (taxpayer IOU to the pension fund).

    Since the pensions are defined benefit, the local property taxing district (and thus the taxpayer) is responsible for 100% of the unfunded liability (tax employee is responsible for zero of the unfunded liability).

    What happened is a travesty.

    It should have been illegal for State Representatives and State Senators like Jack Franks to vote to hike pension benefits, when the pension systems were already underfunded.

    That’s just plain stupid.

    The pension funding status should have been a mandated consideration in collective bargaining negotiations.

    Not having such a law has resulted in pension funding status being ignored during collective bargaining, even though pensions and pay are part of overall compensation.

    The Pension and Collective Bargaining rules are flawed and that has resulted in hiked property taxes.

    How about those types of reforms Mr. Franks?

    But even if those reforms are enacted, 46 years of damage has occurred.

    46 years ago was when the pension sentence was added to the Illinois State Constitution, stating retirement benefits (interpreted by the Illinois Supreme Court as meaning pensions and retiree healthcare) are contractual and cannot be diminished or impaired.

    But the benefits can be hiked infinitely.

    Salaries can be hiked infinitely.

    Irregardless of pension funding levels (irregardless if the pension is 100% funded or zero percent funded).

    Irregardless of taxpayer ability to pay considering all overlapping taxing districts at the local, state, and Federal levels.

    The pensions must be reformed or property tax payers will face tax hikes, service cuts, or other strategies such as possibly some efficiency’s can be found (but not enough to solve the problem through efficiency savings alone).

    Some efficiency’s may be found by merging some fire protection districts and departments.

    That would cut a bit of administrative overhead, but nothing close to closing the unfunded liability (taxpayer IOU).

    But consolidating districts would be offset by some degree by creating a more powerful labor union local, of the labor in the consolidated fire protection districts and departments formed a new consolidated labor union.

    Thus we get back to Jack Franks supporting consolidation (which generally has resulted in larger labor union locals in Illinois) but not focusing on unfunded state mandate laws on local units of government (which Jack Franks voted for as a State Representative).

    At best Jack Franks would have an advocacy role to make 10% tax cuts in all taxing districts happen.

    The County Board Chair has no direct say in how other taxing districts operate or lobby the state legislature.

    Thus, his calling for a 10% tax cut in all property taxing districts in McHenry County is an election gimmick.

    No plan = gimmick, unrealistic plan, etc.

    So Jack Franks is:

    – Running for a position he said he would not fun for

    – Refuses to release a plan until after the election, for a key campaign pledge of reducing property taxes 10% in all taxing districts in the county

    – Voted for unfunded mandates on local government that became law and hiked local property taxes

    – Recommend then Chair of McHenry County Democrat Party, John Bartman, for a position at IDOT, and John Bartman did receive a position at IDOT that year.

    – Completely ignores one of the biggest problems of local property taxpayers, underfunded Downstate Police and Downstate Fire pensions; a problem he helped to worsen as a State Representative by voting for unfunded Downstate Police and Downstate Fire benefit hikes which local property taxpayers are then forced to fund.

    – Refuses to debate his opponent, even though Mr. Franks advocated making the County Board Chair an elected position.

    – Why does Mr. Franks not want the voters to hear the candidates debate the issues for position which advocated that the voters have a direct say in electing.

    – At the time Mr. Franks said in 2014 that he would not run for County Board Chair 2016, Mr. Franks said, this has nothing to do with me (when he was advocating for two other county board referendums).

    – It has nothing to do with him? He is running, when he said he wouldn’t run, and he won’t debate.

    – But he has time for a fundraiser with Democrat Secretary of State Jesse White.

    – Does Jesse White have policy positions consistent with McHenry County Republican voters whom Jack Franks needs to win the election?

    – Yes the Tumblers are fun to watch. In this case they are being used for a political event to generate money for Jack Franks’ political action committee (PAC). If there’s any doubt of that, do 100% of the proceeds go to the Jesse White Tumbling Team non-profit, EIN 36-3388571? No clue if the non-profit charges an appearance fee or how they are reimbursed for costs associated with the Franks fundraiser.

  6. This article is about Franks fall fundraiser.

    Who cares where he has it and why he wants it there.

    Why are all the comments about another subject?

    Who cares what he charges he isn’t going to win.

  7. Mark likes posting the same thing over and over again, voter.

    Poor guy was on vacation the last week, so he’s catching up on lost redundancy.

  8. I think you are right so from now on I’m just going to scroll over the book that Mark writes. l.o.l.

  9. Not a single family member or friend is on those lists.

    Kind of make me happy and almost proud.

  10. Is it true that Jackie has alienated all the women voters in the county by refusing to attend the League of Women Voters debate?

    If so, what is he afraid of?

  11. He’s afraid of answering questions that he didn’t personally choose!

    The town hall I went to was a joke!

    He was picking and choosing the questions he would answer (that his shills put in the fishbowl)

    Lame Franks!

  12. Moderate should stand in for Jackie and answer the unscripted questions. That would be a hoot.

    I don’t know

    I forgot

    Can I phone a friend

    Yes, I used common core math

  13. I wonder if the Bill LeFew on this list is the same guy who used to be the Republican Treasurer for McHenry County.

  14. @Radke- are you serious?

    Since when does that organization represent All the women of the county- Or hold meaningful debates?

    It is as useful as the question and answer session of a beauty contest- no follow up, no one cares if the answers are truthful- Walkup did a great job of lying last time about the voting record of Gonzorick and Anna May Miller says “I will not take the County Health plan” without a follow up to show that’s because she uses a different tax payer healthcare plan.

    And most importantly- no one goes who hasn’t already made up their mind about who they are supporting.

    Want them to be meaningful- get Stew Cohen and Kevin Craver to moderate them. otherwise- the are a complete waste of time.

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