Here are the notes that former 14-year member of the McHenry County Board Ersel Schuster took while listening to the early December meeting of the Committee on Committees:
JF: I would like to reflect on the fact that we have several members here who are not on the cmte and I just want you to know that I appreciate that…
Mr. B & Mr. Kearns, Ms McCann, Mr. Thorsen, Mr. Wheeler and Ms Barnes. So ya…
YB: You just made a statement,,, are you suggesting that each district will not have representation from each district?
JF: No. Just the opposite. Each district will be represented on each comte. ??:
Not having experience with HR… I do notice there is a good deal of overlap with ISF… HR can be very intense and ??? what is done… are we looking at multiple meetings a month?
CS or PY: Spoke to the no. HR, Liq & L&G meetings cancelled over the last year… also mention the lack of full attendance… (as problems…)
this structure would actually “give work” to these cmtes…
in combining them it would actually give them agenda items… efficiency of their time when they have to be there…
JT: I want to remind you that the information behind those numbers …
I would remind you as an example… M Walkup was almost always gone and in the end wasn’t there at all
also, CWilcox missed a number of mtgs. So, as far as L&J is concerned… there was a lot more behind those missing members and cancelled mtgs.
JF: We will put off the “attendance” issue we will put that off for today. We had some other ideas…
McC: I was on HR… contracts(?) but most important… the health benefits package…
so, it was helpful to have M Rein on there… previous times…
but I do see how this fits with ISF…
so that is a good fit and I do hope we have some people who have some expertise on that because that really does help.
JF: Next meeting… I’ve talked to JJ on that and he thought it was a good fit.
JK: Limit appointment to 1 per dist. Or would some cmtes have more than 1 from a district?
JF: I was cognizant of that so we could put it in the rules that there be no more than 2 from any one dist.
McC: I think LIQ & L&G is a good fit to see how laws are enforced across the board.
JF: wants the administrative work to stay with staff and the adjudication stuff would stay with us.
Streamlining the process.
Today was to just to discuss the restructure of the cmtes and that the “other” issues would be considered at another meeting.
CW: What happens if there is a tie vote with 8 members?
It would be my recommendation would be that it not go to the full board until there is resolution at the cmte.
JF: That process is not being changed/addressed at this time…
in the past with 7 members…
if someone is missing and there is a 3/3 vote… the issue goes to the full board with “no- recommendation.”
We’re trying to get rid of some of the redundancies… in the past 2/3 cmtes reviewed the same issue and voted on them.
2 cmtes could support and the 3 rd opposed… it would go to the board ???
“I” put the proposal out there… to start the conversation on the restructuring of the cmtes.
MS: 3.1.3 (PG 5) – suggestion: chg to 8 mbr.
JF: I asked Scott to make the changes I was suggesting yesterday… (apparently no one had seen them)
MS moves: Paula seconds: Bob, Carolyn, Chris, Kate (?), Paula, Larry, chair.
MS: Ad Hoc cmte. On rules should be continued to a COW mtg… group agreed.
Chris: Can we send our comments to someone…
JF: Yes. Send them to
JF: We’ve got 2/3’s of a vote here today…
CW/YB: Are there other changes that will be incorporated in the resolution restructuring cmtes?
Scott: There are minor changes… succession planning, etc.
JF: Lets do just these 4 changes and omit the minor changes til later.
12/4/18 – COMMITTEE on COMMITTEES:
Cmte: Christensen, Jung, McCann, Nowack, Wheeler, Reinert, Franks.
JF: I really appreciate folks reaching out… giving us their ideas… spent a lot of time on this,… and what they would like to do and we tried to accommodate them!
I think everybody got their requests…
I met with everybody but Chuck yesterday… and gathered a chart…
I can show you the chart we had put together… meeting with everybody yesterday…
This was the original makeup of the Cmte assignments (all done before mtg):
- FIN/Audit: Skala / McCann: Reinert, Wagner, Smith, (4 vacancy) Christen, Weign
- L&G/Liq: Nowack / Aavang: Wheeler, Ness, Jung, Wagner, Wilbeck, Acosta
- Transp: Kearnes / Wilbeck: Skala, Althoff, (3&4 vacancy) Thorsen, Weign
- PH: Christensen / Yensen: Thornsen, McCann, Barnes, Parish Keanes Bates
- Adm Serv. Aavang / Jung: Schofield, Bates, Barnes, Ness, Parish Acosta
- PD: Smith / Schofield: Nowack, Yensen, Reinert, McCann, Althoff (3 vacancy)
Before the vote… and without recapping the changes… all voted YES:
VOTE: Chris, Jung, McCann, Nowack, Wheeler, Reinert, Franks.
There is a calendar article in the Chicago Tribune which refers to a picture of Althoff and Franks sitting at the bar and being served by Peter Austin – taxpayers of McHenry, this is what the LIAR is working toward.
He wants to establish an administrative state at the County with him or his sidekick Pam as the dictator in chief.
Fewer committees makes STAFF all powerful and they will dance to the tune of the Chair.
The majority voted for him and now everyone will pay the price – this county will never recover from his manipulations of the Board.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/12/10/prager_u_who_are_the_most_powerful_people_in_america.html
All of this should have been discussed over the past year in the Internal Support Committee which traditionally had jurisdiction over Rules.
Of course, JF did not want that as a majority of the members of that committee didn’t toe The Lined.