David McSweeney Transfers Sponsorship of Jack Franks’ Power Enhancement Bill, Franks Decides He Doesn’t Want People Thinking He Was Behind It

The major actors in the legislation that would make McHenry County Boar Chairman perhaps the most powerful county chairman in Illinois made major moves yesterday.

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks disavowed his lust for power in the following statement about the bill that David McSweeney introduced four days earlier:

Jack Franks in an “I’m in charge” mode. Now he says he doesn’t want to be in total control.

Over the past week, a number of County Board members have expressed serious concerns with House Bill 3317, the McHenry County Equitable Standards and Governmental Efficiency Law, filed last Friday by state Rep. David McSweeney.

After careful review of this bill, I concluded that I cannot support it.

I believe House Bill 3317 grants the office of Chairman too much authority, and I also believe that your input is vital on a bill of this magnitude.

I informed Representative McSweeney over the weekend that I opposed the bill, and then reached out to Rep. Sam Yingling, who is chairman of the House Counties and Townships Committee.

I shared with him the concerns that I, and County Board members, had with the bill, and he has agreed not to move it forward.

A copy of the email he sent me is attached to this letter.

Representative Yingling wrote that his committee is developing an omnibus good-government bill, and unlike House Bill 3317, I intend for the County Board to have a voice in its development. I am creating an ad-hoc committee to offer ideas regarding what the bill will include.

I value the working relationship that a majority of this County Board and I have developed over the past two years. We have accomplished so much together for our constituents. House Bill 3317 would have done significant damage to that relationship, and I could not sit idle and allow that to happen.

If you have questions on this or any other subject, as always, please just give me a call.

I remain very truly yours,

Here is House Counties and Township Committee Chairman Sam Yingling reply:


Here is McSweeney’s take:

David McSweeney

I transferred the bill to Chairman Yingling, the committee Chairman. Yingling wants to use the bill or another bill to do one omnibus County/consolidation bill that will affect multiple counties, including McHenry County.

I believe that some of the elements of my County bill will be included in the omnibus bill.

The two most important items in the bill to me are

  • abating surplus funds to taxpayers and
  • eliminating health care benefits for County Board members.

I would also like the omnibus bill to include increased authority to cut and veto spending.


Comments

David McSweeney Transfers Sponsorship of Jack Franks’ Power Enhancement Bill, Franks Decides He Doesn’t Want People Thinking He Was Behind It — 13 Comments

  1. Couple of lying sacks of crap!!!

    (McSweeney and Franks)

    Neither one can be trusted!!

  2. Did McSweeney and Franks launch this bill to deflect attention from his Township Consolidation / Elimination disaster bill?

  3. Oh and who’s gonna believ LyingJackFranks.com

    Nothing like throwing McSweeney under the bus after he’s been your water boy!

    Both of them are bad news and thinks the voters are stupid.

  4. questioning is so ungrateful that this bill was narrowed in scope.

    What a daft fellow you are….

  5. What McSweeney just said in general is what is mostly already in the bill!

    Outside of eliminating the Recorder and Auditor that over looks him.

    Why would Jack want to have the Recorder under him instead of the Clerk’s office?

    What is he fishing for?

    The Auditor is obvious but the Recorder?

    There has got to be something he wants?!

    However, they are still asking for the same stuff.

    When will Springfield that does a crappy job of running the state, stay out of local politics that have to try and fix or work within the confines of the unfunded mandates they pass!

  6. Yeah right!

    One a lifelong politician and one that is selling his soul in hopes of becoming one.

    Both of these overreaching, power hungry, blowhard politicians are jokes.

  7. You can call me whatever you want (I do believe people should be allowed to show their ignorance) but I am not a ‘fellow’.

    Insofar as the bill being narrowed in scope, just what do you base that on?

    Until it is voted on and signed by a the governor, bills in Springfield intended to control dog catchers tend to end up controlling the type of leash used on canines.

  8. Tyrants 0 conservatives 1

    All thanks to our GOP leadership (Diane Evertsen) who made this happen.

  9. ‘Again’, maybe the ability to alter land deeds?

    Wouldn’t be the first time there was fraud in this county regarding property.

    Or could it be that Franks wants the appearance of being responsible for eliminating the Recorder as an elected and high paid position. Too late, Tirio already did that!

    Or maybe Franks wants to take over fill the Recorders office with friends, family, campaign workers!

    Remember his list of demand hires to Blago?

  10. Kill the bill and start fresh.

    That bill should die never to be resurrected.

    A big problem in the General Assembly is bills whose contents are wiped clean and replaced with entirely new language, or the scope considerably changed, with the contents of the bill no longer equating to its short title.

    +++++++++

    If there is a bill to change only McHenry County government, the bill should be introduced and owned by a McHenry County legislator.

    +++++

    Eliminating retiree healthcare benefits for existing employees would be unconstitutional.

    For future workers, it is constitutional.

    +++++

    Jack Franks currently receives a state pension for the 18 years he was a State Representative, while simultaneously receiving a salary from McHenry County as County Board Chair, and he is still in his 50’s.

    Allowing state workers to receive pensions in their 50’s were some of the many legislative benefit hikes while pensions were already underfunded.

    Such actions, not properly funded, hiked the unfunded pension liability and piled on pension interest costs to taxpayers.

  11. We always knew McSweeney was a liar and who demonizes others to make himself look good.

    So now it looks like he is the coffee boy for Jack.

    Jack Franks–who I always admired–is really the same low caliber, heartless, selfish, and power-hungry politician that people have been telling me.

    From here on out I am going to doubt anything this guy does when he says it is to help people.

    Most of us realize we have been fooled by Jack’s warm personality..

    he is really a cold-hearted wannabe dictator who thinks we are so stupid that we would continue to believe his lies.

    Voters are not stupid, and we are not going to forget that actions speak louder than words.

  12. Dave McSweeney’s proposal seems to be directed at healthcare benefits for current employees (as opposed to retirees).

    Could make that more clear in the bill.

    Why should state legislators receive healthcare benefits but not county board members?

    How about filing a bill to eliminate healthcare benefits for state legislators?

    ++++

    If saving taxpayers money by eliminating healthcare benefits is the goal, don’t give the savings to the county board chairperson to spend.

    Instead more fully fund pensions and retiree healthcare, to reduce interest costs.

    The county has underfunded pensions and retiree healthcare.

    There is a cost to underfunded pensions and retiree healthcare.

    The cost is expressed in principal and interest.

    Or is retirement security of public sector workers and saving interest not the goal.

    +++++++

    Here is the health care insurance portion of the bill.

    +++++++

    “55 ILCS 5/5-45055 new

    Sec. 5-45055

    County board health insurance.

    Health insurance benefits paid on behalf of county board members are eliminated on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly.

    The additional funding granted to the chairperson under Section 5-45050 shall not exceed the health insurance benefits eliminated under this Section.”

    ++++++

    The bill should also clarify if the health insurance of the county board chair is cut.

    The county board chair is not considered a county board member?

    Of course Jack Franks would then probably file to receive the SEGIP state retiree healthcare insurance.

    Although there have been comments Mr. Franks (and his family?) are not currently receiving state provided retiree healthcare, not sure where that has been definitively reported.

    There’s no publicly available database of who is receiving public sector retiree healthcare insurance, and the value of the benefit.

  13. @Mark

    If the state law in effect at the time these county board members states (as it does) that compensation may not be altered during their term of office, how does that square with this proposed law which takes away their health insurance benefits upon the effective date of the new section?

    Not sure if Jack has stated that he is NOT taking the state insurance as a retiree.

    For some reason I think that’s the case (i.e. he said that he wasn’t), however we have numerous examples of Jack saying one thing and doing the opposite so. . .

Leave a Reply

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