A press release from McHenry County Board member John Hammerand: McHenry County directs lobbyists to expand authority to tax, and asks for additional authority in all areas At the McHenry County Board meeting on January 21st the County passed the 2014 State Legislative … Continue reading
$82,000 will be paid to Ferguson Group, LLC for Federal legislative consultant services. After being previously approved by the McHenry County Board’s Legislative and intergovernmental Affairs Committee, the Finance Committee voted 4-3 to agree to keep the same lobbying firm … Continue reading
The Legislative Committee of the McHenry County Board will interview folks who seek to become lobbyists for the County next Thursday morning at 8:30. Those to be interviewed, called “Legislative Consultants” by the agenda, are Aronnax Public Strategies, LLC eCapital … Continue reading
The Southtown has a Phil Kadner column about the negative effects (more later than soon) of shifting the burden of paying teacher pensions from State government to local school districts. He missed one aspect that some may find significant. I … Continue reading
Besides the 6 PM meeting at McHenry County College at which the lame duck Board seems destined to renew President Vicky Smith’s contract, there are other meetings people might find of interest. Each of McHenry County’s 17 Townships will hold … Continue reading
Here is the first change in the pension law being featured by the Chicago Tribune Sunday on its front page and today on its editorial page. You’ve perhaps heard about the former Mike Madigan and Shirley Madigan employee who worked … Continue reading
I’m not sure what this means, but a lobbying firm named Stateside Associates has scoured local blogs in the nation and selected what it considers the best in each state. For Illinois two were selected. One, “Clout Street,” is run … Continue reading
Browsing McHenry County’s web site, I ran across the following page about how much McHenry County spends on lobbyists. Silly me. I thought we had two members of the United States Congress, one U.S. Senator who knows where McHenry County … Continue reading
Regular readers may remember my extreme disappointment with liberal Democrat Jack Franks’ vote to sentence poorly-educated Chicago children to more of the same. Chicago Pastor and State Senator James Meeks got a bill through the State Senate that would have … Continue reading
The lobbying arm of Illinois Township Officials is urging local members to call their legislators to ask them to oppose two bills. One takes money from a state subsidy that should have been phased out decades ago. It looks like … Continue reading
If the District 300 manage to win the fight not to be forced to subsidize Sears for another couple of decades, I’ll be really surprised. Although one of the largest school districts in Illinois, the Carpentersville-based tax district is still … Continue reading
Thanks to Boone County Watchdog for pointing me to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s report on lobbyists hired by units of local and state government. I looked at the data base and found Huntley and Johnsburg listed. Who are … Continue reading
This is a long one and for that I apologize. But I want to have the basics of the U.S. Attorney’s case against former Governor George Ryan on McHenry County Blog and this seemed a good way to put it … Continue reading
This is the first negative publicity that Democratic Party State Representative Jack Franks has gotten in a long time. And, it’s based on how much money he has taken from lawyers, lobbyists and labor unions. Yesterday, McHenry County Blog listed … Continue reading
The following was written by my former colleague Penny Pullen. She serves as state president for Eagle Forum of Illinois and is active in Republicans of Wheeling Township. “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is … Continue reading
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform has released a report on lobbying expenses by units of local government. I’ve extracted those from McHenry County and present them below: Carpentersville School District 3002006-07 $28,347 (Hinshaw & Culbertson)Elgin Community College2006-07 $47,500 (Advanced … Continue reading
And long-time Quaker Oats lobbyist Tom Roeser, who writes a quite insightful blog, knows that Mayor Richard Daley’s brother Bill was a lobbyist. Whether he bothered to register as a lobbyist or not, he exerted political influence on behalf of … Continue reading
And long-time Quaker Oats lobbyist Tom Roeser, who writes a quite insightful blog, knows that Mayor Richard Daley’s brother Bill was a lobbyist. Whether he bothered to register as a lobbyist or not, he exerted political influence on behalf of … Continue reading
Woodstock lawyer-lobbyist Jeff Ladd finished his testimony on Monday and didn’t say enough new to make the nightly TV news. He ended Thursday’s time on the witness by admitting he was a “Lobbyist” with a “capital ‘L’” and that he … Continue reading
Woodstock lawyer-lobbyist Jeff Ladd finished his testimony on Monday and didn’t say enough new to make the nightly TV news. He ended Thursday’s time on the witness by admitting he was a “Lobbyist” with a “capital ‘L’” and that he … Continue reading
