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County budget amended, approved Valley Hi nursing home levy to be abated 1 year Sc tration by R.
PICKS FOR
Illus
PRESIDENT
McHenry County officials weigh in on who has their support for GOP election
By KEVIN P. CRAVER
T
kcraver@shawmedia.com
en months and four debates into the 2016 election cycle, no Republican presidential candidate in the crowded 14-member field has become the one to beat. Billionaire and reality TV star Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are, for now, in a close race for the top of the polls. Coming in a distant third and fourth are Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. And aside from the withdrawals of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, the remaining field has been clinging on, either doggedly or stubbornly, depending on who you ask. Like Republicans everywhere, McHenry County’s have their favored candidates, which, of course, could change. Candidates have two more debates before Iowa Republicans hold the first primary Feb. 1, and another in New Hampshire on Feb. 6 before that state’s Republicans go to the polls three days later. Rubio, who has set up a significant ground game in Illinois ahead of its March 15 primary, has the support of Rep. Barbara state Rep. Barbara Wheeler, Wheeler R-Crystal Lake. She is a delegate candidate for Rubio, as is state Sen. Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is “part of a new generation of Republicans and ideas” who is young and can reach out
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“Things can change, especially in a race like this, at any minute.” Sandra Fay Salgado
McHenry County Republican Party chairwoman to the Hispanic demographic, Wheeler said. “He comes from a modest background, speaks to the average person and articulates things quite well, and he has a clear plan,” said Wheeler, who added she strongly supports his foreign policy stances. Illinois has 69 primary and 66 alternate delegates to the Republican National Convention for this election. Fifty-four of them, or three from each of the state’s 18 congressional districts, will be elected by the voters in the primary, and the remaining 15 statewide delegates will be awarded on a winner-take-all basis. A candidate needs 1,236 delegates to win the party nomination, although that total may uptick slightly between now and the July convention in Cleveland, Sen. Dan Ohio. Duffy It takes 3,000 signatures, with minimums for each congressional district based on registered Republican voters, to get on the Illinois GOP primary ballot as a presidential contender, which can be something of a daunting task for its deepest-blue
Chicago districts. Serious candidates for any office need more signatures than that minimum as a cushion to survive any challenges to their petitions. Although Trump had been seen as being late to the game in terms of getting the needed signatures, his Illinois efforts ramped up significantly after a Nov. 9 appearance before a packed and record-breaking audience at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. His Illinois campaign is collecting signatures, and Carson’s campaign, likewise, started its Illinois operation in October. Besides Rubio, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have strong Illinois operations. Rubio’s two campaign co-chairmen are newly elected U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood and state Sen. Michael Connelly, R-Lisle. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger and former Gov. Jim Edgar are co-chairing Bush’s campaign. Bush and Kasich have been lagging in the polls. As for other GOP presidential hopefuls, they just now are getting their Illinois operations started, McHenry County Republican Party Chairwoman Sandra Fay Salgado said. Salgado said the most popular candidates among active county party members are Carson and Rubio, and Cruz to a lesser extent. “Things can change, especially in a race like this, at any minute,” Salgado said. Grafton Township Republican Party Chairman Paul Serwatka said although he likes Cruz and Carson, his allegiance lies with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul because of his strong stances in favor of individual
See SUPPORT, page A8
By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board in a surprise twist chose not to lower the levy for Valley Hi Nursing Home as part of its 2016 budget as planned, but to abate it completely for one year. Board members voted late Tuesday evening, 22-0, to approve the change and the budget. Their original plan simply had been to reduce the levy for the coun- Mike Skala ty-owned nursing home from $3 million to $2.25 million as part of its $231.5-million 2016 spending plan. The change came after a chaotic and at times contentious debate on a major change proposed the night of a budget vote for a county fiscal year that starts in two weeks. But in the end, members who said the county could set an example for other taxing bodies that are choosing to raise as much as possible on taxpayers’ backs won the day. Finance and Audit Committee Chairman Mike Skala, R-Huntley, made the amendment, which took more than 30 minutes of explanation, a recess and a debate with County Clerk Mary McClellan as to whether state law allowed the
abatement to continue a second year without wiping out the tax rate forever. Board members ultimately passed an amendment by member Nick Provenzano, R-McHenry, to limit the abatement to one year and revisit it again for the 2017 budget. Members have struggled in past years with the large surplus that the nursing home has amassed – that surplus, w h i c h varies between $35 million Nick and $40 Provenzano m i l l i o n , c o u l d cover about three years worth of its expenses. The surplus in many ways is Valley Hi being a victim of its own success. The 128-bed, all-inclusive nursing home west of Woodstock bled millions of dollars in red ink for years until a series of reforms were enacted. The home has run in the black since 2011, and the surplus that used to plug the leaks since has created the large surplus, despite the fact that the levy steadily has been reduced from $6 million a decade ago. County Board members historically have been divided between those who want the Valley Hi levy reduced as
See BUDGET, page A9
Fox Lake police union responds to Gliniewicz investigation By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com FOX LAKE – The president of the Fox Lake police union spoke out Tuesday on behalf of the department amid the investigation into Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz and the review of the police department as a whole. Fox Lake Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 90 President Bill Monsen said members were extremely disappointed when they learned Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran, had been stealing from the Fox Lake Explorer Post 300 for years. Lake County police investigating Gliniewicz’s Sept. 1 shooting death said Nov. 4 that Gliniewicz staged his suicide to look like a homicide after months of mounting fear his embezzlement would be discovered.
“Lt. Gliniewicz’s actions are an insult to the integrity, honor and pride that each member of the Fox Lake Police Department brings to the job each and every day,” Monsen said in a statement. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation into Gliniewicz’s financial crimes and determining whether anyone else was culpable in the theft of what investigators said was a “high five-figure” amount. “It’s moving forward,” Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Covelli said. “There is a team of several investigators assigned to the case, and they are making progress.” Lake County investigators refuse to comment on the family’s involvement. However, it is believed police are investigating Gliniewicz’s wife,
Melodie, and oldest son, D.J., in connection to the thefts. The law firm representing Melodie Gliniewicz said Tuesday that the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office has frozen her personal bank accounts, according to multiple news sources. When the investigation is complete, Covelli said police would hand it over to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office for review. He did not know when the investigation would come to a close. Entirely separate from Lake County’s investigation, Fox Lake Village Administrator Anne Marrin is conducting an internal review and audit of the police department’s policies, procedures and inventory. That
See GLINIEWICZ, page A8
H. Rick Bamman – hbamman@shawmedia.com
Flanked by Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd (left) and Sheriff’s Detective Chris Covelli (right), Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko discusses Fox Lake Police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz’s death Nov. 4 at the Round Lake Beach Civic Center.
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