OpiniOn

McHenry County, being a reliably Republican suburb in a decidedly Democratic state, exposed its red roots last week when Democrats had little success locally in the Nov. 3 election – but not just because of the county’s political history.

True, the county gave a majority of its votes to Republican candidates for president and U.S. Senate, both of whom lost statewide races by about 13 percentage points. But that local vote translated into successes down the ballot for Republicans.

Democrat Paula Yensen of Woodstock defended her District 5 seat on the County Board among the few victories her party won locally. Countywide, they appear to also have put two new Democrats in district seats on the board, cutting the Republican advantage to 17-7. Give them board member Suzanne Ness’ victory over a Republican incumbent, and their contribution to Sean Casten’s winning re-election in the Sixth Congressional District, but everything else in McHenry County belonged to Republicans.

That includes four representatives in the Illinois House, nine County Board seats (five unopposed), new board Chairman Mike Buehler, four countywide offices (one unopposed), a deciding vote in the possible defeat of a sitting congresswoman, and decisive totals in killing two referendum questions they opposed. Republicans were contested by Libertarians for two countywide offices after Democrats

It’s been a long, slow ride.

EDITORIAL CARTOON BY JIM MANSFIELD

failed to field candidates in those races. So, yeah, this is still a Republican county. Bigly.

And Republicans also did a much better job of messaging to define those two referendum questions – one state, one local – that complemented their victories throughout the county ballot.

A Democratic initiative to make the McHenry County coroner an appointed, rather than elected, position lost with less than 38 percent of the vote. A Democratic initiative to replace the state’s “flat” income tax with a graduated scale won only 45 percent statewide – and 37 percent in McHenry County.

By positioning Democrats as corrupt, high-tax politicians, Republicans turned out their vote in counties where they should win and exceeded expectations elsewhere, even picking up two seats in the still heavily Democratic Illinois House.

Legislative Democrats can begin to repair their tattered image by dumping House Speaker Mike Madigan, who has had that position in a stranglehold for the better part of four decades. Republican attempts to taint Democrats statewide as Madigan cronies have been largely unsuccessful at the polls until this year, as the speaker now finds himself at the center of a bribery investigation – though no one has yet found his fingerprints at the scene of a crime.

While the election was no disaster for Democrats, it suggested that still might be coming – as early as the 2022 midterm, when one of their own occupies the White House – if they don’t reform their budgetary misfeasance and provably corrupt politics at the state level.

And in McHenry County, Democratic successes from 2018 that hinted of a new political trend are a distant memory. Change comes slowly – if at all.

By Dr. Mark DePue

For many of us, the Korean War is truly a “forgotten war,” lost to our consciousness between America’s triumph in World War II and the tragedy of the Vietnam War. But for the past two decades, the Korean peninsula has again caught our attention, chiefly because of the incessant saber rattling by one of the newest nuclear powers, North Korea, led by the world’s most enigmatic leader, Kim Jong-un.

With that in mind, it is worth remembering the Marine Corps’ desperate fight in late 1950 at the Chosin Reservoir, deep inside North Korea. Carl Greenwood, a young Marine with the First Marine Division, was there, fighting in bitter cold as the Marines and U.S. Army troops were overwhelmed by a flood of Chinese soldiers. The Marines were forced to withdraw, but with such valor that the Chosin Reservoir is heralded as one of the Marine Corps’ finest moments.

Greenwood was only 19 in 1950, a young kid from the river town of Havana, Ill., where his father hunted and fished to keep food on the table. Greenwood followed his dream and joined the Marines in 1947.

The Korean War began in June 1950 when Kim Il-sun, Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, unleashed the North Korean Army in an attempt to unite the Korean peninsula under communist rule. The U.S. rushed troops to the port city of Pusan and, with the aid of the United Nations, halted the Communists just short of their goal. Then came the Marines’ surprise landing at Inchon, followed by the U.N.’s drive deep into North Korea toward the Yalu River and the border of China. By the end of November, the Marines had reached the Chosin Reservoir.

Greenwood was assigned as a machine gunner in his unit’s heavy machine gun platoon. His weapon was a water-cooled .30 caliber machine gun they named Beulah. Their mission: dig in at Koto-ri and guard the road connecting the lead Marine and Army units a few miles north at the Chosin Reservoir with the Korean port city of Hungnam.

But then came one of the worst intelligence failures in American history. The Chinese launched a massive offensive on Nov. 27 with hundreds of thousands of seasoned troops, veterans of the Chinese Civil War, who caught the Americans flat footed. They quickly surrounded the U.N. forces at the Chosin and along the entire length of the road, cutting it in several places.

Greenwood remembers one night Continued on Next page

First off, let’s celebrate the wonderfully warm, dry first week of November 2020. The Chicago Tribune reported it was the longest string of warm November days since 1953. I was 9 then, and unfortunately, I don’t remember taking advantage of those unlike-November days.

November is one of Northern Illinois’ cloudiest, grayest months. Its twin is February. So when we have a week of sun and blue skies in November, it is reason to celebrate. And I did. I worked outside, walked, jogged, and watched leaves fall. Whoopee!

Now, let’s move on to elections and Veterans Day. Sometimes, as I’m thinking about writing another week’s Declarations, I tie together ideas that may or may not have any reason to be linked – like elections and Veterans Day. This year connecting them seems appropriate.

There was no advance planning for elections and Veterans Day to fall within nine days of one anther. Way back in 1845, Congress passed a law making “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November” for general elections of federal public officials – think president, senators, and representatives. As a result, those elections can take place sometime between Nov. 2 and 8.

Since 1919, the people of the United States have paused to reflect on peace and honor veterans on Nov. 11. Until 1954, we celebrated Armistice Day, remembering the end of World War I when the Allied powers signed the cease-fire agreement with Germany at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918. By the middle of the 20th century, there had been other Continued from Previous page vividly. It was bitter cold, and he and his squad mates were fighting a losing battle to stay warm.

“We had a cup of cocoa out of the C rations,” he explained during an interview with the Oral History Program at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. “That cocoa tasted pretty good. … Just before dark, before we settled in — we’re just finishing off this little cup of cocoa and Lucas said, ‘I thought I heard a bugle.’ And I said, ‘Well, I know darn well I did.’”

“The bugle blew, and here they come, screaming, hollering. Well, they walked into a pair of heavy machine guns down on that flat ground.” Before it was done, Greenwood recalled, some 300 Chinese lay in the snow.

That was only the beginning of a wars, and the decision was made to honor the “patriotism, love of country, willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good” of veterans of all wars and change the name to Veterans Day. Cheryl Wormley

So this is where Declarations I tie elections and Veterans Day together. Patriotism, love of country, willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good – are what we honor about our veterans, and they are essential qualities of an elected official.

This fall, we have witnessed a very heated and, often, mean-spirited presidential campaign. As I write this on Nov. 6, three days after the election, votes are still being counted. Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump has the required 270 Electoral College votes. But that number will be reached. The people of the United States will have spoken and elected their president.

In the past when that has happened, there have been two speeches – victory and concession. It is often the concession speech that reunites the country and is remembered. This past week, numerous columnists and writers have upheld John McCain’s 2008 concession speech for its dignity and call to action.

I expect Joe Biden will be our next president. I hold out hope Donald Trump will deliver a concession speech. If he does, it may be a long time coming, and we, the people of the desperate fight against a relentless foe, fought in the rugged North Korean terrain where temperatures dropped as low as 40 below zero.

“It was a combination of hell,” Greenwood said. “It’s bad enough just trying to survive during that condition. … That cold weather just plays on you.

“You’re sleeping on the ground, and it’s just a gradual deterioration of your body,” he continued. “… And then when the people are shooting at you at the same time, it’s a nightmare. But when you look around, you see your other guys doing the same thing, and if they can do it, you know, by God, you can do it.”

Greenwood and his buddies kept their sector of the road open, then fought their way south along with the rest of the U.N. forces, with the Marines taking their casualties and their equipment with them. More United States, need encouragement now.

For me, John McCain’s words in 2008 are the most healing and motivating. I’ve chosen but a few paragraphs. Should you want to read it from start to finish, the entire transcript is easily found on the internet.

“Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.”

He continued, “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

“Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans.”

He concluded, “And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

“Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”

Cheryl Wormley is publisher of The Woodstock Independent. Her email address is c.wormley@thewoodstockinde-

pendent.com. than 2,900 Americans died during the battle, and thousands more were wounded.

An additional 7,000 Marines suffered cold-weather injuries, including Greenwood, who ended up with a case of “walking pneumonia.” His lungs have been scarred ever since.

“I’m not a hero,” Greenwood said at the end of his interview. “I didn’t do anything that anybody else didn’t do.” The Marine Corps takes a different view, however. They consider the fight at the Chosin Reservoir to be one of their finest moments, a heroic stand against overwhelming odds.

Mark DePue is the director of oral history at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. You can hear Carl Greenwood’s entire story, as well as hundreds of other veterans, at the program’s web site at oralhistory.illinois.gov.

$75 in Woodstock, Bull Valley and Wonder Lake. $77 in McHenry County. $82 for snowbirds and $90 outside McHenry County.

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Published every Wednesday | Est. 1987 | Serving Woodstock, Wonder Lake and Bull Valley, Ill. | www.thewoodstockindependent.com | $1.00INDEPENDENTTheWoodstock June 10-16, 2020 A&E Fireworks at Emricson Park will be different – still a blastPAGE 11 SCHOOLS Retirees in District 200 recall their careers with fondness PAGE 8 See DEBT, Page 2 Which bad option is best? BUSY MORNING D-200 wants your thoughts on tax hikes, program cuts By Larry Lough LARRY@THE WOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM How would you prefer Woodstock School District 200 manage its $161 million bond debt?Would you mind much if the school property tax went up, say, $120 a year – or more?How about combining the athletic programs at the two high schools, eliminating middle schools sports, and maybe cutting into co-curricular activities such as music and art? Or maybe stretching out payments on the debt three or four years, adding millions to the payback? And how much of the district’s $25 million surplus should be spent as part of whatever solution the Board of Education eventually approves? You are apparently going to have the opportunity to share your opinion in a survey that will ask about budget cuts, tax increases, and other options no one likes.“Eventually, if you want to save money,” Superintendent Mike Moan told the board last week, “you’re going Published every Wednesday | Est. 1987 | Serving Woodstock, Wonder Lake and Bull Valley, Ill. | www.thewoodstockindependent.com | $1.00INDEPENDENTTheWoodstock June 17-23, 2020 SCHOOLS Local INCubatoredu program has national ‘pitch’ competitor PAGE 9 See PHASE 3, Page 2 Phase 3 opens up a little PRIDE PROUD Moving too fast puts local liquor license in jeopardy By Larry Lough LARRY@THE WOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM Lines extended more than 200 feet for much of last week at the state license branch in Woodstock, spilling out of the office and wrapping around the laundromat at the south end of the building along Eastwood Drive. People waited an hour or more even though license branches statewide are open to serve only new drivers, customers with expired driver’s licenses/ ID cards, and vehicle transactions. People didn’t seem to know or care the state had extended the expiration date until Oct. 1 for licenses, vehicle registration, and other permits that have expired or will by July 31. The weather cooperated last week with the reopening of some social and business activities that had been limited by the coronavirus. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s called people to take advantage of outside dining at restaurants throughout the city. Lots of activity was observed on the patio at Public House restaurant; at tables in the street along the Published every Wednesday | Est. 1987 | Serving Woodstock, Wonder Lake and Bull Valley, Ill. | www.thewoodstockindependent.com | $1.00 INDEPENDENT TheWoodstock June 24-30, 2020 COMMUNITY Crafts for kids a big part of library’s summer reading plan See PHASE 4, Page 2 Are we ready to open? Woodstock prepares for more activity under Phase 4 By Larry Lough LARRY@THE WOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM Woodstock seems ready for Phase 4. Summer concerts by the City Band – in its 136th season – will begin July 1 on the Square. We will have fireworks on the fourth in Emricson Park. And city of Woodstock offices and facilities plan to reopen next week, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday released guidelines for the state to move to the next level of his Restore Illinois plan. Phase 4 will allow gatherings of up to 50 people and permit restaurants, bars, and theaters to invite customers inside for the first time in three months since the state issued a shelter-in-place order to prevent spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Specific crowd and capacity limits are included in guidelines. Although “normalcy” will return, guidelines continue to encourage face masks, social distancing, and hand washing as the norm. If you want to visit City Hall, masks are mandatory – and available there.SUBSCRIBE As a small business we need you more than ever! Please consider supporting your local newspaper.

INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER Downtown Woodstock, as evidenced by this photo of Cass Street, was as busy Saturday as it had been for a while when the Farmers Market returned to the Square for the first time this season. Because of coronavirus concerns, the producers market had stayed at its winter home at the McHenry County Fairgrounds. It will now resume the normal summer schedule of being open each Tuesday and Saturday. The Woodstock Independent 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098 Phone: 815-338-8040 Fax: 815-338-8177 Thewoodstock independent.com COMMUNITY Neighborhood flower walk honors Woodstock couplePAGE 14 Obituaries 4 OpiniOn 6 schOOls 8 a&e 11 Marketplace 12 cOMMunity 14 calendar 18 classified 20 puzzles 22 public nOtices 23 spOrts 25 INDEX City adds space to grow downtown See DOWNTOWN, Page 2 By Larry Lough LARRY@THE WOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM When the time is right for development of the downtown area, Woodstock will have a big place to develop. The City Council last week approved the purchase of the vacated grain silo site at 313 Short St. for $200,000. Under the sale agreement, the seller, DeLong Co., will demolish all structures on the site.According to Garrett Anderson, the city director of Economic Development, that 1.02 acres means the city will will have 16.5 acres north of the Square “which could potentially be developed” among more than 17 acres the city will own in that area.City Manager Roscoe Stelford said the site of the former grain elevator was a “key piece” of the city’s long-term plan for downtown development. “This puts the city in a much better position of having control of the parcel,” he said of the area north of INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVERMelissa McMahon and daughter Charlotte McMahon Thomas stand outside their home Sunday on the Woodstock Pride Pomenade route of more than 30 decorated homes and businesses throughout the city. The Woodstock Independent 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098 Phone: 815-338-8040 Fax: 815-338-8177 Thewoodstock independent.com MARKETPLACE Finch Farm revived with sweet scent of lavender PAGE 13 COMMUNITY Project Front Line linked restaurants with workersPAGE 19 OpiniOn 6 schOOls 9 a&e 11 Marketplace 13 cOMMunity 19 calendar 24 classified 26 puzzles 28 public nOtices 29 spOrts 30 INDEX MCAT expands police resources See MCAT, Page 3 By Larry Lough LARRY@THE WOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM When a traffic accident is serious, a call goes out to MCAT.“It has to be a serious injury or death,” said Sgt. Rob Pritchard of the Woodstock Police Department. Since May 2019, Pritchard, 50, has been commander of the McHenry County Regional Major Traffic Crash Assistance Team.That’s what kept him on the scene of a fatal accident June 4 for more than eight hours, leading a team of nine police officers from five city police departments who investigated the collision at U.S. 14 and Route 120 (Washington Street).Pritchard said “serious injury” meant broken bones, loss of limbs, and similar critical injuries. Just days before the wreck in Woodstock, MCAT investigated a Spring Grove accident involving a motorcyclist who survived hitting a tree.Based on information he received June 4 from the Woodstock Fire/ Rescue District, Pritchard activated INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY TRICIA CARZOLI On the first day of summer 2020, umbrellas protected diners at The Double Yolk Café from sun early in the morning and from raindrops later as the Woodstock Farmers Market finished its third week on the Square. The Woodstock Independent 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098 Phone: 815-338-8040 Fax: 815-338-8177 Thewoodstock independent.com PAGE 16 SCHOOLS 20 students in District 200 receive 2020 PRIDE awards PAGE 8 MARKETPLACE Local food trucks find hungry customers during shutdown PAGE 13 Obituaries 4 OpiniOn 6 schOOls 8 a&e 11 Marketplace 13 cOMMunity 16 calendar 20 classified 22 puzzles 24 public nOtices 25 spOrts 26 INDEX Virus sparks restaurant competition See FOOD TRUCKS, Page 2 SUMMER’S START By Larry Lough LARRY@THE WOODSTOCKINDEPENDENT.COM Deputy Mayor Mike Turner urged the Woodstock City Council to “be creative” in considering changes to the city’s food truck regulations to address complaints from brick-andmortar restaurants about their mobile competitors. “It’s kind of a blank canvas as to whether to do anything different,” he said. After discussing the issue for more than an hour, council members agreed to do nothing – for now. The issue was a discussion-only item on the agenda for last week’s council meeting. Changes to the city’s 2012 ordinance could be made at the council’s meeting July 21, depending on what members hear from the public – including restaurants – between now and then. Turner said the issue was raised by Benton Street bars about the Que Pasta truck being parked on the street outside Ortmann’s Red Iron Tavern at Church and Clay streets.We Are Woodstock! 3 MONTHS FREE Call or email for details FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS TODAY! Your news, your business, your community

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STUDENT WEEK OF THE ADAM BUKER Adam Buker is a senior at Woodstock North High School. He is the son of Brad Buker and Laura Buker, Woodstock. “Adam is a student that shows up ready to work and learn and does it with a smile on his face! He brings enthusiasm to class, even in the remote setting! He is diligent in his studies and a pleasure to work with! Thank you Adam!” said Mrs. Savittieri and Mrs. Kim. Adam is an honor-roll student and has been recognized as student of the month at WHNS for the history department. He is involved in the theater program at WNHS, Woodstock North Chamber Orchestra, VEX robotics, and when school is in session Adam does the school announcements for all of WNHS. Adam has volunteered to help paint the library at WNHS. He has also volunteered many hours to the WNHS orchestra program helping set up/tear down and doing optional performances throughout the school year. When asked who inspires him, Adam said, “Someone who really inspires me and motivates me is a video game developer named Toby Fox, who started his career by making simple modifications to games. Eventually, he wanted to move on to his own independent project … and the game that would end up being made, Undertale, has gone down as one of the greatest games ever made. Toby Fox has inspired me to not just follow what society tells me to do but to instead follow my passions and strive to do what makes me happy.” When asked what makes him feel successful, Adam said, “This question is a hard one for me. I guess at the end of the day it really comes down to my parents and the way they raised me. They taught me that I should always be thankful for what I have and to always find the good in things when times are dark. With this mindset I try to look at everyday positively and always strive to get closer to my dreams. … I always strive to achieve my goals and hopefully make the world a better place along the way ….”

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