Flu Shots Available NOW

There is still time to get your flu shot before the holiday get-togethers with family and friends.  As the County has reported a steady increase in reported flu cases, college students returning home for the Christmas break are also reminded to get the flu vaccine.  McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) will host a flu clinic to protect residents against the flu. Call 815-334-4510 to reserve your appointment time or online at www.mcdh.info from 4pm-6pm on Thursday, December 18, at its Woodstock office (2200 N Seminary Avenue, Building A).  The cost is $30; Medicaid and Medicare Part B accepted. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a yearly flu shot for everyone 6 months and older. Even healthy people can get the flu. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors' visits, missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths. The flu vaccine protects not only you but those around you who are most vulnerable like pregnant women, young children, people with chronic health conditions (like asthma, diabetes, heart disease) and people 65 and older who are especially at risk for complications from the flu. 

It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the immune system to build the antibodies the body needs to protect against flu virus infection.  Simple ways to protect yourself also include covering your cough, washing your hands and staying home when sick. 

For more information on protecting yourself from influenza, visit the CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

Filing Dates For Objection To MCC Board Candidates

Anyone wishing to file an objection regarding a candidate’s filed petition for the April 7, 2015 Consolidated Election may file said objection at McHenry County College in the Campus Public Safety Office, Room B176 on December 23, 26, 29, 30 and 31, 2014 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Objections must contain an original and two copies and must be filed no later than December 31, 2014.

Those filing petition objections may use the entrance at Building B, located by the flagpoles at parking lots B and D.

For more information, contact: Pat Kriegermeier, Office of the President, at (815) 455-8726 or email her at pkriegermeier@mchenry.ed

Secretly Recording "Private Conversations" May Be Illegal

Representative Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake) has sought to alleviate the concerns of many residents following a number of misleading media pieces concerning Senate Bill 1342. SB 1342 pertains to surreptitious recording of private conversations and seeks to protect all citizens from having private conversations recorded and made public without their consent.

“I think it’s fair to say we should all be very concerned about the prospect of our freedom of speech being infringed upon,” said Wheeler. “Unfortunately, a great deal of misinformation is being circulated right now that it’s a crime to record the police. This is simply not true; in fact SB 1342 ensures each and every one of us is protected from someone else secretly recording a conversation we think is private.”

Senate Bill 1342 was passed by both houses of the state legislature and is now on its way to Governor Quinn for consideration. It specifically criminalizes secretly recording “private conversations” between two or more people, where at least one has a “reasonable expectation” of privacy. The proposed law does not make it illegal to record police interactions in public, it actually makes it clear that such recordings are legal. The new bill attempts to protect people from surreptitious and improper recording of their conversations to protect their right to a reasonable expectation of privacy.

In March, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down an eavesdropping law that would make it a felony to record audio of police officers working in public. The court ruled that no state could make it illegal to record conversations where there was no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” highlighting the potential for infringement upon the freedom the speech.

“I want to make it very clear for everyone concerned about this that citizens can always record the actions of police in public, and if you suspect something illegal is going on, you should record it,” said Wheeler. “What we don’t want to happen in this day and age of constant transmission of information due to new technologies, is to have our private conversations and interactions made public as a means of slander, or anything of that nature.”