Latest Rakow Road Work

The south section of the Bike Path Bridge will be installed on Tuesday, January 17th. 

Expect a short delay since this operation closes the eastbound lane while the segment is lifted from the truck and set in place.  Flaggers will help direct traffic around the truck and crane during the offloading process.  Please pay extra attention.

Please check out www.rakowroad.com for details.

Government At Work

Monday, January 16, 2012

6:30 p.m. – Evaluation and Policies Committee of McHenry County College Board of Trustees

Meeting in the Board Room of the College, 8900 U.S. Highway 14, Crystal Lake.

All matters are related to Board including Board Self-Evaluation, scheduling a date for the Board Retreat, an update on classification and compensation study, discussion of Section 1, Board Policy Manual, Internal Policy Committee Update, and a closed session to accept closed session minutes of a December 5 Evaluation and Policies Committee Meeting. 

Words of Wisdom

"The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not to be slaves themselves, they employed their power to enslave the rest of mankind."

--Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 5, 1778

Resources To Help Neighbors

Volunteers or staff members from human services, civic, and faith-based organizations are invited to attend the 2012 People in Need Forum, with resources to help your neighbor, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28 at McHenry County College, 8900 U.S. Hwy. 14 in Crystal Lake. The forum connects participants to community resources and important information for those in need.

The half-day event will begin with a continental breakfast and keynote speaker Jeff Gee, internationally-known motivational speaker, who will present a talk on collaboration. Highlights include educational sessions to help resolve care-receiver issues, plus exhibit booths of community, social service, and government agencies in McHenry County who will provide information about available resources on such timely issues as utility assistance, food stamps, health care, job search and career training assistance, transportation options, homelessness, affordable housing, debt management, domestic violence, legal matters, and veterans’ affairs.

“The forum is available to anyone interested in helping those in need and learning more about the  necessary survival resources available in our community,” said Bev Thomas, of the 22nd Judicial Circuit, Family Violence Coordinating Council and the McHenry County College Center for Non-Profit Leadership.  “While we are fortunate to live in McHenry County with many social service providers, it is often difficult to know how to refer someone to the right place. The process can be confusing and frightening, and the People in Need Forum is an effort to make this easier by giving out important information.”

“It is an amazing opportunity for community members to go to one place and to learn about many of the services available to help people throughout the county,” said Lori Baker, director of Marketing and Development for Family Service & Community Mental Health Center for McHenry County.

Some questions that service providers may hear include: “Where can I apply for food stamps and what will they cover?”  “I am near foreclosure and I’m concerned that my family will be homeless.” “How do I know if my friend is depressed and may be suicidal?”

“Whether you are a worker at your neighborhood food pantry, a doctor’s receptionist, or a case manager for a social service agency, you are faced with people having multiple and complicated problems and you need to know what community resources are available to help,” Thomas said.

Thomas said that the People in Need Forum started in 2003 with 50 attendees and grew to more than 400 last year, which she attributes to a sign of the times. 

“We’re seeing more and more veterans returning home who need social services, along with others who are downsized from jobs or facing financial crises. The forum is a wonderful way for people to connect service providers with people who care,” Thomas said.

The People in Need Forum is sponsored by the McHenry County College Center for Non-Profit Leadership and includes more than 20 other supporting organizations who have generously given staff time and materials. The presenting sponsor new for 2012 is the McHenry County Community Foundation.

Admission is free. Each registered attendee will receive a People in Need Resource Directory, the only printed directory of its kind in McHenry County.  New for 2012, thanks to the McHenry County Community Foundation, is that the resource directory will also be available on a flash drive. Registration is available online and questions can be answered at www.mchenry.edu/peopleinneed, or by calling Bev Thomas at (815) 479-7792.

Congressman Manzullo Honored For Efforts To Cut Wasteful Spending

WASHINGTON – Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the premier free market grassroots organization committed to smaller government and free enterprise, has honored Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) with a perfect 100 percent score for his efforts to cut wasteful Washington spending, strengthen our economy, and help put Americans back to work.

Manzullo joined Congressman Joe Walsh (R-McHenry) as the only two Members of Congress from Illinois to receive an “A+” rating from the group.

In total, 39 Members out of 435 received a perfect score in AFP’s mid-term legislative scorecard. The scorecard included several critical votes on such issues as repealing President Obama’s new health care law, preempting EPA’s purported authority to regulate greenhouse gases, and several spending votes.

“Americans for Prosperity was glad to see that once again Illinois Congressman Don Manzullo came in with a perfect score on the most important economic votes cast during the first session of the 112th Congress.

Manzullo is among just a handful of representatives who have a lifetime 100% score. Since AFP began our scorecard in 2007, Manzullo supported the small government, free market position on all 56 House votes we’ve scored,” said AFP Director of Government Affairs James Valvo.

Manzullo has also been honored for his conservative principles by the American Conservative Union, National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, and others. Since 2007, Manzullo has voted more than 700 times to cut more than $2.6 trillion in wasteful Washington spending and shrink the size of the federal government.

Words of Wisdom

"If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

Dr. Martin Luther King (from a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta.

The quote has been shortened to "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness,” on the King Memorial in Washington which opened to the public last year.

However, that does not reflect what he actually said.

Words of Wisdom

 "I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"

 --Benjamin Franklin, Motion for Prayers in the Constitutional Convention, 1787