A Franks spokesman Monday said the proposed referendum was only an extension of the gadfly Democrat's recent attempts to have the McHenry County Board Chairman directly elected instead of being chosen by Board members from among their own number. However, the referendum, if approved, would actually create a completely new and more powerful office than Board Chairman.
First, though, the referendum has to go on the ballot. State law requires 500 valid signatures to do it. Chief Circuit Judge Michael Sullivan or his fellow-judge pick has to determine if Franks made the cut. FEN wasn't able to determine how many signatures are on the petitions but one estimate was "over 1,000." However, according to an informed source, Franks himself had to junk 383 signatures when he noticed the question at the top of the form was a draft version instead of the one he intended.
The referendum would, in effect, replace McHenry County's weak parliamentary-style County Board Chairman with a powerful directly-elected Chief Executive. Right now the Chairman is a "first among equals" who runs Board meetings and can put opponents on icky Board committees. The 24 Board members collectively hire the professional administrators who run the County day-to-day. Franks' proposal would create a new elected County Executive officer to single-handedly hire, albeit with Board advice and consent, or fire administrators. He'd also have veto power over Board decisions unless members could muster a 3/5 majority override.
The Home Rule part of the referendum is another obscure can of worms but it doesn't really matter since the County doesn't have it and the referendum specifically rejects it if a Chief Executive is approved.
A briefing on Illinois' County Executive Law is planned at this morning's County Board meeting but it wasn't clear Monday whether Board Chairman Ken Koehler or County Administrator Peter Austin would provide it.
In the pic: State Rep. Jack Franks collecting signatures for a County Executive referendum during last week's McHenry County Fair. (Photo provided by McHenry County Blog)
7 comments:
Just wait - when someone Franks dislikes gets elected by the new Franks method, he'll stomp around the McHenry County Fair again trolling for unsuspecting petition signers. This isn't about fixing something, it's personal. Go resume your Three Card Monty game in Springfield, Mr Franks.
It' more important to reduce the number of board members. It should be aleast cut in half from 24 to 12.
Politics by any other word is, well, politics!
No, No, No!! Jack Franks is all wrong!!! We do not need a King here in McHenry County. If you don't like the way things run- move to Cook County,
Vote No!!
Giving one official extraordinary powers is supposed to reduce cronyism and corruption?
It would be OK if it was just about citizens electing the County Chair Board. (Board members are too chicken to vote out Ken Koehler.)
What is the point of electing our county board members to represent us if we are now going to set up a czar to overrule them? And if some people think Koehler has too much power why would we set up someone who has even more? Not to mention the fact that I think we pay enough in taxes without having to pay more for the added salaries and benefits. I cannot imagine what the people who are pushing this are thinking but I will vote no.
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