March 29, 2024
Election | Northwest Herald


Election

Realtor PAC apologizes for goof in McHenry County Board chairman race Jack Franks mailer

A political action committee representing Realtors is apologizing for mistakenly identifying McHenry County Board chairman candidate Jack Franks as a Republican in its mailing to voters.

Michael Scobey, assistant director of the Illinois Association of Realtors Fund that paid for the mailer, called it an innocent mistake – Franks, a Democratic state representative from Marengo, is running for the chairmanship against Republican Michael Walkup.

“We did not mean to deceive voters or mislead or provide any incorrect information. It was a mistake in the preparation of the piece,” Scobey said Friday.

The mailer touts Franks’ efforts toward “rooting out corruption,” forcing the end of pensions for county board members statewide, and fighting for property-tax relief and against tax increases during his nine terms as a state lawmaker representing the 63rd Illinois House District.

Walkup, a County Board member from Crystal Lake, took a jab at what he called a "Freudian slip."

“Jack always wanted to be a Republican, and now he is one, but it’s still going to say Democrat next to his name on all the ballots,” Walkup said.

Franks did not have any involvement with the development of the independent mailer.

“I thought it was funny. I can see where they made that mistake, seeing as how I’m the only true fiscal conservative in the race,” Franks said.

The PAC spent $28,335 on Oct. 18 for the mailer supporting Franks, according to Illinois State Board of Elections records. It spent $7,000 the same day for mailers supporting Republican McHenry County Board candidate John Reinert, and $40,000 for Republican Steven Reick, who is running to succeed Franks representing the 63rd District.