Michael Skala

While Kane County hopes its neighbors will help foot the bill for its Longmeadow Parkway project and keep it from becoming a tollway, some officials in McHenry County are hesitant about what’s being asked.

During an at-times contentious meeting filled with public comment and back-and-forth questions about civil liberties, safety and morality, the McHenry County Board passed a resolution opposing Illinois’ recent gun ban.

With nine new McHenry County Board members being seated this month, members, both new and old, say their priorities are tackling inflation, making progress on Valley Hi, and doling out federal money

Half of the McHenry County Board is new, with seven incumbents losing their seats in November. Eight of the previous board’s members opted against running for their seat this year.

Unofficial results for the newly downsized McHenry County Board show 13 Republicans to five Democrats. Of those potential winners, eight new faces could be on the board, making up nearly half of the body.

With the polls now closed in Illinois, the count can begin to see which candidates will take the 18 open seats on the McHenry County Board.

The race for Illinois governor won’t be the only one on Tuesday’s ballot. With the redrawing of the state’s political maps, the make-up of the entire McHenry County Board and both the U.S. and Illinois houses of representatives will be determined, along several other races.

With a possible property tax increase looming for the McHenry County Board, one candidate running in District 9 said he supports a boost to keep up with inflation, while his two opponents think cuts can make up the difference.

McHenry County could raise property taxes, or will have to make cuts, in order to balance part of its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

An affordable housing project in McHenry has been helped along by McHenry County to the tune of almost $2 million, but will still need other funding and final approval from City Council before construction begins.

McHenry County is the only county in Illinois where voters can vote to dissolve a township. County Board members want state lawmakers to either repeal the law or expand it to all counties.

“At this point in our trajectory, I think it’s not going to send a proper statement to the residents at this time in the middle of a pandemic to raise taxes,” board member Jeff Thorsen, R-Crystal Lake, said

“The legislature did not see fit to fund that themselves, they just dropped it on us,” said McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio on new requirements his office must follow for the 2022 Election that have added up to $1 million in new expenses for his office.

McHenry County has received as much as $10 million from a contract with ICE, but a new state law requires the contract to end along with the revenue stream

McHenry County taxpayers could collectively be on the hook for an additional $1.4 million under McHenry County’s proposed budget in part, officials said, because of a 2017 property tax cut and the state’s move to end the county’s contract with ICE.