McHenry board protecting fiefdom

McHenry board protecting fiefdom

This past election, voters faced a significant referendum supported by State Rep. Jack Franks that would have greatly altered McHenry County by instituting an executive-style government.

Billed by local politicians as a death sentence that would doom the county to an iron-fished dictatorship, the referendum was defeated.

Bidding for election, the majority of county board members stated that they supported a popularly elected chairman and would work toward getting the option for voters to decide on the ballot, as only they are capable of doing so.

They have since changed their minds and have decided that voters aren’t quite ready to determine the leader of the board. Besides, it’s much easier to establish power by bargaining with 23 other individuals, rather than having to prove yourself to the entire county.

The whole situation regarding the chairmanship continues to remind me of a segment from the referendum debate between Representatives Franks and Tryon this past fall.

Franks said, quite emphatically, that the board’s resistance to change was simply protecting their fiefdom and that the bottom line was that the board was unwilling to trust voters with such power because they though that they were too stupid.

Sadly, these words are proving to be all too true.

Tim Keough

Lakewood