District 6 News

New board members sworn in!!  Diane Oltman-Ayers, Chris Lawrence, and Corinna Sac

Our new board members had the opportunity to ask some questions and acclimate themselves with the budget and financials. The meeting lasted about an hour, with under a dozen people present. 

Let the Sun Shine In - Board Reporting

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” or so the saying goes, and we would argue that sunshine on government operations is fundamental to our democracy. The public’s right to know must be protected because transparency and openness are the most effective ways to prevent corruption, wrongdoing, and bad government. One important way to make sure that decisions are made with public input and oversight is to have observers at government meetings.

Our federal government, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have passed “sunshine” laws, but the laws are only as effective as the public’s demand that they be followed. The people do this through their active participation and interest in their government.

Volunteers have stepped up and are making it their mission to attend local board meetings and report what they see and hear. This is particularly important when controversial items or issues of importance are being discussed or action taken. Their reports will be posted here, and we invite you to follow what is happening in your local community and answer the call to action when necessary.

Governor JB Pritzker: Democracy requires your courage.

From the Governor's State of the State address, must-hear words.

Our Democrats fight back.

Duckworth Secures Commitment from Deputy Secretary of Defense Nominee to Refuse an Illegal Order

Democrats in McHenry County are a compassionate community. No matter what we look like, where we live, or what's in our wallets, getting sick reminds us that at our core we’re all just human. We are worried about how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting our neighbors, our economy, and our democratic processes.  Because we believe good government and good leadership are vital in times of crisis, we are posting the below links to public and community resources to help you stay healthy, stay safe, and stay connected. We are in this together, apart. 

COVID-19 vaccination sign up for McHenry County residents thru the health department can be found here -

https://www.mchenrycountyil.gov/county-government/departments-a-i/health-department/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/vaccine.

Or you can call the COVID-19 Call Center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at (815) 334- 4045.

To locate other vaccination sites for McHenry County please click here:

https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.

COVID-19 FAQs

https://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccine-faq

Stay connected with us -  Sign up here

In these turbulent times you might wonder why I’m spending my time and energy searching for Democrats, planning events and then getting them all out to vote. These District 6 pages on the Democratic Party website are my newest tool.

Let’s start with me explaining “why” I’m doing it all:

My first three years of teaching in a very poor neighborhood on the west side of Chicago was at Samuel Morse Elementary School. Politics was the furthest thing from my mind.  It took so much energy and planning and food prep just to survive. Yes, food prep!

Students came to school hungry every day.  If fed them egg salad on crackers, peanut butter, cheese and whatever fruit I could get.  The stories I could tell… The day I became a democrat was the day President Ronald Reagan announced catsup was a vegetable and that catsup would suffice for students in the free lunch program.

That day politics became real for me.

That is the “why” in my story. I’ve mostly worked for Democratic candidates over the years.  I’ve been elected for nonpartisan local offices a number of times.  I  joined McHenry County Democrats a number of years back when I finally attended a few meetings. I felt an energy and caring and determination gathering. I ran for County Board in D6 and lost the same day Trump was elected.

Disgusted and yet determined Ruth Scifo and I organized a bus to go to the Women’s March in Washington DC. And “politics” became something even more. We felt the power marching with over a million others and realized that “we” can determine our future if we are smart.

We have six month until Nov.3^rd. Let’s see how many Dems we can find and engage. Let’s focus on those really important issues and let’s get new voters registered and all out to vote Nov. 3^rd. (Hopefully mail in ballots will be available for all.)

Let’s use this space to draw in democrats and maybe a few new voters into our County party. Let’s start with your story. When did you realize you were a democrat? Would you share it with us? 

Oh boy, if your scratching your head on the wording of the Regional Superintendent question on the ballot its because 24 County Board members decided to amend the original referendum question in open session......in other words making sausage.

First, up front, let me state that this is a personal opinion and not an approved position of the local Democratic Party.  We Democrats are in a quandary over the impeachment question and understandably.  The question on whether to impeach the current President of the United States is one of the those cases in which something is obviously justified, but just as obviously wrong. 

We are besieged on a daily basis by the narrative of the Republican Party that all government is bad bad bad and can't do anything right.  I believe people are susceptible to this spin because they are unaware of all the task government does do.  At a recent Committee of the Whole meeting, Chairman Jack Franks highlighted a feature on the County's web site that addresses this issue.