Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Mudslinging - Typical...

The Northwest Herald took quite a shot at former SAO attorney Kristen Foley yesterday morning. I read and re-read the editorial and, frankly, I consider it a cheap shot. I’ve been following this, because I believe the Attorney General’s office should not have released the complaint or the identity of Mrs. Foley. In fact, I wonder if a law was broken by its having done so.

The Northwest Herald editorialized that “Allegations … have been revealed to be nothing more than the politically motivated attacks many suspected from the start.” Whew… that’s a mouthful.

Oh, really? Who says? Just who is the expert, qualified authority who determined them to be such? First, they have to be such “politically motivated attacks”? Who says they are?

Who said, “The best defense is a good offense”? I'll bet he wasn’t talking about football. If an elected officeholder in the County – ANY elected officeholder – spends $56,000 in cash and by personal credit card (or allows his employees to do so), such action deserves criticism at the very least. The County Auditor has raised her eyebrows at these expenses, and the listing was published by the Daily Herald reveals the nature of the expenses.

Why would not the Northwest Herald – “the” daily newspaper of McHenry County – chase its own story on this?

The water became muddied by the different issues raised as the political season began to arrive. Each should be examined on its own merits.

The Northwest Herald lowered any standards it had by attacking an individual whose complaint was made public – a complaint which should have been held in confidence. I’m curious how Bill LeFew got hold of it and why he would have talked about it.

For County Treasurer Bill LeFew to say that he might have to resign as GOP County Chairman in the event of an investigation by the AG and a request to produce records was absurd. His hat as Chairman and his hat as Treasurer must be separate from one another. Claiming to have a conflict-of-interest because he needs to “protect” fellow Republicans is enough to make a person laugh – or throw up. As Party Chairman he should be interested in ferreting out the truth, not “protecting” fellow party members!

Was it smart for Mr. Bianchi to spend, or allowing the spending of, $56,000 this way? Absolutely not. Was it illegal? Only a careful, detailed audit of the expenditures will determine this. If the legitimate business purpose of every expenditure is documented on the receipt or by his or his employees’ logs, then perhaps it was merely poor judgement to run up $56,000 in expenses to be reimbursed.

I hope Mr. Bianchi’s expenditures were not criminal. If someone, anyone, has proof that they were, then he or she must step forward.

For election consideration I shall be much more interested in the candidates’ performance, abilities, qualifications and intentions than the mudslinging of days just past.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent comments regarding Bill LaPhew. And how about that Kristen Foley ... she was at a "kick off" function Regna held abouit 3 months ago and yet both she and Regna claim she's just a minor supporter! As for Bianchi spending 56,000 for meals, snakcs, etc., check out the rest of the County Departments and County Board. What about County Board and Committee "work sessions" with free pizza courtesy of the tax payer, or noontime meetings with
"refreshments" (can you say Quiznos) paid by tax payers? How about free coffee and and an egg mcmuffin at McD's to the Sheriff's Deputies because "they create a safe presence for our customers"? My friend Vito creates a safe presence everywqhere he goes but he has to pay through the nose every time he's at McD's for a sausage buscuit. And the County's building inspectors hanging out at Horizon Center working on their scrathc-off lottery tickets 2 and 3times a day and getting free Lite Mocha Latte at Starbucks because the shmo behind the counter thinks they're really from the Health Department? I think we should all get free food ... and maybe a free ride on METRA, too! Gus, you da' man! Snoozer

Anonymous said...

Whew! This stream-of-conciousness writing is sure difficult to read and comprehend.

Anonymous said...

No, its "Phew" ... and if you don't have a brain and therefore have trouble reading this stuff why don't you go down to Lloyds Paint n' Paper and buy some turpentine and spread it on your head and shove it in a pencil sharpener and see if your brain function improves because I know you can do this and understand what I mean since you wasn' learned right when you was educated and we know about Gus .... cause he da' man. Snoozer

Anonymous said...

Now, now children... let's be nice. Do I have to get out my yard stick?

Anonymous said...

Great coverage Gus.

It reminds me of how Mayor Sager, Chief Webster, and the other councilmembers (all were named in the complaint) tried to terrorize that poor fella last year that filed the rightful complaint against them for illegally supporting the D200 referendum in council so they could confiscate more taxes.

To threaten, terrorize, and scare him they refused to recuse themselves and THEY chose the panel to hear and adjudicate the complaint!!! Unflippingreal....

What did the panel do: Warn that poor fella that HE - not Sager or Webster - could face a massive fine and jail time for bringing Sager & Webster's criminal activities to light.

Makes you want to puke. That's what we get for hiring a pencil-neck "thespian" Mayor and triple dipping stooge like Webster - and their suck-up cronies - to the council.

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to Gus' function as censor when replies do not follow the original thread?

Anonymous said...

That only applies when you question who Frank live with.