Reporters write stories; editors write headlines. At least, so I was told in the not-to-distant past by a reporter for the Northwest Herald.
Did you see today's top headline (Page 1, upper right): "County picks up Bianchi's latest bill"?
As anyone around here with half a brain already knows, it is not Bianchi's bill that Judge Gordon Graham is sending to the County Board for payment. And which the County Board is rolling over on and paying after huffing and puffing (and then approving 18-1).
Tina Hill, District 5, got it right when she said, "The taxpayers of McHenry County are not a bottomless pit", either just before or just after she voted with the other 17 to approve the latest bill, $112,938.
And it wasn't Bianchi's bill that they approved. It was Special Prosecutor Henry Tonigan's bill. Now his firm and he will have been paid $221,476, and Tonigan hasn't.even billed yet for September, October, November and December 2010. Tonigan's monthly average for June-August was $37,646; if that continues, then the County Board will get socked for another $150,000 ($37,646x4), bringing the total through December 31, 2010, to $371,500.
That's a pretty good deal when you are working for a government, isn't it? You get a $100,000 allowance; blow through it; spend $371,500, and get that!!!
About halfway through the article, I thought, "Maybe McHenry County should have a special prosecutor to investigate the special prosecutor." And then I read that that is exactly what Nick Provenzano had said. Was that during the County Board meeting or after?
Is Sandra Salgado the only County Board member with any common sense? Thanks, Sandra, for standing up for the People of McHenry County.
Did Tonigan just write out another "Pay Me" slip for Judge Graham's signature and hand it over the judge's desk? What would happen if the County Board refused to honor the blank check given by Judge Graham to Henry Tonigan? Is the County Board really under court order to pay? Was there a hearing where the County Board defended itself against Tonigan's claim? Or against Judge Graham's order? Does Judge Graham really have the authority to order the County to pay money it has not authorized?
Why do I doubt this? And why is the County Board paying without a fight?
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