Registered to Vote? 2 more days

Are you registered to vote?

The last day to register, if you intend to vote on November 2, is this Tuesday, October 5. Need information about registering? For McHenry County information, call 815.334.4242

I am still surprised when I meet people who are not registered or who tell me they don't intend to vote. Remember - if you aren't registered to vote, you can't vote.

This country is built on freedoms. One of the most important freedoms we have is to go to the polls and vote. Safely. Look at what happens around the world. Citizens of the U.S.A. do not fear going to the polls.

Register to vote. Only then do you have a choice about whether or not you vote on November 2!

What rumors are true?

Last week some information came to me which, if true, is quite disturbing. It pertained to a vehicle expense reimbursement plan for a couple of county employees who live outside McHenry County and commute to work.

Investigation continues, but perhaps there are readers who can solve the inquiry more rapidly. The issue pertains to a $350 gas allowance for a couple of employees, at least one of whom lives in Lake County. These McHenry County employees drive to work in personally-owned vehicles and reportedly suck up $350/month to pay the operating expenses of the cars while commuting.

For most hard-working stiffs, especially the ones earning less than the $100,000/year that one of the employees might be earning, they pay commuting expenses out of after-tax income. The expenses of driving to and from work are a personal expense and non-deductible on an income tax return.

An employee might make a decision about a job offer, based on how far the workplace is from home, how long it will take to get there, how much it will cost to go back and forth, and what the working hours are. At other times, applicants are desperate to work (sure beats being unemployed) and will take a job almost regardless of the distance.

Commuting expenses are personal expenses. Period.

Now, miles driven on business for an employer ought to be reimbursable. In fact, the IRS allows $0.50/mile for business mileage. If an employee uses a personally-owned vehicle for his employer's purpose, such as driving to a meeting during a workday, the employer might even reimburse that employee at the $0.50/mile rate.

But commuting? No way! The particular employees are not on emergency call. There is no regular business use of personally-owned vehicles. They are employees at the employer's place of business.

Does your employer pay you to commute to work?

More information will follow, once all the facts are uncovered.

Police Dept. at MCC? No!

You can see it coming now. McHenry County College is headed for its own police department.

Today's editorial in the Northwest Herald compares the campus of less than 7,400 students with the towns of Harvard, Hebron, Richmond - even Bull Valley.

The Director of MCC Security is already drooling over plans to order two 2010 police interceptor vehicles for $68,000! What? To catch speeders on the ring road where the college refuses to increase the speed limit above the still-illegal 15MPH posted speed limit?

How many incidents have there been at MCC that have required police response?

How's this for a case of serious crime, reported recently in the Northwest Herald? A girl arriving on campus hit a car while parking and went on to class. She was arrested and taken to jail. That's a load of c-r-a-p. Is there even a vehicular control agreement between the College and the Crystal Lake P.D., which would give the C.L. PD the authority to enforce traffic laws on campus?

For this, they need a police department?

Today's editorial informs readers that the College pays $46.00/hour to rent a cop (from C.L. PD?), with a four-hour minimum. Who is riding that gravy train? And some thought it was extortion when Sheriff Nygren stuck it to Galt Airport for $40.00 for a deputy for security!

OK, folks. If you do nothing, MCC is going to roll with this deal. You can bank on it. What can you do?

Call the office of the college president, Vicky Smith, on Monday and tell her what you think. Then back it up in writing with an email, fax or letter to her and to the Board of Trustees. (You'll have to ask her secretary for her email address; it is nowhere to be found on the MCC website.) And then figure out when the next Board meeting is, and be there. And speak out.

All those 7,400 students are not there at the same time.
There are no commercial businesses on campus.
There are no bedrooms on campus.
There are no bars on campus.
There are no fraternities on campus.
There are no restaurants on campus.

Really irritated by this move? Pick up an application to run for election as a Trustee. See the MCC homepage at http://www.mchenry.edu/ Submit petitions between December 13-20, 2010.

A comment on the MCC website. It shouldn't be so hard to find the name of the new president of the college!

Does the college believe in transparency? Look under the Board of Trustees tab on the homepage. Click on Board news. The one and only piece of information there is about something that happened in March 2008!

MCC does not need armed police officers looking for dents in the parking lot or for students who park in two spaces! And it certainly doesn't need high-powered, lightning-fast, interceptor squad cars. Maybe a golf cart or two, or a Segway (oh, that's too dangerous; the owner of the company that makes Segways just drove one of a cliff and died).

How not to get blown away

At last night's right-to-carry meeting a man asked me how he could avoid getting blown away, if he were stopped while driving a car and legally carrying a concealed weapon. The example he gave me was this.

If he was carrying a gun, say in a shoulder holster under his jacket, and he got stopped for a traffic violation, he would identify himself as the holder of a concealed carry permit and tell the officer that he was armed. He would have his hands on the steering wheel, so that the officer could see both hands and that his hands were empty.

He wanted to know how he could remove his wallet from his pants pocket, upon request for identification, and how he could avoid getting shot by the officer. He wanted to know how I would provide training to deputies.

When Illinois passes a concealed-carry law, if I am Sheriff, the training would be intensive for all deputies, and there will be extensive role-playing. Procedures of other states will be studied until the best format is determined. Deputies will be full participants in the design of the procedures; they know best what to expect out on the street.

The procedure will be crystal-clear to deputies.

And deputies will learn to give short, clear, direct and polite instructions to drivers about exactly what to do (and what not to do).

A friend in Virginia who has a concealed weapon permit was stopped by a trooper there. When asked, he answered that his gun was in the glove box of the car. The trooper, in that case, told him that he was going to ask the driver to step out of the car. Then the trooper would remove the gun from the glove box and put it in the patrol car. After they were done talking, the trooper would put the gun back in the glove box. Then the driver could get back in the car and drive away.

The trooper was alert but not nervous. He expected to encounter legally armed drivers. He knew exactly how he would handle such an event, and that's how he handled it. The driver respected the trooper's position, and both went on their ways.

Nygren and concealed carry

Where does Keith Nygren really stand on concealed carry?

Last January 21, when the McHenry County Right-to-Carry Association kicked off with a large forum in Lakemoor, Keith Nygren explained the position of the Illinois Sheriffs' Association without ever saying whether he was for or against concealed carry.

Was he on last night's agenda of speakers? No.

He showed up after the meeting started, fully expecting, I'm sure, to be recognized and allowed to speak. To get Lou Rofrano's attention, Keith sat right in the front row. And Lou let him speak. I think Keith missed Mike Mahon's remarks, but he got mine. Whether he "got" mine or not is another question.

Thankfully, Keith kept his remarks brief, as if appreciating the "opportunity." It was a politician's ploy - to show up without having confirmed his appearance and still expect to speak.

Now, where does he stand on concealed carry? His words were carefully chosen last night. What did he say?

"... that a year ago I (Keith) fully supported the concept of concealed carry." NOTE! He didn't say that he supported concealed carry; he said he supported the concept of concealed carry!

Would Keith Nygren want a county full of law-abiding citizens "packing heat", as Joe Walsh termed it?

Ha-ha-ha. You can stop laughing at any time now...

Coming soon ...

Coming soon to a yard near you ...

I didn't want to put signs out too early. You can guess what is going to happen to them around the county.

I can already imagine what will happen to the poor deputy who catches a thief stealing one of my signs. He'll probably be ridden out of the county on a rail, or tarred and feathered. Maybe both.

The signs will be out next week.

There is still time to contribute to my campaign. Just use the PayPal button to the right.

I'm reminded of the businessowner in Kansas City I called on for a membership in the Chamber of Commerce there. When he asked me what the membership was going to cost him, I told him he could pay just as much as he wanted to.

"How about $5.00?" he asked.

"That's $3.00 more than I thought I was going to get out of you," I replied.

He never asked another question about membership before telling his company's treasurer to write me a check for membership.

At his front door, he did ask one more question. "What do those folks up at the chamber office think of me?"

I looked him right in the eye and said, "Sir, you wouldn't want me to tell you."

He had been buying full-page ads in the Sunday paper to lambast the politicians and bureaucrats in Kansas State Government. He was telling the truth, and they hated him. A couple of years later, at about age 68, he got elected to the legislature! He is one of the special people I have met in my life!

Many thanks to Mike Lehman of McHenry Printing Services for his help my initial order of signs. I dealt with Mike because of his offers of help in the case of missing person Beth Bentley. Mike gave me accurate, fast turn-around service on my sign design and order.

Right-to-Carry meeting - a blast

Last night's meeting of the McHenry County Right-to-Carry Assn. was a blast. The conference room was almost packed. An estimated 300+ concerned citizens were there to hear candidates for area offices tell why (or whether) they supported right-to-carry.

I thought about wearing a holster under my jacket last night and having some fun with the audience. I expected to hear an audible gasp, if I took off my jacket to expose the holster. I intended to explain that is what the public would feel, if they saw a holster under a jacket and how we needed to educate the public to seeing holsters and not being shocked. I also thought about drawing the most dangerous weapon that I thought would be in the room - my business card. But I wimped out.

But here is what I did say about my stand on concealed carry.

When I moved to Woodstock, I called the P.D. right away to obtain an application for a concealed carry permit. The cop laughed at me.

Then I called the sheriff's department. The deputy didn't laugh at me, but he did tell me that I would never get a concealed carry permit in Illinois. Whoever he was, he was saying "never" to the wrong person!

Then I attacked the self-serving position of the Illinois Sheriff's Assn. about wanting applications processed by the county sheriff's office. No way! Think I'd get a permit in my lifetime? How many times would it get "lost"? I said that, if elected, I would work to approve get concealed-carry approved in Illinois without that step in the process.

I also reported an improvement in the position of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. Five years ago they were against concealed carry except by active or retired law enforcement. As of September 28, that Association is now "neutral". I pledged to work with the chiefs of police in McHenry County to persuade them to be in favor of concealed carry.

I also said that, on my first day in office, I would sign this pledge:

"I, Gus Philpott, will never, by use of force or any other means, confiscate firearms lawfully possessed by the citizens of my community."

And I shall work with the communities in McHenry County to persuade their mayors, village presidents and chiefs of police to make this same pledge.

So, if you are wondering whether I support concealed carry by law-abiding citizens, I guess you know that I do!

the sheriff to have the right