McHenry County e-News

McHenry County, IL

2/22/2013

A message from the Chairwoman...

Tina R. Hill

County Board

Chairwoman

Dear McHenry County Resident:

At the February 5 McHenry County Board Meeting, I delivered the McHenry County 2013 State of the County Address. In my inaugural Address, I highlighted McHenry County Government's tradition of good government and responsible, fiscal stewardship which has resulted in McHenry County's strong financial position. In building upon the successes of previous County Boards, McHenry County Government will continue to be a leader in efficient and effective local government.

With this in mind, we are also entering into a new era in McHenry County. My administration will encourage fresh ideas and new perspectives to develop a more responsive and cost effective County government. The Board already is developing its new Strategic Plan which will provide the roadmap for our efforts to improve County government over the next three years.

While meaningful change is no small undertaking and cannot be done overnight, we will tackle the challenges together and leave no stone unturned in the process.

Sincerely,

Tina R. Hill

County Board Chairwoman

**Please click here to view a copy of the McHenry County 2013 State of the County Address.

Congressman Roskam Visits the McHenry County Workforce Network Center

Congressman Peter Roskam visited the McHenry County Workforce Network Center (MCWN) in Woodstock on January 30 to tour the facility and learn about the value of the Workforce Network's program services in McHenry County. During his visit, Congressman Roskam had a roundtable discussion with County Board Members, partners from the community, Workforce Investment Board Members, local businesses and job seekers about the value of the Workforce program's services. The roundtable discussion focused on how workforce services are a public/private partnership and the effects that programs financed through federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) dollars had. These effects include the value of the return on investment through wages of participants that have become re-employed.

The discussion highlighted that the MCWN invested $1,782,637 of federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) dollars to provide services for adult customers during the 2011 program year ending June 30, 2012. This investment has returned an estimated $7,502,730 in annual wages to the local economy. Average annual earnings for WIA Customers were $37,514 and $956,159 was spent directly on customer training, accounting for 54% of the program expenditures (Source: Illinois Workforce Development System). This investment in the local McHenry County workforce is highlighted in the the statistics below.

Workforce Network Customer Stats Calendar Year 2012

627 - WIA eligible customers served

255 - Customers in training for high growth occupations

299 - Entered employment (includes youth and adults)

(3,618 Distinct Visitors served in MCWN Resource Room)

For more information including employment numbers, please visit: www.mchenrycountywib.org.

County Selected for Training in Maryland

Last July McHenry County Government, along with its partner jurisdictions, was competitively selected to participate in an intensive community-based, four-day emergency management training course in Emmitsburg, Maryland from March 11-14, 2013. This course is specifically designed by the Integrated Emergency Management (IEM) Branch of the National Emergency Training Center to address the unique threats and hazards which face McHenry County. This training provides a unique opportunity for local jurisdictions in McHenry County to practice collaborative and cohesive emergency management techniques through a series of exercises and seminars...Read More.

McHenry County State's Attorney's

Check Enforcement Program

Each year merchants lose millions of dollars to bad checks. Bad checks affect everyone, pushing the costs of goods even higher and can be devastating to a business. Make no mistake unlawfully issuing a bad check is a crime. To help local business owners with the problem of bad checks, the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office offers an in-house Check Enforcement Program. This program is offered at no charge and is designed to assist merchants in recovering losses from bad checks that they receive.

The program is a multi-faceted approach that includes:

- Assistance in recovering money lost to bad checks;

- Pursuit and prosecution of check offenders who refuse to make restitution;

- Programs to reduce the number of bad checks that end up in your business, and;

- Education to help check offenders avoid writing bad checks in the future.

Since the start of the program in February 2007, the McHenry County Check Enforcement Program has collected over $302,000 for local merchants. To take advantage of this program after receiving a bad check, please contact the State's Attorney's Office to initiate the process. They can help recover the check, but also a victim's fee to help offset any fees charged by banks. To learn more about this program, consult the McHenry County State's Attorney's website at: www.mchenrycosao.com.

Winter Road Conditions

The links below are resources for road conditions and McHenry County Government building closures.

- For road conditions on state highways in Illinois, visit the Illinois Department of Transportation website for information: www.gettingaroundillinois.com and click on "Winter Road Conditions".

- For information on Wisconsin road conditions, visit: www.dot.state.wi.us/travel.

- The McHenry County Sheriff's Office communicates with the public through several outlets which you can register with. You can sign up to receive email or text messages from Nixle at www.nixle.com. Nixle messages can be alerts, advisories, community messages, or traffic alerts.

- The McHenry County Government will post building closures on the Emergency Closing Center website: www.emergencyclosingcenter.com/ecc/home.jsp. Sign-up to be notified for up to two "closure" notifications through email. Enter in the Facility Name: "McHenry County Government Center" and Location: "Woodstock".

Listen to County Board Meetings LIVE!

Do you want to listen to County Board meetings LIVE while they occur or an archived version after the fact? Click here to visit the McHenry County Meeting Portal where you can also find agendas and minutes from the McHenry County Board, its standing committees, and other County commissions/boards.

Listen to McHenry County Board meetings live on the first Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. and on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.

MCDOT Celebrates Milestone

The McHenry County Division of Transportation (MCDOT) is celebrating an anniversary milestone this year. Along with all of the other County Highway Departments and Divisions of Transportation in the State of Illinois, it is our 100th Anniversary! To commemorate this event, the MCDOT is working with the Northwest Herald to have a monthly article featuring the MCDOT linking the past to the present. The articles are scheduled to run the 4th Tuesday of every month. The first article ran on January 23rd (a day later than scheduled) and was about how the MCDOT got its start. The February article, scheduled for the 26th, is geared for Winter Maintenance (snow plowing).

If you miss any of the articles, check out the "100 Anniversary" section on the MCDOT's website where all of the articles will be posted, in addition to some neat vintage pictures of what life was like back then. Visit www.mchenrycountydot.org to learn more.

In addition to the articles in the newspaper, we have also found old County Highway Maps dating all the way back to 1914! Check them out on our website under the "100 Anniversary" section. It's fun to see how things have changed.

The MCDOT is also on Facebook. While we have special Facebook pages for some of our major construction projects like Miller Road or Johnsburg Road, we now have a general Facebook page for the MCDOT. Click here to access it and follow the MCDOT. From here you will be able to obtain the latest information on upcoming construction projects and other interesting news and features.

MCDH Update

In celebration of National Public Health Week (April 1-7), McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) will accept nominations from the public for its 8th annual Spirit of Public Health Award. The deadline is Friday, March 22. The Spirit Award acknowledges individuals who are committed to making their community healthy, but may not be recognized for their efforts. Examples of past recipients include:

- Raising awareness for breast cancer

- Community service to needy children

- Recycling efforts at a clinic

- Advocacy for the dangers of furniture tip-overs

- Role model for teens against tobacco use

- Devotion to animal welfare at a local shelter

- Helping seniors with home repairs to keep them safe

- Providing mental health/pet therapy for at-risk youth

Nominations should be in short story format (150 words) and can be submitted by email to Debra Quackenbush (daquackenbush@co.mchenry.il.us), fax (815-334-4635) or mail (McHenry County Dept. of Health, Attn: Spirit Awards, 2200 N. Seminary Avenue, Woodstock IL 60098). A flyer for the Spirit Awards is posted on the MCDH webpage www.mcdh.info with photos of previous recipients. Spirit Award recipients and their nominators will be invited to attend MCDH's Public Health Awards ceremony in April at the McHenry County Government Center in Woodstock.

MCSO Update

"We want to help you protect your valuables," said Undersheriff Andrew Zinke. The McHenry County Sheriff's Office encourages all residents to use ReportIt, a free online system that will help keep track of valuable personal property. ReportIt is a secure online database service that allows citizens to record serial numbers and upload images of valuables. Citizens can enter item information and obtain more information at www.reportit.leadsonline.com.

ReportIt is a part of LeadsOnline. LeadsOnline is an online system that works with police across the country to track and recover stolen property. The McHenry County Sheriff's Office uses LeadsOnline to help track and recover stolen property, such as jewelry, sporting equipment, tools, and electronics such as computers, cameras, televisions, GPS, and more. Detectives search the LeadsOnline database for the items using a variety of parameters, including item descriptions and serial numbers. When an item is sold to a pawn or secondhand shop, the product information is entered in the LeadsOnline database and is immediately viewable by participating law enforcement agencies across the country...Read More.

State's Attorney's Office Newsletter

Learn what our State's Attorney's Office has been working on in the latest edition of the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office Newsletter. Click here.