Buehler: Broadband, expanding economy on tap for McHenry County in 2023

Work to expand broadband to various northeastern McHenry County towns could begin this year, McHenry County Board Chair Mike Buehler, R-Crystal Lake, announced in the annual State of the County address Thursday.

The county will also either start or wrap up various projects in 2023, including a new training facility for law enforcement agencies across the county in Cary and a memory care wing at Valley Hi Nursing Home in Woodstock, Buehler said.

The McHenry County Connects initiative would bring high-speed internet to underserved areas, including Hebron, Richmond and Spring Grove, Buehler said.

To help kick off that work, two applicants, Frontier Communications and Charter Communications, are working with the county will submit requests to the Illinois Office of Broadband, requesting $10 million a piece for the work, Buehler said. Eventually, broadband could be expanded to other parts of north, central and western McHenry County.

The hope is expanded high-speed internet will drive economic growth by boosting infrastructure available to residents, said Buehler, who made the economy a top issue of his address. He noted the county raised its property tax levy for the first time in over a decade.

“Our 2023 budget … was the most challenging in a very long time,” Buehler said.

The county has prioritized recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year, Buehler said, the aim is to continue expanding the county’s economy. As part of that, a partnership was announced in January that will see several counties, including McHenry County, partner with Chicago to grow the economy from a regional perspective.

The county will also continue work on developing the Interstate 90 and Route 23 corridor south of Marengo in 2023, Buehler said. The aim is for the area to act as an economic boon in coming years.

The county’s Advance McHenry County program, through which the county will dole out nearly $60 million in federal COVID-19 relief and recovery funds, made strides in 2022 too, Buehler said.

The county was one of 17 counties recognized by the U.S. Treasury Department for how it spent its American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

Grants last year went to help start work development programs and to organizations to help combat a number of challenges, including hunger, housing shortages, and assisting older residents, Buehler said.

“Advanced McHenry County success stories keep coming in,” Buehler said. “I can’t stress enough how extremely proud I am.”

Other projects on tap this year include the conversion of the old Cary Village Hall building into a law enforcement training center and the construction of an indoor firing range a few miles away, which are expected to wrap up in June and December, respectively.

The Valley Hi Nursing Home’s memory care wing will also go out to bid this year and could be completed in 2024, Buehler said.

Last June, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office started a new social workers program. In the program’s first six months, social workers partnering with different law enforcement agencies across McHenry County handled nearly 500 case referrals from police officers.

Meanwhile, the McHenry County Department of Health created a new opioid surveillance and response report, which will be expanded this year, and will offer free naloxone kits and training to people, Buehler said. Naloxone, which is also known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication used to stop overdoses as they are happening.

McHenry County in 2022 lost 20 residents to opioid overdose and had at least 135 emergency room visits tied to opioid overdose, Buehler said. The county in 2022 was one of many recipients in a class action lawsuit that will see several opioid manufacturers pay out billions to governments all over the world.

Other highlights from the address include the expected completion of McHenry County Division of Transportation’s 2050 plan this year, which has been nearly two years in the making, Buehler said.

A new county website is also expected to launch in 2023, which will be simpler, more compatible with mobile phones and include a translation button, Buehler said.

Buehler also hit on how different McHenry County looks compared to other recent years as it entered 2023 with a reduced County Board and more districts, along with nine new County Board members, sheriff and treasurer.

Redistricting for both the federal and state governments also changed how McHenry County is represented in the state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.

“These changes to the County Board are the most significant in the half of a century since the 1970 Illinois Constitution required county boards to be elected by the people,” Buehler said in his address.