McHenry County Board chairman touts post-pandemic achievements: ‘This is our time to thrive’

McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler delivered his annual State of the County address Thursday through a prerecorded video that lasted for nearly 30 minutes, touting a number of achievements and things to come.

The video was filmed at a historic room inside the new McHenry County Sheriff’s Office training facility in Cary, which opened last fall. The training center was among the items Buehler celebrated in his address.

“We couldn’t beat the price,” said Buehler, a Republican from Crystal Lake. The county paid $1 to purchase the structure.

Buehler also talked about the county’s economic recovery from COVID-19, noting the formal public health emergency expired last year, though the virus remains in circulation.

“McHenry County has made its comeback, and this is our time to thrive,” Buehler said.

Buehler hypeda variety of things that have happened in the county including the former Harvard Motorola plant’s new operations. McHenry and Woodstock have launched “ingenious” business incubators, Buehler said, and he encouraged “other municipalities to follow suit.”

He also talked about the recently opened interchange at Route 23 and Interstate 90 in Marengo and how thousands of new homes are under construction in the county.

He mentioned other more recent developments, such as the one-year agreement between McHenry and Lake counties to house Lake County inmates in the McHenry County Jail due to Lake County having a staffing shortage.

“The additional revenue will help make up for what McHenry County lost when the state of Illinois forced us to terminate our contract to house federal immigration detainees and will help offset some of the expenses we’ve incurred with the SAFE-T Act,” Buehler said, referring to the state law upended the process for determining whether arrestees remain in jail pretrial.

He talked about a few things coming up in the county, including the Route 47 widening project that is set to begin this year in Woodstock, which he said officials have been trying to start for years.

“Our persistence has paid off,” Buehler said.

Buehler also talked about Randall Road construction. Phase 2 in Crystal Lake and Lake in the Hills is also set to begin construction this year, and the county received a $20 million grant in November to fund some of the project.

He also talked about the Longmeadow Bridge in the Algonquin area, expected to open this year. The County Board voted in December to chip in $1 million to help eliminate the plan for a tollbooth at the bridge. Buehler said $35 million was needed to do that, of which the state chipped in $30 million. McHenry, Kane and Cook counties were on the hook for the rest, Buehler said.

“This was a great investment that will save commuters hundreds of dollars per year,” Buehler said.

After Buehler’s speech wrapped up, he added a couple comments.

“This board has done some truly amazing work to improve our community so thank you to the board,” he said.

The State of the County address comes as Buehler is gearing up for reelection this year. He does not have an opponent in the March 19 primary, but will run against County Board member Kelli Wegener, D-Crystal Lake, in the November general election.

In member’s comments following the State of the County address, Wegener spoke about gun violence and specifically mentioned Wednesday’s shooting in Kansas City following the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade. The Associated Press reported Thursday that 22 people had been shot, and one person was killed.

“This was supposed to be on a celebratory day for a Super Bowl win,” Wegener said. “When those with guns threaten our daily lives and the special events that we hold dear, you would think something would be done.”