City of McHenry buys light poles early to get order in before Trump’s tariffs hit

McHenry had planned to replace decorative street lights on Main Street in the upcoming year, Parks and Recreation Director Bill Hobson said.

Instead, the City Council on Monday night approved the purchase of those lights months early to avoid paying an additional $34,000 for the lights because of President Donald Trump’s Mexican tariffs, which kicked in on Tuesday.

“The national political climate has dictated we put this on the agenda ... related to the pending tariffs,” Hobson said.

As long as the purchase was approved at the meeting, “it will be on their desk prior to midnight tonight,” Hobson said, adding that the supplier and manufacturer guaranteed the pre-tariff rate of just under $137,000 for the lights.

The existing lights on Main Street have been in place since the late 1980s or early 1990s and, although they’ve gotten preventive maintenance, they are rusting out, Hobson said. One of the poles blew over during Friday’s high winds.

“Wind and 30- or 40-year-old poles are a bad combination,” Hobson said, adding that the banners on the remaining poles will be removed to prevent more from falling over.

The decorative street lights run from Route 31 to Crystal Lake Road. New wiring is also part of the replacement project, Hobson said in his report to the City Council, as “the street goes dark on occasion until the breaker is reset.”