McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett says he’s ending financial interest in downtown business

More development is coming to downtown McHenry, Mayor Wayne Jett said, and he doesn’t want the general public to think he is pushing those proposals one way or the other to favor businesses he’s been involved in.

Jett announced Sunday on a McHenry-based Facebook page that he and his wife, Amber, willcompletely pull out of their financial investment in The Vixen, 1208 N. Green St., an entertainment venue and former movie theater that’s across the street from some of that proposed development.

That follows the couple pulling out of their partnership operating The Hub Market, a butcher shop and deli next door to The Vixen.

What happens in the downtown has nothing to do with a financial interest I have have in downtown.”

—  McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett

“What happens in the downtown has nothing to do with a financial interest I have have in downtown,” Jett said in phone interview with the Northwest Herald regarding his Facebook post. “We will be talking parking garages. I don’t want people thinking I am voting because the Vixen needs more parking.”

Jett has been involved with The Vixen – formerly known as the McHenry Downtown Theater – since about the time he was elected mayor in April 2017. The theater closed in 2014, and Jett was part of a larger group who approached the McHenry City Council in early 2017 seeking a conditional use permit to redevelop the theater property.

Scott Dehn, owner of the McHenry Outdoor Theatre, was a part of the original group who “brought (Jett) into the mix” for that plan, Dehn said this week. “My goal was to bring a theater back to McHenry.” Once it opened, Dehn said, he left to focus on his drive-in theater.

According to Jett, his original investment in redeveloping the downtown theater was $20,000 ″to show my commitment, to put my money where my mouth was,” he said. At that that time, a total of 26 investors were involved, who all had to promise at least $10,000.

“They were all McHenry people, all businesses owners that I did not know prior to getting them involved,” Jett said.

The theater closed during COVID-19, reopening as The Vixen in Spring 2022. That was the year he divested and transferred his shares to wife Amber Jett, he said.

The Jetts were also involved in the development of The Hub, 1210 N. Green St. According to city documents at the time of its liquor license approval, owners also included Mandy Polerecky, wife of McHenry community development director, Ross Polerecky.

Neither project received development help from the city, Jett said.

The Jetts divested their $35,000 interest in The Hub 18 months ago, Wayne Jett said.

They expect to be completely out of The Vixen’s financially by July 1, Jett said, but will stay on as unpaid consultants for the next year.

In coming weeks, Geneva-based Shodeen Group LCC is expected to present an updated plan for 1111 N. Green Street to the McHenry City Council. Set for the former McHenry City Hall property, which is not owned by the city, Shodeen previously proposed 88 apartments. The developer also requested a new tax increment finance district and $2 million in city aid for the project.

The city and Shodeen also have an agreement to to come up with plans for 2 1/4 acres of city owned property across Boone Creek, as well as the former wastewater treatment plant site on the Fox River.

What has not changed for the Jetts is their involvement with the Rise Up Foundation and the Rise Up Music Festival. Set for Sept. 12 to 14 at McHenry’s Petersen Park, the concert festival has in the past raised funds for a splash pad at Fort McHenry Park and last year’s upgrades to Miller Point Park. The 2024 show is set to help fund upgrades to Veteran’s Park.

They do not take any income from the foundation or the music festival, Jett said, and have already put aside $100,000 from ticket sales to ensure the park donation is set.

His investments in the downtown and work on the Rise Up Music Festival all go hand-in-hand, Jett said.

“I ran (for mayor) on getting a downtown that is vibrant,” he said. “You don’t invest in a community if you don’t have a downtown that people want to go to and visit.”

If not for investment in downtown, Jett said finishing the McHenry Riverwalk would have been a harder sell to city council, too.

“It would have been a tough sell if there was noting to enjoy down there,” Jett said. “That was our push.”