:quality(70):focal(587x393:597x403)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/HZ4QMTOCIJCOLEJQFYSWGA3P3Q.png)
Name: Mike Buehler
Office sought: I am seeking reelection as McHenry County Board Chairman.
Political party: Republican
Age: 55
Occupation and Employer: Owner, D&M Scale Service Inc.
What elected offices, if any, have you previously held? McHenry County Board chairman
Campaign Website: mikebuehler.com
Town where you live: Crystal Lake
Education: Attended Harper College and DeVry Institute
Community Involvement: My community involvement reflects a deep commitment to public safety, conservation, and youth development. As an advisor for the Northeast Multi-Regional Training Center (NEMERT), I help ensure that vital public safety training is accessible to our region. More recently, I have proudly supported The 100 Club, an organization dedicated to providing essential assistance to the families of fallen first responders. I have also volunteered in several Conservation District programs, including outreach, awareness, and invasive species removal efforts. In addition, coaching multiple sports teams for all three of my sons has allowed me to contribute to the growth and development of our local youth.
Marital Status/Immediate Family: I am married for 25 years and have three boys
In under 100 words, please share anything else about your professional or personal background that you want voters to know.
As a small business owner with over 25 years of experience in the construction and infrastructure sectors, I have gained deep insight into the challenges and opportunities facing our local industries. My company specializes in industrial weighing equipment, with a primary focus on the roadbuilding industry.
This extensive experience has provided me with a unique understanding of the obstacles that business owners, workers, and their families encounter daily. Over the years, I have cultivated strong relationships and developed a collaborative approach to problem-solving, working closely with others to identify practical solutions that benefit everyone involved.
Why are you running for office?
I am running for reelection as McHenry County Board Chairman in order to continue to provide the highest level of service that our residents expect. Under my leadership, our top priorities have been focused on fiscal responsibility while strongly supporting public safety, economic and workforce development, maintaining our roads, and infrastructure improvements such as sewer and water projects and broadband internet expansion to underserved areas of the county. In addition, through our shared services initiative with our cities and villages, we’ve created shared purchasing programs for road salt and storage facilities, public safety and training, and addressing mental health issues in our communities.
Also, I have traveled to Springfield with our municipal leaders to be a strong advocate for the needs of their residents. During my term, the shared service programs we’ve created (i.e. The Sheriffs’ Regional Training Center and Police Social Worker Program) have contributed to McHenry County being the safest county in IL for a county of our size. These programs will also save our taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in the decades to come. There is more work to be done in these and other areas.
What would you identify as the top three issues currently facing the county board and how would you address them?
One major threat to our county is the loss of local control and unfunded mandates from Springfield. The forced cancellation of our ICE contract and the SAFE-T Act requirements have placed nearly a $25 million additional burden on taxpayers. If RTA consolidation in its current form passes, this will have severe negative impacts to McHenry County. To address this, I reinstated our State and Federal Legislative program, which my predecessor ended, allowing us to create a legislative agenda to lobby for our county’s needs and oppose harmful legislation from Springfield.
Just like our residents have seen at home, inflation is another challenge, with rising costs affecting county operations. Despite these pressures, under my leadership, we’ve maintained fiscal responsibility and balanced the budget every year. We’ve also been recognized by the U.S. Treasury as one of 17 counties nationwide for innovative use of COVID relief funds to support public safety, economic and workforce development, and infrastructure improvements.
Our county remains debt-free, one of only three in Illinois. We also maintain a AAA bond rating. My opponent threatens this by seeking to saddle the county with unnecessary high debt(and high interest rates) to fund projects we could otherwise save for.
If you’re an incumbent, how are you planning to vote on the upcoming budget and tax levy? Aside from the cut in the levy related to the mental health board, do you support additional cuts, or would you support holding the line on any increase? Would you support taxing the maximum allowed under the tax cap and of new EAV growth? If you’re a challenger, how would you approach this issue?
As County Board chairman, I am not a voting member unless there is a tie vote. I do not support taking the maximum allowable increase and do not believe the majority of the board would either. I do not believe an increase can be justified when our taxpayers are struggling to keep up with high inflationary pressures.
Why shouldn’t voters choose your opponent?
Voters should be deeply concerned about my opponent’s activist track record on the county board, which has consistently supported initiatives that are not in the best interest of our residents and have created significant financial burdens for the county. My opponent backed open border policies by voting to cancel our county’s jail contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ultimately leading to a staggering loss of over $18 million in revenue over the past three years. This decision has severely strained the county’s budget. Moreover, she has voted for every property tax increase that has come before her, along with a gas tax hike, further burdening hardworking families who are struggling to pay bills and put food on the table. Adding to these concerns, the State Board of Elections has determined that her campaign violated Campaign Finance Disclosure laws, raising questions about her transparency, accountability, and disregard for the law.
Should the Metra, CTA and Pace boards be consolidated into one regional public transportation agency? Why or why not?
No. If approved in its present form, collar county board chairs will lose two of their three appointments to the current transit boards, puƫng the collar counties in a minority voting position on the proposed single board, thus diminishing McHenry County’s voice on transit issues in the region. McHenry County must maintain our three appointments to the boards and the boards must maintain their supermajority voting power.
The CTA carries $6.9 billion in debt. Compared to Metra’s $312 million debt and Pace’s $138 million debt, CTA’s debt is massive. With the proposed legislation, collar counties such as McHenry County, could see their tax dollars diverted to cover CTA’s multibillion-dollar debt, operating costs and infrastructure cash flow needs.
Giving more oversight to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) rather than consolidating the transit boards would be a significant reform. It will improve project coordination, streamline funding and ensure that collar counties are fairly represented. Since 2000, through the RTA sales tax, McHenry County residents have contributed $394 million to regional transit. Collar county representation will guarantee collar county tax dollars will not be diverted to cover CTA’s $6.9 billion debt, operating costs and infrastructure cash flow needs I will only support legislation that empowers the RTA while maintaining local representation.
What are the county’s biggest infrastructure needs and what is your plan for funding them?
Like most counties in the nation, bridge repairs and replacement are an important part of our transportation program. We will continue to pursue state and federal funding for these programs as we’ve successfully done throughout my term. I favor repairs where possible as the cost is a fraction of replacement and may allow us to accelerate the program. One example would be the Randall Road reconstruction in which we received nearly all the required funding through the Motor Fuel Tax revenues as well as through our relationships with state and federal partners.
Providing Broadband fiber internet to unserved/underserved areas of the county has been a high priority since the day I was sworn in. The process has been long and tedious with multiple starts/stops along the way due to changing state grant requirements and the schedule selecting grant recipients. All indicators point to these awards coming in the early part of next year.
I have signed multiple letters of support for the Broadband providers interested in obtaining State of IL BEADS funding. Current grant applicants will bring fiber to approximately 10,000 homes in the county. At this time, it does not appear the county will need to contribute its own funds.
How do you propose to regulate the use of solar farms in the county? Do you support the expansion of solar farms in unincorporated areas?
McHenry County has a history of supporting renewable energy. In Jan of 2023, the IL Legislature passed a law which removes county governments’ ability to regulate new wind a solar energy facilities. In its current form, this legislation is counter to the best interests of our residents when it comes to siting, setbacks, screening, and duration of permits. In addition, it does not provide adequate controls for bonding to ensure decommissioning is fully funded when that time comes. Loss of local control on this issue is very concerning. We have joined and taken a leadership role on the Wind and Solar Task Force to address the shortfalls in this legislation and are working to make positive changes to the law in future sessions.
Loss of some of the most productive agricultural land in the country is also a concern as the agriculture industry contributes nearly $200 million annually to our local economy. I am in support of a more balanced approach that utilizes existing industrial rooftop and/or parking areas as is done in some other areas of the country. These types of sites are generally out of sight and do not have a negative impact on residential areas.
The County Board recently convened a working group on workforce housing whose report found a need for more workforce housing in the county. Do you support the expansion of sub-market workforce housing and should the county be involved in investing in such projects?
In recent years, housing in McHenry County has become increasingly expensive to obtain for some of our residents. Many people aren’t aware of the limitations of county government when it comes to housing. County governments jurisdiction is only over unincorporated areas of the county. Generally, the unincorporated areas of our county do not have the required infrastructure (i.e. sewer and water) required to support this type of high-density housing. Given the lack of infrastructure, I do not support use of county funds for this type of housing in unincorporated areas as it is cost prohibitive. However, we well aware of the issue and its importance. That’s why I (in collaboration with our PHCS committee) created the bipartisan Workforce Housing Workgroup to study the issue. Over the past year, the workgroup brought together business leaders, real estate experts, members of the McHenry County Workforce Network, transportation planners, community development practitioners, and county staff to evaluate workforce housing needs. This past June we published a report with our findings. This is a municipal issue. Our report will be presented to McHenry County Council of Governments (MCCOG) this fall.
Should the county board limit its votes to “germane” topics as was proposed recently? And should the board be in the business of passing resolutions or flying flags to recognize certain groups or movements?
Yes. The board should not be voting on issues in which we have no authority to control. The board recently passed a flag policy in which a 2/3 vote is required to approve. I’ve been disappointed that some of our members have chosen to use proclamations as a partisan tool in an attempt to create division and further political gain.
Should the county allow marijuana dispensaries or cultivation centers to operate in unincorporated areas?
This is a zoning and state law issue. Until a petition is in front of the board and all evidence/conditions are presented, it would be inappropriate to make a determination. It’s important to understand that, with regard to zoning, making a predetermined decision can expose the county to considerable liability. I only have a vote in the case of a tie.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? No
In your capacity as a private citizen, have you or any business entity in which you have a ownership stake receive a federal PPP loan? If so, what was the amount and is it repaid, forgiven or still outstanding?
This is a matter of public record.
[Public records provided through ProPublica’s database of COVID-19 relief PPP loans show Buehler’s business, D&M Scale Service Inc., received $146,314 in two separate PPP loans during the pandemic. Both loans, plus interest, were forgiven in 2021.]
Will you honor the results of the November election, including the presidential race?
Yes. I am disappointed in this question as it presupposes I would not and serves to further divide communities.