Job creation, infrastructure key to rebounding from COVID-19, McHenry County Board chairman says

McHenry County needs to take a proactive approach to encourage new business growth and support infrastructure improvements in order to rebound from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler gave his “state of the county” address Tuesday.

The address was given to County Board members in their regular meeting Tuesday evening in the form of a prerecorded speech that focused on the local impact of COVID-19, how county government responded and what the future might look like.

“While we must focus on helping constituents and businesses hurt by the pandemic, we can’t afford to be solely reactive,” Buehler said. “We also have to be proactive and focus on growing new businesses, new jobs and new opportunities.”

Tuesday’s state of the county address, which is typically given after a year in office, comes only four months after Buehler was sworn in as County Board chairman, meaning some of the events and accomplishments took place under his predecessor, Jack Franks.

“The County Board chairman doesn’t normally deliver this annual address until his first year full year in office,” Buehler said at the start of the address. “However, I think we can all agree that these are not normal times.”

The County Board currently is working with county staff and the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies to introduce a new strategic plan to outline how the county can recover from COVID-19, he said.

Moving forward, Buehler said job growth and improvements to the county’s infrastructure will be crucial to a full rebound to the economic high that the county, and the nation, was experiencing before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Part of this goal will be to bring high speed internet connection to the community of Harvard, he said.

Another priority will be to encourage business development in the area immediately surrounding the county’s new Interstate 90 interchange, Buehler said.

“It’s time for us to move forward and create opportunities that turn that interchange into a manufacturing hub with direct routes to Rockford and O’Hare airports as well as Chicago – the hub of the entire North American rail system,” he said.

He also referenced the big, two-year Randall Road improvement project, which is projected to be finalized this summer.

These endeavors likely will be supported by the $59.7 million in federal funds that McHenry County will receive over a period of two years through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Buehler said.

In tandem with the American Rescue Plan, Buehler said the county is in the process of creating its own McHenry County Rescue Plan, which will leave the county debt free by 2022.

This horrible pandemic will one day be a memory, and we have to keep both eyes on the prize of life beyond it,” he said.

Buehler also highlighted four pieces of the COVID-19 pandemic that the County Board took direct action on: business closures, the added strain on mental health and substance abuse, the impact on government and individuals facing economic hardship.

For businesses, the county waived liquor license fees, suspended restrictions on outdoor dining and introduced three grant programs over the last year, two of which were under Buehler’s leadership, he said.

Shortly after Buehler took office, the immediate business relief grant program was introduced to give a boost to hard-hit businesses in the food service, hospitality, arts, entertainment and recreation sectors, he said. The county also introduced the small business transformation grant designed to help local businesses in low- to moderate-income areas make the kinds of operational changes necessary to operate safely during a pandemic, he said.

Across the two programs, the county gave more than $900,000 to 40 businesses, Buehler said.

Finally, the small business stabilization grant program was introduced last summer under Franks‘ leadership, which gave $230,000 to 52 local businesses, Buehler said.

When it came to supporting individuals impacted by job loss and economic hardship, Buehler touted the emergency utility and rental assistance program created to disburse the $9.1 million in federal funds given to the county to prevent evictions.

With immense economic stressors, the demand for social services increased significantly in the last year, he said, specifically when it came to mental health and substance abuse support.

“Last year, overdose deaths in McHenry County increased rapidly after two years of significant decline,” Buehler said.

He praised the diligence of local food pantries, mental health providers and other social services agencies in responding to these crises in the midst of the operational and financial challenges posed by the pandemic.

Buehler also mentioned the McHenry County PADS facility that opened in McHenry last year before he took office.

McHenry County PADS offers emergency shelter to local people experiencing homelessness as well as support services including crisis intervention and life skills training, according to the facility’s website.

When it came to county government, Buehler sang the praises of the county-run Valley Hi Nursing Home, which was successful in preventing a major outbreak of COVID-19 until December when its first outbreak claimed the lives of more than a dozen people, according to the Illinois Department of Health.

He also gave shoutouts to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s information technology department, with a special thank you to the McHenry County Department of Health for the “hard work and perseverance” shown by the department’s staff.