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McHenry County chair lays out 2026 priorities, cites workforce training, ARPA investments and tight budgets
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Summary
In the Feb. 12 State of the County address, the county board chair highlighted workforce training at the Foglia Center, ARPA-funded economic and social programs, transportation grants and a modest levy increase paired with cuts and staffing changes.
The chair of the McHenry County Board delivered the 2026 State of the County address on Feb. 12 at McHenry County College's Foglia Center, outlining a year of investments in workforce training, economic development and health services while acknowledging a challenging budget outlook.
In his address the chair recognized several senior county staff who retired in 2025 — including county administrator Peter Austin, Veterans Assistance Commission superintendent Michael Wannakee and public defender Mark Cook — and announced leadership changes: Scott Hartman will serve as county administrator; Nate Johnson now leads the VAC; and Richard Beehoff is the new public defender. "County administration, the VAC, and the public defender's office are in very good hands," the chair said.
He described the Foglia Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation at McHenry County College as a 45,000-square-foot training facility opened in 2024 that received equipment funding from the county. The chair said the county allocated $1,690,000 to cover more than half of the Foglia Center's equipment costs and noted nearly $30,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) investments across county programs.
The address emphasized workforce and economic development. The county supported a DCEO regional site-readiness application to develop a 232-acre property on Route 31 into an industrial park and secured a $3,000,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for that work. The county also highlighted a $717,300 advanced McHenry County grant that seeded a five‑week paid manufacturing internship program that has provided more than 360 internships for local high school students.
On housing, the chair cited the county's 2025 housing‑readiness action plan developed with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and municipal partners to support workforce housing. He said almost 1,200 housing units were built in McHenry County in 2025 and 871 additional units had been proposed as of the address.
Health and social services also drew attention. The county opened a 21‑bed memory-care wing at Valley High Nursing and Rehabilitation (the Heart of the Valley project), which the chair said cost $4,000,000 and was paid with existing funds. He described a renovation of the Department of Health Annex in Crystal Lake to expand immunizations, WIC and other clinic services and highlighted county participation in an "Operation Dropbox" veterans donation program that collected nearly 7,000 pounds of goods in McHenry County alone.
On transit and infrastructure, the chair noted a 2025 state law that replaces the Regional Transportation Authority with a Northern Illinois Transit Authority overseeing METRA, PACE and CTA; he said county staff testified during legislative deliberations to protect McHenry County's representation and funding share. He also announced $2,250,000 in federal transportation funding for safety improvements on Charles Road north of Woodstock and described the ongoing Randall Road improvement project, 80% funded externally with the county covering 20% from existing fund balances.
Turning to county finances, he said McHenry County had steadily reduced its levy from $79,400,000 in 2017 to less than $65,000,000 in 2025, but that the 2026 levy will increase 2.9% to $67,700,000. The chair said that increase was paired with almost $6,000,000 in budget cuts and a reduction of 18 positions through consolidation and attrition. "This was a hard decision to make after a decade of tax reduction, but necessary," he said.
The address concluded by framing the county's work as collaborative and forward-looking, calling on residents and partners to build on recent investments in workforce training, infrastructure, health services and tourism development.
The board moved from the address into committee business, public comment and a lengthy presentation on internal and budget controls that prompted detailed questions from members about D365 budgeting, payroll controls and fund balances.
