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/ Howlett Urges >,: business Power (Continued from page 1) if. fiscal transactions of govern­ ment. "As taxpayers, you pay the bill for all the services of gov- '• ernment. You must wonderfre- '.'v quently if you are receiving full" ' j value for what you pay. ... . "A very substantial chunk of what is paid in state taxes is , , actually used to support the activities of local government. ' I n t h e s e f e w m i n u t e s w i t h you today, 1 want to suggest that we consider merging some, nit of our local governments. Mer- ,i ger has proved successful in jf private business. It should be [fi«j studied as a possible remedy for proliferation of governmen­ tal bodies in Illinois. " The 1967 United States Cen- , I sus of Governments found us vt[ with 6,453 local governments r; under the state government - too many. Some of them should be eliminated and func­ tions consolidated. "We have 102 counties, 1,256 i , municipalities, 1,432 town­ ships, 1,350 school districts, and 2,313 special districts. * Consolidation of school dls- " tricts has given us bigger and better schools with bettter equipment, better faculties, and better education. Why couldn't we merge and consolidate some of the other governmental func­ tions as we have consolidated education? • The Constitutional Conven­ tion opening next month will be an opportunity to re-examine the overlapping functions and duplication of responsibility now shared by so many local governments. "In the field of law enforce­ ment, for examp'e, we have state police, county police, city police, village police, park dis­ trict police, the FBI, federal marshals, post office in­ spectors, treasury agents, and probably many more I haven't thought of. "The original American law enforcement agent, the town­ ship constable, disappeared only recently, with the Judicial Reform Amendment to our state constitution. "At the local govenment lev­ el, at least, we should be able to organize things so we don't have two or more agencies as­ signed to do what one could do. "Why, for example, should two villages, side by side, need two radio transmitters with full crews day and night to dis­ patch police cars to answer calls* "Why couldn't one crew hand­ le calls around the clock for both villages and Save the tax-J Mi payom tte umfrM of two seta of dJ»p«c1fcW? Tixicab com­ panies can do it. Why not vil­ lage police? t ' Wouldn't it be feasible sometimes to consolidate vil­ lage governments, and other lo- al governments, as we con- lidated school districts, for greater economy and effic­ iency? "I concede this proposal is not as simple as it might sound to the uninformed. Government is complex. It is easier to start up a new government than to merge it with another after it is off and running. "Any proposal for consolida­ tion must be considered on its individual merits. "We want to keep our strong local control, but the best way to keep it is to make it work. If we find we have to start up a new local government every- time we want a new service, we will eventually weaken local control. "A citizen who finds himself paying taxes to a dozenor more local government bodies does not have the tiem to watch each one to keep track of what it is doing. "He is apt to wonder why we need a dozen separate boards of trustees, administrative staffs, lawyers, accountants, budgeting procedures to handle the different services. He is apt to think it would be cheap­ er to have a single state gov­ ernment, or even the federal government, take over the works and run things in a sing­ le operation. "If we have fewer, and bet­ ter, governmental bodies, we won't be running to Springfield or Washington so often for fi­ nancing and administration. "I think it would be a good thing for public understanding of government, If local govern­ ments would publish a month­ ly statistical payroll report, showing how the governmental body grows. "Throughout my term in of­ fice, I have issued a sum­ mary once a month of state payroll expenditures. During the past eight years, the staff of state government has grown from 60,000 employes to more than 100,000. "This report is examined carefully by the press. Some reporters inthestatehousesave them from month to month lor years. They have been used as campaign documents by the par­ ty out of power because govern­ ment payrolls steadily in­ crease. They have to, to meet increasing demands for ser­ vices. "Monthly reports of county payrolls probably would show county government growing, but if it is growing for necesssary services, the growth can al­ ways be defended. "Government employment In the United States has been ris­ ing every year since 1947. Ill­ inois' state payrolls have been Arising, but we have been tightly administered compared to other states. Only two states - New Jersey and Ohio - have fewer state employes per unit of pop­ ulation than we do. "If the local government body appropriates less than $100,000 a year, it may file a financial statement, in lieu of an audit report, on special forms pre­ pared by my office which will not require professional ac­ countant service to complete. "With the help of this new law, we have made Illinois the best audited state in the union. "In checking against waste in local government, I think Ill­ inois businessmen should take the lead. Businessmen are more aware than most people of the dangers of inattention to books and records of accounting. "If the ordinary citizen - the average budnessman or work­ ing man - will take an active interest in the processes of democracy, we won't have to worry about extremists - either of the left or the right - ever taking over our government. "The weight of the business­ man has not made itself felt in government as fully as it should be. We can't depend on the government - or ' the churches, or the schools - to solve all our problems. They all can do part of the work. But we - the businessmen of Ill­ inois, also have a part to play. "We should use our weight, not just as individuals, but to­ gether. We have strength. We have influence. Let's have a little business power. If bus­ inessmen of Illinois put their shoulders behind something, they can make it move." Thefts And Vandalism Are Rampant In Area (Continued from page 1) of the building, but was stop­ ped by a fence and a dog as he ran through the fog. Deputy Carl Krueger, on rou­ tine patrol Monday morning at 1:45 a.m., found a pop ma­ chine outside Little Joe's Citgo station on River road and Rt. 120 pulled away from the build­ ing. There was evidence that someone had attempted to pry it open. While in the eastern part of the county early Monday morn­ ing, sheriff's deputies were a- ierted by a truck driver to a Ore in an unoccupied, res^ idence-type building on Rt. 120, on the property of Fred Frad- inardo where another structure burned some months ago. Arriving in the western city limits of Lakemoor, deputies investigated and found a small can which smelled strongly of gas, and a flare, Members o f C o m p a n i e s I a n d H I , M c - Henry Township Fire Protec­ tion district, answered the caJU and extinguished the ffeines, TOUR CITY HALL -- Distinguished guests visited McHenry's new city hall last Saturday noon in a tour conducted by Mayor Donald P. Doherty and mem­ bers of the Council. From left, are Chief of Police Kenneth Espey, Lt. Robert Kranz, Alderman Ray Smith, Supt. of Public Works Fred Meyer, Harry Conway, chairman of the Police commission; Alderman Ted Pitzen, County Bailiff Frank McNeil; Alderman William Bolger, Judge John J. Kaufman, Judge Charles v Parker, Mayor Doherty, Judge LaVerne A. Dixon of Waukegan, Circuit Clerk Margaret O'Neil, Judge William J. Carroll and Judge James H. Cooney of Wood­ stock, Arnold Rauen, chairman of the Police Pension board of McHenry; Judge William J. Gleason, Alderman Frank Hromec, City Attorney John Looze and City Treasurer Thomas F. Bolger. PLAINDEALER PHOTO Musln' N Meanderin' (Continued from page 1) rying the content of the ad in the center of the page, sur­ rounded by news columns. The impact of the advertising is ob­ tained through its position and the fact that it is always in color. The idea was conceived i>y a graphic arts instructor at Co­ lumbia university and used for the first time in this state by a large southern Illinois daily paper within the last year and a half. To our knowledge, this is the first time such an ad has run in a northern Illinois newspaper. although it was not addressed to us. Somehow, we think it might give a little pre-holiday spirit to weary adults who of­ ten express waning faith in the very young. Recently, Mrs. Terri Wiles of 3109 W. Crescent avenue, McHenry, asked her three daughters to give her some ideas of what they would like for Christmas. The letter be­ low was written by her 16-year- old daughter: "Dear Santa: "The following is what I truly hope to receive for Christmas: "1--The war in Vietnam de­ layed so my cousin-in-law, Wally, may come home; "2--My grandmother (Mon- ie) has a very Merry Christ­ mas; "3--My goal is reached one step higher toward my success; " 4 - - Love che ri shes through­ out my home. "Thank you Santa, "Love, • Me" KAF STRICKEN AT CLUBHOUSE Mrs. Edith Stahnke, 71, of 5037 W. Grove, Skokie, col­ lapsed as she walked in the door of the local V.F.W. clubhouse early Saturday evening. She was taken by ambulance to McHen­ ry hospital, where she was pro­ nounced dead sometime later. WED., NOV. 12, 1969 PLAINDEALER - PG. 5 Read your BIBLE dally and OO TO CHURCH SUNDAY En route to the fire, thpffipr- ifPs deputy noticed a car trav­ elling west on Rt. 120 at a very high rate of speed. Because of the speed and dense fog, he was unable to learn the license num­ ber. Soon the Plaindealer will be askingfor Letters, to Santa, which will be printed In the Weeks prior to ClbAfilp^S'. Even at this early date, two ungqlii|\x cited letters have arrived/ which we will hold until a later date. , ft However, one, very unusual letter came to our attention. WHAT OPENED PRESENT 1$ WAY AHEAD OF TIME? Black Only. fall's new haberdashery The new season's excitement: bold lines, crisp tailoring. To move with the reefer, the cardigan suit, with any dapper ideas you may have. Be prepared for a quick whirl! in Black Patent or Golden Nugget Advertised in SEVENTEEN and GLAMOUR in Antique or Black Patent Don't Wait -- fflffN SHEET MAH USE OUR EASY CHARGE PLAN 1219 NORTH GREEN 815-385-0182 OPEN NOW Do Not Wait Until Christmas I i i i i WfmmwmmmmmwmmmmmmmK Choose A Club To Fit Your Budget. JOIN NOW The one Present you can open early is McHENRY STATE BANKS CHRISTMAS CLUB People who plan ahead assure themselves of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year because they have their cash for holiday fun presents and year*lend bills Start now to free yourself from holiday money worries next year . . . Join our CHRISTMAS CLUB NOW. There is a club to fit any plan or budget - and it lakes only minutes to join. WEEKLY PAYMENT 50* $1 *2 $3 $5 no *20 AMOUNT OF CLUB *25 *50 *100 $150 *250 $500 *1000 CHRISTMAS CLUB STARTED NOVEMBER 4th Don't Wait McHenry State Bank "Where Family Money Matters" 3510 W. ELM PH. 385-1040