Drop a Dime

The Illinois March 17 Primary is a short three weeks away. And to operatives throughout Lake County, this reminder means one thing: Have you filled out your 2020 NCAA March Madness bracket yet?

If you haven't already, you can pick up a bracket card at the Waukegan Casino.

HaHa, j/k:

As the city of Waukegan waits to hear which developer will receive the Illinois Gaming Board's blessing to build a casino, city officials are looking into what infrastructure upgrades might be needed around a facility and how they'll pay for them.
Expanded Tri-State access at Route 120 among infrastructure improvements eyed by Waukegan while awaiting casino license

Of course you need to be in Waukegan when the casino opens if you want to be close to the action.  But don't go and park your RV in the Amstutz breakdown lane just yet.  Your LakeCountyEye has learned that the Waukegan Casino will not be built in Waukegan, after all.  No, the casino has been awarded to a high bidder in Mettawa:

Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher resigned from his post on the Illinois Civil Service Commission on Friday, a day after federal prosecutors named him as one of 10 defendants indicted in connection with an illegal sports betting ring.
Embattled Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher resigns from Illinois Civil Service Commission

You heard it here first -- bet the farm!

Portendous

An actual unretouched screencap from the McHenry County Blog:

Note to Ops: The tiredout taxfighters at the McHenry County Blog are not even portending to be literate any more.

Voter Contact Training for Grassroots Activists

Learn about effective voter contact. A training is scheduled for local Illinois Democratic precinct committeepeople and grassroots activists.

• Sunday
  February 23 2020
  4:00 pm
  
  
• Sullivan Community Center
  635 N Aspen Dr
  Vernon Hills
  
  
• RSVP:
  (847) 266-VOTE (8683)
  tenthdems.org/training

Various presidential campaigns and local candidates will have representatives available to provide speaking tips and encouragement.

Sponsored by Lake Dems, Tenth Dems, Sixth Dems, Fremont Dems, and Vernon Dems.

Going Viral

Have you tested positive for Coronavirus yet? If you have, your health department wants your coordinates:

Since a case of the coronavirus was detected last Friday in Chicago, Lake and McHenry counties' health departments actively have been monitoring the novel coronavirus situation. There have been no coronavirus cases detected in Lake and McHenry counties at this time, according to local health officials.
Lake, McHenry counties closely monitoring coronavirus, warn of flu
confusionImmediate health risk remains low, health officials say

Note to Ops: Your best defense against infection is your underground bunker.  And it's not too late to order your locally sourced Medline Hazmat Suit:

Zytron 200 Chemical Protection Suit by Kappler

If, however, your budget does not permit a capital expenditure against personal protective equipment, then do as your LakeCountyEye does: Stockpile up on disinfectant.

As readers of this blog are aware ...

eBay is Collecting Illinois Sales Tax

Agriculture-grade insecticides are available tax-free on eBay:

Certain chemicals used in farming like insecticides and poultry remedies should also be tax-free.
eBay Charges Tax On Some Exempt Items In Illinois After New Law

Better safe than sorry!

Open Air Guitar

Can it really be true that the Village of Mundelein is planning a municipal park dedicated to the electric guitar?

Well duh:

Plans for a new municipal park on the site of a former guitar factory in Mundelein got rave reviews from village officials this week.
Could a park with a guitar-inspired promenade replace vacant factory in Mundelein?

One knowledgeable official said the park will be an all-natural wooded area: "Shredders will be on site."

Bring your own axe.

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Now pick a lane.

Passing in the Wind

It has come to your LakeCountyEye's attention that there will be a primary election on March 17. And in Illinois. Who knew? Not your LakeCountyEye.

Ex-Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran will be on the ballot, this time wrestling for US Senator. According to the Daily Herald:

The Republican candidates in the March 17 primary are retired information technology professional Casey Chlebek of Glenview; former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran of Libertyville; former police officer Peggy Hubbard of Belleville; Dr. Robert Marshall, a physician from Burr Ridge; and Dr. Tom Tarter, a urological oncologist from Springfield.
Republican Senate candidates haven't done much fundraising

Your LakeCountyEye recognizes the aforementioned Mark Curran. While perennial candidate Robert Marshall wants to break up the State of Illinois into a southern slave state and a northern free state.  But who are the other jackdaws? Nobody knows.

What kind of Senator would Curran be? He would probably be a reliable vote to acquit at the next impeachment trial of Donald John Trump. And he would have all the MAGA voters in the tank.

The datapoints all point in one direction and that direction is straight out and beyond: Lake County favorite son Mark Curran will be the next Illinois US Senatorial candidate.

Take that to the bank!

No Joe

Does anyone know who won the Iowa Caucus? Was it Joe Walsh or Donald Trump?

If anyone won, it was not Joe Walsh:

With meager funding and backlash from his own party, it seemed inevitable outlier Republican Joe Walsh would end his primary challenge to President Donald Trump.
Walsh ends GOP presidential campaign but says fight against Trump isn't over

Iowa voters seem to have decided that the Republican Party does not have room for more than one primary candidate with expensive hair.

A knowledgeable political veteran  told your LakeCountyEye: "Running on an assumption that your opponent will be impeached is not a bankable campaign strategy."

What next for Ex-Presidential Candidate Joe Walsh? A campaign insider said: "Don't rule out Joe quite yet. There are rumors that the Ukrainians will hack the Republican Primary."

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Alternating Curran

This is not the waiting room at the urologist:

The animated GIF shows Ex-Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran talking to a Grayslake police detective.

And they are not talking about where to be on the lookout for speed traps. No, radio personality William J Kelly filed criminal assault charges against Curran.

One high ranking Republican official, who spoke under conditions of anonymity, said the charges were "a witch hunt" and "a sham" and "a hoax" and that "nothing was done wrong, zero was done wrong.”

In related news, Mark Curran is on the ballot for US Senator.

eBay is Collecting Illinois Sales Tax

Lake County freelance journalist Derek Monroe was featured recently on CBS 2. Watch the interview here:

Monroe discovered that eBay has been charging Illinois sales tax on some items that are exempt under Illinois law. Read about it here:

eBay Charges Tax On Some Exempt Items In Illinois After New Law

Manspreading

Does anyone wonder what former Lake County Sheriff and current candidate for US Senate Mark Curran has been doing lately? Your LakeCountyEye does.

The last time Lake County favorite son Mark Curran was seen, he was in Grayslake, talking to a police detective:

Watch Illinois U.S. Senate Candidate Mark Curran Lie During Jailhouse Interview

As readers of this blog are aware ...

Push Pol

last year, a rival US Senate candidate, William Kelly, filed criminal battery charges against Curran.

Legal scholars observe that if Curran wins his election, he will be sworn in as a member of the US Senate. Where, by law, the trials are rigged in favor of Republican defendants.

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Train Stationary

The Lake County exploding oil train not only failed to explode yesterday, it failed to even get rolling:

A freight train that stalled in Grayslake early Thursday blocked vehicle traffic at two crossings with state highways for nearly seven hours, creating extensive and frustrating delays for drivers and first responders.
A freight train blocked traffic for 7 hours Thursday. Grayslake leaders call it a 'significant problem.'

One industry spokesman said: "That freight train is like Donald Trump's sex life. It has no moving parts."

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Move along.

HaHa, j/k.

Presidential Straw Poll & Caucus

The Tenth Congressional District Democrats are holding a convention with a presidential straw poll and an Iowa style caucus.

• Saturday
  January 25 2020
  2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  
  
• Stevenson High School
  1 Stevenson Dr
  Lincolnshire
  
  
• RSVP:
  (847) 266-VOTE (8683)
  tenthdems.org/convention

Presidential campaigns will be represented. Members of the Stevenson High School Political Action Club will help with the caucus and poll.

Doors open at 1:30 PM for registration. Everyone welcome. Space may be limited; Please RSVP.

The Revenge of To Whom It May Discern

An actual unretouched screencap from the tiredout taxfighters at the McHenryCountyBlog:

Well, now they are just mocking your LakeCountyEye.

To Whom It May Discern

An actual unretouched screencap from the McHenry County Blog:

Also, take a look at what the tiredout taxfighters at the McHenry County Blog are saying:

Something informed Republican primary voters must assess of the Republican candidates is who can best discern the Underwood record, and discern fact from fiction.

Voters will best gauge how discerning a Republican candidate is when the candidates begin publishing their policy/position statements/papers. The expectation is the position papers is a "deep dive" into an issue facing Congress and challenging the Underwood record with what the voters in the 14th district need, and the approach to achieve the policy goal(s) and objectives.

This article is an example of the kind of discernment the Republican candidates must exhibit in order to qualify to be on the same virtual stage with Underwood from March 18 through November 3, and convince voters the district would be better represented by the Republican nominee instead of the Democratic incumbent.

The topic for discernment is one of Underwood's legislative accomplishments signed into law last month.

One qualified speaker of the English language told your LakeCountyEye: "My Eyes, It Discerns!"

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Move along, no discernibles here.

Q the Eye/01.18.20

Dear LakeCountyEye,

How do I win my election?

Phillip Spiwak

Dear @Real Phillip Spiwak,

You won't win any elections with a name like that. At least not in Illinois.

Instead, use a good Irish-sounding name like Shannon. It worked for one Judge Shannon O'Malley:

He ran for judge, lost, changed parties, took Irish name, won Cook County race

Presumably knowing the law, this Judge actually had his name legally changed to Shannon O'Malley:

Candidates in Cook County changing their names to Irish-sounding names happened often enough that the Illinois legislature passed a law requiring that a candidate's old name also be listed on the ballot if the name change was made within three years before the election.
He ran for judge, lost, changed parties, took Irish name, won Cook County race

But don't make the mistake made by this DuPage County Forest Preserve candidate who was thrown off the ballot for not filing under her real name:

Natalie Rose Shannon-DiCianni of Elmhurst earlier this month entered the race to seek the Democratic nomination for the District 2 seat on the forest preserve board. But the county's electoral board on Monday voted to remove her from the ballot because of the hyphen she used in her name in her nominating papers. It turns out "Shannon" is DiCianni's nickname.
DuPage forest preserve board hopeful removed from the ballot

You can use a fake name to get elected, but be sure to file the proper paperwork first!

If you are an elected official, or a previously elected official, or just under investigation by the Special Counsel, send your political questions to Q the Eye c/o ... LakeCountyEye@gMail.com