Q the Eye/08.04.13

Dear LakeCountyEye,

I've been a faithful Lake County government employee for nearly 20 years, and now we've gotten word that our office is being downsized. Is there anyone hiring in Lake County?

Not Working Stiff

Dear Stiffed,

You're in luck. A new multi-million-dollar-budget government bureaucracy is opening for business on August 26; send your resume to the Lake County Election Commission -- and feel free to use your LakeCountyEye as a reference.

Just don't make the mistake of one local wage earner in a situation remarkably similar to yours, who decided to make a big stink over it instead. As readers of this blog are flagrantly aware ...

Sore Losers

A new law, passed this year, transfers election authority from the Lake County Clerk's office to an independent election commission. Lake County Clerk Willard Helander was adamantly opposed to the law; and the Lake County State's Attorney filed a lawsuit last week asking for an injunction to stop the new election commission, and to have the law declared unconstitutional.

Well, guess what? If the courts do grant a temporary injunction, then oversight of elections in Lake County will be in legal limbo until the constitutionality of the law is decided. Quite possibly the court may not make a decision until a week or two before the next Primary Election. And if the law is unconstitutional, then, haha, the Lake County Clerk will have one or two weeks to put together an election.

So now, according to the News-Sun, an attorney representing County Clerk Willard Helander is telling the court that they now want to ...

oppose the request for the temporary injunction, although he refused to elaborate afterward on why he is seeking to fight an injunction against a law Helander has adamantly opposed.
Hearing for elections lawsuit set for Aug. 16

The moral of the story: The next time someone makes a stink, do not be surprised if they get served a steaming plate full of something odious they did not order.

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