McHenry County Man on Foot

The McHenry County man who shot himself in the foot, shot himself in the foot again. Only this time he failed to be in McHenry County:

A Lake Barrington man dreamed that burglars were breaking into his home and awoke to discover that he had shot himself in the leg, the Lake County sheriff's office said Tuesday.
Lake Barrington man facing firearms charges after shooting himself while dreaming burglars were breaking into home, authorities say

One armed travel advisor told your LakeCountyEye: "If you plan to be away from McHenry County, make sure to have a vehicle with an automatic transmission. It's a pain to drive a stick-shift on one leg."

S9/Ep2: McHenry County Man Shoots Himself in the Foot

The McHenry County man who shot himself in the foot failed to shoot himself in the foot. He shot someone else in the foot, instead. Again:

An Algonquin man was arrested early Sunday morning after police say he shot a man in the foot during a party in unincorporated Harvard, according to the criminal complaint on file in the McHenry County courthouse.
Algonquin man accused of shooting man in the foot at Harvard party Sunday

One local arms kingpin told your LakeCountyEye: "How hard is it to shoot yourself in the foot? That's why we have practice ranges for that."

There Goes the Buzzer

Its mission has been to kill insects. But now the Southlake Mosquito Abatement District sees that the Grim Reaper is knocking on its own front door.

Oh the irony:

Dissolution could be looming for Lake County's last mosquito abatement district after board shakeup

The Southlake Mosquito Abatement District has been using chemical weapons to exterminate mosquitoes for more than 75 years.  And insect populations are collapsing throughout the globe ...

Habitat loss, pesticides and climate change are threatening insect populations worldwide. In 2019, Biological Conservation reported that 40% of all insects species are declining globally and that a third of them are endangered.
The world's insect population is in decline — and that's bad news for humans

Now that mosquitoes are going extinct in Lake County, is it time for the Southlake Mosquito Abatement District to finally bite the dust?

That next Southlake Mosquito Abatement District insecticide spray truck you see just may be on the way to the happy hunting grounds.

Imatation is the Surest Form of Illiteracy

An actual unretouched screencap from the McHenry County Blog:

For the record, McHenry County is where you get elected to the School Board by promising to lower taxes:

An out-of-state political action committee spent more than $3,800 to support four candidates running for the Huntley School District 158 Board, much to the consternation of some of their opponents. The McHenry County Citizens for Lower Taxes committee, based in Hudson, Wisconsin, endorsed the four candidates – Andrew Bittman, Laura Murray, Michael Thompson and Gina Galligar – ahead of the April 4 election, according to state election records. All four candidates endorsed by the political action committee won, according to election results certified Tuesday. All of the incumbents seeking another term lost. The four candidates, who ran as a slate, campaigned on a platform of lower taxes
Huntley School District 158 candidates disagree on campaign spending’s effectiveness
An out-of-state political action committee donated $15K, spent thousands on printing, food

Note to Ops: Lower Taxes = Defund the Schools = 'Nuff Said!

Cut to the Chase

Anyone who is anyone in Lake County is watching the Federal trial against James Weiss, who is accused of bribing elected officials. (For the record, legal scholars say Weiss will ultimately walk free -- when Donald Trump becomes President again, he will issue a blanket pardon to anyone convicted of a federal offense.)  But one Lake County politician features prominently in the trial. Of course your LakeCountyEye refers to Chase Heidner.

Heidner's father, Rick Heidner was mentioned by name on the witness stand. It turns out that Illinois elected officials were taking ...

campaign donations from both sweepstakes proponents and opponents, including Rick Heidner, a video poker kingpin.
Witness testifies on turn to mole
Ex-state senator says he cooperated after facing tax charges

It goes without saying that Chase Heidner was a 2023 candidate for Barrington Library Trustee. Heidner came in fourth out of a field of four.

Note to Ops: Will you be a candidate for Library or School Board in 2025? Is one of your parents a video poker kingpin? Then promise to install nickel slot machines in your Library or School. The voters are guaranteed to reward you!

Bear Witness

It's official, the Bears are moving to Lake County!

As readers of this blog are aware ...

Do Bears Split-T in the Woods?

the Chicago Bears are itching to buy Lake County's unused Forest Preserves to build their new stadium.

Well, quicker than a day-old bran muffin from Taco Bell, one of the Bears was recognized this week, in Gurnee sniffing around:

Bear spotted in Gurnee

If this Bear left a calling card, it was dropped in the woods, as is their wont.

Tyson the Bison was unavailable for comment.

Do Bears Split-T in the Woods?

Chicago says goodbye to Taylor Swift. Which goes to prove there is someone who has played at Soldier Field that the Bears can beat.

It is widely believed that the Chicago Bears will move to the Arlington Race Track. Horse racing rules are different from football. For one thing, you can make money if you bet on the second-place contestant (and even the third-place contestant). This could work to the Bears advantage.

Now, in pro sports no deal is ever really sealed, not until the players are on the field:

Chicago Bears officials met with Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli on Friday to discuss the possibility of abandoning their plans for a new stadium development in Arlington Heights in favor of building it in the large western suburb. In a move that could be used as bargaining leverage, the team said in a statement Friday that plans to build "the largest single development project in Illinois history" are "at risk" in Arlington Heights.
Chicago Bears listen to proposal from Naperville for stadium site. Arlington Heights 'no longer our singular focus,' team says.

If the Bears decide to not play in Arlington Heights, where will they play?

Sports insiders are saying the Bears will buy the Waukegan Airport.  That way they can build a new stadium on any one of the Lake County Forest Preserves that the Airport owns.