Air of Confusion

The tinfoil theocrats at the McHenry County Blog are fuming. They are fuming over leaf burning. Leaf burning creates air pollution and air pollution makes people with respiratory ailments suffer:

Oh for the days after Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie signed legislation preventing open burning.
Where McHenry County Allows Those with Asthma To Suffer

There was a time, back in the day, when leaf burning was banned:

That was when we could sleep with our windows open.
Richmond Leaf Vacuuming Making Me Envious Again on Friday

They are also fuming over something else -- mosquito spraying. They are fuming because their municipality is -- wait for it -- not polluting the air with insecticides:

The mosquito abatement of unincorporated areas in Algonquin Township, but not in municipalities has been a pet peeve of mine for years. Why should those living outside municipalities get spraying, but not my neighborhood in Lakewood?
Algonquin Township Board Considering Cessation of Mosquito Spraying in Unincorporated Areas

Note to Ops: Repeated exposure to compromised air may lead to long-term cognitive impairment. In related news, the weather man says when in McHenry County to watch out for dense brain fog.

May Newsletter from the Lake County Clerk's Office

May Newsletter from the Lake County Clerk's Office

Agents of Shields

Here's the setup: Township trustees are poorly compensated, therefore it is often difficult to fill township seats. This is where local businesses see their opportunity. Just pack those seats with trustees who will vote for township projects that benefit local businesses. What could go wrong?

HaHa, it's called the Annual Township Meeting -- where once a year in April, the reins of township government are handed over to the voters:

In a well-attended Shields Township meeting last month, residents voted "overwhelmingly" to strip Shields of the ability to purchase, sell or lease property, according to township staff.
Residents strip Shields Township of leasing power: 'The public made their point'

It's looking like Shields Township won't be making any capital expenditures, at least before the courts sort everything out. One local businessman told your LakeCountyEye: "We might as well just abolish township government, if it can't be relied on any more to spread around the wealth."

Next Week: Townships are required to maintain public cemeteries -- while "cemetery vote" refers to deceased people who show up at the polls. Coincidence?

Hunt Club Park Playground Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Renaming Celebration

Hunt Club Park Playground Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Renaming Celebration

All We are Saying is Give Peace Pole a Chance

Overheard during an anti-war protest in downtown Lake Zurich: "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here -- this is the Peace Pole!"

HaHa. The peace pole is the new third rail of Lake County politics:

Ela Township's "peace pole" — etched with the word "peace" in 60 different languages — has become the center of community strife. At Wednesday's Committee of the Whole meeting, about a dozen residents voiced support for the peace pole and more than 30 emails were included in the agenda packet endorsing it and criticizing Trustee Larry Bowman for allegedly raising the possibility of its removal.
Ela Township peace pole becomes subject of community strife: 'Symbol of peace and justice'

Legally speaking, the pole belongs to the Township, and as such the Township would bear any legal liabilities.

One anti-peace-pole partisan said: "It's only a matter of time before the guy who rams into the Long Grove Bridge will ram into the peace pole. And now you're talking to his personal injury attorney."

Operatives are asked to insert their own "10-foot pole" joke here.

Trumped Up

Check out this actual unretouched screencap from the McHenry County Blog:

An untutored choice of words coming from the tinfoil theocrats at the McHenry County Blog -- who, in their defense, are coming from McHenry County. The correct choice of words is: DEI Hires

EtO Power

It is obvious by now that the Trump administration has packed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with climate change deniers. When Lake County stormwater managers asked when they can declare a flood emergency, a National Weather Service meteorologist said: "Whatever floats your boat."

HaHa. The rain may have stopped but it may not be safe to go outdoors just yet. The White House has also gutted Biden-era EPA safety restrictions on ethylene oxide emissions:

the E.P.A. replaced the 2024 regulations with a less stringent set. It justified this action by saying that it had been wrong to reëvaluate the risks of ethylene oxide in the first place, because it lacked the authority to do so. Coincidentally or not, the sterilizer industry's trade group had made this same argument in a 2024 legal filing.
Can the E.P.A. Survive Lee Zeldin?

Moreover, companies that didn't want to comply with even those relaxed restrictions could simply ...

apply for exemptions. All they had to do was send an e-mail to the agency. (The Administration described the waivers as necessary for "national security interests.")
Can the E.P.A. Survive Lee Zeldin?

One environmental watchdog said: "An industry member can always voluntarily observe the stronger ethylene oxide emission standards. But don't hold your breath."

Next week: Make America Healthy Again.