Double Identity?

The hot potato that was the ethics complaint filed against Lake County Commissioner Linda Pedersen seems to have cooled off like a bowl of instant potatoes in the back of the fridge. As reported here recently ...

Judgement Calls?
Call In To Question

Pedersen was accused by the Democrats of using her position as legislative aide for State Representative JoAnn Osmond to engage in political fundraising. So it shouldn't be a total surprise that while searching for a late night snack, your LakeCountyEye would stumble on some more hot grist for the rumor mill.

When grist goes thru the LakeCountyEye's mill it is ground to nothing, and in this case ground zero happens to be -- 976 Hillside, Antioch -- Rep Osmond's legislative office.

That's because it looks to your LakeCountyEye that more than just legislation was being conducted under the roof there.

It's no secret any more that there are webcams watching all of us, and beaming pictures back to The Google. The webcam they got pointed at the 976 Hillside that is Osmond's legislative address shows a modest office that to the untrained eye could well have been a non-descript insurance agency.


Google Map

Now, politics is like gumshoeing -- it's a safe bet things are seldom as they seem. The Illinois State Board of Elections has it's own search engine at ...

http://www.elections.state.il.us/

which had originally been developed for a UNIVAC platform. Not to brag but your LakeCountyEye knows no fear when it comes to antiquated hardware. Looking up 976 Hillside on the ISBE website reveals some interesting details about the day to day operation there.

That non-descript office at 976 Hillside in Antioch has been a roof over a heterogeneous assortment of candidates, committees, charities, business interests, including ...

• Antioch Township Republican Club
• Churchill, Robert W.
• Churchill, Citz For
• Citizens for JoAnn Osmond
• Citizens for JoAnn D. Osmond
• Citizens for Osmond
• Citizens to Elect JoAnn Osmond
• Committee To Re-Elect Barbara E. Richardson
• Elect Judge Ray McKoski
• Osmond, Citz For
• Rep, Beat the
• Campaign for Rep JoAnn Osmond
• Churchill, Bob
• Churchill for Congress
• CITIZENS FOR ROBERT CHURCHILL
• Friends of JoAnn Osmond
• Lake County Republican Central Committee
• Osmond, Citizens for JoAnn
• Citz To Retain Drew, Geiger & Scott
• Comm To Elect Robert C Wilton
• Comm to Re-elect Barbara Richardson Coroner of Lake County
• ... and many others.

Your LakeCountyEye can now go on record as being in total awe. This address has seen more action than a Las Vegas subprime condo!

Long story short, the clueless Lake County Democrats have taken a dim view of these hijinx and one of their cohorts on the ground filed another ethics complaint -- this time against JoAnn Osmond. Your LakeCountyEye had been wondering when this other gumshoe was gonna fall.

Like a hot potato.

Call In To Question

It's a truism in politics anywhere: they don't get you for the crime, they get you for the cover-up. The latest salvo of denials and rationalizations surrounding Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt's fundraiser is making a crater deep enough that your LakeCountyEye wonders if anyone will be climbing out.

To recap, Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt held a fundraiser on Thursday. A press release had 847-838-6200 as the RSVP number & County Board Member Linda Pedersen as the person to contact. As a matter of fact, 847-838-6200 is the official number to JoAnn Osmond's legislative office and Pedersen is Osmond's legislative aide.

This was followed by a not unexpected volley of accusations & efforts at damage control. The phone number and Pedersen's name were scrubbed off a calendar of events at the Lake County Republican Federation. Then an ethics complaint was filed against Pedersen by Lake County Democratic Party factotum, Nancy Shepherdson.

On Wednesday, Osmond told the NewsSun that her ...

office is located in a building that she owns. Osmond said she also owns the phones and doesn't accept any state money for the running of her office.

By Friday, Osmond was telling the Daily Herald that ...

Lake County Republican Party Chairman Dan Venturi included the number in an e-mail blast about the event. "He should have used the campaign phone number but in any case, the state does not pay for my office phone. I do"

Pedersen was echoing these remarks ...

"I am not running Suzi Schmidt's fundraiser," Pedersen said Thursday. "And the phone number was never intended to be used for people to RSVP."

It goes without saying that the first rule of damage control is get your story straight. You're less likely to be believed if everyone is saying something different. However, your LakeCountyEye perceives two distinct story-lines being pitched to the public:

1. Using 847-838-6200 on the RSVP was an isolated mistake.
2. And besides, public funds were not spent on Schmidt's fundraiser.

Now, while surfing The Google for this story, your LakeCountyEye noticed that the Lake County Republican Central Committee hosts a Golf Outing/fundraiser every year. In 2005 the contact person appears to have been been JoAnn Osmond's legislative aide, Linda Pedersen ... at 847-838-6200.

Republican Assembly of Lake County, Apr-Jun 2005, p.16

Your LakeCountyEye also noticed that Lake County Clerk Willard Helander holds regular fundraisers as well. The apparent contact for Helander's funder in 2005 would have been JoAnn Osmond ... at, you guessed it, 847-838-6200.

Republican Assembly of Lake County, Jan-Mar 2005, p.12

The second rule of damage control is when deciding on a story, stick with the one that best matches up with the facts. Pictures are worth 10,000 words. Your LakeCountyEye recommends sticking with story-line #2:

No harm no foul -- public funds were not spent to promote Suzi Schmidt's fundraiser.

This one is more Google-resistant than story-line #1.

Judgement Calls?

Your LakeCountyEye broke the story here on Tuesday ...

Telephone Swag

with a follow-up on Wednesday ...

Coverup Uncovered

It can be reported today that your LakeCountyEye's perseverance has not been wasted. The telephone game being played by Suzi Schmidt & JoAnn Osmond & Linda Peterson is a comedy gift that just keeps on giving.

For those just dialing in, Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt held a fundraiser yesterday. The press release for the event listed 847-838-6200 as the RSVP number and County Board Member Linda Pedersen as the contact person. It turns out that 847-838-6200 is the official number to JoAnn Osmond's legislative office. And Pedersen is Osmond's legislative aide.

The Daily Herald has the latest 411 ...

Ethics complaint filed against Lake County's Linda Pedersen

Hopefully the busdriver isn't texting or driving while distracted by a cellphone because there are some passengers to be found under the bus ...

Pedersen said she isn't the organizer of the event and said the phone number was published by mistake. "I am not running Suzi Schmidt's fundraiser," Pedersen said Thursday. "And the phone number was never intended to be used for people to RSVP."

Osmond said Lake County Republican Party Chairman Dan Venturi included the number in an e-mail blast about the event. "He should have used the campaign phone number but in any case, the state does not pay for my office phone. I do," she said Thursday.

The next thing your LakeCountyEye expects to hear is that Active Killdisk was used by mistake to send out Schmidt's fundraiser press release.

Coverup Uncovered

It seems like it was just yesterday that your LakeCountyEye broke the story in this blog ...

Telephone Swag

about Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt's Nov 12 fundraiser. About how the RSVP number to Schmidt's funder -- 847-838-6200 -- is the contact number to State Rep JoAnn Osmond's legislative office. And about how the RSVP contact person at Osmond's office is County Board Member Linda Pedersen ...

Lake County Board Members (District 1)

For those just tuning in, Linda Pedersen is also JoAnn Osmond's legislative aide (a State employee) ...

Linda's Bio

It goes without saying Pederson sits on the same County Board Chaired by Suzi Schmidt. (Your LakeCountyEye takes a perverse fascination in these internecine political liaisons.)

Being no run-of-the-mill pajama-clad Internet blogger, your LakeCountyEye took pains to provide plenty of documented evidence of these assertions. Including a link and a screen-cap of the funder's details posted at the Lake County Republican Federation's website.

Well, within a few hours after the LakeCountyEye story got posted some Winston Smith at the Lake County Republican Federation scrubbed their website. See for yourself ...

Before LakeCountyEye Bare-Knuckle Exposé	After LakeCountyEye Bare-Knuckle Exposé

See the cleansed Lake County Republican Federation webpage

The images may be hard to read -- click them for full resolution -- but the one on the right has been divested of the phrase ...

Please RSVP to Linda Pedersen at 847-838-6200

Osmond denied any wrong-doing today, explaining to the NewsSun that she pays for the phone out of her own pocket ...

County Board chair accused of ethics violation

Osmond doesn't say however whether or not she pays out-of-pocket Pedersen's legislative salary as well. Nor does she explain then if she is guilty of no wrong-doing, howcome the Lake County Republican Federation's website was scrubbed last night?

All of which tells your LakeCountyEye one thing and one thing only: Your LakeCountyEye has the juice to send ripples of shock throughout Lake County political circles. Bwaa Ha Ha Ha!

But your LakeCountyEye digresses, the point of this post is not to flaunt one's considerable, nay monumental, clout. Rather the point is to announce a watch. You see, news of Schmidt's funder is still posted on other Internet sites, unexpurgated.

... like at the NewsSun


... and at the Illinois Republican Party


Your LakeCountyEye will be watching for if and when that phrase ...

Please RSVP to Linda Pedersen at 847-838-6200

disappears from these other websites as well. Readers are invited to send their wagers to the LakeCountyEye Office Pool C/O lakecountyeye@gmail.com. Be sure to include the URL of the webpage and the date/time you think either (A) the incriminating evidence will disappear from the page or (B) the webpage will be taken down entirely.

Fair warning, the Grand Prize goes to JoAnn Osmond if it is her legislative phone number that winds up being changed.

Illinois General Assembly

Finally, what if it is the ILGA website where the relevant ethics statues are posted that gets taken down or is scrubbed clean?

State Officials and Employees Ethics Act

In that unlikely event, your LakeCountyEye will be cashing in the LakeCountyEye chips, departing the county, and spending some down time in an undisclosed lamasery.

Telephone Swag

For those of you who like to keep track of the fundraising activities of our local officeholders -- licit and/or illicit -- file this story under Dialing for Dollars.

Everyone knows Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt is running for IL Senate 31, so your LakeCountyEye was not surprised to receive an invitation to a Nov 12 fundraiser.

NewsSun

The IL GOP picked up the event on their website.

Illinois Republican Party

Not to be outdone, Republican Federation put the event on their website.

Lake County Republican Federation

Being in an uncharacteristic generous mood, your LakeCountyEye decided to dial Schmidt's fundraiser RSVP number and got ... JoAnn Osmond's Legislative Office. (Apparently they make these cell phones for 12-year-old teenagers, because those itty-bitty little keys make it way too easy to misdial.) Anyways, your LakeCountyEye tried again and got ... JoAnn Osmond's Legislative Office. Again.

This being a muckraking investigative blog, and being a student of The Google, your LakeCountyEye has verified that 847-838-6200 is indeed the posted number for JoAnn Osmond's Legislative Office.

Illinois General Assembly

Try the number yourself if you're skeptical.

Your LakeCountyEye is no simple country lawyer but nonetheless is pretty sure something like that is not legal. Well, that is if 5 ILCS 430/5‑35 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes is to be believed ...

State Officials and Employees Ethics Act

Your LakeCountyEye seems to recall that it was State employees doing political fundraising while on the taxpayer's dime that got George Ryan tossed into the federal lockup. Just sayin!

Anyways if you're a constituent of JoAnn Osmond's but all you are hearing from her is a busy signal, your LakeCountyEye suggests to keep trying. The magic crystal ball predicts that the lines will open up sometime after Nov 12.