Q the Eye/07.02.09

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Hello it's me again. I took your advice about the proper procedure for transitioning my office over to that awful person who got more votes than me. Well now the State's Attorney's office is calling. The State's Attorney happens to be a dear friend and I don't want to be a nuisance, but he has this young shaver calling & asking embarrassing questions about some of those procedures I was advised to observe. What should I do?

Aint Misbehavin' in Avon

Dear Aint,

Your LakeCountyEye appreciates every loyal reader, and is pleased whenever good advice is recognized and carried out. If your LakeCountyEye recalls correctly, you were advised in a previous Q the Eye here to scrub that incriminating office of yours extra clean, and leave it in a condition where even a Las Vegas crime lab technician would be hard pressed to detect any evidence of your presence.

One enterprising ex-officeholder, according to a recent Daily Herald item, used Active Killdisk to wipe clean the office computers. Your LakeCountyEye recommended a Ford F150 4x4 for the job. While there is no substitute for what a 1/2 ton pickup can do to a hard drive, Killdisk meets DoD 5220.22-M Standards and is an acceptable substitute in an emergency.

But now you have someone from that State's Attorney's office sniffing around? Not to worry. While it's always a plus to have a SA or two in one's back pocket, there is no substitute for plausible deniability.

In your particular situation, what you need is a willing under-aged accomplice, and some feigned ignorance. Tell the nosy SA investigator that you don't know anything about computers and you asked your youthful charge to delete some unused e-mail addresses. If the young charge just happened to use Killdisk for the job, and happened to deep-fry the hard-drive instead -- then well, oopsie!

Enlist someone you can trust, a neighbor's kid, or a relative, or one of your children. Just make sure he or she is young enough to operate a computer but not old enough to be eligible to do hard time. No State's Attorney is going to throw the book at any pimply minor who knows just enough to get on the Internet and download some freeware that can turn a hard-drive into microwave ratatouille.

Problem solved & bon appetit!

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

Mark Kirk Burns the Midnight Oil

This one is too preposterous to ignore. 10th District Congressman Mark Kirk, presumably burning the midnight oil before the Cap & Trade Energy Bill, takes a break to tell us he is reading every page of the (900+ pages) Bill. To ensure that everyone knows, he makes a video and posts it on his YouTube Channel.

So, um, what's that about? Your LakeCountyEye ventures to guess that Kirk had already decided to vote for the Bill. (Which, the next day, he in fact did.) And anticipating a negative reaction from the Right, put out this hasty video. He tells us he read every page of the Stimulus Bill and voted against it. This supposedly is to establish his conservative credentials. Then he shows us how he is reading every page of the Energy Bill -- presumably to demonstrate his vote the next day would reflect the merits of the bill, and not some political calculation on his part. Your LakeCountyEye would expect nothing less from the Congressman who owns the copyright to the phrase thoughtful, independent leadership ©!

Kirk was right about one thing, his Aye-vote did not sit well with his Republican base (which even the Capitol Fax Blog noticed). Peering into the magic crystal ball, your LakeCountyEye sees quite clearly that Kirk will not be running for Illinois Senate. Nor will Kirk be running for Illinois Governor. One doesn't become a nominee to a statewide office by pee-oh-ing your base.

The magic crystal ball indicates, further, that while Kirk will be running for re-election in District 10, he is not worried about a primary challenge from the Right. Even though the Energy Bill is not popular with the Republican Base, it is popular in the left-of-center 10th Congressional District. So an Aye-vote on the Energy Bill should be expected to help Kirk with general election voters, not with primary voters.

The take-home of all this is, Kirk is playing already to win in the general election. Which means he is taking the threat of his Democratic opponent much more seriously than the threat of a primary challenge from an opponent on the Right.

It's Kirk for the Green

It all started with a paragraph with this lede ...
The schemers:
Reps. Charlie Melancon and Mark Kirk

The paragraph is from a Politico story posted last Thursday. The Energy Bill was scheduled for a vote the next day in the House of Representatives. Politico was speculating on how Mark Kirk would vote.

Kirk remains on the fence, saying he has concerns about the lack of funding for nuclear energy and coal interests in his state. "We don’t want to de-industrialize Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin," Kirk said after a meeting with Pelosi and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the sponsors of the legislation. Opposing the bill could hurt him, however, in Chicago and other more liberal corners of the state. So voting for the bill, note political observers, could indicate some serious senatorial ambitious.

The Illinois Review took quick notice. The not surprising take-away over there was Kirk would be betraying the Republican Party if he vote for the Bill. Kirk had his defenders, but the conversation mostly revolved around whether Kirk is a true Republican or an opportunist.

But for Politico the issue was framed as less a matter of political loyalty and more a matter of political calculation. In a follow-up story posted the same day:

Kirk’s affluent suburban Chicago district has next-to-no industrial presence and is quite environmentally-conscious. If he was looking to win over his constituents back home, he'd probably be more inclined to support the legislation. But the southern part of the state is home to vast coal deposits – and the legislation is viewed skeptically by many downstate voters whose support he’ll need to defeat a Democrat in a 2010 Senate race. His concern about the state's industrial base certainly suggests he's leaning towards a Senate campaign.

The stakes are contrasted in black and white. If Kirk votes against the Energy Bill that means he is running for the Illinois Senate. If Kirk votes for the Energy Bill that means he is running for re-election in the 10th Congressional District.

On Friday, Kirk voted Yea.

What's in a Name?

We've heard the story before. Sometime during the Jurassic period, 8th District Congressman Phil Crane is battling alcoholism and losing. He is forced to publicly go into rehab. Then Crane is caught in bed with a 17-year-old congressional page. There is inevitable political fallout, Melissa Bean is the main beneficiary, and she defeats Crane in 2004.

True story? Nope. A Congressman named Crane was caught with a female page, but not Phil Crane. It was Dan Crane, the congressman representing the district in the Peoria area. It all happened in 1983, and Dan Crane was thrown out by the voters the following year.

So why does the story dog Phil Crane? One reason is Dan Crane is Phil Crane's brother. (The Crane boys had a sort on mini-political dynasty going, way back when.) And while part of the story is true (the part about alcohol rehab) the fact of the matter is that Phil Crane was never involved with a congressional page.

But someone watching Hannity last Wednesday might think otherwise. And the source of the bogus meme this time is no less than Ann Coulter.

HANNITY: He (Mark Sanford) may not be governor by the end of a couple of weeks.

COULTER: That's right. And even if he is, Republicans vote these guys out, generally. I mean, we'll see what happens with both him and (John) Ensign. But I mean, one — one point that I think needs to be made is politicians, both Republican and Democrat, the Republicans are gone now, so it's harder to remember names like Phil Crane, unlike Barney Frank, Teddy Kennedy. John Edwards whom, as I say, everybody knew he was having affair, and they're still running his campaign for president.

HANNITY: Right.

Phil Crane's political career began in 1969 when he won a special election to fill the seat of a congressman named Donald Rumsfeld. Crane ran for president in 2000 1980 only to be outgunned by Ronald Reagan. For better or for worse, Phil Crane's unique stamp on Lake County politics is still visible today. But he is now remembered -- even on the Right -- for a scandal that was not his. As long as Phil Crane is remembered, Phil Crane will be remembered for Dan Crane's scandal. The ironic reason being that Dan Crane has long since been forgotten.

Eye Pieces

• Michael Waller, Lake County State's Attorney, has been accused of having no convictions. Add to this a failure to convict Tom Hyde for forgery. When he was Mayor of Island Lake, Hyde changed a date on a liquor license. Hyde's defense argued he was within his legal right to change the license. The Jury agreed. In less than an hour.
  


• Louis Bianchi, McHenry County State's Attorney, has been accused of running his 2008 re-election campaign out of his County office. A special prosecutor has been requested. SOP dictates if you're clean then go on record welcoming a special prosecutor. Bianchi on the other hand is trying to get a judge to rule an independent investigation is not worth the costs. You know a politician is in trouble if letters of endorsement appear in the papers and it's not an election year. Real trouble when the letter is signed by your sister.
  


• Your LakeCountyEye quickly found Federal campaign committees for M.Kirk, M.Bond, D.Seals, E.Richardson. Still looking for S.Garrett's committee. The primary is early February, but who's counting?
  


• TeamAmerica thinks Michael Bond has buyer's remorse and will drop out once Mark Kirk announces he is running for re-election in Congress/10. If so your LakeCountyEye will finally get to update its embarrassing Pwned by Bond misstep. Also Bond keeps his State Senate seat and an already bad year for Suzi Schmidt just got worse.
  


• And by now everybody knows Kirk is running for re-election in Congress/10. Because everybody knows Lisa Madigan is running for IL Senate. By everyone your LakeCountyEye means Barack Obama, David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. You don't need to be a naturally cautious politician to know those are mighty long odds. Regarding that Governor job, 2nd tier contenders like Matt Murphy, Dan Proft are tossing their hats in the ring. Which means Kirk has signalled privately that no way will he be commuting to Springfield. The commute to Capitol Hill is much easier, your LakeCountyEye hears.

Stand By Your Man

As was reported here, and by the TeamAmerica blog, Keith Turner broke with the Lake County Democratic Party to endorse Republican Keith Gray over Terry Link in their 2008 contest for Senate District 30. Given the spate of news items about Turner and the Lake County Board lately, your LakeCounty Eye had assumed there was no more mileage to be had from this angle of the story.

So it came as a surprise yesterday to see a letter to the NewsSun penned by Keith Gray, and in support of Turner:

How disappointing that seated Democratic County Board officials won't support a Democrat to fill an empty seat for fear that they might not run for re-election as a Democrat! These people, like Blagojevich, Burris, Link, and countless others, can't even see the narrow-minded partisan perspective that has consumed them. What happened to looking at the person and what they've done, or what their position is on key issues affecting the county when deciding whether to endorse a nominee or not?

Gray diplomatically doesn't mention Keith Turner by name. But anyone following the soap opera over Bob Sabonjian's vacant County Board seat knows it is Turner.

Given the events of the past week, loyalty of this nature from a politician on either side of the aisle is rare and uplifting. Your LakeCountyEye salutes Keith Gray, the politician with the mettle to stand by his man.

What happened to looking at the person and what they've done, or what their position is on key issues affecting the county when deciding whether to endorse a nominee or not?

What happened indeed.

Q the Eye/06.17.09

Dear LakeCountyEye,

How do you un-nominate someone that you just nominated to your legislative panel? The candidate came highly recommended but isn't working out. A prompt reply is appreciated, I have a big election scheduled in 2010.

Schmidt Outta Luck

Dear SOL,

Your LakeCountyEye knows how election day has a way of sneaking up before you know it. In order to fast-track the answer, your LakeCountyEye will assume that you have properly dispatched the unacceptable candidate and are now scrambling to contain the damage.

Damage control is a matter of managing public perception. And it doesn't matter if one is engaged in price-fixing or a cover-up or any sort of conspiracy, the basic rule of damage control is everyone involved needs to agree on a story. Preferably a plausible story -- and then stick to your story.

Their actual names aren't being used, but don't make the mistake Suzi S, Bob S & Keith T recently made. Suzi had a deadline and needed to nominate someone to sit on her board. Bob recommended Keith, who Suzi accepted sight unseen.

After the nomination, however, Suzi had second thoughts -- let's call it buyer's remorse, and Suzi prevailed upon Keith to withdraw. No problem, this sort of stuff happens every day. But what followed revealed a level of incompetence that would make even an entrenched functionary in local government blush.

The same day he withdrew, Keith sent out a press release (noticed by the NewsSun) stating his decision was based on a desire to spend more time with his family. This explanation already morphed by the following day -- now Keith lacked broad bi-partisan support from board members. Which Suzi related to the Daily Herald. This held for a weekend. On Monday Keith sent out another press release (also cited by the NewsSun) saying the absence of bi-partisan support had nothing to do with it. Instead he withdrew for health reasons.

Your LakeCountyEye cannot make this stuff up.

The only player to escape relatively unscathed was Bob S, who managed to do so by keeping a low profile throughout the whole affair. Perhaps your best option, SOL, would be to emulate Bob and make sure there is always someone else standing out front, to deflect the heat away from you.

Andy Depressant

Why should a bunch of Washington-based pasty-faced 'weenies' try to come into Illinois to play favorites in the Republican senate primary? Andy Martin for US Senate Press Release, 06/10/2009

Actual Photo of Andy Martin

Editors Note: This has been the first installment of your LakeCountyEye's newest feature -- tracking but not limited to the 2010 Illinois campaign of Republican US Senate candidate and Internet Powerhouse ®, Andy Martin. Martin's campaign is a reliable source of yuks, lawlz, chortles, and cheap-laffs. Your LakeCountyEye has deemed it crazy not to pass up an opportunity like this, and will periodically share the best of these for your merriment.

The new feature is called Andy Depressant

As the World Turns

It was incorrectly reported on this blog here and here that Bill Durkin is a previous Mayor of Waukegan. Durkin is Waukegan Park Commissioner. It is Durkin's father who had been the mayor of Waukegan in the 1990s. The two have the same name. Your LakeCountyEye's sharp-eyed fact checker has been on assignment running criminal background checks on some new volunteer bloggers (they come highly recommended) and flubbed the mistake. Your LakeCountyEye regrets the error. Your LakeCountyEye regrets even more having missed an opportunity to insert another nepotism joke here.

In a related matter, and as predicted by your LakeCountyEye here, Lake County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt has been backpedaling furiously over the Keith Turner embarrassment. Turner had helped Bob Sabonjian get elected Waukegan Mayor. Returning a favor, Sabonjian recommended Turner to replace him on the County Board. Suzi Schmidt has the final sayso on who gets nominated, and over the objections of many, fast-tracked Turner's nomination last week. Turner then withdrew his nomination a short time after accepting the nomination and under what can be best described as murky circumstances.

Schmidt is now telling the Daily Herald that Turner withdrew because he did not have the support of the Democratic Board members. Your LakeCountyEye is naturally skeptical. Schmidt knew that Lake County Democratic boss Terry Link, along with some Democratic Board members, were on record as opposed to Turner's nomination. And if Schmidt in fact was unaware of this opposition, then how is it that someone that disengaged could become County Board Chair in the first place?

Now the goal of political backpedaling is to cya. Anything beyond that is political backfilling, which is cover your tracks. Schmidt tells the Daily Herald how the decision was made:

During a meeting in her office Friday, however, Schmidt said she and Turner agreed he wasn't right for the job. The expected lack of support from some of the board's Democrats contributed to the decision.

Your LakeCountyEye has heard that anyone who knows Keith Turner knows that more likely Turner withdrew because he was shown the door. And if Schmidt did indeed drop the hammer in that meeting, it wasn't because all the players conceded that it was not likely an Obama-style consensus with the Democrats could be built.

Which leaves your LakeCountyEye wondering. If Turner is radioactive, why didn't Sabonjian know -- and, even worse, go as far as hand-pick him as his replacement? And what really came down at that Friday afternoon meeting?

Turned Out

This is probably a Lake County Board revolving-door record of some sort. Friday morning, Keith Turner was nominated by County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt to replace outgoing Board Commissioner Bob Sabonjian. Turner accepted the nomination. And Turner withdrew his name from nomination. All within the span of an 8 hour work day.

Schmidt had fast-tracked the appointment of the newest County Board Commissioner, with Turner issuing a statement reported by the NewsSun:

It is very humbling to have been selected for appointment to fill Bob's seat to represent and (serve) the residents of the 8th County Board District.

Turner had been reported saying he was "overwhelmed" to have Sabonjian's endorsement. According to the Daily Herald story, Sabonjian praised Turner as "the kind of guy who thinks for himself". Reportedly a party was scheduled the same weekend to celebrate the nomination.

Now, less than a day later, Turner is no longer the nominee, telling the NewsSun, "At this time, it's not something that I can take on." Elaborating on this sudden one-eighty Turner said:

I decided to withdraw my name for personal reasons. It's time for me to focus on my family and my health ... There's been some recent developments of a personal nature and a family nature, and I don't see myself being able to devote the time or attention that the office deserves.

Need to focus on family and health? No time to devote to the office? Hmm. These are familiar sounding cliches, at least within the tightly scripted sphere of political discourse -- and a sure-fire indicator that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

Turner has been a long standing fixture in (Democrato-centric) Waukegan politics. But as reported by the TeamAmerica's blog, Turner broke with the Democratic Party last year to endorse Republican Keith Gray's unsuccessful 2008 State Senate challenge against Terry Link.

Turner had also helped State Representative Eddie Washington fend off party-backed challenger Angelo Kyle in the 2008 Democratic primary. And Turner, as self-proclaimed campaign manager, helped Bob Sabonjian defeat Dick Hyde for Waukegan Mayor this past April. It was this role that landed Turner his nomination to the County Board.

Sabonjian's promotion to Waukegan Mayor necessitated his resignation from the County Board. Suzi Schmidt, as County Board Chair, has the responsibility to nominate a replacement. Terry Link, as Lake County Party boss, was on record saying he wanted to see Waukegan ex-mayor Bill Durkin in the job. Sabonjian meanwhile had other ideas. This comes as no surprise because, as reported in this blog, it was Link's political ally Dick Hyde that Sabonjian successfully drove out of office. It is not known whether Sabonjian was motivated out of a desire to see good government flourish, or out of an instinct to stick it to Terry Link -- but in any event, Suzi Schmidt ended up nominating Turner on Sabonjian's sayso.

According to your LakeCountyEye's magic crystal ball, the fact that the nomination fell apart as abruptly as it did is a strong indication that information had surfaced in the interim serious enough to kill the deal. What that information might be and who might've leaked it, the crystal ball does not say. However what you hear coming from the direction of Waukegan is not the sound of cars being impounded. It is the sound of Suzi Schmidt & Bob Sabonjian backpedaling to beat the band.

My Favorite Martin

Stassen was later best known for being a perennial candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President, seeking it ten times between 1944 and 1992.
Wikipedia

Your LakeCountyEye assumes everyone knows that Andy Martin is the Harold Stassen of Illinois politics. Martin has probably run for US Senate as many times, and is running again in the Republican primary for Obama's seat, the one being kept warm by Roland Burris. Given his past, Martin no-doubt is engaged in promoting Andy Martin and whatever products and services he has for sale, and overall might charitably be described as a missing link in the political food chain.

So your LakeCountyEye considered it a dubious honor to discover that Martin is a fan of the Eye. Well, more precisely, Martin's Senate campaign has been spamming your LakeCountyEye with what seems like daily press releases. OK, that doesn't necessarily mean Martin reads the blog. But wait, take a looksee at the call-out on his latest presser:

Has Mark Kirk become the "Hamlet" of Illinois politics?

Well could there be more convincing proof? Your LakeCountyEye thinks not. Not only does Martin read the blog, but he steals our ideas. LOL

All of this is a roundabout way of explaining how your LakeCountyEye came to be reading Martin's press release this morning. And a remarkable presser it is. So jam-packed it is with LOLZ (intended & unintended) that your LakeCountyEye is a new convert.

Just one example. The presser is pretty much a 500 word attack on Mark Kirk. More to the point, an attack on Kirk's presumed US Senate candidacy.

Here's the set up from Martin's press release:

Martin is launching "Kirk Week" to attack Representative Mark Kirk on Kirk's political record. "There will be no personal or family smears against Kirk from me," says Martin.

Hmm, no personal attacks? A refreshing change in tactics for Martin? Well ... keep reading:

Kirk may have been distracted by his recent divorce, but if a simple family matter throws him off track, how can he stand the stress and struggle of a statewide campaign?

And then read some more:

Obama smeared his Democratic primary opponent in 2004 with marital woes. He smeared Jack Ryan, his original 2004 opponent with Ryan's 'sexless' sex scandal. More marital muck. He was gearing up in 2008 to smear Senator John McCain with McCain's marital history. Can Kirk expect his divorce to become an issue? Obama is addicted to smearing opponents with marital dirt. Hello?

Hello Kitty -- meow.

And that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg -- this presser is the funniest thing to hit Illinois politics since Alan Keyes. One cannot buy comedy of this quality. Take it from your LakeCountyEye who knows firsthand how difficult it is to put together some semblance of decent political satire (especially when one's beat is limited to Lake County).

All of which is a roundabout way of explaining why your LakeCountyEye is breaking with standing tradition of political neutrality and will endorse a candidate for US Senate. That's right, Andy Martin, you got the LakeCountyEye's first (and maybe only) endorsement for an Illinois Republican US Senate candidate. Keep the jokes coming, Mr Martin, and you can count on the Eye's support thru Nov 2010. We'll even take a yardsign.

Help Wanted, No Experience Necessary

Despite what the Lake County Republicans & Democrats are saying about their prospects, one thing is certain about the Lake County Board of Commissioners: the Board in 2010 will not look like the Board today.

That's because, within the last two months, 3 Commissioners have resigned from the Board. Another has announced a bid for a State Senate seat.

As reported in the Daily Herald and the NewsSun (and in chronological order):

1. Robert Sabonjian (District 8) resigned in April when he was elected Waukegan Mayor.


2. Suzi Schmidt (District 3) announced early May that she will be a candidate for State Senate District 31.


3. Pamela Newton (District 18) announced in mid-May her forthcoming resignation, to take an administrative job with the Village of Hawthorn Woods.


4. Michael Talbett (District 19) accepted an administrative job with the Village of Kildeer and is expected to resign shortly.

This means, at minimum, there will be three new Commissioners seated in 2010. Schmidt is not up for re-election in 2010. But if she wins in Senate 31 that will necessitate a fourth turnover. Plotting Schmidt's senatorial chances against a normal distribution, your LakeCountyEye calculates there will be at least 3½ new Lake County Board Commissioners in 2010.

An abrupt exodus of this sort no doubt is a measure of the political malaise that pervades the County Board. But it is not your LakeCountyEye's job to offer psychoanalytical advice. Instead it is the job of your LakeCountyEye is to peer into the magic crystal ball and handicap County Board winners & losers going into 2010.

Suzi Schmidt, as Chair, is responsible for nominating replacements. The full board votes on the nominees. Given circumstances like these, it is difficult to predict the future, but not impossible. Again, in chronological order:

1. Democratic party boss Terry Link wants Waukegan ex-Mayor Bill Durkin. Robert Sabonjian has endorsed a campaign worker, Keith Turner. This puts Schmidt in a bind because Link & Schmidt have long-standing social ties. Expect a compromise nominee. Who not to expect:
   
   • Pat Jones, Waukegan Township Supervisor ...
     A seat on the County board would mean a pay cut.
   
   
   • Sam Cunningham, Waukegan Alderman ...
     Cunningham's mother, Mary Ross Cunningham, is already on the Board.
   
   
   • Dan Drew, Waukegan ex-Mayor ...
     1948-2002
   
   
   • Pete Couvall, ex-Lake County Democrats Vice-Chair ...
     Dan Drew has a better chance.
   
   By process of elimination alone, your LakeCountyEye intuits sentimental favorite, and Waukegan ex-Mayor, Dick Hyde. Hyde is in his 80s, will probably miss a lot of meetings, and would not be expected to run for re-election in 2012. Problem solved!


2. This one's been wired from the git-go. Republican party boss Dan Venturi agrees not to be a candidate for Senate 31. In return, Venturi is nominated to fill out Suzi Schmidt's term after she reclaims 31 for the GOP in a cake-walk.


3. The crystal ball is cloudy. Who does Pamela Newton represent? (District 18) Where is District 18? (some or all of Hawthorn Woods, Mundelein, Indian Creek, Buffalo Grove, Vernon Hills) Who lives in Mundelein? (pop. 32,774) Your LakeCountyEye had to look these up. The sad fact of the matter is there's no one to be found in District 18 to replace Newton. That means the nod will go to everyone's choice of last resort, Ed Sullivan Jr. Sullivan already holds down two elected positions, State Representative for District 51 and Fremont Township Assessor. So Sullivan is no stranger to the demands of multi-tasking. Another part-time government gig is not likely to add any additional burden to Sullivan's responsibilities.


4. Michael Talbett is hired to be Kildeer administrator by Village President, Nandia Black. Talbett and Black work at the same law firm. Talbett's wife, Mimi Black, sits on the Ela Area Public Library board -- and is Nandia Black's sister. Well here's a no-brainer. Mimi Black will be nominated to replace her husband. Nuff said.

Like it or not, come 2010 this is what our County Board will look like. Take it on the full faith and credit of the magic crystal ball c/o your LakeCountyEye. At least until the next Commissioner jumps ship.

Q the Eye

Editor's Note: Your LakeCountyEye, keeper of the infallible magic crystal ball, understands that inexhaustible knowledge comes only at a price of great responsibility. It is in this spirit that your LakeCountyEye inaugurates a new feature called Q the Eye. The floor is open to your questions, pragmatic or profound, about Lake County politics.

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Despite expecting re-election to another 4-year term, I was recently defeated at the polls. Since this has never happened to me before, what is the protocol for transitioning my office over to my opponent?

Aint Misbehavin' in Avon

Dear Aint,

Your LakeCountyEye has gotten a lot of questions like this one, especially since the April election.

First impressions are important and a defeated official needs to leave a sanitized office when handing over the keys to a political opponent. Nothing says amateur-hour like an office littered with expense receipts from nearby casinos and official contracts signed on the back of cocktail napkins.

To that end, your LakeCountyEye recommends a good paper shredder. Beware of cheap home-use units. It is possible to reassemble shredded documents, particularly when an ambitious assistant AG is on the case. Your LakeCountyEye recommends a DIN/Level 6 industrial shredder for this purpose.

Of course even when the incriminating documents have been reduced to hanging-chads, you'll still need to dispose of the evidence. Don't do what the Daily Herald reports that one official did and deposit the remains in the recycle bin behind your own office. That may be the environmentally sensitive thing to do, but it's an open invitation for your opponent to make that call to the State's Attorney. Your LakeCountyEye recommends, at a minimum, burying the confetti in a 7-Eleven dumpster, ideally one located in a different state.

Or if you have a creative flair, boil the paper into paste -- papier-mâché is an excellent construction material. That re-election campaign float will be the talk of next year's 4th of July parade.

Now that the office is scrubbed clean, don't think you can say goodbye to all those fond late-night memories quite yet. What about those computers you're leaving behind? No one who boots up a new computer expects find a hard-drive maxed-out with e-mail messages from your political donors. Your computer is like the fossil record of all those (now long forgotten) years in office. Be sure to delete all of those space-consuming budget expense spreadsheets before you leave.

But be careful, even deleted files can be recovered with the help of any 10-year-old kid with an mp3 player. You may want to do what one official, according to the Daily Herald, did -- reformat all the hard drives before vacating the premises.

Of course, erased files can even be recovered from reformatted drives. Sure, there are commercial products like Norton Wipe that claim to remove all those files forever, but for your LakeCountyEye's money nothing does the job better than the F150. What you need to do is wheel all those overloaded PCs out to the office parking lot. (Leave the monitors and keyboards inside.) Borrow your neighbor's Ford F150 4x4 -- tough, dependable and American made -- and pop the clutch over those computers 3 or 4 times. For best results, perform after midnight. If your opponent questions the condition of the office equipment, say they fell off a truck.

Well, there you have it, your office is now prepped & ready for the new regime. You can breathe easy for the next 4 years that you did the right thing by your opponent. While masterminding your re-election.

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

Voted Off the Island Lake?

The village of Island Lake describes itself as A Community of Friendly People, but your LakeCountyEye doesn't think the city hall there ever got the memo -- there is a political fault line dividing the Island Lake government. Resulting in what seems to be misconduct on the part of its elected officials.

The outcome of the April 2009 election found Island Lake's village board split down the middle. In one corner were John Ponio, Laurie Rabattini and Don Saville. In the other corner were Connie Mascillino, Donna O'Malley and Rich Garling. The Mayor, Debbie Herrmann, stood as the tie breaker.

The uneasy equilibrium broke when Garling resigned.

As the Northwest Herald reported last week, Herrmann, in her position as mayor, has the authority to name a replacement trustee. Mascillino, O'Malley and Herrmann want former trustee Don Verciglio. (Verciglio missed re-election in April by a few votes.) Herrmann intended to exercise this authority during a scheduled May 28 meeting.

Apparently Ponio, Rabattini and Saville caught wind of this -- and skipped the May 28 meeting. Lacking a quorum, Herrmann was unable to legally convene the meeting. As things stand, Island Lake is currently short a trustee.

According to the Daily Herald, Ponio, Rabattini and Saville denied that they had boycotted the meeting by pre-arrangement. Rabattini said she has the stomach flu. Ponio said he was out of town. Saville was not returning calls.

If you heard something sounding like a seismic seiche surging over Island Lake, that was really the sound of your LakeCountyEye's shit detector exploding.

Ponio, Rabattini and Saville seem to have agreed in secret and in advance to boycott their May 28 meeting. Isn't a conspiracy of that nature a violation of the Open Meetings Act? And aren't willful violations of the Open Meetings Act by elected officials prosecutable offenses?

Time for the organization of Lake County Democrats to wake-up!!!!

 Contrary to what one might think, Lake County's western border is not Route 45 or even Route 83.   If you pull out a map, you will note that Lake County's western border is really Route 12.  So what are the Lake County Democrats doing to cultivate the democrats and independents west of Route 83?  Why does the organization of “Lake County Dems” relinquish responsibility to the the 8th District Democrats and Independents?  Merely having a chair seat for this the 8th Dems in the Lake County Democrats inter-sanctums is not fair representation of the county's democrats and the  independents!

   The state reps, senate and county board seats are filled by Republicans in Western Lake County. Yet there has been a progressive population explosion out here.  The old Republican  demographics of western Lake County are shrinking as noted by the election results from this past November.  Even the views and voting records of the State Representatives and County Board are really centrist or slightly left in thinking.  In the view of this author, these representative are merely Republicans in Name Only (RINO).  

  So wake up Lake County Dems and look past Route 83!  There is an untapped bastion of blue in Western Lake County.  Stop solely relying on other organizations to cultivate that blue and get involved!!!!!!! 

Dan Duffy Defends our Constitution?

A bill sponsored by Senator Link, that would have put speed cameras around schools and hospitals, went down in a crushing defeat today. I guess Senators have decided that protecting seniors and kids is not a very high priority.

What's raising our curiosity, though, are remarks made by newbie Senator Dan Duffy that speeding cameras and red light cameras are unconstitutional. Let me get this straight: the right to break the law is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution? Sorry, I've never seen that clause.

Inquiring minds would like Dan Duffy to explain. And if the cameras are unconstitutional, why hasn't the senator challenged them in court? Or is he just "courting" votes?

COUNTY CLERK INVITES VOTER OPINION ON 2010 PRIMARY DATE

Lake County Clerk Willard Helander is providing an online survey to the public on proposed legislation to change the 2010 Primary Election to a later date, with April, May, June and August as options.

The survey can be accessed through the County Clerk's website at Survey - 2010 Primary Election by clicking on "Survey - 2010 Primary Election" in the Quick Links. The survey is less than 10 questions in length and is anonymous.

This author believes we should not change the local primary dates further than March. Local candidates are not getting campaign financing from national PACs and need the time from February to November to campaign.

The Skinny on Schmidt

The latest skinny, reported by the Daily Herald the NewsSun and the Pioneer Press, is that Lake County Chair Suzi Schmidt is running for Michael Bond's open Senate District 31 seat. According to the NewsSun Schmidt said

I've been mulling this over for a long time, probably for the last four months. I always have problems with the state (government), and I thought I'd just get my name out there.

Your LakeCountyEye hazards to guess that Schmidt would have been still mulling four months hence, had not Bond announced his plans to run for the 10th Congressional District.

Not so, reports the Pioneer Press:

Schmidt said Bond's decision to run for Congress was not a factor in her decision to seek the state senate seat. "Whether he was running or not I was going to run. That didn't have any influence on my decision at all," she said.

Readers are encouraged to make up their own joke regarding the LakeCountyEye's schmidt detector here.

Admittedly your LakeCountyEye is at a disadvantage when it comes to reporting any skinny on Suzi Schmidt, at least when it comes to handicapping her campaign prospects. Schmidt represents County Board District 3, and is not up for re-election until 2012. Which means Schmidt takes a minimal electoral risk running for anything in 2010. County Board 3 is fully contained in and at the western portion of Senate 31. It is a compact district of about 20,000 registered voters -- about 1/7 of Senate 31's total.

The Herald also reports that Schmidt has the backing of Lake County GOP Chair and Lake Villa Township Supervisor, Dan Venturi. This is surprising because your LakeCountyEye expected Venturi to run for Bond's seat. The rumor rumbling through northwest Lake County had been that JoAnn Osmond was planning to retire from her Representative District 61 seat before her term expired. Venturi would be appointed to sit out the remainder of her term. And Venturi would run for Senate 31 in 2010 -- using the Rep seat as way to ensure the pole position against his primary competitors.

But according to the Herald,

Venturi doubts Schmidt will have any serious opposition in the 2010 GOP primary.

OK but let's not forget Senate 31 will be an open seat. And only 1000 signatures are needed to be on the GOP ballot. So whether or not deals have been struck to see that Schmidt rolls to an easy primary win, your LakeCountyEye predicts there will be a crowded field of primary candidates for Senate 31.

On both sides.

Coming Soon to Illinois, the "Incumbent Protection Act"

Our reps in Springfield represent a single constituency: the constituency of getting themselves re-elected. If there was any doubt of this, they are poised to pass an incumbent protection act -- HB0723 -- which will make it harder than it already is for you or me to get our names on a ballot.

Normally a candidate gets on the ballot by running in a primary. When there is no candidate, an established party can use their caucus power to place someone on the ballot after the primary. But under the proposed legislation, a candidate in these circumstances will also be required to gather petition signatures. And not the normal number of signatures, but a prohibitive 5% to 8% of registered voters. Combine this with a shortened primary season, and the effect will be to effectively bar opposition candidates from seeing their names on the ballots, unless they run in the primary.

The true goal of the bill is to keep so-called 3rd Party candidates -- specifically the Greens and Libertarians -- off the ballot. This is shown by the fact that HB0723 has the support of both the Republican and Democratic Parties. All of our Lake County and other local Representatives voted for the bill -- with the exception of Beth Coulson and Paul Froehlich. The Bill already passed in the House.

A vote in the IL Senate is coming up. If you believe that democracy means having a choice in the voting booth, then your LakeCountyEye encourages you to contact your Senator and urge him or her to vote against HB0723. The Illinois Green Party has contact information on their website. And even if he is not your Senator, your LakeCountyEye urges you to contact Senator Terry Link and express your opposition. Link is a primary sponsor of the bill.

UPDATE 05/11/2009 5:00 pm

Kudos to State Senator Terry Link for amending the bill. Link's amendment lowers the requirement to the normal number of signatures required of a party candidate -- 0.5% of registered voters. But according to the Ballot Access News

The petitions would need to be circulated between mid-February and mid-April, not good months for petitioning in states with severe winters.

And provides an abbreviated two month window to meet the requirements. Still, the amendment delays passage of the bill. Your LakeCountyEye hopes a delay that proves be indefinite.

Pwned by Bond

Well it happened -- State Senator Michael Bond pulled the trigger. According to the Daily Herald's political blog, Animal Farm, Bond has announced that he is running for the 10th Congressional District.

Your LakeCountyEye only wishes Bond would have announced a day sooner. And spared your LakeCountyEye the time and embarrassment of having written our tightly reasoned disquisition on why it was doubtful Bond will run for the 10th CD. Oh well, as President Obama says: we need to look forward, not backward.

Bond's press release is the sort of standard boilerplate one expects. More noteworthy is it marks a techtonic shift in Lake County politics. Bond's Senate seat is now up for grabs. Which means there are now some A-list players jockeying for position. Expect a crowded primary, on both sides. There are plenty of State Reps, County Board Members, Township Bosses with Senate-31 addresses who are unconcerned about re-election in 2010.

As to Congressional District 10, Bond's sudden & unexpected announcement is designed to scare off the competition. And he may scare away some Democrats. Your LakeCountyEye doesn't think he scares away Dan Seals. Seals has the name recognition & at-the-ready political infrastructure to take the primary.

Bond may also be hoping to scare Mark Kirk into running for US Senate or Governor. Your LakeCountyEye doesn't see that happening either. Kirk's state-wide polling & down-state support is tepid at best -- he is all but certain to run for re-election in the 10th CD.

Which is actually good news for Bond. Because with Kirk in, Seals is almost assuredly out. Which all but guarantees we will see Bond's name printed on the November, 2010 election ballot.

Your LakeCountyEye's crystal ball may have been the LakeCountyEye eightball as of late. But regarding Kirk v Bond in 2010, you can take that to the -- um -- bank.

To Believe Or Not To Believe?

On Wall Street the rule of thumb is Buy on Rumor, Sell on News. OK this is the blogosphere, not Wall Street, so your LakeCountyEye is prepared to pass along a rumor burning up the 10th Congressional District. In what is looking to be the hot Lake County election contest in 2010, RollCall reported last week that Michael Bond, State Senate District 31, will seek the Democratic nomination to the 10th Congressional District.

As of this posting, we've heard nothing official from Bond's organization. Now, RollCall is a venerable outfit, and a rumor they choose to report is not to be taken lightly. But your LakeCountyEye has to regard it with, at minimum, a grain of salt -- frankly, nothing about the story quite makes it past the LakeCountyEye salt detector.

For example, how does Bond expect to score any better than Jay Footlik did against the de-facto incumbent on the Democratic side, Dan Seals? And if Seals decides to take a bye, what is Bond's reasonable expectation against a formidable Mark Kirk? Kirk has never lost an election and presumably is not planning to lose any future match-up.

Also, Bond is up for re-election in 2010. Would he abandon a safe Senate seat for a risky chance at representing the 10th Congressional District? Wouldn't Bond seem better advised to get himself re-elected to the IL Senate in 2010, and then take his shot at the 10th CD in 2012 -- when he would be risking, electorally, next to nothing?

Also noteworthy are the details of the RollCall rumor:

Bond has tapped John Lapp to do his media campaign, Bennett, Petts & Normington to his polling and Ed Peavy to do direct mail for the race, according to one source familiar with the arrangement. The source also said a former aide to Rep. Melissa Bean (D), Brian Herman, will manage his campaign.

If any of this holds then Bond is buying himself some big-league firepower. John Lapp is the hired gun Rahm Emanuel brought in to help flip Congress in 2006. Bennett, Petts & Normington is the DCCC's in-house pollster. Ed Peavy is Melissa Bean's direct mailer. Brian Herman (who we know to be a Lake County native) co-managed Bean's 2004 upset.

Your LakeCountyEye doesn't know the circumstances behind who leaked what to RollCall. Someone may be peeing down someone's back and calling it rain. Stay tuned!

10th Congressional District News Flash

Well.

While your LakeCountyEye has been all about predicting that Mark Kirk will run for re-election in the 10th Congressional District, it appears the big 10th CD news was breaking on the Democratic side of the equation. It's not a total surprise but a Democrat has thrown his hat in the ring for the 10th Congresional District.

That Democrat would be Elliot Richardson. Your LakeCountyEye confesses we don't know too much about Mr Richardson outside of what we found on his website. We can say this is not the same Elliot Richardson who defied Richard Nixon during Watergate. In fact we can state this without hesitation and categorically, since this Elliot Richardson died in 1999. We don't know if the two Richardsons are related.

Richardson's entry into the 10th CD contest certainly shakes things up. Were Democrat Dan Seals to take another shot at capturing the 10th, Richardson, by any estimation, would be facing an all but insurmountable Primary opponent. However if your LakeCountyEye's crystal ball is correct, then Kirk is likely to run for re-election in the 10th and Seals is likely a no-show. Which means Richardson has adroitly positioned himself as the Democratic front-runner for the 10th Congressional District.

OK, will Richardson be able to beat Kirk in November 2010? Hard to say. Richardson no doubt has a steep, uphill climb ahead of him. Much will depend on whether or not Richardson raises the multi-millions of dollars necessary to run a credible Congressional election campaign. If not then Richardson would likely be front-man for a token vanity campaign in the style of Hank Perritt and Lee Goodman.

To Stump or Not to Stump?

The 10th Congressional District overlaps much of the lower right hand corner of Lake County, and is currently represented by Mark Kirk. Kirk has been agonizing lately -- and very publicly -- over whether to run in 2010 for the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. Or to sit tight and hold on to what is by any estimation a safe congressional seat.

Your LakeCountyEye regards this open display of vacillation not so much as Mark Kirk being in touch with his inner Hamlet, but instead as Mark Kirk playing a game of political chicken with the Republican party state leadership.

To be the Republican Senate nominee, Kirk needs to first win the Republican primary. It's no secret that many Republican primary voters take their guns, gays and abortion with them into the voting booth. And Kirk knows they're not likely to vote for a socially-left-of-center and gun-hating, gay-loving, abortion-tolerating candidate like himself.

So he's been waiting for concessions and guarantees from party leaders including Andy McKenna. Essentially he's waiting for his get-out-of-the-primary-free card. The only response he's gotten from Springfield so far has been the sound of crickets. Kirk arguably would be the GOP's strongest Senate candidate. The fact that the Illinois Republican party is unwilling or unable to guarantee him a primary win points to their continuing state of disarray.

Your LakeCountyEye can now go out on a limb and predict that Mark Kirk intends to stand firm and run for re-election to the 10th Congressional District. Kirk is already preparing the field by vetting his forthcoming decision in his unofficial blog, TeamAmerica10th.

In a post called Join TA's Kirk Campaign Advisory Committee, you're invited to advise Kirk on what to do. There are already a half dozen similarly-worded anonymous comments that urge Kirk to forego the Senate and stay put.

This may all be a clever head-fake on Team-Kirk's part. But your LakeCountyEye thinks that not to be.

Believe it or Not: Standing Room Only at Township

I could hardly believe my eyes. People were lined up out the door at the Ela Township Annual Meeting on Tuesday. By the time the meeting got down to business, there were 75 people sitting and standing around the room, watching democracy in action.

Why the interest? A group of citizens, calling themselves the Ela Township Progressives, had managed to follow new, stricter state rules and get a citizens’ resolution on the meeting agenda. In addition, attendees had been made aware (through phone calls) that at township Annual Meetings, unlike every other meeting of the year, regular citizens can vote on the agenda and force officials to do things they may not want to do.

In this case, the citizens' group simply wanted to force the township board to be more transparent. Their resolution asked the township to do a few common sense things to make their workings more accessible to citizens: 1) televise meetings and stream them online 2) post approved budgets online and 3) post approved expenditures online, including amount and payee.

Supporters of the resolution and detractors turned out in almost even numbers. A vote to control the moderator position at the meeting, in fact, was a dead-even tie. It had to be decided by a coin toss.

As it turned out, before the resolution was considered, there was considerable discussion among the citizens about the township’s budget and expenditures. A 100% increase in the budget for the road commissioner, in particular, drew much criticism. So it was not very surprising that, in the end, the vote for the transparency resolution was supported by a unanimous voice vote, even among the board members in the audience. Even they couldn’t bring themselves to vote against good government, I guess.

It remains to be seen whether the Ela Township board will actually implement the resolution. The Ela Township Progressives tell me they will be watching.

State Rep. Ed Sullivan Votes "Yes" to Require Kids to Wash Their Hands!

When we read about it in the Tribune, this sounded like the ultimate nanny state bill. A bill to force kids to wash their hands! But 4 Republicans -- including our own Ed Sullivan of Mundelein -- joined the Democrats in voting for it. Here's the sad story....

Reporter Eric Zorn wrote on April 2, 2009:

"It doesn't surprise me when a member of the General Assembly introduces a patently, aggressively stupid piece of legislation. And so I reacted with equanimity to House Bill 19 from Chicago Democrat Mary Flowers. It amends the school code to require all Chicago Public Schools students -- and only Chicago Public Schools students -- to wash their hands before eating lunch. Sure, it's a fine idea to wash one's hands before eating. Every student in every school ought to have access to hot water and soap conveniently close to the cafeteria.

But not every good idea needs to be a law. Particularly this one, which unreasonably singles out Chicago kids, would be a time-consuming nightmare to enforce and would likely provide minimal health or education benefits."

Why in the world did Ed Sullivan vote for this bill? (I almost typed "bull"!) Last time I checked, Sullivan claimed to be a Republican. He always says he wants to cut wasteful government programs. But he never said he was against silly unfunded mandates for our already-strapped schools.

There have been whispers for years that Mr. Sullivan is a RINO (Republican in Name Only), who runs as a Republican just to get elected. This vote would seem to prove the whisperers right.

A Tale of Two Assessors

What I have come to learn in this wonderful county is that far too often, the color of your convictions (red for republican and blue for democrat) is how you get or avoid the press. While we do live within a reasonable commute to a major metropolis, we do fall short with having competent local print media.

If you have been following the print media or lack thereof, several weeks ago a democrat and candidate for Antioch Township Assessor filed his petitions to run for office, was challenged, had several county newspapers cover his story, ended up being arrested for fraud, arraigned and is now out on bail. Every county newspaper covered this ad nauseum to point they had convicted this individual in the press without due process. He has been the brunt of numerous Republican Blogs.

Now this week the story breaks that the current Avon Township Assessor has been served with a civil suit that alleges fraudulent reimbursement for travel expenses in excess of 3,000 dollars by information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, and one county news paper writes one (1) detailed article and the largest subscribers service newspaper in the county writes a two paragraph article that does not specify the suit, but quickly points out a comment from the Lake County State's Attorney office that is the individual who filed the suit thought there was fraud, they should have gone to the police. That is it!!!!!! What kind of reporting is this? Bottom line is that both assessors have committed wrong-doing. One gets a mug shot and one continues to try and get re-elected with no press traction.

Yes I know, the story of the Avon Township Assessor did break during silly season, and many will say, including the assessor, this is nothing more than a political stunt. Perhaps the only stunt is the timing. The allegations of this suit are based on factual township records. Anyone can get these records through the Freedom of Information Act. In the view of this author, a criminal investigation is warranted.

EARLY VOTING

Early Voting begins today, March 16th and continues until April 2, 2009. The only place to vote during the early voting period is your respective township building. The hours of operation are standard throughout the county; Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m until 4:30 p.m an Saturdays 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.


Please remember that for early voting, voters are required to present a valid Illinois driver's license, an Illinois identification card issued by the Secretary of State, or any other valid government-issued identification document containing their photograph, name, and address.

Monday Night Football in March????

Looks as if we might just see a good game on Monday evening as two lines (for the Defense....the incumbent Assessors and for the Offense....the Assessor Candidates) will be officiated by the Citizens Action Project.

Lake County township assessor candidates will participate in a moderated forum hosted by Citizens Action Project (CAP) on Monday at 7 p.m. at Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake.

The forum will allow assessor candidates to express their views and for residents to ask questions, in advance of the April 7 election.

"Since we formed CAP, we have said that township assessors have the most power and influence in making the assessment process fair and transparent," said CAP president John Wasik. "We find it of the utmost importance to give the public a forum in which to decide where to cast their vote."

Candidates from Avon, Ela, Fremont, Moraine and West Deerfield townships have been invited.

The event is open to the public. A $5 donation is suggested.

For more information, e-mail info@citizensactionproject.org or visit www.citizensactionproject.org .

The Credit Crisis

I found a simplistic explanation of how the credit crisis came to be. One need not have a degree in economics to understand the video.
You can bookmark this link if you do not have the time to view this video. The run-time is approximately 11 minutes.

This is a non-partisan view on how we got here.

http://crisisofcredit.com/

OPEN BLOGGING

As Eye on Lake County moves into its fourth month, let's get a feel for who has been reading our initial blogging efforts. For the next few days, why not have your voice heard, at least here. Post a comment, debate an issue, talk about the upcoming Lake County elections in April.

Let's see where this goes.

Please refrain from personal attacks, but rather talk about issues and facts.