Doodyville

Who can speak of a finer recollection than racing home after school, changing into cowboy clothes, and tuning into the Howdy Doody Show? Not your LakeCountyEye.

The show is now off the air, and while there have been many Howdy Doody celebrity impersonators over the years, one of the best was in McHenry County this week. The tireless tax fighters at the McHenryCountyBlog recorded the performance, and your LakeCountyEye got some screencaps to see how this impersonator measured up against the real thing:

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome Mr Howdy Doody!

I just flew in and boy are my arms tired!

Fist bump!

Be sure to tune in tomorrow, boys & girls!

Remember this name -- Bruce Rauner. Damned if your LakeCountyEye can tell which one is the true Howdy Doody and which one is the Doody impersonator. Operatives can visit the McHenryCountyBlog for photos of the entire performance:

Bruce Rauner Speaks to Volunteers in Crystal Lake

In the meantime, c'mon and join your LakeCountyEye in a spirited rendition of the Howdy Doody Theme Song ...

It's Howdy Doody Time.
It's Howdy Doody Time.
Bob Smith and Howdy Do
Say Howdy Do to you.
Let's give a rousing cheer,
Cause Howdy Doody's here,
It's time to start the show,
So kids let's go!

Would You Buy a Used Car from this Man?

Congressman Peter Roskam wears many hats, as readers of this blog are ruggedly aware ...

The Whig Party?

Now word is out that Roskam -- alleged Lake County representative in Washington -- may be sporting a new hat, the chapeau worn by used car salesmen. According to the HuffingtonPost ...

House Republicans are awesome, because they'll trick you into buying a car you can't afford. That was the message from Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) at a recent fiscal policy summit in Washington.
GOP Rep Explains Why Used Car Salesmen Are Good For Congress

More specifically, this would be the hat worn by the confederates of used car salesmen. Roskam was caught on video plumping for fellow used car salesman Republican representative Mike Kelly:

"You know, if you give Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania eye contact -- he's a car dealer -- he's gonna put you in a car that you can't afford, and you're gonna be happy and you're gonna thank him for it. He's an incredible salesman and has a real ability." Kelly's industriousness, Roskam reasoned, is a trait shared by many of his colleagues, and has been key to the GOP's ability to govern effectively.
GOP Rep Explains Why Used Car Salesmen Are Good For Congress

An alleged PR Flack at Campaign Roskam complained that their boss was quoted out of context and that every Congressman is not a used car salesman. Your LakeCountyEye was told that "literally hundreds of other professions are represented by the Republican Congressional delegation."

There are 10, to be more precise:

Ten Commonest Occupations of Congressional Republicans

Ambulance Chaser Ski Bum Carjacker PR Flack Telemarketer Televangelist Music Industry Executive Lobbyist Internet Blogger Career Politician

Look for your LakeCountyEye in the Sixth Congressional District, pricing a beater.

The Evil One?

A few weeks prior to Memorial Day, Lake County honors those law enforcement officers that have fallen in the line of duty. The 2014 Lake County Police Memorial was held this year on May 9 in Waukegan.

The News-Sun covered the ceremony.

Police honor those who made 'ultimate sacrifice'

The News-Sun reported who spoke at the ceremony and provided some breakout quotes.

• Lindenhurst Police Chief Kevin Klahs
• Waukegan Police Chief Wayne Wallace
• Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim
• Lake County Undersheriff Raymond Rose

Strangely, the News-Sun did not mention that Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran spoke at the ceremony. He was the last speaker and can be seen on the Lake County video of the event.

2014 Police Memorial

I don't know if the omission was accidental or deliberate or if the News-Sun simply ran out of room to publish any of Curran's remarks.

To make up for the omission, I've provided some breakout quotes, taken from Curran's address on that day.

• "We must know the Evil One does not want us to succeed."
  
  
• "The Devil has no interest in seeing you being able to do your jobs well."
  
  
• "We have to be engaged in prayer."
  
  
• "We have to be joyful no matter how tough it is out there. And that's something that is only going to come from the grace above and our prayer life."
  
  
• "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake. We don't need chameleons. We don't need that little reptile that tries to blend in the environment so he's not noticed."

Odd thoughts for a public ceremony to honor fallen police officers?

Curran's speech begins at about the 29:45 mark.

Come On In, the Water's Fine!

The Village of Wauconda woke up and smelled the coffee. And that may be because the coffee was brewed not with clear, sparkling Lake Michigan water -- but with stale, fetid municipal well water.

Wauconda wants to get in line for free Lake Michigan water, and named a representative to the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency board. They sent, however, not their Mayor, but some low-man-on-the-totem-pole village Trustee, instead. The Daily Herald noted that ...

Mayors typically serve as the emissaries, but the water agency board members have criticized Wauconda Mayor Frank Bart's actions during negotiations last year and explicitly said they wouldn't allow Wauconda to join if he was the representative.
Trustee Lincoln Knight to represent Wauconda on water agency

CLCJAWA charter member Round Lake is pleased as punch (brewed with fresh, effervescent Lake Michigan water) -- and welcomed to the Board's ranks Wauconda as well as the Village of Volo. The Mayor of Round Lake told the Suburban Life Media ...

If Wauconda and Volo both join, he said, Round Lake still wins with a south route that will provide redundancy for the village's water system, which would provide another source of water. "Now, if there is one catastrophic break, your system is down," the mayor said.
A win-win for Round Lake?

Your LakeCountyEye observes if there is one catastrophic break, more than the system will be down. Lake Michigan drains into Lake County. Mayhem ensues.

Haha, j/k. The Mayor of Round Lake, of course, is engaging in hyperbole -- no one seriously worries over a catastrophic break in the extensive CLCJAWA network of viaducts, reservoir canals and underground pipes. Or do they?

Back in the day (circa 2010) your LakeCountyEye predicted just that -- a catastrophic break at just about where the Route 53 Extension would cross over the CLCJAWA water main:

Collision Course

Readers of this blog heard it here first.

Your LakeCountyEye: predicting the future since August of 2010!

Ski Party

The number one question niggling the thoughts of every man, woman and child in Lake County is: Who will be the next Speaker of the US House of Representatives?

Don't bet on John Boehner. According to CNN ...

Some conservatives unhappy with House Speaker John Boehner's leadership are looking for a replacement, and recent moves by Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling are fueling speculation he wants Boehner's job in the next Congress.
Conservatives float alternative to Boehner

If the name of the aforementioned Texas Congressman sounds familiar, that's because Van Helsing is the narrator of Bram Stoker's gothic novel Dracula. Haha, j/k. As reported in this blog ...

Ski Moguls

Jeb Hensarling is the chair of the powerful US House Financial Services Committee and he throws a big fundraiser for his lobbyists every year at a white-glove ski resort in Utah. If Utah white-glove ski resort sounds familiar, that's because (also reported in this blog) Peter Roskam's congressional PAC has paid for junkets to the same ski resort -- the St. Regis Deer Valley -- four years running.

If the name Peter Roskam sounds familiar, that's because he is a Congressman who represents part of Lake County. As reported in this blog ...

The Whig Party?

like Hensarling, Peter Roskam wants to move up in the House Republican leadership, and covets the post of Majority Whip. Uniform sources tell your LakeCountyEye that a sweeping House coup had been cooked up at the St. Regis, over the Sous Vide Beef and Charcoal Aged Boulevardiers.

The next St. Regis fundrasiser is scheduled for the Spring of 2015. It is unknown whether any vampire hunters will be among the guests.

Red Light Camera Obscura

If you are like your LakeCountyEye, you are spending the holiday weekend stuck in a traffic backup at some blinkin' red light. And thumbing down the RSS news feed on the BlackBerry.

Haha, if you hate red light cameras, someone has taken that cause all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court. According to the Daily Herald ...

Attorneys for drivers who got red-light tickets in Chicago told the Illinois Supreme Court today the state law that allows for the traffic cameras in the suburbs is unconstitutional.
Attorney: Red-light cameras "nakedly" unconstitutional

The Court has not ruled yet. But Lake County municipalities are already preparing for a worst-case scenario: what to do with all the cashiered red light cameras if they get ruled unconstitutional. Your LakeCountyEye has been told that opinions are divided. At least 10 ways to repurpose that decommissioned red light camera are under consideration:

Ten Alternative Uses for a Lake County Red Light Camera

Free LCDOT selfies! Souvenir for the Dan Duffy trophy wall. Photograph Route 53 Extension toll runners. Rejigger them into Automated Speed Cameras. Tape Island Lake board meetings. Record a Lake County Best Day of My Life video. Live backyard chicken nest cam. Log actionable evidence against those slow moving CN trains. Nab card counters at the Waukegan casino. Boat anchor.

Hopefully the Illinois Supreme Court will rule soon. Your LakeCountyEye is waiting for the green light to blow off that red light.

The Whig Party?

Lake County's ladies man in congress, Peter Roskam, is wearing a new hat: Hard-Line Conservative. Despite the fact that he staunchly opposes abortion rights, Roskam has convinced the voters of his district that he is pro-women and a social moderate. But his carefully cultivated cover may be blown. Politico is reporting that Roskam ...

has his sights set on the majority whip post, but it could be a tough climb for the Illinois Republican. Hard-line conservatives, who dominate the House GOP Conference, are not sold yet on the idea that Roskam should be the whip, or that he is conservative enough for them — a perspective he is angling to change.
Peter Roskam courts the right

Reformed sources tell your LakeCountyEye that Roskam has been attending a right-wing indoctrination boot-camp at a top-secret location in the Utah mountains. The photographic evidence of Roskam's transformation is nothing short of hair-raising:

Peter Roskam 2006

Peter Roskam 2013

The metamorphosis from moderate republican to Hard-Line Conservative is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up straight. It's miraculous what over-the-counter remedies can do for male-pattern dysfunction.

The ladies of the 6th Congressional District are advised to beware.

Too Rich for Their Flood

Hopefully all the Lake County snow does not melt too quickly -- your LakeCountyEye does not have flood insurance. One company -- Farmers Insurance -- is not waiting for the inevitable. According to the Chicago Tribune ...

nearly 200 communities in the Chicago area being sued by a major insurance company that is arguing the municipalities didn't do enough to prevent last year's record flooding. The suits, filed by Farmers Insurance Group, seek to force these communities — and by extension their taxpayers and, ironically, their insurers — to pay back Farmers for claims it paid out for flooding in spring 2013.
Insurers sue Chicago-area towns in bid to get flood money

Who doesn't want a piece of that action? When opportunists disturb the peace, your LakeCountyEye turns to the one person who can piece it all together, Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Risky Business at the College of Lake County.

Your LakeCountyEye met Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi at the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center. He played his iPod and said, "You've nodoubt heard the Farmers Insurance jingle ..."

We Are Farmers -- Bum Ba-Dum Ba Bum Bum Bum

"Ever since they insure against floods, their new jingle has been the theme from Jaws ..."

Da-Dum ... Da-Dum ... Da-Dum ... Da-Dum

"With the hundred year flood now the new normal" he continued, "do not be surprised if Farmers attempts to recoup its losses by filing suit against communities that elect climate-change deniers. I expect them to file a big suit against the McHenry County Board any day now."

That was good for your LakeCountyEye to know. Would other insurers follow suit?

"I don't think AFLAC will. Their flood insurance losses are water off a duck's back. But there have been similar cases filed by other parties. One class-action suit pending against Lake County seeks damages for lost wages and profits because the County Board has failed to ramrod the Route 53 Extension through in a timely fashion."

Did Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi foresee copycat lawsuits?

"Absolutely." he said. "Any town that banned assault weapons last year is vulnerable to litigation. What's to stop a homeowner from suing his municipality that told him he cannot own an assault rifle? I can easily imagine some 2nd Amendment extremist arguing that he needs his machine gun to protect his property and family. These municipalities could be facing legal expenses to the tune of $90,000 and more!"

Your LakeCountyEye was all like: Oh Get Out!

"Stranger things have happened." chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "The claimant could be a an erstwhile pillar of the community. A golf pro or a bond salesman or maybe even a pediatrician. There's no telling which guy on the block is the gun nut."

Your LakeCountyEye heard enough. Was there any parting advice?

"Tell your operatives to watch out for 2nd Amendment lawsuits that seek reparation for firearms that were damaged because of flooding. Attorneys are calling these litigants Super Soakers."

Workin' on the Chain Gang

Lake County boreal congressman Randy Hultgren is on the record, and is against slavery. Hultgren, according to the Daily Herald ...

has been pushing legislation to fight human trafficking and said he looks forward to supporting proposals on the topic in Congress next week.
Hultgren fights trafficking

Hultgren's public opposition to human trafficking may not sit well with some Lake County Board Republicans. According to the News-Sun ...

Using the $33 million project that will lower the Rollins Road and Route 83 intersection below the Metra and Canadian National Railroad tracks as a back drop, County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor expressed excitement about the start of road construction.
Lake County officials celebrate start of road construction season

Standing in front of what has been colloquially dubbed the Underground Railroad, Aaron Lawlor not only openly favors human trafficking but is spending $170 million taxpayer dollars on the hope that more humans will avail themselves of Lake County's traffic system.

Haha, j/k. Human traffic and traffic engineering are two different things totally.

Lawlor, however, did tell the News-Sun that ...

Lake is the only county in the Chicago region to use all of its sales tax money for transportation improvements.
Lake County officials celebrate start of road construction season

Note to operatives: If you are homeless or subsist below the poverty level, don't go to the County for a hand-up. Lake County spends all of its money on traffic improvements. If you need government welfare, your LakeCountyEye suggests getting a pickup truck & some shovels. And then get in line behind all those other road construction companies for your Lake County government handout.

For the record, the government of Lake County opposes slavery, too.

Ski Mecca

Lake County congressman Peter Roskam must love to hit the powder. As readers of this blog are highly aware ...

Snow Job

Roskam's congressional leadership PAC has flown people to a tony Utah ski resort in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Now this week Roskam was appointed to the House Benghazi investigation panel. Several House GOP insiders told the Chicago Sun-Times that ...

they saw the Roskam appointment as Boehner installing a stable "monitor" to keep tabs on the committee, make sure there are no surprises and insure it does not "go rogue" with over-reaching investigative sideshows that could end up backfiring on Republicans as the November mid-term elections loom.
Roskam named to Benghazi committee

One anomalous Roskam staffer, however, told your LakeCountyEye that nothing could be further from the truth. They said that Roskam was not strongarmed by the House leadership to spy on, and rein in, a committee that is widely seen as an election year political stunt. They told your LakeCountyEye instead that if you want Peter Roskam on your committee, all you need to say is congressional ski junket and he's all in.

A major Mediterranean seaport, Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya. Benghazi has a warm semi-arid climate, summers are hot and dry, winters are mild with occasional rain. Is it any surprise that Benghazi is the go-to destination for some of the best downhill skiing in the Eastern hemisphere?

Your LakeCountyEye is has taken the opportunity to embed a web-widget that can monitor the up-to-the-minute ski conditions in Benghazi, Libya. Operatives are advised to check this blog first, before booking that Libyan Airline flight out of O'Hare. Then hit those slopes!


Anglers, watch tomorrow for another LakeCountyEye exclusive: Peter Roskam's Benghazi fishing expedition widget!

Potential Rapprochement? Iran and U.S. beyond the Nuclear Agreement

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Narimon Safavi, Chicago based Iranian-American entrepreneur and regular commentator and analyst for Worldview, a public radio program on WBEZ, will speak about the problems and possibilities for future Iran/U.S. relations. Nari Safavi has served on the Chicago Committee of the Human Rights Watch, and numerous boards including the Gene Siskel Film Center, Latino Cultural Center of Chicago,the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, the DC based Citizens for Global Solutions and as an ambassador of the DC based National Iranian-American Council. A believer in the importance of multicultural understanding, he is currently engaged in developing COSMOPOLIS, an incubator project building global linkages through mission driven cultural enterprise.

• Sunday
  May 18, 2014
  2 PM
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  847-816-7433
• Coffee and conversation following
• Cost $15

First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Heart of Community

The fictional town of Bedford Falls has the best village motto on the planet:

YOU ARE NOW IN BEDFORD FALLS

So when a Lake County town rebrands itself and adopts a new village motto, your LakeCountyEye wants to see how they compare.

The Village of Lake Zurich did not disappoint -- of which, the Sun-Times Media said ...

After 10 years with the same logo, the Village Board has approved a new seal, flag and slogan. The fresh design is part of the village's rebranding effort, aimed at further engaging the community and encouraging investment from businesses. Led by the village manager's office, the process took several months and included a number of graphic designers.
Municipal makeover: Lake Zurich freshens up logo, seal and flag

The new Lake Zurich village banner includes the date of incorporation, along with a graphic of the sun rising over the lake ...

Your LakeCountyEye observes that the sun is also rising under the cone of silence ...

Village of Lake Zurich Seal

Cone of Silence

Very hip.

The village also has a new slogan ...

At the Heart of Community

Your LakeCountyEye took the liberty to run the new slogan through the grammar checker. The grammar checker was not amused and recommended these, erm, grammatical alternatives ...

At the Heart of the Community

... or ...

At the Heart of Our Community

In all likelihood the village was being billed by the word and may have simply opted to save itself a few bucks.

The Fearsome Foursome

Not since the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants battled the X-Men has your LakeCountyEye seen this many super-villains in a single cartoon. The Tribune Creepy Cartoonist™ outdid himself this week, with four of his signature rogues for the price of one ...

Chicago Tribune

If operatives are unfamiliar with Creepy Tribune Cartoonist iconography, your LakeCountyEye is able to provide a skeleton key.

The gent in the foreground sipping a coffee appears to be Nikita Khrushchev ...

CORRUPTION

Khrushchev

Seated to his right is Mrs Khrushchev ...

UNEMPLOYMENT

Mrs Khrushchev

The quadruped on the left and hunched over the newspaper is a Rhinoceros ...

DEBT	White Rhinoceros

Conservation experts warn the rhinoceros will be extinct in the wild by 2020. The Creepy Tribune Cartoonist might be signalling that the DEBT will also disappear by 2020. Either that or rhinos are just easy to draw. Or Something.

One thing not easy to draw in a cartoon is CRIME. Whose image quickly telegraphs the idea CRIME to the average reader? Should the cartoonist draw a minority? Probably not a good idea. Then how about drawing a white guy instead? Haha, everyone knows that the white guys do not commit the crimes. The Tribune's Creepy Cartoonist deftly tackles the problem by splitting the difference and drawing a Cosby Kid ...

CRIME

Dumb Donald

The Brown Hornet was unavailable for comment.

Snow Job

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Whenever on a ski junket with other overcompensated industry lobbyists, your LakeCountyEye always looks forward to that all-expense-paid stay at the St. Regis Deer Valley in Park City, Utah:

Nestled on 12 slope-side acres with unobstructed views of the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, the St. Regis Deer Valley is Utah's most exclusive address and the premier Park City venue for one-of-a-kind events. Long revered for world-class skiing, Deer Valley boasts a myriad of year-round activities, and its proximity to Salt Lake City International Airport makes for easy access for destination travelers. The modern mountain-lodge architecture of the St. Regis Deer Valley blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape for an atmosphere that is at once comfortable and sophisticated. With 10,000 square feet of thoughtfully designed function space, your next event – whether intimate or grand – will be accommodated in refined style with the unparalleled service with which the St. Regis name is synonymous.
St. Regis Deer Valley
Park City, UT

But don't take it on your LakeCountyEye's word -- just see for yourself ...

The St. Regis Deer Valley

The accommodations are truly fit for a congressman king!

Here's an unsubstantiated testimonial from one repeat customer:

My congressional PAC -- the Republican Operation to Secure and Keep a Majority (ROSKAM PAC) -- has been sending people to St. Regis Deer Valley since 2011. What's the point of having a leadership PAC if you can't, every year, funnel a chunk of that money into a junket at some super-swank ski resort?

 Peter Roskam (IL-6)

For more information see this blog ...

Ski Moguls

You will not be disappointed!

Ski Moguls

While the old elephant's graveyard may be a myth made popular in the Tarzan movies, the elephant's ski junket is not. The big tuskers have long been known to congregate at a tony ski resort in Utah.

One documented sighting is of Jeb Hensarling, Republican chair of the powerful US House Financial Services Committee. Last year (according to ProPublica) Hensarling held a ...

fundraiser at the St. Regis Deer Valley, the "Ritz-Carlton of ski resorts" known for its "white-glove service" and for its restaurant by superstar chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. There's no evidence the fundraiser broke any campaign finance rules. But a ski getaway with Hensarling, whose committee oversees both Wall Street and its regulators, is an invaluable opportunity for industry lobbyists.
House Finance Chair Hensarling Goes on Ski Vacation with Wall Street

If the Hotel St. Regis in Deer Valley sounds familiar, that's because it is an expenditure filed with the FEC by Peter Roskam's leadership PAC -- and this blog noticed that ...

Q the Eye/05.01.14

Lake County Congressman Peter Roskam's PAC paid for airfare, lodging, meals, and more at the five-star ski resort in early March of this year.

And not just this year. Roskam's PAC expensed trips to the Hotel St. Regis in 2011 ...

Republican Operation to Secure and Keep a Majority (ROSKAM PAC) July 31 2011 Mid-Year Report

And in 2012 ...

Republican Operation to Secure and Keep a Majority (ROSKAM PAC) Apr 20 2012 Monthly Report

As well as 2013 ...

Republican Operation to Secure and Keep a Majority (ROSKAM PAC) 2013 30-Day POST-Election Special Report

And the aforementioned 2014 ...

Republican Operation to Secure and Keep a Majority (ROSKAM PAC) 2014 30-Day POST-Election Special Report

What sort of powerful attraction does this little, remote resort hold over these Republican heavyweights? Someone once asked Willie Sutton why he liked to ski there in Utah. "Because that's where the money is", was his answer.

Nuff said!

Q the Eye/05.01.14

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Could anything possibly be more tedious? A blog about politics in Lake County ... Really?

You know we really want, the hot dish on celebrity Congressman Peter Roskam!

TMZ Wannabee

Dear Perez Hilton,

Your wish is your LakeCountyEye's command -- who back in the day was known as the Walter Winchell of Winchester House.

NBC Chicago has been keeping tabs on the whereabouts of Lake County's gadabout rep in Washington DC:

According to Peter Roskam's leadership PAC -- filed with the FEC -- that tab includes ...

annual spring ski vacations to Park City, Utah, with stays at the Hotel St. Regis in Deer Valley; airfare for several people, and ski and snowmobile rentals - all paid for with ROSKAM PAC money. Roskam's office refused repeated requests by NBC5 Investigates to provide even basic details of these ski trips, including who went, and what the trips were for.
Inside Rep. Peter Roskam's Leadership PAC

As should be expected of the Chief Deputy Whip of the House of Representatives!

No photographs were available.

Oh pooh.

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

A Whopper

Call your LakeCountyEye Ishmael.

The fortunes of Lake County's other ex-Congressman, Robert Dold, have not sunk. Last year Dold created and is the sole employee of White Whale Consulting LLC, where he earned $75,000. Dold explained to the the Sun-Times that ...

White Whale had only a single client and only in 2013. The client was a for-profit firm not located in Illinois. Dold said he could not divulge the name of his client. So this brings us to the next question, what did Dold do as a consultant to earn $75,000 in 2013? Dold describes White Whale as a "general consulting company" on his disclosure statement. Dold said he provided "advice and counsel" and "strategic thinking" to his client in the area of "workforce readiness" and "STEM" or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
Bob Dold's 'White Whale' consulting company

Your LakeCountyEye would like to know if White Whale Consulting LLC is hiring? Princess Nudelman is looking for a job.

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Hoist those sails.

The Tea Party Genome

Lake County has its knickers in a bunch. At least according to State Rep Ed Sullivan, a member of the Illinois House Exec Committee that voted to bring the Barack Obama Presidential Library to Chicago. Sullivan warns that the Library is a wedge issue, certain to divide the State of Illinois:

State Rep. Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein), who is the Republican spokesman for the committee, explained what happened and why the committee will vote again next week in Springfield. The problem blew up when House Speaker Mike Madigan's spokesman Steve Brown blamed the row on "Tea Party genes."
State Rep. Sullivan says Democrats intend to use Obama Library as wedge issue

The aforementioned Tea Party gene, as readers of this blog are empirically aware ...

Reading the Tea Party Leaves

has been fully sequenced by scientists. However it is not known who carries the gene.

Do you have the Tea Party gene? To answer that question, your LakeCountyEye commissioned a study. Paid informants submitted DNA samples to the Lake County State's Attorney office, and -- licketysplit -- the results are already in. As it turns out, there are 10 indelible indicators that you have the Tea Party gene:

Ten Signs that You Might Carry the Tea Party Gene

Even if there was a cure for the gene, you still wouldn't sign up for Obamacare. Joe Walsh is not a guitar player. You burned your draft Obama Presidential Library Card. Marriage should be between a man and a woman and daddy's shotgun. Vote Oberweis for US Senate  Afterwards treat yourself at an Oberweis Dairy -- 33 locations near you! You graze your backyard chickens on Federal land. Ditto the medical marijuana. If English was good enough for Pre-Columbian Americans it's good enough for us. You will stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance -- we know your name. Born and bred in Lake County!

Look for your LakeCountyEye nursing a Tazo Chai near you.

Reading the Tea Party Leaves

Fresh off his surprise come-from-behind victory over a more moderate, establishment Primary opponent, Ed Sullivan is publicly flaunting his Tea Party bona fides. As readers of this blog are hardly aware ...

The Library of Congress Pkwy?

the 51st District Representative is openly against spending any public funds on the Barack Obama Presidential Library. This despite the fact that a Sullivan family member is a librarian at the Fremont Public Library. At the risk of redundancy -- public libraries are, like their names imply, publicly funded.

Sullivan had originally voted in favor of funding the Presidential Library. This despite the fact that he was absent from the House committee meeting where the vote was cast. Ghost voting may be rare in Lake County, but not in Springfield!

As luck would have it, Sullivan will get another opportunity to vote, this time, against the Obama Presidential Library. According to the Sun-Times ...

Because of a controversy, an Illinois House committee will revote on April 30 a proposal to appropriate $100 million in state funds to help finance the construction of President Barack Obama's presidential library and museum in Chicago. "Some of our Republican friends decided to demonstrate their Tea Party gene because the word Obama was mentioned," said Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan D-Chicago.
Do-over April 30 on Obama presidential library $100 million vote

In related news, scientists recently announced that they have sequenced the Tea Party gene:

It is unknown whether the Barack Obama Presidential Library will have a section for children's books.

Saving Cranes: Watchdogs of the Future -- Beacons of Hope

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Rich Beilfuss of the the International Crane Foundation, will discuss endangered cranes, their cultural significance, beauty, dramatic migrations, and striking behavior as opportunities for addressing broad approaches to conservation related to water supplies and wetlands in Africa, Asia, and the U.S.A. They will show development from the Zambezi River water authorities, the farmers of North Korea to sustainable water management in the Texas Guadalupe River Basin.

• Sunday
  April 27, 2014
  2 PM
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  847-816-7433
• Coffee and conversation following
• Cost $15

The Library of Congress Pkwy?

Lake County is counting the days to the end of the Obama Presidency -- whereupon, in 2017, the doors will swing open at the Barack Obama Presidential Library. Bibliophiles eager to obtain borrowing privileges are lining up to apply for their library cards. Keen to begin construction on the proposed library, Springfield politicians are already manning their shovels.

A committee of the Illinois House voted unanimously this week to bring the Obama Presidential Library to Chicago. The verdict was unanimous despite the fact that Ed Sullivan -- the committee's minority spokesman -- was not present for the vote. The Northwest Herald reports that ...

At least one Republican lawmaker says he's filing a protest after an Illinois House committee recorded a 9-0 vote to commit $100 million to bring President Barack Obama's library to Chicago, even though only five Democrats – and none of the committee's four GOP members – were there. Rep. Ed Sullivan of Mundelein said he didn't attend Thursday's hearing because a vote was not expected. He told WBEZ radio and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald he would have voted no because he opposes using public funds for the library, which will house Obama's presidential records and artifacts.
GOP lawmaker objects to 9-0 vote for Obama library

Sullivan, who opposes spending public funds on a presidential library, apparently fell victim to the oldest political dirty trick in the book: Parliamentary Rules. Punk'd!

According to WBEZ ...

Rep. Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein) was marked as voting yes on the measure, even though he did not attend Thursday's hearing and was working at his non-legislative job.
Nine Illinois lawmakers vote to fund Obama library - but only five members in attendance

Despite the fact that the voters of the 51st District expect Sullivan to be their fulltime Representative in Springfield, he is additionally employed as the Fremont Township assessor.

Moreover, sharp-eyed operatives will note that the Fremont Public Library also operates on public funds.

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Move along.

Flip, Flop, Repeat

Not since the Jesse White Tumblers toured has your LakeCountyEye witnessed this much untethered flipflopping. At least not among politicians jockeying for a seat in the US Senate.

Operatives may recall that US Senate candidate Jim Oberweis sat out the last week of the March Primary at his Florida home. His opponent, Doug Truax, used the news leak to lampoon Oberweis -- according to the Sun-Times ...

in a mock postcard sending greetings from Florida that conjured images of a "Jimmy Buffet" Oberweis, slipping on flip flops and sipping pineapple concoctions poolside. Truax, 43, whose spokesman Dan Curry went to the emergency room after he was hit on the head with falling ice, called Oberweis arrogant and disconnected.
Jim Oberweis or Jimmy Buffett?

Long story short, Oberweis easily beat Truax in the Primary. (Also, Truax spokesman Dan Curry was not seriously injured.) But not long after the Primary, sitting US Senator Mark Kirk declined to campaign for fellow Republican Senate candidate Jim Oberweis. According to the Sun-Times ...

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is ruling out campaigning for longshot GOP Illinois U.S. Senate nominee Jim Oberweis, saying Monday he would rather "protect" his relationship with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and not launch a "partisan jihad."
Kirk to "protect" Durbin relationship, not stump for Oberweis

That was then. But this -- in flipflop years -- is now. According to the Sun-Times ...

After distancing himself from GOP Senate nominee Jim Oberweis last month — and saying he wanted to "preserve" his relationship with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and not engage in a "partisan jihad" — Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., in a switch said Wednesday he will campaign for Oberweis.
Why Kirk is now campaigning for Oberweis for U.S. Senate seat

Oberweis, understandably, should be tickled pink. His new spokesman, Dan Curry, was.  According to the Sun-Times ...

Oberweis' new spokesman Dan Curry said: "We welcome the support of any Illinoisian — elected official or otherwise — who joins us in bringing back jobs and prosperity to our state after so many years of decline."
Why Kirk is now campaigning for Oberweis for U.S. Senate seat

Note to ops: it's hard to keep a good man down. Despite being hit in the head with falling ice, it appears that Oberweis spokesman Dan Curry landed on his feet.

That's all your LakeCountyEye has, move along.

Water, Water, Everywhere

Lake County is flush with excitement. The antediluvian old North Shore Sanitary District is getting a whiz-bang new name. The News-Sun observed, last week ...

After 100 years of existence, the North Shore Sanitary District changed its name Thursday to North Shore Water Reclamation District.
North Shore Sanitary District adopts name change

So what's the scoop on the NSSD? For the latest poop, your LakeCountyEye looked up Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Rebranding Efforts at the College of Lake County.

"The North Shore Sanitary District." enunciated Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "That sounds like one of those tampon ads from the 50s. The name was way overdue for an extreme makeover -- it did not test well in our focus groups."

That seemed to imply Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi was involved in the rebranding process.

"Ya," he said, "the NSSD retained the services of my ad agency: No-Name Ad Agency. We surveyed a slew of new brand identifiers. I personally liked the North Shore Water Recycling District -- but it turned out to be a non-starter. It seems people do not like the idea of drinking recycled water. Can I get you a refill?"

Ick.

"We also tested North Shore Water Retention District." continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "But that polled no better. I'm not exactly sure why about that one."

Cut back on the salt, maybe?

"We even looked for a corporate sponsor." offered Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "But the big players weren't interested. Don't expect to see a North Shore Ty-D-Bol District any time soon."

That was a relief.

"Out of desperation," sighed Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "we trotted out that old trick every ad company has up its sleeve: steal someone else's idea. Let's just say we borrowed the name from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Why mess with success?"

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is Cook County's wastewater management agency. Was it expensive to obtain licensing privileges to use their name?

Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi held a finger close to his lips. "What the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District doesn't know won't hurt them."

Your LakeCountyEye's lips were sealed. Did Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi have any parting advice?

"Tell your operatives that we also secured the trademark to the South Lake Mosquito Reclamation District. Make us an offer!"

Joint Chiefs

No sooner had this blog declared that Lake County has produced not a single millionaire hip-hop gangsta rap artist to call its own ...

Forewarned is Forearmed

than rapper Chief Keef proved your LakeCountyEye wrong. The critically acclaimed entertainer, according the News-Sun, was pulled over last month in Highland Park:

rapper Chief Keef pleaded not guilty in a Lake County misdemeanor courtroom Friday to charges of driving under the influence of marijuana in Highland Park.
Rapper Chief Keef pleads not guilty to drug charge

Sharpeyed operatives will observe that Keef is urban slang for hashish:

Kief

Perhaps not coincidentally, local entrepreneurs want to open a marijuana clinic in Deerfield (which abuts Highland Park to the south). The Sun-Times said ...

While Deerfield officials still have zoning questions about a potential medical marijuana dispensary in town, a local compound pharmacist wants to open one in the village.
Pharmacists eye Deerfield for medical marijuana clinic

The News-Sun also noted that Deerfield allows its residents to raise backyard chickens:

The Deerfield Village Board voted 6-1 Feb. 3 to allow residents to keep up to four hens on single-family property and institute an annual inspection process
Deerfield trustees vote to allow backyard chickens

It is unknown whether any County & Western musicians have been arrested in Highland Park.

That's all your LakeCountyEye has, move along.

I Photoshopped the Sheriff

Overheard at a Lake County 'L' Stop:

Commuter #1: Do you have any derogatory photos of Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran?
Commuter #2: Certainly not!
Commuter #1: Do you want to buy some?

Haha, operatives seeking more jokes at the expense of the Lake County Sheriff's Department need look no further than the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Or, for that matter, the Chicago Tribune:

A hearing to determine whether a Lake County sheriff's lieutenant will keep his job has provided an unfiltered glimpse into the police agency, which some employees described as a hostile workplace sullied by political infighting, preferential treatment and a crude frat-boy culture.
Lewd jokes part of job, Lake County deputy says

A recent Lake County Sheriff's Department internal investigation -- one that uncovered doctored images of Sheriff Mark Curran -- spilled over into the public airwaves with predictable results. The Chicago Tribune broke the front-page story Monday morning, with the News-Sun & the Daily Herald scrambling to catch up. By Monday afternoon the News-Sun had published its version:

A Lake County Merit Commission hearing concerning the Lake County Sheriff's Office attempt to fire a lieutenant revealed that lewd pictures and jokes were passed around through emails along with derogatory names for supervisors, but the lieutenant maintained it was common practice for years.
Deputy says crude comments were a 'stress reliever'

Your LakeCountyEye is still waiting for the Daily Herald to weigh in. It is unknown if any of the Lake County political blogs will take notice. Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised as the situation warrants.

Prickly Cities

Those attending an Island Lake village board meeting may be relieved to know that a part-time Island Lake police officer is being paid to chaperone. The Mayor of Island Lake justified the expense by telling the Daily Herald that the practice is common:

extra officers have attended board meetings for several years to keep the peace. Audience members and trustees occasionally have become unruly during discussions.
Politically connected cop paid to attend Island Lake meetings

For the record, the official motto of Island Lake is ...

A Community of Friendly People

Haha, your LakeCountyEye never gets tired of that joke.

Wauconda, another Lake County village, has a more trendy-sounding town motto:

Water • Spirit • Wonder

In 2012 Wauconda voters OKed a $41 million referendum to obtain their water from Lake Michigan. According to their website, Wauconda currently draws its drinking water from municipal wells. Urban planners warn that Lake County's growing population means its groundwater aquifers are steadily diminishing in quantity and quality. This may be why Wauconda is eager to become a member of the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency, and tap into the Agency's safe and reliable supply of Lake Michigan water.

Some cold water, however, has been thrown on what could be a good deal for Wauconda residents. There may be some bad blood boiling between CLCJAWA and Wauconda's village leaders. According to the Daily Herald ...

To join the agency that provides drinking water to a dozen Lake County communities, Wauconda officials will have to select a representative other than Mayor Frank Bart, the leader of the group's board said Friday. "I don't think anyone would want the mayor to sit at our table right now," said Rich Hill, chairman of the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency board. "With him being involved, it's still an issue."
Water agency leader says panel doesn't want to work with Wauconda mayor

To publicly blackball a sitting Mayor like that is extreme by any standard. Your LakeCountyEye suspects the CLCJAWA board may have instead been better served to hire a part-time police officer to attend their meetings. Just sayin!

Your LakeCountyEye observes that Island Lake and Wauconda both sit virtually side-by-side on the Lake County map:

Note to ops: If you're ever in the Island Lake / Wauconda area, don't drink the water.

The Revised Bible

Operatives drafting their November campaign plans really need to remember only two things. Run against taxes. And run in favor of God. Peter Roskam, rumored Lake County Congressman, is a master of the craft. In a press release reproduced by the Suburban Life Media, Roskam asks ...

Did you know that our tax code is over four million words long, or more than 10 times the size of the Bible?
Roskam: Helpful tips for preparing your taxes

Roskam's lede is devilishly clever in all respects, except one. His math is wrong. As readers of this blog are unaccountably aware ...

Biblical Proportions

Roskam's numbers are off by a factor of 100%. The US tax code, in fact, is 5 times the size of the Bible -- not the 10 times claimed by Congressman Roskam.

Note to operatives at Team Roskam: your LakeCountyEye offers fast and accurate fact checking services. Call today for a rate card.

Until then, there are other lengthy tomes (with known word-counts) that compare just as unfavorably against the US tax code. Congressman Roskam is free to use any of these in future jeremiads against the IRS. There are ten by your LakeCountyEye's reckoning:

Congressman Peter Roskam's Ten Best Reads Much Shorter than the US Tax Code

The word count of the IRS tax code is more than ... 38 times Fifty Shades of Gray 70 times the Kama Sutra 50 times the Quran 10 times the Affordable Care Act 15,000 times the Gettysburg Address 11,500 times Stairway to Heaven 1,000,000 times than "RED LIGHT PHOTO ENFORCED" has more Gross Incomes than a Lady Gaga World Tour 12,000 times Green Eggs and Ham half the length of an average LakeCountyEye Top Ten List

Look for your LakeCountyEye counting angels on the head of a pin near you.

Biblical Proportions

There are few things the voters of Lake County hate more than doing their federal income taxes. The unequivocal proof comes from ostensible Lake County Congressman, Peter Roskam -- in the form of some helpful tips for preparing your taxes, courtesy a press release from Peter Roskam, and reproduced verbatim by the Suburban Life Media ...

Did you know that our tax code is over four million words long, or more than 10 times the size of the Bible?
Roskam: Helpful tips for preparing your taxes

This particular factoid was news to your LakeCountyEye, never having actually done a word count on the Good Book. Is the IRS tax code really 10 times longer than the Bible? The good news is math problems such as these are easily verifiable with a quick Google search -- which reveals that the King James Version of the Bible clocks in at 788,280 words:

King James Bible Quick Facts

Some higher math yields ...

4,000,000 words (IRS Tax Code)

÷

788,280 words (KJV Bible)

≈  5

Sharpeyed operatives will instantly observe that Peter Roskam's aforementioned 10X is much different than the calculated 5X. A difference of 100%, to be exact. It would appear instead that the US tax code is just 5 times longer than the Bible.

Haha, has someone just been caught red-handed cooking the Good Book? Your LakeCountyEye suspects that if Peter Roskam were made to swear on a stack of Bibles, he would only admit his staff made an actuarial mistake.

It may be no coincidence that Congressman Roskam already knows a thing or two about botched numbers. Roskam recently sponsored a House Bill to create a watchdog Inspector General office to audit ObamaCare:

Three dozen House Republicans on Thursday proposed a bill that would create a special inspector general to monitor the implementation of ObamaCare. Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) proposed the bill to ensure proper monitoring of the law and accused the Obama administration of keeping implementation data secret.
Republicans push for new IG to monitor ObamaCare

Roskam said in a press release that ...

Congressional oversight of the law has been dogged, but the administration has repeatedly stonewalled investigators and been less than forthcoming with the public.
IT'S TIME FOR AN OBAMACARE WATCHDOG

Hopefully, Roskam's Inspector General Watchdog would be better at math than he is.

Forewarned is Forearmed

Unlike some neighboring counties, Lake County cannot boast ever having produced a single millionaire hip-hop gangsta rap artist. Yet in spite of this unenviable statistic, Lake County has easily produced more than its share of armed bodyguards.

Unimpeachable statistics indicate that Lake County has more bodyguards per capita than a Las Vegas Club DJ. And it seems like they can be found on a given night at any Lake County local government open public meeting.

Haha, things would at least appear that way to anyone who has attended an Island Lake village board meeting lately. According to the Daily Herald ...

A politically connected, part-time Island Lake police officer is being paid to attend village board meetings twice a month, prompting a dispute about the expense among officials.
Politically connected cop paid to attend Island Lake meetings

On top of that, one trustee of the Warren-Newport Library board even wanted the library to pay for his private security detail. The Daily Herald said this trustee ...

tried to get trustees to approve paying a private security company that worked at the session. Officials said a Gurnee police officer, four Warren-Newport library security guards and two employees from Waukegan-based Tactical Security LLC attended the meeting.
Trustee fails in effort to sideline boss at Gurnee's Warren-Newport library

What's the dealio? One local-government elected official spoke to your LakeCountyEye on condition he would disguise his identity with a ski-mask. Or a nylon stocking. "Elected officials everywhere are on pins and needles. By law firearms are not allowed on government premises, but meetings are open to the public. Now that restrictions on concealed carry have been eliminated, who knows which of the goober eaters sitting in the back row are packing heat? My wife wants to buy me Kevlar^® underwear and expense it to my board."

Note to ops: Private security is a growth industry in Lake County. Illinois has more units of local government than any other state, and this is your chance to get in on the ground floor. But don't take it from your LakeCountyEye, take it instead from the NRA: The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

April Fool

Cal Skinner Jr It never ceases to surprise your LakeCountyEye that the MSM ignores the founder of the McHenry County College, a non-religious, secular community college and workplace for hundreds of public sector employees paid for at taxpayer expense.

It was founded by Cal Skinner Jr's father, Cal Skinner Sr.

In 1943 the Illinois General Assembly enacted legislation to allow referenda to establish tax rates for both education and building funds to support junior college operations. With the passage of a referendum in 1967, the McHenry County College was the 28th community college established in Illinois.

Cal Skinner Sr, not known to be a progressive, almost derailed the Regional Transportation Authority in 1974. Nevertheless he spearheaded the successful campaign to create a community college in McHenry County, and all at the public's expense.

It is difficult to comprehend how Skinner would could possibly have thought that it would be a good idea to establishment a big-government entity that would some day command a $50 million annual operating budget.

Articles about this follow:

Paul Simon Family Escapes Unscathed from Sponsorship of Unconstitutional Law

A Critique of McHenry County College's $42 Expansion Plan

More Evidence McHenry County College Not Dedicated to Transparency

Mr. Cal Skinner addressed the Board. He asked why the management letter was not posted on the website with the meeting agenda. Mr. Parrish stated that the management letter is not public, after which Mr. Skinner expressed his displeasure.
Minutes Special Board Meeting of McHenry County College

Taxes and Administrative Salaries on Tap for McHenry County College Board Meeting Thursday Night

MCC Salaries for Administrators and Faculty