The Ives Don't Have It

A moment of silence please, to observe the end of an era in Lake County. For thirty years one name has dominated Lake County political circles more than any other. Not really a name -- more an institution -- sadly, this institution is departing the Lake County political arena.

Your LakeCountyEye of course refers to the Lake County Republican Party.

The GOP has discontinued its political brand in Lake County.

Can you tell which political party this Lake County candidate caucuses with? Your LakeCountyEye cannot:

One bona fide spokesman said: "Normally, party branding is guaranteed to increase vote totals by a certain amount.  However, this cycle it has been estimated that the Republican Party brand will yield, in the aggregate, a negative number of votes. Henceforth, the GOP will be referred to as the Party Formerly Known As Republican ."

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Tales from the Darkside

The Lake County GOP has gone dark.

Do you see any of these letters -- R-E-P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N -- on this yardsign? Your LakeCountyEye does not:

Is the Lake County Republican Party squelching their brand? One spokesman said: "You will not see the word REPUBLICAN on any of our signs.  We want to make them harder for the Democrats to steal."

A reporter asked him why he thought the Democrats would want to steal Republican yardsigns. The spokesman said: "You don't believe the Democrats are stealing signs?"

The reporter said: "No."

The spokesman said: "Would you believe if I said it was the Libertarians?"

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Grand Theft GOP

2020 ELECTION ALERT ...

Someone is stealing Republican yardsigns. Except they are leaving behind the yardsign!

Do you see the word REPUBLICAN anywhere on this yardsign? Your LakeCountyEye does not:

One local law enforcement spokesman told reporters: "I can't imagine what thieves are doing with all of those Republican brands. The street value is virtually nil."

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

If You've Seen One You've Seen Them All

An actual unretouched screencap from the McHenryCountyBlog:



Note to Ops: If you plan to attend the fundraiser, be advised that they will be serving covfefe.

Last Call for One Lake County Public Servant

It was 100 degrees in the shade all week but this Lake County politician managed to get left out in the cold. Your LakeCountyEye of course refers to Ex-Sheriff Mark Curran.

During the Republican Convention last week, the Illinois GOP live-streamed a roster of fellow travelers:

Does anyone recognize any of these chumbolones? Your LakeCountyEye certainly does not. So it should be no surprise that Mark Curran did not recognize his own name anywhere there.

Being a candidate for US Senate, Curran felt he deserved to be invited to the dance and said so in a tweet. Curran quickly deleted the tweet -- but not quick enough for the Internet:

The only statewide Republican candidate on the ballot in November is not included, why is that?
Politwoops
Explore the Tweets They Didn't Want You to See

There is no hard evidence that anyone actually listened to the GOP live-stream. But one thing is known: The Mark Curran Campaign can be advised to stop paying its phone bills. No one is going to be returning their calls.

The Big Stink in Lake County

There is a big stink in Lake County, and the Democrats want to wipe it clean.

By big stink, of course, your LakeCountyEye means that toxic insecticide fog ejected from the back end of insecticide trucks owned by the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District, Clarke Mosquito Control, and other mosquito extermination organizations.

The trucks continue to spray vulnerable Lake County neighborhoods despite the fact that mosquitoes do not spread COVID-19:

Can mosquitoes spread the coronavirus?
No.
Can mosquitoes spread the coronavirus?

And if that don't take the cake, these trucks are also hazardous when they explode:

Lake County Sheriff's Office said 75 gallons of a pesticide spilled onto the ground in North Barrington Tuesday after a mosquito abatement company vehicle hauling the liquid crashed into a tree.
Truck Crash Causes Pesticide Spill In North Barrington

The Democrats now have legislation that would ban the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos:

Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would ban chlorpyrifos and other pesticides that have sparked concerns among farmworker groups due to negative health effects.
Democrats introduce bill to ban chlorpyrifos, other pesticides to protect farmworkers

Because of its toxicity, Chlorpyrifos is already banned for non-commercial use.

The widely used pesticide was banned for household use in 2000, after studies found children who had been exposed to it had lower IQs than those who were not. Chlorpyrifos has also been linked to learning and memory issues and prolonged nerve and muscle stimulation.
Democrats introduce bill to ban chlorpyrifos, other pesticides to protect farmworkers

Chlorpyrifos is one of the insecticides in the arsenal of Clarke Mosquito Control:

Mosquitomist Two U.L.V.

For the record, the CDC recommends that you maintain at least a 6 foot distance away from airborne droplets.

Some Thoughts on the Lake County Train Wreck

The exploding Canadian National oil train failed to explode in Antioch on Friday:

A freight train car hauling nonhazardous material broke in two in an unincorporated area near Antioch in early Friday morning, authorities said.
Freight train car derails near Antioch

One official trainspotter told your LakeCountyEye: "Yup, that car snapped like a two-dollar lawn chair. Another Canadian National train derailed last February in Canada. That one leaked more oil than a KFC dumpster. No fire:"

A Canadian National Railway train that derailed near Emo, Ontario, at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday caused about 30 cars to leave the tracks and several to leak crude oil, confirmed CN officials this morning.
Oil leak result of Emo train derailment; highway closed indefinitely

Note to Ops: Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Head for the Hills

There is an old saying in show business politics: The Show Must Go On

So it should come as no surprise that in the Village of Barrington Hills, they take their politics show business very seriously:

Barrington Hills Board of Trustees :: Jul 21, 2020

One Barrington Hills resident (and urgent care physician) asked the Village to cancel their fall festival this year, out of concerns for public safety.

Nevertheless, Barrington Hills Mayor Martin McLaughlin declined to scrub the event -- which he called their "festivus":

Barrington Hills Board of Trustees :: Jul 21, 2020

If the Barrington Hills fest plays as advertised, it could go down as a super-spreader event. For those interested, the gathering is called ... wait for it ...

The Hills Are Alive

Note to Ops: Bring your own disinfectant.

Short ... but Sweet

If you believe the fakenews out of the Bureau of Labor of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Lake County is 11.5 percent. Your LakeCountyEye however knows the real facts. That unemployment number is actually 11.5% plus one:

North Barrington's village administrator has departed about four months after she was appointed to the post to rejoin the town where she used to work.
North Barrington village administrator returning to Lake in the Hills

HaHa, as readers of this blog are aware ...

The Sweet Deal

Under the auspices of new Mayor Eleanor Sweet McDonnell, the Village of North Barrington hired a government staffing agency to clean house at Village Hall.

And as readers of this blog are aware ...

Sweetshop

The Village of North Barrington fired their long-time village administrator/clerk for some fresh blood.

Well, as readers of this blog by now are aware, the Village of North Barrington failed to put a bandaid on that fresh blood:

North Barrington's village administrator has departed about four months after she was appointed to the post to rejoin the town where she used to work.
North Barrington village administrator returning to Lake in the Hills

At a time when local government employees throughout Lake County are working remotely from home, who wouldn't turn down an opportunity to work closer to -- erm -- home? Certainly not your LakeCountyEye.

Note to North Barrinmgton Ops: Your Village President Eleanor Sweet McDonnell runs an executive search firm:

The Remington Group, LLC

Be sure to ask for an employee discount!

Plan COVID-19

The Question of the Day goes out to those who were at State Rep Jeanne Ives's fundraiser in Lake Zurich,

COVID Jeanne

... where no one was observed wearing a mask:

Q: Who will pay your hospital bills?

HaHa, no worries, Jeanne Ives has got you covered:

Ives' campaign website contains only a brief statement on health care. "I will protect people with preexisting conditions, preexisting doctors and preexisting health insurance," according to the website. "You get covered in a way that meets your family's needs. And you call the shots." Up until the beginning of July, Ives had a more detailed health care statement on her campaign website in which she expressed her support for a plan proposed by the Republican Study Committee in October of last year.
In race for Congress, Casten, Ives back different health care plans

Note to Ops: If that fails, send those unpaid medical bills to:

Jeanne Ives
PO Box 1504
Wheaton, IL 60187

She should be in a position to cough up a couple bucks on your behalf!

Railroaded Apartments

Have you at long last lost patience waiting for that CN Rail train in your way? Well, get in line. The entire City of Waukegan is waiting. The Canadian National Railway, which sits in the way of thousands of drivers every day, is also in the way of new housing for Waukegan:

Residential development — with a mix of apartments, town homes and single-family houses — along Waukegan's south lakefront remains a vision for the city based on its 2003 master plan, with several obstacles remaining. Those obstacles include an economic slowdown, the coronavirus pandemic and a railroad which owns a 3.6-mile right of way
Railroad right of way remains obstacle to Waukegan’s dream of lakefront development

One trade spokesman said: "Excuse me if I don't share in all of the indignation. You know as well as I that Canadian National moves cars of flammable crude oil through Lake County every day. It's only a matter of time before these tracks are a burning heap of melted steel."

Click clack.

Jeanne the Pirate

An actual unretouched screencap from Jeanne Ives's website:

If the picture of the mailbox looks familiar, that is because it is a copyrighted image that Ives stole from The Atlantic magazine:

In the Pandemic, Every State Should Vote by Mail

In fact Ives did not even go to the trouble of copying the image. She simply hotlinked The Atlantic image to her website:

Note to Jeanne Ives Operatives: You may want to ask your boss to wear a mask, the next time someone pulls a heist:

Just Sayin!

COVID Jeanne

Today's challenge will test your knowledge of history:

Q: This notorious woman carried a potentially fatal illness and resisted efforts at quarantine. She eventually transmitted the disease to at least 53 people. What is her name?

If you answered State Representative Jeanne Ives you would be incorrect. The correct answer is: Typhoid Mary

The differences are clear-cut. Typhoid Mary never visited Lake Zurich. Jeanne Ives, on the other hand, has -- where she held a fundraiser this week. Social distancing norms and safeguards were not respected:

This is the same Lake Zurich that saw a recent surge in COVID-19:

73 COVID-19 cases traced to a few Fourth of July parties in Lake Zurich

Ives maintains her affair was totally appropriate. No Confederate statues were tore down:

Totally none.

Average Jo

Lake County favorite daughter Jo Jorgensen wants your vote:

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen paid a visit Sunday to the area in which she grew up, holding a meet-and-greet with voters at Post Time Sports Bar & Grille in Green Oaks. Jorgensen was born in Libertyville and grew up in Grayslake.
Libertarian candidate visits with voters in Green Oaks

Republican candidate for US President, Donald J Trump immediately Tweeted:

WOW! Sleepy Jo doesn't know where he is, or what he's doing. Honestly, I don’t think he even knows what office he's running for!

When told that Jo Jorgensen is a woman, Trump responded "Person, woman, man, camera, TV. What's the difference?"

Mobile Home

The Booth Cottage has gone mobile. Designed by honorary Lake County favorite son Frank Lloyd Wright, the Booth Cottage has rolled off its foundations in honorary Lake County village of Glencoe.

The historic structure was put ...

onto three multi-wheel power dollies before a truck slowly brought the one-story home down the driveway and about 750 feet to the south.
Saved From Wrecking Ball, Frank Lloyd Wright House Moved To Park

It goes without saying that the property taxes are lower in Cook County.  But you can beat the tax collector in Lake County as well.

Motor that house of yours up to a community like Round Lake Park -- where if your living quarters has wheels you won't pay any property taxes at all.

Just Sayin!

Strange ICU Bedfellows

Schoolchildren throughout Illinois are taught this story of some courageous settlers who joined together to win independence from a backward-looking and far-away autocratic rule. The American Revolution? No, your LakeCountyEye of course refers to when Lake County won its independence from McHenry County.

It is a historical fact that Lake & McHenry Counties went their own ways back in 1839. But, even though they had an amicable divorce 181 years ago, the two Counties may be facing an acrimonious reconciliation in 2020.

The State of Illinois is to be divided up into separate COVID-19 regions. One of the regions will be Lake & McHenry Counties:

Chicago will be its own region, as will suburban Cook County. Other regions are: West Suburban comprising DuPage and Kane counties; North Suburban comprising Lake and McHenry counties; and South Suburban comprising Kankakee and Will counties.
Suburbs, Chicago now in separate COVID-19 regions as state aims to target hot spots

Not everyone is happy with the arrangement. One undisputed epidemiologist told your LakeCountyEye: "Lake County is second highest in Illinois for positive cases of COVID-19. While McHenry County is over-represented by Trump voters who feel they have a God-given right to reject sensible precautions against contracting COVID-19."

What could go wrong?

With the Thoughts that You'll be Thinkin' You Could be Another Lincoln

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln! If alive today, the 16th President of the US would be 211 years young.

And did you know that Lincoln was a Republican? Your LakeCountyEye did not:

Donald Trump has claimed that until he became US president "nobody ever heard" that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.
Trump claims ‘nobody ever heard’ Abraham Lincoln was a Republican until he pointed it out

What else about President Lincoln does your LakeCountyEye not know? In a word, plenty. Legitimate businessman and US President Donald J Trump has unearthed 10 more unbelievable facts about his predecessor of which no one ever heard:

Donald J Trump's 10 Tremendously Phenomenal Facts That You Did Not Know About Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln had a deferment from the Civil War for bone spurs. Lincoln is on the 5 dollar bill. The US mint prints 5 dollar bills. Lincoln debated crooked Douglas. Ivan the Terrible did not interfere in the 1860 US election. Lincoln did not tear down any Confederate monuments. When he hit a golf ball, Lincoln would yell "Fore Score!" Lincoln did not wear a mask. Masks would always "ruin" his beard. They stole all of the towels from the Lincoln bedroom. Lincoln had small hands.

Look for your LakeCountyEye at a mattress sale near you.

It Conquered McHenry County

McHenry County has been invaded! According to the McHenryCountyBlog:

What's Independence Day without a parade? Enterprising McHenry County Republicans decided to hold one even the usual blow-out in Crystal Lake was cancelled.
GOP Holds Mini-Parade in Crystal Lake

Does this mean McHenry County has been invaded by the Republican Party? HaHa, of course not, that barn door has been open for years. No, McHenry County has been invaded by outer space aliens.

See the McHenryCountyBlog for the shocking photographic proof:

Space aliens invade McHenry County.

The aliens disguise themselves to blend in with the locals.

But some can see through the alien trickery.

Does ET make you go tee-hee? You're looking at another hilarious LakeCountyEye Double Vision™!

[h/t: McHenryCountyBlog]

The Thin Red Line

Q: Who said ...

"The Village of Barrington Hills celebrates the fact that residents can apply for and build a shooting range on their property, they can even raise animals on their own land."

If you answered

Barrington Hills Mayor Martin McLaughlin

you would be close.

And if you answered

Your LakeCountyEye

you would be closer.

The correct answer is:

CBS Channel 2 News

"The Village of Barrington Hills celebrates the fact that residents can apply for and build a shooting range on their property, they can even raise animals on their own land. But when it comes to providing a home for 25 black and brown boys from Chicago, the man behind the idea says he has been met with resistance and a bit more red tape."
Plan To Bring At-Risk Boys To Barrington Hills Hit With Roadblocks

No secret to readers of this blog, Barrington Hills markets itself as "a community low in legislation and high in property rights" where villagers do as they please:

Barrington Hills is a Community Where Landowners Determine How They Enjoy Their Land
Property Freedoms

Note to Ops: Promises are like babies. Easy to make, hard to deliver. When it comes to local government be sure to get it in black and white!

Are Unicorns Too Hard to Draw?

Q: How many rhinoceroses are left in the world?

The Chicago Tribune Creepy Cartoonist thinks the answer is two:

Stampede

The Creepy Tribune Cartoonist is pretty close. There are about 5,000 black rhinos left in the world.

Maybe the Creepy Tribune Cartoonist lacks the imagination or the industry to come up with a visual metaphor that doesn't demonize a critically endangered species?

For the record, there are 8 billion people on the planet.

Punching down is no way to go through life, son.