Lake County Eye

An Endorphin Endorsement Rush

2012-01-27T23:00:00.001-06:00

It is as sure as the tide goes in, the tide goes out: post a story here about Eighth District Congressman Joe Walsh, and watch this blog's web-metrics all shoot through the roof. On the other hand, post a story here about the 10th Congressional District and this blog's page counter actually rolls backward. (This is not a joke as your LakeCountyEye has had more than one reader demand a refund on their page clicks.) So as a public service and at great expense to your LakeCountyEye ... woo-hoo! it looks like there is a donnybrook brewing up in the 10th Congressional District.

There are about 10 Democrats maneuvering there for the opportunity to take on the Republican incumbent, Robert Dold, in the November election. Since no one knows who they are or even any of their names, your LakeCountyEye is at a disadvantage when it comes to handicapping this particular Primary. While they do not pass out tip sheets for elections -- like they do at the track -- luckily there is a rough electoral equivalent for a bewildered voter -- endorsements. And, according to the Patch, there are plenty of endorsements being tossed around in the 10th Democratic Primary:

John Tree also announced the endorsement of former Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm, Wheeling Township Democratic Chair Kathleen Sances and Palatine Township Democratic Chair Sue Walton.

Sheyman and Schneider have their share of endorsements as well.

Brad Schneider has the backing of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Democratic Congressional whip; former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Barrington); state Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest); and state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston).

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Chicago); Rep. Danny Davis (D-Chicago); Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ); and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) are backing Ilya Sheyman.
Tree Raises $101,000 in Fourth Quarter

From this your LakeCountyEye has divined the names of at least 3 Democratic candidates:

John Tree
Brad Schneider
Ilya Sheyman

Both Tree and Schneider have garnered the endorsements of not only some of DC's Democratic power-brokers, but some local heavy hitters as well. Sheyman, on the other hand, has got endorsements from some Chicago Congressmen, as well as from some out-of-state Congressmen who represent the Rachel Maddow show.

Without knowing anything else about the Democrats in the Tenth district, your LakeCountyEye is ready to call this contest: it's a slam-dunk for Sheyman.

The reason why: Sheyman is the only candidate who seems to appreciate Nixon's Dictum:

Richard Nixon famously advised Republican presidential candidates to run to the right in the primaries and to the center in the general election.
Framing the Republican Race

With Gingrich & Romney battling it out on the Republican side, your LakeCountyEye suspects the only voter who asks for a Democratic ballot in March is that voter who even recognizes names like Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison. (Provided, of course, that voter remembers to vote.) Ha ha, operatives in the 10th may as well pack up their yardsigns and find honest employment somewhere else. Sheyman will win the Primary there in a landslide -- following the politically right-minded trail blazed by Richard Nixon.

Statement on Senator Kirk's Medical Condition

2012-01-23T18:00:00.000-06:00

From a Press Release from Mark Kirk's Office:

On Saturday, Senator Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of his neck. He was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where further tests revealed that he had suffered an ischemic stroke. Early this morning the Senator underwent surgery to relieve swelling around his brain stemming from the stroke. The surgery was successful. Due to his young age, good health and the nature of the stroke, doctors are very confident in the Senator's recovery over the weeks ahead.

We wish the Senator a full and speedy recovery.

Did Santorum Outscorum?

2012-01-19T22:00:00.002-06:00

Is 2012 over yet? It's been a rollercoaster ride so far for your LakeCountyEye. As readers of this blog are highly aware ...

Sanctum Santorum

your LakeCountyEye was riding high with the astoundingly accurate prediction that a Carmel High School graduate -- Rick Santorum -- would win the Iowa caucus. But as readers of this blog are sorely aware ...

The Santorum Post-Mortum

your LakeCountyEye was just as quickly shot down when the checkery-shirted Mitt Romney went all-Chicago all over Santorum and stole the election from him.

Well, ha ha, in politics they say it ain't over til it's over, and this one wasn't over until the fat lady sang. In this case the fat lady happened to be Rick Santorum. The singing happened to be a recount revealing that Santorum won after all. According to the Northwest Herald ...

Rick Santorum edged front-runner Mitt Romney by 34 votes in a surprise flip to the final tally of the Iowa caucuses
GOP officials: Santorum edges Romney in Iowa count

Your LakeCountyEye wants to send a tip of the eyeshade and special thanks to the operatives in Iowa who scared up those extra 34 votes. You know who you are. Treat yourselves to some beers and send the bill to your LakeCountyEye.

Walsh v Obama

2012-01-17T23:00:00.008-06:00

Eighth District Congressman & banty rooster Joe Walsh is running for re-election in 2012 but your LakeCountyEye is not quite sure for what. Having ordered the President to quit lying and having boycotted a Presidential address last September, Walsh gives the impression that he is running against Barack Obama. When he announced his re-election candidacy, Walsh said ...

far too often elected officials forget who elected them, and instead focus more on what they need to do to get re-elected. I have made it clear that I will only serve six years in the House

Some quick math -- 2010 + 6 years -- yields 2016, the year when Barack Obama is expected to consolidate his Bolshevik take-over of the US government and run for an unprecedented 3rd term. (Well unprecedented if one ignores FDR's 3rd term.) Anyhow it is pretty clear what Walsh is up to:

President Joe Walsh in 2016

Operatives no doubt are wondering how the ambitious politician turns a flash-in-the-pan appearance with the Illinois congressional delegation into a four-year gig on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The answer is simple, do it the way Barack Obama did it.

Start off by running for election unopposed. Now regarded a standard of Illinois political legend, Obama won his first election to the Illinois State Senate by challenging the petitions of his Democratic opponents. And knocking all three off the ballot:

Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
Illinois Senate elections of Barack Obama

Walsh won't be able to equal Obama's hat-trick, but he does have two Republican opponents for the Eighth Congressional District. Both candidate's nominating petitions are under challenge:

BROMLEY V CANFIELD
BROMLEY V EVANS

Obama cleaned house and parlayed that into a ticket to the Democratic Convention. Your LakeCountyEye anticipates nothing less than a fire & brimstone keynote address from Congressman Joe Walsh. Next August. In Tampa. At the GOP convention.

Musical Board Chairs?

2012-01-16T23:00:00.000-06:00

Truisms come and go -- and this one is as true as they go:

As goes the McHenryCountyBlog, so goes the nation.

But, look out, there's a new truism in town:

When your LakeCountyEye talks, the public sector pensioners listen.

As soon as State Rep Jack Franks filed a Bill to mandate the direct election of the McHenry & Lake County Board Chairpersons, your LakeCountyEye was all over it like tread on a waffle. No Springfield Bill gets out of committee without the prior approval of the McHenryCountyBlog. And as readers of this blog are eggotistically aware, your LakeCountyEye went directly to the source for their verdict ...

Ballotations for the Chairman, Now?

Less than 48 hours later an acknowledged spokesperson from the McHenryCountyBlog responded on this blog with a prepared statement.

Your LakeCountyEye will not divulge whether of not the McHenryCountyBlog is all thumbs-up or thumbs-down over Franks's Bill. Operatives are directed to that blog, to learn what McHenry County's blog-of-record thinks of the idea ...

Actually, that would be so much fun to watch, I might be talking myself into favoring Franks' idea.
What Is Jack Franks' End Game?

In related news, the Lake County Board issued a statement saying that its voters are not ready for democracy, and condemn those influences from the other side of the border who seek to impose their foreign way of life upon Lake County.

Q the Eye/01.15.12

2012-01-15T21:00:00.002-06:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

I waited my turn patiently for 20 years. I carried water -- and you don't want to know what else -- for some big elephants. Waiting paid off, I'm now the Chairperson of my County Board. But some meddling legislator in Springfield wants to change the rules and let the voters elect the County Chair. That's no fair -- I played by the rules.

Why is everyone always picking on me?

Charlie Brown

Dear Stolen Thunder,

State Rep Jack Franks filed a strikingly similar Bill that would require some counties to directly elect their Chairpersons, as readers of this blog are strikingly aware ...

Ballotations for the Chairman, Now?

The idea is gaining some momentum; the newspaper of record in Lake County, the Daily Herald, likes it. Sort of ...

But state Rep. Jack Franks has a point with his proposal to have the Lake and McHenry County Board chairmen elected directly. Lake and McHenry residents should give it some thought.
Good idea, wrong forum

Predictably Lake County Board Chair David Stolman is not so keen on the idea. According to the Daily Herald again ...

Stolman said it does not make sense for someone who doesn't live in Lake County to change the form of government there. He added that county residents, not legislators, should decide on such changes. "If our voters wanted to change the form of government and have an elected county board chairman, then it is certainly up to our voters," Stolman said. "I don't think a legislator should try to legislate that."
Stolman questions proposed county board chairman change

Now, Franks's Bill does not specifically mention Lake County, but is written to apply to counties with more than 300,000 residents. Also Bills put before the Springfield Legislature are passed by a vote of the entire legislature, and not by a vote of a single legislator who doesn't live in Lake County. Your LakeCountyEye does recognize that these are technical legal concepts that an uninformed layperson might not understand.

Also, Stolman is absolutely right, it is up to the voters how Lake County chooses its Board Chair. But your LakeCountyEye notes that a plebiscite of that nature requires a ballot referendum. And referenda are put on the County ballot by a vote of the Lake County Board. Which is controlled by -- ha ha -- David Stolman.

Too funny. Anyhow to answer your question, your LakeCountyEye recalls a Bufffalo Grove Trustee who was endorsed by and elected with the help of David Stolman. Your LakeCountyEye does not recall her name, but this politician proved to be so politically inept that the Village of Buffalo Grove was forced to pass a recall ordinance just to get her recalled.

Long story short, the answer to your problem is simple: enthusiastically support the Franks Bill and help it become law. Then find this ex-Trustee and endorse her candidacy as County Board chair. Turn that millstone into a stepping stone and run against her in the general 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

Ballotations for the Chairman, Now?

2012-01-14T19:00:00.018-06:00

The Numerological Hotline forecast is unequivocal this week: the auspicious number is 300,000. So while searching for Internet lottery tickets, your LakeCountyEye noticed a related news item in the Northwest Herald. State Rep Jack Franks filed a Bill that ...

would require counties with more than 300,000 residents to directly elect the county board chairman. McHenry County has 308,760 residents, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. If approved, the law essentially would apply only to McHenry and Lake counties, because Cook and the remaining collar counties – the only other ones with more than 300,000 people – already make the chairmanship popularly elected. Franks said his sole motive was to empower citizens, and is not aimed at longtime McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, R-Crystal Lake.
Bill aimed at allowing voters to elect County Board chairman

The Northwest Herald doesn't like the idea of making voters directly elect their County Board Chair. However they do like the idea of making the voters pass a referendum that will make them directly elect their County Board Chair:

While we favor having McHenry County voters directly elect their County Board chairman – we’ve taken this position in the past – we’re not in favor of state government mandating it from Springfield. County voters should decide themselves, via referendum, if they prefer to elect their board chairman rather than having County Board members do it themselves.
Our view: Allow voters to decide on board leader

Conspicuously absent from online the discussion is the Northwest Herald's arch nemesis: the McHenryCountyBlog. To date, there has been nary the peep from the public sector pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog about this vital issue of public policy.

Typically when there is a story about empowering citizens and sticking it to the politicians; and when a story is about Jack Franks; then the McHenryCountyBlog is all over it. Like half-baked beans are over, well, franks.

It is a well known sociological fact: as goes the McHenryCountyBlog, so goes the nation. Their silence over this substantive issue is deafening. Lake County wants to know who will be choosing its next County Board Chair.

Rebuffing with Faint Praise?

2012-01-12T19:00:00.000-06:00

An operative from Mettawa received a ~~Campaign Mailer~~ Legislative Update in the mail from State Senator Dan Duffy. The op forwarded a scan from the Duffy newsletter to your LakeCountyEye, along with a question:

I recognize Sen Duffy in the photo. Who is the fellow (posed like Jack LaLanne) standing next to him?

Operatives are invited to search high and low throughout the mailer for some mention of the unidentified fellow's name. But if you are anything like your LakeCountyEye you too will be coming home with neither hide nor hair to show for your efforts.

In desperation your LakeCountyEye made a call to the archivist. The LakeCountyEye archivist does have compelling evidence to think the man of mystery is actually Duffy's co-host at the Children's Health and Safety Fair, State Rep Ed Sullivan:

Safety Blitz

If Sullivan was indeed co-host of the Fair, there is no mention of that, either, in Duffy's mailer.

Q the Eye/01.07.12

2012-01-07T00:00:00.004-06:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

I will be on the ballot in Illinois and many other states for a high elective office. I'm surging in the polls and now my handlers are demanding a complete wardrobe makeover and they threw away all my sweater vests. I like to dress manly, but in a heterosexual way. What should I wear?

Divested Assets

Dear Rick on a Roll,

Since it is in their best interests to see you elected to high office, you ought to listen to your operatives. As readers of this blog are sartorially aware ...

The Santorum Post-Mortum

Sweater vests may look good on some gents ...

but are not proper attire for a Presidential candidate.

Every election cycle is different and 2012 is the year of the Republican power shirt. Take a close gander at your front-runner ...

Your LakeCountyEye sees three things: checks, bold & bright. All of which will add up to a big W in November. Nothing exudes the alpha-wolf-virility that every Presidential candidate needs like a Republican power shirt. Just take a look at how the right shirt magically transformed one non-descript Illinois congressman:

Your LakeCountyEye urges that you get over to T.J.Maxx and right away. The sooner your closet is restocked with a couple dozen of these super-bad chex the sooner your handlers will all be singing Hail to the Chief!

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

Historical Fiction on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Stevenson Center will host a program on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban:

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Historical Fiction on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban

Local author M. Salahuddin Khan has written a multiple award-winning novel, Sikander. A work of historical fiction, it covers the origins of the war in Afghanistan and America's complex relationships with Pakistan, the Taliban, and other forces in the region. Come hear Mr. Khan discuss these events and read from his book which will also be available for purchase and signing.

Sunday
January 8, 2012
2 PM
The Stevenson Center on Democracy
25200 N St Mary's Rd
Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
847-816-7433
$15
Coffee and conversation following

The Santorum Post-Mortum

2012-01-05T00:00:00.065-06:00

Oh noes! So typical of a Carmel High School alum: Lake County favorite son Rick Santorum squandered what was widely believed to be an easy victory in the Iowa caucus.

As readers of this blog are mistakenly aware ...

Sanctum Santorum

Lake County operatives went to bed last night popping champagne corks and dreaming of K-street lobbying gigs and lucrative positions in a Santorum administration Treasury Department. They awoke this morning however to the dyspeptic news that Santorum lost by a landslide to Mitt Romney.

What went so terribly wrong? Now, every blogger with a sausage to slice has their explanation, but you're here for the unvarnished scoop and not some Internet baloney. It goes without saying that 99% of running president is looking like a president. So your LakeCountyEye wants to know ...

Does This Guy ...

Look Like a President?
Or Does He Look More Like ...

This Guy?
Does Santorum ...

Look Like This Guy?
Or More Like ...

These Guys?

The evidence is startling.

Some free advice to the operatives on the Santorum for President committee: schedule a big bonfire celebration outside your headquarters -- and stoke the flames with all those sweater vests in your candidate's closet. And when Lake County favorite son Rick Santorum becomes president he can thank your LakeCountyEye with a cabinet position. Secretary of Golf will do.

Sanctum Santorum

2012-01-04T00:00:00.006-06:00

Operatives who stayed up into the wee hours of the night, waiting on the numbers from the Iowa caucus, would have been better served had they just RSSed this blog on Sunday. As readers of this blog are presciently aware ...

Rick Santorum: The Miracle from Mundelein
Defying any & all rational expectation, a graduate from Carmel HS wins the Iowa caucus.
Happy Day After New Year's Eve

Carmel High School alumnus & Lake County favorite son Rick Santorum came out of nowhere to beat Mitt Romney by a huge landslide in the Iowa caucus. A little known provision in the US Constitution stipulates that if a Carmel HS grad defies all rational expectation and wins in Iowa, he automatically gets to be the new President of the United States. Hail to the Chief, President Santorum!

You Say You Want a Resolution

2012-01-02T23:00:00.000-06:00

If the date above this blog post is to be believed, it must be 2012 already. Since only two days ago it was still 2011, this is around that time of the year when every blogger on the blogosphere gins up some hackneyed New Year's resolution top ten list or something. Your LakeCountyEye of course is no exception, but ginning up some decent last-minute resolutions is not as easy as it sounds. It's only January 2 for Pete's sake -- two days into 2012 -- it won't be any sooner than July or early August before your LakeCountyEye has some inkling about what sort of resolutions need to be made.

Being out of ideas, it goes without saying, is a signal from above that it is time to steal someone else's ideas. In this case that someone else is TeamAmerica10th, who recently posted a note to his commenters ...

We like having viewpoints challenged, records of candidates and politicians examined and debated, and healthy debate about the issues of the day (try to get fair treatment like that on a liberal blog).
Happy New Year and a Look at the Presidential Matchup

Your LakeCountyEye concurs with a hearty hear hear! Why is it that all the lakeside Lake County liberal blogs have their reader comment sections locked down? And while all the conservative McHenry-County-side blogs may have open comment sections, these attract the sort of AOL-dialup type of reader who doesn't know how to post a comment on an Internet blog. If you're an operative in Lake County and your comment needs to be aired now, then you don't have a lot of alternatives other than moderate, non-partisan blogs like TeamAmerica10th and this blog, LakeCountyEye!

In that same post, TeamAmerica10th also sent his commenters a shot across the bow ...

I'm giving everyone fair warning that comments that are just juvenile and have no redeeming intellectual value are going to be deleted. If you have something of value to add to the discussion, regardless of your viewpoint (and our track record proves that we respect all comers who have something intelligent to say), it'll be recognized. If not, see ya.
Happy New Year and a Look at the Presidential Matchup

Now, for your LakeCountyEye's money, juvenility and without-redeeming-intellectual-value are synonymous with, if not the Internet itself, at least the Internet blogosphere. Just sayin!

And having said it, your LakeCountyEye does have one New Year's resolution. No comment posted on this blog -- regardless of how juvenile or bereft of redeeming intellectual value -- will be deleted from this blog. So trolls, n00bs, sockpuppets, ~~spammers~~, drivebys, haxxors, griefers, flamethrowers, y'all have a home & are welcome on this blog to exercise your First Amendment Rights. (That still means you cannot shout FIRE in a crowded theater.) Just try to get fair & balanced treatment like that on any other so-called fair & balanced blog!

Happy Day After New Year's Eve

2012-01-01T21:00:00.004-06:00

Your LakeCountyEye woke this morning with the certain knowledge that if this is what all New Year's Days are to be like, then it is a good thing that the new year comes but once a year.

The new year is traditionally a time for reflection and for resolutions. Your LakeCountyEye resolves not to milk that stupid gag one more time where this blog's readers are all wished a happy new year in a bunch of different languages. ~~Ja-Ja~~ Ha Ha!

Speaking of the trite but true, most bloggers will take this opportunity to segue into some hackneyed look backward at the top stories from the previous 12 months. Your LakeCountyEye, it goes without saying, is no exception to the rule. There are many news items to choose from, too many in fact to shoehorn into a blog post. Luckily since this blog is about Lake County, your LakeCountyEye has the privilege to handpick only the best local stories to review. All ten of them:

The Ten Biggest Lake County Stories of 2011

Rod Blagojevich is convicted. Irregularities in the handling of DNA evidence by Michael Waller's State's Attorney Office puts the conviction in legal jeopardy.
Osama Bin Laden is killed by Navy Seals in his safe house near ~~Abbott Labs~~ Abbottabad.
The ~~Fielders~~ Dodgers declare bankruptcy.
The Gold Pyramid House in Wadsworth is the epicenter of the Arab Spring. Democracy spreads throughout Lake County.
Lake County's team, the Green Bay Packers, wins the Super Bowl.
The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami permanently puts the Zion Nuclear Plant out of commission. Much of Lake County is without power after July 11.
Charlie Sheen is fired from his TV show. Sheen then goes on a nationwide tour, opening as the headline act at Waukegan's Casino.
Prince William marries Catherine Middleton at Westdeerfield Abbey.
Steve Jobs dies. Jobs is best remembered in Lake County for the video poker app.
Rick Santorum: The Miracle from Mundelein
Defying any & all rational expectation, a graduate from Carmel HS wins the Iowa caucus.

Look for your LakeCountyEye, making up that 2012 Top 10 List.

Little Bridges

2011-12-29T23:00:00.017-06:00

Motorists driving through scenic Long Grove this holiday season may need to remember that their seat cushions are also flotation devices. The covered bridge there on Robert Parker Coffin Rd may be falling down. According to the News-Sun, the bridge ...

will be in need of repair soon, and village officials say they no longer have the money to cover even routine maintenance.
Long Grove's iconic covered bridge needs repairs

Your LakeCountyEye has been told that no one at the Lake County Department of Transportation looks forward to the prospect of vehicles plummeting to their fiery demise into the 1000 ft sheer-drop crevice beneath the bridge. However, it still remains a favorite destination for wireless device users, as the bridge provides cover to anyone who likes to text while driving and without being distracted by law enforcement officials.

It has been proposed that the life of the crumbling structure can be extended by building a roundabout at the intersection of Rbt Parker Coffin and Old McHenry Road. Drivers who do not avoid these confounding traffic circles altogether, are projected, after a couple of go-arounds, to succumb to frustration and end up eventually in neighboring Buffalo Grove. It is estimated this will reduce traffic over the covered bridge by up to a factor of 100%.

The Village of Long Grove may simply want someone else to pay for their bridge repair and is blaming another road project, the Route 53 Extension. Long Grove Mayor, Maria Rodriguez, campaigned unsuccessfully in the 2010 Eighth Congressional District Republican primary, in part on a platform to build the Route 53 Extension. However in 2013 she would face re-election in decidedly anti-Route-53-centric Long Grove. As reported in the News-Sun, Rodriguez is now saying that Long Grove is having difficulty paying for existing infrastructure problems, like ...

stormwater runoff, which will likely worsen if the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority succeeds in extending Route 53 next to Long Grove. "(Route) 53 is going to compound that by a thousandfold," she said. Rodriguez is a member of both the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission and the tollway's 53 Advisory Committee.
Long Grove's iconic covered bridge needs repairs

Your LakeCountyEye has learned that there is a compromise plan being discussed. The Route 53 extension would be built along Robert Coffin Parker Road. And a toll-plaza would be constructed over the covered bridge. It is projected that the covered bridge would pay for itself within less than fifty years. Seems like an out-and-out win-win to your LakeCountyEye!

Frank God it's Christmas

2011-12-26T00:00:00.007-06:00

While it seems unrealistic to swear off Joe Walsh stories for 2012, your LakeCountyEye had resolved to go cold turkey through the end of the year. Ha ha that won't be happening either -- the Congressman from the Eighth District, in the way of a seasons greeting, has flipped the holiday bird.

As readers of this blog are truculently aware ...

Merry War On Christmas!

there is a war on Christmas that is waged every year, around now, i.e. at Christmastime, and uncoincidentally so. And when there is fightin' to be done and a safe perch atop a grandstand to do it on, can Joe Walsh be far behind? The Sun-Times posed the question thus ...

Should members of Congress be able to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" in taxpayer-funded newsletters to their constituents? Rep. Joe Walsh, R-McHenry, was incensed to learn that he could not under current House rules.
Rep. Walsh on crusade for Christmas, Hanukkah mailing

At stake is whether your congresscritter should be allowed to mail out campaign lit, not only disguised as Christmas cards/newsletters -- but more importantly, campaign lit paid-for by your Federal government. Note to operatives: to succeed, frame this sort of battle against a backdrop of the first amendment or political correctness or the sanctity of Christmas or some other hot-button issue. The average voter will forget your primary goal is to pick their pocket.

Walsh, according to the Daily Herald, has declared Mission Accomplished ...

the beltway paper The Hill reported that House leaders have now received new guidelines on holiday correspondence. "The Franking Commission has spent the last year coming up with a whole host of revisions, and those are before the leadership now awaiting approval," Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock, the chairman of the House Franking Commission, told the paper. Walsh told The Daily Herald Friday evening that he was pleased his voice had been heard on the issue
Walsh's Christmas mission is successful

Ha ha, operatives of all religious and non-religious affiliations in the Eighth District are now advised to watch their mailboxes for that Christmas greeting from Congressman Joe Walsh. You paid for it.

Merry Christmas turkeys!

Merry War On Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.017-06:00

During this very special holiday season your LakeCountyEye wishes each and every reader of this blog a joyful and merry war on Christmas!

God ferie
أعياد سعيدة
Aw ni kɔnze duman
Весели празници
Bones festes
节日快乐
節日快樂
Sretni blagdani
Veselé svátky
Prettige feestdagen
Joyeuses fêtes
Felices festas
Frohe feiertage
Καλές γιορτές
חג שמחआपकी छुट्टियाँ आनंददायक हों
Kellemes Ünnepeket
Gleðilega hátíð
Selamat Hari Raya
Buone feste
楽しいホリデーシーズンを
해피 할러데이즈
Laimīgas Brīvdienas
Džiaugsmingų švenčių
Gledelig høytid
تعطيلات خوش بگذره
Wesołych świąt
Boas festas
Sărbători fericite
С праздником
Srećni praznici
Срећни празници
Vesele praznike
Felices fiestas
Habari Gani
God Helg
عید مبارک
Nghỉ lễ vui vẻ
Happy Holidays!

The Loyal Opposition?

2011-12-24T18:00:00.005-06:00

Not since the christening scene in The Godfather has one local power broker as swiftly and cleanly eliminated his rivals from his turf. Ha ha, as readers of this blog are utterly aware,

Unnatural Election

Darlene Ruscitti unexpectedly dropped out of the Eighth District Primary leaving the field wide open for incumbent GOP Congressman Joe Walsh.

Operatives may suspect that in stone-cold eliminating his Primary competition, Walsh has shot himself in the foot. Without a Primary opponent, media attention will naturally gravitate toward Walsh's Democratic opposition -- in case you've forgotten, Tammy Duckworth and Raja Krishnamoorthi are also competing for the opportunity to be on the Eighth District ballot.

For operatives uncertain about how long Walsh could withstand prolonged exposure to a media vacuum before impolding, your LakeCountyEye advises not to worry. There are currently a couple of GOP chumbolones who have filed and presumably were sent to keep it real and provide Walsh with some token Primary opposition ...

GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/20/2012

While front runners typically try to duck out of debates against lesser known opponents, don't look for Walsh to follow suit. Your LakeCountyEye does not expect Walsh to pass any opportunity to play his Mr Natural shtick on the debate stage against a couple of Flakey Foonts. In all likelihood Walsh will demand and to get as many debates as can humanly fit into a campaign schedule. Look for Walsh to be up-front reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and in general practicing his patented brand of histrionics regularly on the YouTubes from now through March 20 -- and sucking all the air out of the Eighth District, away from Duckworth and Krishnamoorthi.

Unnatural Election

2011-12-23T19:00:00.001-06:00

If Johnsburg was Atlanta and if Schaumburg was Savannah and if Lake County was the State of Georgia then the juggernaut that is the Joe Walsh re-election campaign -- now rolling through the devastated remnants of the Eighth Congressional District -- would be Sherman's March to the Sea. Ha ha, the latest casualty in what all observers agree will be a long war of attrition in the new Lake-County-Free Eighth District is GOP footsoldier Darlene Ruscitti. According to the Daily Herald, Ruscitti, the DuPage Superintendent of Schools, who was ...

expected to be a tough GOP primary challenger for Joe Walsh in the 8th District, has backed out of the race. "Today, after careful consideration with family, supporters and friends, I have decided not to run for Congress in the 8th Congressional District," the statement, released Wednesday afternoon, reads. Ruscitti said her campaign "collected over 4,000 petition signatures, signed up hundreds of volunteers and gained the support of dozens of elected officials -- but my role as a leader within the Illinois Republican Party and a desire to avoid a costly primary outweigh my personal political aspirations."
Ruscitti bows out of 8th District GOP primary

As it goes in warfare so it goes in politics. According to Illinois Election Law those 4000 signatures are regarded as the electoral equivalent to spoils of war, and now all belong to Walsh's re-election campaign. Those same petition signatures will no doubt be summarily dispatched to the Walsh campaign paper shredders. The whereabouts and ultimate fate of the "hundreds of volunteers" and "dozens of elected officials" remains unknown.

Your LakeCountyEye does send a tip of the green eyeshade to Darlene Ruscitti. She volunteered for what is largely regarded a political suicide mission: run as something more than the token GOP opposition candidate in the Eighth District. And then after Walsh decided he wanted all along to be that GOP candidate instead, Ruscitti volunteered again -- this time (in what is also regarded a political suicide mission) to be thrown under the campaign bus. Ruscitti has proven to be more than a good sport for taking ~~one~~ two for the team.

Smittened?

2011-12-21T23:00:00.008-06:00

Whoever said politics is show business for ugly people never envisioned Mitt Romney. The front-runner in the GOP Presidential sweepstakes, Romney is blessed with the sort of preternatural male allure that one expects from their network news anchors and BVD models. In the imperishable words of the immortal Harry Caray ... there goes one good-lookin' player.

Of course Romney isn't the only GOP contender for the highest office in the land. Rick Perry from the Lone Star State has some of the rugged cowboy machismo that a Jake Gyllenhaal exudes on the silver screen but, in your LakeCountyEye's opinion, is no match when held up against a Romney's urbane & knowing je ne sais quoi.

Other Republican Presidential candidates include the toadish Newt Gingrich. As well as political queen bee, Michele Bachmann. There is someone's old grandpa, Ru Ron Paul. And a guy you never heard of so you'll have to Google him yourself, Rick Santorum.

Against a wooden field like this, Mitt Romney certainly has the leg up. Romney may not have a straight path to the White House ahead of him but he certainly has the muscle that, quite candidly, no one else can beat.

That said, it should come as no surprise that Illinois junior Senator Mark Kirk endorsed Mitt Romney this week:

Mark Kirk says Mitt Romney will boost GOP ticket in Illinois

Your LakeCountyEye does suspect however that Kirk was privy to confidential polling data before issuing his endorsement.

The Screaming Memes

2011-12-20T23:00:00.011-06:00

An actual conversation overheard in a Lake County bar:

Joe Walsh: THIS IS WAR, PEOPLE, THIS IS A REVOLUTION FOR THE VERY SOUL OF AMERICA. THE MEDIA DOESN'T GET IT. THE PARTIES DON'T GET IT. IT'S HIGH TIME WE PULLED OUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND. SO, YOU SIR, I HAVE TO ASK YOU ONCE AGAIN ... RESPECTFULLY ... WHY DO YOU HAVE A BANANA IN YOUR EAR?!
Barfly: Could you speak louder, please? I have a banana in my ear.

Ha ha, it's not for nothing that one Illinois Congressman totally owns his awesome nickname, Screamin' Joe Walsh.

Of course, it was not always thus. It was well into this summer when when Screamin' Joe was still just Plain Ol' Joe -- Walsh. And then back in July your LakeCountyEye dropped the S-Bomb ...

Touch Wood

Truth be told, despite high hopes Screamin' Joe did not become an instant Internet meme. And as readers of this blog are mimetically aware, there were a couple of subsequent half-hearted attempts to give the Congressman from the Eighth District the Internet recognition he deserves:

Daddy-Owe

Got Any Gum?

But politics is like show-biz, there is a lot of sitting around and waiting involved. Well, your LakeCountyEye had to sit around and wait until the 2012 Primary started to heat up before Screamin' Joe Walsh became a household word in cyber-households (whatever those are):

Joe Walsh - Running & Screaming in IL 8

Ha ha, Tammy Duckworth, please send that royalty payment to:

lakecountyeye@gmail.com

By the way, your LakeCountyEye also does message development. Cheap. Just Google

Screamin' Joe Walsh

for a referral.

Re:Pete After Me

2011-12-19T23:00:00.012-06:00

The new congressional map is now officially the law of the land in the Land of Lincoln, as readers of this blog are lincolnesquely aware ...

Q the Eye/12.18.11

All of which means Lake County will increase its congressmen-for-life tally from two to three. Chris Krug, editor of the Northwest Herald, observes that if you live in the new Sixth District ...

you'll have your pick next November of Republican incumbent Peter Roskum or one of three Democrat challengers: Leslie Coolidge, Geoffrey Petzel or Maureen Yates.
Map-tastic

Your LakeCountyEye doesn't know much about the new congresscritter from the far west burbs, and Roskam is no doubt a novice when it comes to Lake County politics. Operatives wishing to do their homework will see better results Googling R-O-S-K-A-M and not R-O-S-K-U-M:

Peter Roskam

Chris Krug's spelling boo-boo might be attributed to the fact that Peter Roskam's name is not pronounced like it is spelled:

Do Not Say: räw’scam

Rather Say: räw’scum

This is the sort of vital information that gets one noticed at that next RALC meeting!

Those operatives still reading are asked to provide their own Beavis & Butthead joke here.

Q the Eye/12.18.11

2011-12-18T23:00:00.002-06:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

I need to run for Congress. This year.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

Dear Mr Smith (if that's your real name),

With Congressional job approval numbers hovering in the low negative digits, you've picked a good year to toss your hat in the ring. An angry electorate is in a mood to throw the bums out, while hoping for nothing more than to meet-the-new-bum-same-as-the-old-bum in 2012.

And as reported in the Sun-Times, you're also in luck because a Federal court has just put their seal of approval on Illinois's new congressional map:

Illinois GOP lose congressional remap case; Democratic map stands

The controversial decision will yield its share of winners and losers but the number-one big winner has to be the Illinois GOP. With the new map set in stone, Illinois's GOP is now on course to divest itself of its biggest blunder since Alan Keyes, namely Eighth District Congressman Joe Walsh.

Walsh's no-holds-barred media histrionics is a source of embarrassment for the Illinois GOP while translating into a bonanza of fundraising dollars for both national and Illinois Democrats. The Illinois GOP's nightmare scenario was an unmuzzled Walsh winning re-election over and over and over again in a safe Republican congressional district. But the federal ruling gave the Illinois GOP the time and opportunity to exile Walsh to a newly drawn Eighth District where he is on track to be summarily dispatched by the Tammy Duckworth juggernaut in November of 2012.

No longer will operatives be subjected to the cringe-worthy spectacle of local GOP blogs in desperate search of nice things to say about Walsh:

Hopefully that's the way Congressman Joe Walsh is taking it, since the New York Times published a nice hit piece on Walsh yesterday. The NYT goes through Walsh's various troubles with his divorce and other tidbits (have you heard his driver's license was suspended? Twice? Horrors!) to set up the real question so that us parochial voters here in Illinois can hopefully understand it -- don't you people see what kind of a hypocritical, loose-cannon you losers out in the cornfields have elected? The thing about Joe, though, is that he cares little for what anyone thinks about him, especially an outfit like the NYT, except that he does care for the people who elected him.
The New York Times Takes a Swing at Joe Walsh

TeamAmerica10th and McHenryCountyBlog and the rest all owe the Illinois Democrats a debt of gratitude for not redrawing the congressional map in a way that the Eighth District became a safe Republican vote-sink -- and where a then-incumbent Joe Walsh would win re-election over and over and over again.

Anyways, you have until December 27 to submit your nominating petition. The requirement is 600 signatures, drawn from any one of Illinois's eighteen congressional districts. Your LakeCountyEye personally recommends the Eighth.

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

Municipally Munificent Mundelein

2011-12-15T23:00:00.010-06:00

All politics may be local but all local politics is boring, the very thought of which is enough to make your LakeCountyEye's eyes glaze over. Which is why you are rarely subjected to a rehash of some petty hometown political drama on this blog -- your LakeCountyEye prefers to examine the big pressing national issues of the day, instead. Like the War on Christmas.

A knuckle-biter in Mundelein city hall this week however does deserve a brief mention. According to the News-Sun ...

A 60-day extension to iron out details between the Village Board and a downtown redeveloper over building a new Village Hall sparked a split vote Monday night. On a 4-3 vote, three trustees — Lentz, Meier and Voss — voted against the extension. They questioned whether the Board was on the right track in proceeding with a public-private partnership with Weston Solutions, Inc. to build a new Village Hall that will replace the quaint but deteriorating Hawley Street building. However, Trustee Ed Sullivan strongly favored the arrangement, pointing out the extensive site planning and initiative that the company has already put into the proposed project.
Delay sparks concerns over new Mundelein Village Hall

Operatives not familiar with the aforementioned Weston Solutions, Inc. may recall when the company was named Roy F. Weston, Inc.. More details from the News-Sun ...

Weston Solutions has already done an estimated $325,000 in site planning design and preliminary engineering services on the project. The plan would be to build a two-story, 32,000-square-foot structure with the Village occupying the first floor and Weston Solutions Chicago area headquarters leasing the second floor under a seven year lease, with options for an additional six years. Weston Solutions would serve as general contractor for the job, and would serve as the owner's representative interfacing with Village officials during the construction phase. Additionally the company would provide fee-for-service consulting on architectural design and resolve zoning issues.
Delay sparks concerns over new Mundelein Village Hall

If the company still does not ring a bell, operatives may want to double check if Weston Solutions, Inc. made a past contribution to one of their candidates:

Illinois State Board of Elections: Contributions List

Your LakeCountyEye also went to the trouble of embedding a web widget to aid in your research:

Weston Inc : Individual Contributions

Overall, a big win for big government and big government's advocates.

Challenge Challenged?

2011-12-14T23:00:00.030-06:00

Note to operatives searching for that last-minute gift: If any of the candidates who filed in Illinois Senate District 26 or Representative District 52 are on your gift list, your LakeCountyEye recommends presenting them with a framed copy of their birth certificate. Ha ha, as readers of this blog are postnatally aware ...

Unidentified Flying Objections

Sharon Meroni has filed objections against every candidate in Senate/26 and Rep/52 -- for not providing documentation to prove they are US citizens. Legal-eyed operatives may observe that proof of citizenship is not a ballot requirement in Illinois. On the other hand, it costs nothing to file a ballot objection.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Meroni's were not the only objections filed there. According to the Daily Herald ...

David McSweeney of Barrington Hills is trying to clear out his competition in the GOP primary for the Illinois House by challenging the petition signatures turned in by his two opponents, incumbent state Rep. Kent Gaffney of Lake Barrington and Danielle Rowe of Island Lake. McSweeney sent out a statement that said, among other things...
"I have taken this step in order to sustain the integrity of the petition process and to respect the high ethical standards that the people of the 52nd should expect from candidates and elected officials. I believe that the Illinois State Board of Elections will determine that both of my opponents will not qualify to be on the ballot."
As it turns out, McSweeney's petitions have been challenged as well.
A primary challenge challenge

(Note #2 to operatives: if you're an election lawyer in Representative District 52, life is good.)

The Herald story never actually names who challenged McSweeney's petitions, mentioning instead an unreturned call to Kent Gaffney and an on-the-record comment by Danielle Rowe that McSweeney is acting like a "bully." Those operatives who would assume the unnamed McSweeney challenger is Gaffney or Rowe would be wrong. Currently the only pending objection against McSweeney is ...

MERONI V MCSWEENEY

Once McSweeney digs up a birth certificate he's in the free & clear. Your LakeCountyEye can't say as much for Gaffney or Rowe.

Unidentified Flying Objections

2011-12-13T23:00:00.003-06:00

He's making a list,
He's checking it twice,
He's gonna find out
Who's naughty or nice.

Old Kris Kringle sure needs plenty of help around this time of the year. Which means the ~~elves~~ operatives down in Springfield have been working overtime all week, scrutinizing nominating petitions for even the tiniest transgression. Ho ho, candidates have filed for the 2012 Primary and petition challenge season is nigh upon Lake County.

The season's most dogged elf has to be Sharon Meroni. According to the Northwest Herald ...

A familiar face from the 2010 election, Sharon Ann Meroni, filed objections Monday against all three candidates for the 52nd District, as well as against 26th Senate District incumbent Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington, and Democratic challenger Amanda Howland.
Objections filed to petitions for local House, Senate districts

Senate/26 and Rep/52 are districts where Meroni is eligible to file. Five objections, although an impressive number, are no match against the astonishing thirty-two Meroni filed in 2010. The Northwest Herald, again ...

Meroni, of Barrington Hills, filed 32 objections in 2010 in an effort to get proof of their U.S. citizenship.
Objections filed to petitions for local House, Senate districts

Ho ho, a note to all junior operatives, when you put out milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, it might not hurt to leave a copy of your photo ID as well.

Meroni, of course, should be commended in demanding proof of citizenship from her ballot candidates. Who knows how many illegal aliens have already snuck across the Illinois border to get themselves elected to the statehouse, brazenly represent you, and later on retire to live the sweet, sweet life of the public sector pensioner?

Suspicious operatives may suspect that requiring proof of citizenship from their candidates is really part of a wider effort to suppress voter turnout. If the birther movement ever gets its way, sooner or later everyone will be required to show a birth certificate before being granted access to their voting booth. Tis the season however, and your LakeCountyEye wishes Sharon Meroni and all the birthers well, and hopes Santa Claus is extra nice to each and every one of them on Christmas night. Just don't forget to ask Santa for his birth certificate first.

Good Cop Bad Cop

2011-12-10T19:00:00.015-06:00

Ha ha, that isn't a new roundabout in Waukegan. They were circling the wagons at the office of the Lake County State's Attorney. The wagons were being circled to throw a twenty year assistant state's attorney under the bus.

The wheels started turning on November 25 when the New York Times -- the newspaper of record ~~in Lake County~~ -- published an investigative story that provided a glimpse into Michael Waller's Lake County State's Attorney's office. One assistant state's attorney, Mike Mermel, was profiled with regard to some recent high-profile & controversial prosecutions. Mermel apparently does not think highly of DNA evidence, and demonstrated its limitations with statements like this one, which raised some local eyebrows ...

"The example I like to give people is next time you go to a motel room, bring a plastic bag, because the dirtiest thing in that room is the remote control. Everybody has sex and then rolls over and goes, 'I wonder what's on?' " he said. "O.K., so you can find DNA in the form of sperm from 10 different people in that room from that remote control or even on a person who has touched it."
The Prosecution’s Case Against DNA

The Lake County State's Attorney is up for election in 2012. While Michael Waller is retiring, Mermel's public statements are embarrassing to those members of Waller's team who want to succeed him on the ballot.

Damage control in the form of a big gun was rolled out on December 2. The News-Sun reported that Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran ...

called for prosecutor Mike Mermel to be fired for remarks he felt undermined law enforcement and the justice system. The unusual move was prompted by a recent story in the New York Times concerning some Lake County murder cases where DNA evidence pointed a finger away from suspects who confessed to crimes after long interrogations.
Sheriff wants prosecutor fired

With Curran playing bad cop, Michael Waller had the cover he needed. Good cop Waller wasted no time on the same day, December 2, to telegraph this message to the Daily Herald ...

Comments made by a top Lake County prosecutor in a New York Times article are being addressed as a personnel matter, according to a statement issued Friday by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.
Waller: Lake County prosecutor's comments a personnel matter

On December 7, five days later and according to the News-Sun, the embarassing problem in the midst of the Lake County State's Attorney office was wiped cleaner than a Lake County crime investigation scene:

One of Lake County's top prosecutor's is retiring after comments he has made concerning cases involving DNA angered Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran who asked for Michael Mermel to be fired. Mermel's last day on the job will be in January.
Prosecutor retiring after sheriff called for his firing

The end.

Beyond the Countdown to the End of the Countdown

2011-12-07T00:00:00.017-06:00

Those operatives perched at the edge of their seats, sitting on pins and needles, waiting for Joe Walsh's highly anticipated Monday announcement -- announcing where he will run for re-election -- are just going to have wait some more. The Eighth District Congressman, according to the Sun-Times was out of town Monday:

Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.)-- who boycotted President Obama's jobs speech, said Obama should "quit lying" and that the president "got no shame," waited in line with his wife, Monday at the White House, for a photo with Obama and First Lady Michelle.
Rep. Joe Walsh spotted at White House in line for Obama photo

And Walsh at this very moment may be cooling his heels at the D.C. FotoMat, looking for those prints of himself with the President and First Lady. For, according to a press release reprinted in the Sun-Times, the much ballyhooed announcement is now scheduled for Thursday ...

"Congressman Joe Walsh will make an important re-election announcement this Thursday at the Chicago Tea Party meeting. After spending the last week discussing his options with family, supporters, and party officials, Congressman Walsh believes the choice is clear."
Rep. Joe Walsh: announcing political plans Thursday at Tea Party meeting

Chicago Tea Party Meeting
Thursday, December 8, 2011, 7PM
The Cubby Bear
1059 W. Addison St., Chicago

Your LakeCountyEye observes that one does not invite the press down to Wrigleyville in December (and during prime bar hours) for an "important re-election announcement" -- only to tell them the rumors are false, he hasn't changed his mind, ha ha, Joe Walsh will still be running for re-election in District Fourteen.

Your LakeCountyEye bets District Eight.

In any event, the countdown clock has been recalibrated:

Countdown Clock
Thursday, December 8, 2011, 7:00 PM
Where Will Joe Walsh Run?

Tick! Tick! Tick!

Countdown to the End of the Countdown

2011-12-06T00:00:00.020-06:00

With the year rapidly coming to a close, the economy has received a much needed boost from last minute shoppers -- who are purchasing ammo for their weapons. As everyone knows the world is scheduled to end on December 21 ...

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012 This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae related to this date have been proposed.
2012 phenomenon

One recognized harbinger of the apocalypse was foretold to occur on Monday, December 5 -- the day Eighth District Congressman Joe Walsh had scheduled to announce his plans to run for re-election in the Eighth District. Or, according to Fox Chicago News, maybe not the Eighth ...

Joe Walsh to Announce Where He’ll Run After Congressional District Remap

(But it's going to be the Eighth.)

In commemoration of the impending conflagration, and to tick off the minutes, your LakeCountyEye has posted a countdown clock widget. This same countdown widget appeared on this blog about one year ago, as readers of this blog are ...

... hold it ... this just in. Frequent Tweeter Calvin from Plano has informed your LakeCountyEye that Armageddon is scheduled to occur on Dec 21, 2012 -- while the current year is 2011. And that 2011 is very different than 2012. Yearwise.

Your LakeCountyEye's green eyeshade sure must look red. Well there's no harm in putting that countdown clock to some use anyways, after your LakeCountyEye went to the all trouble of retrieving it from the ~~pawn shop~~ mothballs:

Countdown Clock: Monday, December 5, 2011
Where Will Joe Walsh Run?

Waste not want not!

The Spies Who Came in for Cong. Dold

2011-12-05T18:00:00.006-06:00

This must be oppo week in Lake County. As readers of this blog are off-guardedly aware, State Rep Sandy Cole had been observed probing the petitions of other candidates ...

The Spy Who Came in was Rep. Cole

Now there is news that operatives from the office of Tenth District Congressman Robert Dold were observed surveilling a Wheeling Township Democrats meeting. According to the Tribune ...

Indicating how frightened Republicans are by the strong field of 10th District Democrats, three staffers for incumbent Republican Rep. Bob Dold (IL-10) attended last night's Wheeling Township Democrats Candidates Forum. The Dold staffers included Philippe Melin, the Congressman's taxpayer-funded District Representative and 2010 campaign field director, plus an as-yet unidentified man and woman.
Dold Staffers "The Three Mouseketeers" Sneak Into Wheeling Dems Candidates Forum

Operatives are advised not to bother clicking the TribLocal link. All it will get them for their effort is this 404 Error:

The story however may still be available in the Google Cache:

Dold Staffers "The Three Mouseketeers" Sneak Into Wheeling Dems Candidates Forum

Now, no one thinks a TribLocal story is anything like a legitimate news story. So your LakeCountyEye wonders why the Tribune even bothers scrubbing stories off of their TribLocal websites when they get a complaint. Just sayin'.

Your LakeCountyEye also wonders why Dold staffers would bother trying to sneak into a public meeting, incognito. Dudes, you're going to be IDed. Why bother?

Here is how it is done: waltz in, find the most conspicuous spot to set up the FlipCam, and wait for your macaca moment. It works like a charm at Joe Walsh townhalls.

Your LakeCountyEye suspects the one staffer was avoiding identification because he is Dold's District Representative -- in other words the staffer is on the federal payroll. Which would be a violation of the Hatch Act or the Mann Act or something. A minimum security federal prison is still a federal prison.

Please remember, next time you need to know what the competition is up to, your LakeCountyEye works discretely and cheaply. No job is too small. Expect nothing less than a proven track record of an enviable 96% accuracy. And satisfaction 100% guaranteed!

Teh Crazy Eighth

2011-12-04T22:00:00.004-06:00

Christmas is only three weeks away and naturally foremost in everyone's thoughts is whether or not Joe Walsh will be running in the Eighth District. According to the Northwest Herald ...

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh said he would decide by Monday whether he would run in the 8th Congressional District or in the 14th, where he would continue to face off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Winfield. "You'll know soon enough what I'm going to do," said Walsh, R-McHenry.
Walsh  to decide district by Monday

In a Saturday townhall, Walsh says that he will know by Monday. This telegraphs the message that Walsh was meeting with his pollsters or donors or somebody on Sunday night. Video of the townhall is on YouTube:

YouTube

However your LakeCountyEye is betting Walsh has already made up his mind -- he will jump ship and run in the Eighth. If he had decided to tough it out in Fourteen, it would have been easy for him to say so at the Saturday townhall, and quash the rumors. It wouldn't be nearly as easy to admit he changed his mind and will be running in Eight instead. And certainly not to a townhall audience. Your LakeCountyEye expects a long & weepy Joe Walsh press conference with his announcement, sometimes this week.

This is smart politics on Walsh's part. If the polls showing that Hultgren will beat Walsh in a primary are accurate, then Walsh's political career would effectively be over on March 21. However it's a virtual certainty he wins a primary in the Eighth. This would extend his political career at least to November 6, where he would likely be on the ballot against Tammy Duckworth. The election in the Illinois Eighth Congressional District would be catapulted into a national marquee race -- the Teaparty favorite vs the Iraq War vet. If so, look for Walsh (and Duckworth) on all the Sunday morning news shows through the November election. Your LakeCountyEye expects this fits well into Walsh's plans.

The Spy Who Came in was Rep. Cole

2011-12-04T00:00:00.007-06:00

It's been a busy week for Lake County's legislators. Nominating petitions were due, and at the same time they were called to Springfield for a veto session. One local Rep used the opportunity to gain some earned media vis-a-vis a few rabble-rousing remarks -- reminiscent of a Joe Walsh (from his younger days):

Onionized!

And while that Rep was hogging all the spotlight, fending off the national MSM papparozzo, another local Rep was quietly gathering petition signatures. This Rep is Sandy Cole; the signatures were copies of other candidate's petitions that Cole requested while in Springfield.

Ha ha, the end of the petition gathering period means one thing: the petition challenge period begins. Cole requested the petition of her Democratic opponent Sam Yingling:

Candidate Detail
SAM YINGLING

Cole also requested petitions of Senate 31 candidates, Lennie Jarratt, Larry Leafblad and Melinda Bush:

Candidate Detail
LINWOOD "LENNIE" JARRATT

Candidate Detail
LAWRENCE (LARRY) LEAFBLAD

Candidate Detail
MELINDA (WILLEN) BUSH

Typically copies of petitions are requested by an agent posting the address of a Springfield office or hotel or apartment. These would be Senate and House staffers sent by their bosses to go "fishin' for petitions". It's unusual to see a request made by someone from an out-of-town address. Particularly if that address belongs to a sitting legislator.

Just for the record, your LakeCountyEye is a licensed and bonded petition requester, and is on call 24/7 during the entire filing period. Full-service packages are available. Or choose to be billed either by the hour or by the page -- Springfield carfare included. Your LakeCountyEye works efficiently and confidentially, and has a proven track record with better than 96% accuracy. No job is too small, and petition requests from either side of the ~~isle~~ ~~i'll~~ aisle are gladly accepted. Utmost satisfaction is guaranteed!

Onionized!

2011-12-03T00:00:00.026-06:00

These are not crocodile tears, your LakeCountyEye has been reading The Onion.

As readers of this blog are grievously aware ...

Rated R:
for Things Blown Way Out of Proportion

Some Springfield Rep this week tried to send a shout-out to Occupy Wall Street with a lame you-go-we're-all-behind-you House Resolution. The shout-out however was shot-down with front-line support from a familiar name:

The House voted down the resolution 58-37, led by Joe Walsh's new BFF, Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. (R-Mundelein). Sullivan perpetuated the incoherent and unfounded ramblings of Walsh, once again tossing around that whole "un-American" thing. However, he went a step forward when he cutely pointed out he had supposedly read reports that demonstrators were "raping and pillaging and beating people up and murdering." Documentation of such reports remain missing. Perhaps Mr. Sullivan has re-read his copy of Game Of Thrones one too many times.
Illinois House votes down Occupy support resolution, cites protestors' "raping," "pillaging"

Sharpeyed operatives will detect snark reminiscent of your LakeCountyEye. The above quote, however, does not belong to your LakeCountyEye -- it is taken from The Onion. (The link is to A.V. Club, a spinoff of The Onion.)

Your LakeCountyEye did predict that Sullivan's remarks would attact some national media attention. However your LakeCountyEye did not expect to be stone cold ripped off by The Onion. And for the record, The Onion did not do their homework -- the aforementioned "documentation" is not "missing". The reports can be read in the comment section of ...

Q the Eye/12.02.11

... as readers of this blog are indignantly aware.

Now sometimes a hometown official will go off-script and go on-record to the media about who they think is un-American. And the hometown Internet smartalecks will be all over that official like a misspelled word all over Facebook. That's just the American way.

But when a national media outlet rips off your material, that's something different entirely. Editors of The Onion, this is fair warning: expect to see some sternly worded letters coming your way. Look in your comment section.

Q the Eye/12.02.11

2011-12-02T00:00:00.018-06:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

I must vigorously stand up and protest this latest of calumnies you've perpetrated upon an unexpecting and misinformed electorate and at the expense of one of our finest elected government officials! To wit I refer your attention to a recent dispatch posted on this laughably self-described "non-partisan" blog, of which your readers are without a doubt pompously aware! ...Rated R:
for Things Blown Way Out of Proportion Therein you basely attribute to State Representative Ed Sullivan Jr outrageous statements of an inflammatory nature against some self-appointed left-wing anarchists occupying our public plazas and thoroughfares! It stretches my credulity that the thoughtful, independent Ed Sullivan Jr would brand these hooligans as being "un-American" or accuse them of "raping and pillaging and beating people up and murdering". Whereas these same hooligans are obviously capable of such treasonous and criminal acts and more, no sensible elected official, at least within my sphere of influence, would ever make any sort of silly accusation of this nature! I personally know Representative Sullivan, who is a fine & well-qualified upstanding pillar who would never utter such a ridiculous remark, not unless under duress, and certainly never for the benefit of the public ear!

Sirrah, I demand a swift and unequivocal apology for the good maligned Representative!

Anonymous

Dear Gaseous Vitals,

Here's the video -- Sullivan begins at 6:19 -- see for yourself ...

YouTube

Your LakeCountyEye speculates that Sullivan is stealing a page from out of the Joe Walsh playbook:

Make some incendiary, outrageous remark for the benefit of the teevee cameras.
Wait for the MSM to pay you some attention.

This may be just what the doctor ordered for jumpstarting a stalled political career!

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

Rated R: for Things Blown Way Out of Proportion

2011-12-01T00:00:00.038-06:00

This has been a week of disappointment. Promised graphic scenes of raping and pillaging and beating people up and murdering, your LakeCountyEye hastened to the nearest Plaza hoping to enjoy some action & adventure in 3D. Upon taking a seat, however, all your LakeCountyEye saw were some hippies milling around, either texting their iPhones or engaged in meaningful chitchat.

Was your LakeCountyEye at the movie theater to see the gladiator epic Immortals -- but somehow got ushered instead into the chickflick The Twilight Saga? Nope. Your LakeCountyEye was at the UIC Student Center for an Occupy Chicago event.

Your LakeCountyEye wasted an afternoon at some lame protest rally -- and not viewing Immortals -- all on the recommendation of Lake County State Representative Ed Sullivan Jr.

Sullivan, quoted by the AP and picked up by the Chicago Tribune, accused the Occupy Wall Street ...

protesters of "raping and pillaging." Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. called the protesters "un-American." The Mundelein Republican says he has seen reports of them "raping and pillaging and beating people up and murdering."
Ill. House rejects 'Occupy' resolution

Who among you, operatives and journalists alike, could resist a hot tip like that? For the record, your LakeCounty Eye was not able to witness a single incident of rape or pillage or murder while at UIC. Not even a beating-up.

Were Ed Sullivan Jr ever tempted to become a full-time movie-reviewer, your LakeCountyEye would have to strongly advise him not to quit his day jobs.

Digressional Districts

2011-11-30T00:00:00.029-06:00

The public sector pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog can be counted on to call a spade a spade -- or in this case to call Joe Walsh the Tip of the Spear ...

"Tip of the Spear" Joe Walsh is Front Page Negative News in Chicago Tribune

But Walsh may have just been caught wetting the tip of his spear because it is indicating that the wind is blowing in the direction of the Eighth Congressional District. Walsh, a victim of redistricting, had been running for re-election in the Fourteenth Congressional District, against Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren. The Daily Herald is now reporting that Walsh may have decided to run in the district he represents, the Eighth:

Eighth District Congressman Joe Walsh is expected to announce as early as the next day or two whether he will run for re-election in a district different from the one where he has already been campaigning. Such a move would allow the McHenry Tea Partyer to avoid a bitter, costly primary fight against a fellow Republican freshman but at the same time would require him to launch a new campaign in a far more Democratic-leaning district.
Walsh might switch districts, announcement expected

It was widely believed that Walsh faced a better chance at beating Hultgren in Fourteen, than beating a generic Democrat in the Eighth. If Walsh does file to run in the Eighth instead, that would indicate he is polling poorly in Fourteen. So poorly, he is being forced to go for broke in Eight.

Randy Hultgren would be the obvious beneficiary of a defection by Walsh. Tammy Duckworth, the likely Democratic nominee in the Eighth District, would also benefit from the opportunity to run against Walsh. Walsh would be harder to beat than the token Republican opposition currently on tap in the Eighth. But Duckworth has already seized the opportunity to fundraise against Walsh, a nationally recognized leftwing bugbear. Ditto goes for Raja Krishnamoorthi -- a possible, but less likely, Democratic nominee in Eight.

The biggest loser is Frank McClatchey, the declared Democratic candidate in the Fourteenth District. McClatchey had an outside chance against a Republican with high negatives like Walsh -- even in a Republican vote sink. But McClatchey, by your LakeCountyEye's reckoning, has no chance at beating a Randy Hultgren.

Other losers would be the McHenryCountyBlog. Walsh would be effectively moving his campaign operation to Schaumburg. Schaumburg is to McHenry County as The Office is to Dukes of Hazzard.

The other big loser is your LakeCountyEye. Without Joe Walsh to kick around any more your LakeCountyEye is on a collision course to losing some serious ~~raison d'etre~~ Mo-Joe.

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Signature Song

2011-11-29T00:00:00.011-06:00

Tis the season in Lake County -- when bands of merry emissaries wander door to door, sing the praises of their king of kings, asking only in return your sign of recognition. Ha ha, it's petition season for the 2012 election in Lake County. As readers of this blog are misfortunately aware ...

Christmas in Springfield?

the petition filing deadline for Congressional candidates has been extended to Christmas Eve and beyond. Candidates for Congress who are down for the count and ready to concede defeat, now have until Christmas to meet their petition requirement.

Operatives are advised to check their peepholes before answering their doors -- on the other side may be poorly-paid and surly campaign petition circulators. Or they just might be the LakeCountyEye carolers only wishing to spread some holiday cheer:

Will you take this petition?
It's for our politician.
We'd like you to sign,
Your name on this line.
Knockin' for a long-shot congressman.

Many thanks, you've been too kind.
Christmas day is our deadline.
You are number four.
We'll need many more.
Knockin' for a long-shot congressman.

In the WalMart is a cardboard snowman.
Let's all pretend he lives in Mundelein.
We'll say: Are you registered to vote, man?
He can say: Since nineteen and sixty nine!

Only need another million.
When its done we'll be chillin'.
Fabricate to play,
The Chicago way.
Knockin' for a long-shot congressman.

Look for your LakeCountyEye, walkin' in the you know what.

Christmas in Springfield?

2011-11-25T00:00:00.049-06:00

Lake County has celebrated another Thanksgiving. Its observance traditionally marks the beginning of a month-long season of festive preparation where friends, family & neighbors all come together to engage in what is truly a once-in-a-year occasion. Yes, the War on Christmas, simmering all year, has again erupted into a shooting war. The opening salvo against this most sacred of holidays is typically fired from the war-room of some activist nanny-state federal court. This year is no exception. According to the Chicago Tribune ...

A federal judge today moved back the filing schedule for Illinois congressional candidates to late December while deliberations continue on a lawsuit challenging the state's new U.S. House district boundaries. The start date for filing candidate petitions was to begin next Monday. But U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, one of three federal judges overseeing a Republican challenge to the Democratic-drawn boundaries, set Friday, Dec. 23, through Tuesday, Dec. 27, as the new filing period.
Federal court pushes back congressional candidate filing while Illinois map in dispute

Operatives will not need to consult their pollsters to see that Christmas -- Dec. 25 -- falls smack dab in the middle of Dec.-23-through-Dec.-27, the new federally mandated Congressional filing period.

As readers of this blog are acutely aware ...

The Petition Edition

the Congressional primary ballot in Lake County is looking to be packed tighter than the Millburn Strangler in a ComEd outage. Typically most congressional candidates are utter noobs, unable to meet even their minimum petition requirement. But every one of those Congressional campaigns, experiencing near-death right about now, just got mouth-to-mouth resuscitated with this federal ruling.

Scores of congressional candidates will now be forsaking their holiday obligations in last-minute pursuit of petition signatures. And holiday shoppers will be staying home in droves rather than risk being overpowered by an army of campaign operatives desperately advancing to hit that magic-number of signatures before the new post-Christmas deadline. Thank you, unelected panel of federal judges, the Grinch himself couldn't have done a better job stealing Christmas in Lake County.

Your LakeCountyEye shudders to think what those activist judges have next up the sleeves of their black robes, in pursuit of their total War On Christmas. Oh, the humanity, won't somebody think of the children?

Happy X-Giving!

2011-11-24T00:00:00.007-06:00

Your LakeCountyEye wishes each and every reader of this blog a Happy Thanksgiving!

Bonne Action de grâce
Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias
Fröhliche Danksagung
Glædelig Helligdag
Vrolijke gedenkdagen
God Helgdag
Święto dziękczynienia
感恩節快樂
感謝祭おめでとう
سعيد عيد الشكر
Rojashukrépirozbe
Masaya pasasalamat
Keje
즐거운 추수 감사절
С Днем благодарения
ŞükranGününüzkutluolsun
щастлив благодарност
sretan zahvalnosti
šťastný díkůvzdání
lykkelig taksigelse
Ευτυχής ημέρα των ευχαριστιών
שמחה והודיה
खुश धन्यवाद
felice ringraziamento
fericit mulţumire
Happy Thanksgiving

Debatable Candidates

2011-11-22T23:57:00.002-06:00

Your LakeCountyEye has confirmed that because of decennial redistricting, the number of candidates on the 2012 ballot will exceed the number of registered voters in Lake County. With the petition deadline a short week away, an emergency plan is in the works to bus up migrant voters from Cook County.

Ha ha, as readers of this blog are abundantly aware ...

The Petition Edition

the 2012 election cycle has produced a bumper crop of new candidates, who all want support from the same limited pool of party operatives, like so many bumper cars crowded in a, erm, bumper shop.

In politics, as it is in the Bible, many are called but few are chosen. The typical sales pitch delivered in the proverbial smoke-filled room, your LakeCountyEye has learned, follows a predictable trajectory:

	Candidate:	I'm running for Congress and I need your help.
	Operative:	Awesome. What are your qualifications?
	Candidate:	I have a lot of ideas.
	Operative:	I meant what do you bring to the table?
	Candidate:	My ideas! Washington is broken and I know how to fix it.
	Operative:	Outstanding. Of course anyone who listens to Limbaugh and Hannity can repeat all the talking points. But what differentiates you? More to the point, how much money have you raised?
	Candidate:	Money? I don't have any.
	Operative:	Then what's your fundraising plan?
	Candidate:	That's why I'm here, asking for your support. I need someone to raise the money for me.
	Operative:	Have you thought about running for your county board instead?
	Candidate:	County board? What's that?

For the record, the above transcription is taken from a candidate interview conducted in 2009. The candidate's name? Joe Walsh. The rest is history.

The Petition Edition

2011-11-21T23:58:00.012-06:00

It's Thanksgiving week in Lake County -- traditionally a time to pause & reflect and make sure your petition packets are bound, correctly numbered and in sequential order. Ha ha, it's the last Monday before the first filing day and operatives are running around like turkeys with their heads chopped off hoping to secure enough signatures to meet their minimum ballot requirement.

Now that the county's been redistricted, virtually every office holder is up for re-election in 2012 -- from your congressman at the top of the ballot all the way down to the lowly precinct captain at the bottom, and with a bunch of state legislators & county board reps packed in between. That crowd of last minute shoppers at your grocery store are actually petition circulators -- so do like your LakeCountyEye and memorize this helpful phrase ...

Ich weiß nicht Englisch!

and purchase that sixpack of holiday cheer with no unwanted delay!

According to the LakeCountyEye rule of thumb, if you are reading this but still don't have your minimum required signatures then please go home, you're not a real candidate. (For the record, a real candidate in your situation would file a short petition stack and hope no one challenges.) Nothing screams political ~~loser~~ noob louder than the candidate who files X plus 2 signatures for an office requiring X signatures. Seriously, if you can't file a challenge-proof X times 2 signatures, then just file a sheet or two from that last Chamber and/or Union meeting. At least it will look like you got something or other up your sleeve.

Regardless what anyone says, operatives this week can be expected to -- erm -- forge ahead to meet their petition goals. Of course your LakeCountyEye doesn't need to convene a roundtable ring of experts to make it known that forgery is illegal. However your LakeCountyEye is reminded of one enterprising operative who, back in the day, produced a thick stack of petitions with names copied out of a Minneapolis phone book. A skeptical collaborator reminded him that they were filing in Lake County. "Right," said the operative. "These are all people from Minnesota. Who's going to suspect that any of these names were forged?"

Look for your LakeCountyEye outside a grocery store near you.

Monument to Cupidity?

2011-11-20T23:04:00.006-06:00

Your LakeCountyEye, last observed careening about the uncharted northern steppes of Lake County ...

The Bob & Tom Show

after one too many right turns is blogging tonight from Crystal Lake. To make matters worse, the GPS tracking device attached to the LakeCountyEye low-speed vehicle indicated that Crystal Lake is in gasp! McHenry County.

Luckily, your LakeCountyEye was able to find an information kiosk. However hopes for getting directions back to the LakeCountyEye compound got the kibosh when that kiosk turned out to be a Sheriff's sub-station instead:

Just your LakeCountyEye's luck, there was nobody at home in the sub-station.

Can some operative contact the McHenryCountyBlog?

Could TIF Monument Ads Help City Collect More Sales Taxes?

Hopefully one of the public sector pensioners over there will know where your LakeCountyEye is stranded.

The Bob & Tom Show

2011-11-18T23:57:00.012-06:00

The 99% have taken to the streets and your LakeCountyEye has joined their ranks to Occupy the Lake County Roundabouts. Frankly, after an hour of stone cold protest marching round and round and round a traffic circle, your LakeCountyEye needs to set for a spell and maybe check the e-mail.

Frequent commenter TK writes:

"Comparing Bob Dold to Tom Delay is dirty pool! You're a shill for the Chicago machine!"

While frequent commenter Louis G Althusser writes:

"Comparing Bob Dold to Tom Delay is hard cheese! You only print oppo from the DCCC!"

Well, when the great unwashed speaks, your LakeCountyEye listens. As readers of this blog are backwardly aware ...

Dold & Hammer

your LakeCountyEye dug up some startling parallels between 10th District Congressman Robert Dold and former Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay. But after reviewing the new oppo, it has come to your LakeCountyEye's attention a disservice has been perpetrated on the representative and that Robert Dold is no Tom Delay. The two politicians are totally different. Different in 10 ways, to be exact:

Ten Differences Between Robert Dold and Tom Delay

Tom Delay: Aries
Robert Dold: Cancer

Tom Delay: Convicted in Texas of Money Laundering
Robert Dold: Never Convicted in Texas of Money Laundering

Tom Delay: CEO of Albo Pest Control
Robert Dold: CEO of Rose Pest Solutions

Tom Delay: Resides in Sugar Land, Texas
Robert Dold: Resides in Kenilworth, Illinois

Robert Dold: Does not live in Illinois's Tenth Congressional District
Tom Delay: Does not live in Illinois's Eighth Congressional District

Tom Delay: Federal law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a gun.
Robert Dold: 2010 NRCC Young Gun

Tom Delay: Awesome Nickname -- The Hammer
Robert Dold: Awesome Nickname -- TBD

Tom Delay: Competed on Dancing with the Stars, Season Nine
Robert Dold: Not seen on Season Nine of Dancing with the Stars

Robert Dold: Does a spot-on impression of Quick Draw McGraw
Tom Delay: No spot-on impression of Quick Draw McGraw

Tom Delay: Left-Wing Bugbear
Robert Dold: Yeah, he wishes

Robert Dold
Quick Draw McGraw
Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice,
you're looking at another hilarious LakeCountyEye Double Vision™!

Look for your LakeCountyEye galloping off into the sunset.

Dold & Hammer

2011-11-16T23:55:00.003-06:00

Who knew, but with redistricting Lake County is to be officially rebranded Lake County 2.0 -- and with it is getting some new congressional reps. Joe Walsh's Eighth Congressional District is leaving Lake County for good, relocating to a nice retirement condo down south; Peter Roskam's Sixth District and Robert Dold's Tenth District are moving in and plan to be around for a long time. If you count 10 years a long time. Following an act like Joe Walsh & his Figurative Fists of Fury is no mean feat, so Roskam and Dold are naturally all like: "What am I supposed to be over here, the Route 53 Extension?"

Lake County has its share of narrow political niches, and plenty of boutique blogs narrowly focused on their niches. Your LakeCountyEye however is committed to covering all of Lake County 24/7/365, and with that pledge is committed to profiling all of the County's newest congresscritters -- the newest of which being the aforementioned Robert Dold.

Robert Dold represents Lake County's newest drawn Congressional District, the 10th, which in 2012 will make a sort of Y incision starting at Deerfield, going all the way up to Zion and over to Round Lake. Not much is known about Dold. His name is comically similar to former Kansas Senator Robert Dole's. Both are Republicans but the similarity seems to end there, as Dole is both a war hero and a moderate Republican.

A more striking similarity exists between Dold and another GOP congressman, ousted Republican Party boss Tom Delay:

Prior to entering politics, both Dold and Delay were exterminators.
Neither Dold or Delay served in the armed forces.
Grover Norquist helped Tom Delay start the K Street Project.
Grover Norquist campaigned for Robert Dold.
Tom Delay does not live in Illinois's new Tenth Congressional District.
Neither does Robert Dold.

Robert Dold
Tom Delay
You're not seeing double,
you're seeing another hilarious LakeCountyEye Double Vision™!

JFK famously said the torch has passed to a new generation. Tom Delay has gone to sit on the bench at another federal institution. The citronella torch has passed to Robert Dold!

Assessing the Damages

2011-11-12T21:56:00.002-06:00

There is no truth to the rumor that some Avon Township homeowners expecting assessment blue cards were instead mailed pink slips. Ha ha, j/k. As readers of this blog are cannedidly aware,

Q the Eye/11.10.11

Avon Township this week resolved a wrongful termination suit, resulting in a $450,000 court ordered ~~fine~~ ~~judgement~~ settlement ... whatevs.

Chicago perfected the spoils system: "I got you elected, now if you don't give me a job you're spoiling for a fight." So to the victor goes the spoils but, as operatives sometimes ask, what do you do when the losers won't leave? There is an art and etiquette to firing those unwanted employees, and if not done correctly expect to be like the sadsacks in Avon Township, spending a lot of quality time in a deposition room.

Appearances to the contrary, there are ways to sack that unloyal government hire without risking serious blowback. No stranger to the unforewarned heave-ho, here are 10 of the best strategies for finessing a termination your LakeCountyEye has witnessed over the years.

Ten Failsafe Ways to Fire that Recalcitrant Government Employee

Hire Trump to do your dirty work.
Bus in some union busting goons from Wisconsin.
Relocate the office to a location off the Millburn Strangler; then fire everyone for being late to work every morning.
2 words every government official should remember:
Extraordinary Rendition
Sack that employee the Herman Cain way. Nuff said?
Ouryay Iredfay!
Fire them in Pig Latin.
Don't fire those over-paid employees, shrink their paychecks instead. Install a slot machine in the lunchroom.
Outsourcing is your friend. Transfer everyone to Kuala Lumpur.
Organize an angry mob of small-government Tea Partiers.
Cut out the middleman: just abolish township government.

Look for your LakeCountyEye -- where else -- in the unemployment line.

Thank you

2011-11-11T16:58:00.001-06:00

Thank you to all of the men and women who served and continue to serve this great nation in the Armed Forces. All of us owe you our sincere gratitude.

Q the Eye/11.10.11

2011-11-10T23:49:00.012-06:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Fired up by OWS, I organized an Occupy Prairie Crossing. But so far it's been a one-person occupation -- me -- and I'm reconsidering my career path. How about government service?  Can a decent living be made there?

Sent from My iPhone

Dear Jobs Aspirant,

To coin a phrase -- yes you can. A good living can be made from the public sector, just help a friend or relative get elected to a local government position and then hire on to their staff.

Now you're probably wondering if the life of a government featherbedder is meant for a hotshot gogetter like yourself. So here is the genius part of the plan: Just make it sure that your friend or relative is bounced out of office in the next election. The replacement guy coming in is then sure to fire you on the spot. And all you need to do is hire an ambulance chaser to file a federal suit for wrongful termination.

One local settlement, selected at random, may illustrate your upside potential. Four township employees recently won a substantial judgement, according to the Daily Herald:

Avon Township will pay $450,000 to settle a federal lawsuit that claimed some assessor's office employees were fired or pressured to retire for political reasons in January 2010.
Avon Twp. settles political firings case for $450K

Half a million is real money these days, let's divide it up to see what everyone gets.

The attorney gets 33% off the top. Subtract $150,000 and $300,000 remains. Dividing that by four leaves $75,000 for each plaintiff. The suit was filed in Federal court, so carfare, parking, meals and incidentals need to be factored in. Chicago is not cheap so take off another $5,000 leaving $70,000 -- still a tidy haul.

Your LakeCountyEye understands that should about cover the first installment payment on your student loan.

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

Virile Video

2011-11-09T23:53:00.014-06:00

Your LakeCountyEye is doubling down, letting it all ride on the ~~Quinella~~ Quadrella, hoping no one will notice this is the fourth Joe Walsh story in a row. It's pretty much a sucker bet, as there's a new townhall video of Walsh chewing up the scenery for the benefit of the camera. Again. But this time it's all over the web and the cablenews and the talkradio and the teevee and everywhere. Watch it, for instance, at ThinkProgress:

GOP Rep. Joe Walsh Melts Down, Screams At Constituents: 'Dont Blame Banks! ... I Am Tired Of Hearing That Crap!'

What is remarkable about the video is not the fact that it caught some of his ~~enablers~~ constituents on the receiving end of the famed JoeWalsh fists of figurative fury. Your LakeCountyEye understands this is a matter-of-fact course of events at the Joe Walsh re-election offices. Remarkable is the source of the video:

Rep. Joe Walsh: DON’T Blame Banks and Marketplace

Sharpeyed operatives will immediately recognize the work of the official LakeCountyEye featured blogger, the Round Lake District 116 blog. Just scroll down and look for their blog along the right column. If you don't see it, keep scrolling. Past the ads. Somewhere near the bottom.

The videographers at the Round Lake District 116 are heretofore best known for their video of some cars going around and around a Lake County traffic circle ...

YouTube About a month ago I shot a video of the Hunt Club & Wadsworth Road roundabout that was recently completed. It's about six minutes long just to show how drivers are currently treating it like nothing more than a curve in the road. Once traffic can continue South to Milburn Road, things should change drastically as in "CRASH-EM-UP-DERBY" if they don't start treating the intersection like an intersection.
The Roundabout Runaround

And now all of a sudden the bloggers at Round Lake District 116 can claim bragging rights to a certifiably viral video. How awesome is that -- is this a great country or what?

Well, your LakeCountyEye is dusting off the Bell & Howell and heading over to the FotoMat to pick up a couple hundred feet of 16mm stock. And afterwards a quick spin through the nearest roundabout.

Dirty Poll!

2011-11-06T23:53:00.002-06:00

There's an old-fashioned donnybrook brewing up between two candidates locked in a titanic primary-election struggle over who will be the Republican standard bearer in the 14th Congressional District. Joe Walsh and Randy Hultgren both lay claim to the 14th, a district that meanders through the parts of Lake County that no one ever goes to, and is widely regarded a sure-win, come next November, for any Republican candidate. And with less than 5 months before the primary at least one candidate is already crying foul. According to NBC Chicago ...

Walsh is accusing Hultgren of conducting a "push poll" by asking voters whether Walsh's personal life might influence their primary vote. In a push poll, a campaign worker calls voters and asks questions like, "Knowing that Congressman Snood was removed from his position as a Scoutmaster on a morals charge, would you be more or less likely to vote for him?"
Walsh Threatens to "Punch" Hultgren Over Push Poll

Ha ha. Operatives who were looking forward to participating in Hultgren's push-poll may have missed their opportunity, and are advised to find an occupation more profitable than hovering near their landlines. As an incentive, your LakeCountyEye did have an opportunity to participate in the push-poll, and remembers most of the questions. Ten to be exact:

Ten Questions Asked about Joe Walsh
by Randy Hultgren's Push-Poll

Knowing that Congressman Walsh was removed from his position as a gascon on the Lawrence O'Donnell Show, would you be more or less likely to vote for him?
Would you buy a used car from Joe Walsh?
Did Joe Walsh remember to set his clocks back yesterday?
If Joe Walsh was, like, secretly Aquaman or the Wolverine or something, would you vote for him then?
How much money does Joe Walsh owe you?
Were you offered competitive terms and conditions, would you consider hiring a regionally accredited collection agency?
Who would win in a fair fight -- Joe Walsh or Don Henley?
We have cash. Do you have gold?
Was Joe Walsh ever sexually harassed by Herman Cain?
Who would win in a fist fight -- Joe Walsh or Randy Hultgren?

For the record your LakeCountyEye scored 7 out of 10 -- which earns a gentleman's C and a 50% off coupon from a regionally accredited collection agency.

Friends in High Places

2011-11-05T23:16:00.036-05:00

Joe Walsh is the only only Illinois Congressman that gets a perfect 100% score this year from the Family Research Council. But, as reported by the CapitolFaxBlog, the pro-life organization is endorsing instead Walsh's primary opponent, Randy Hultgren:

Group rates Walsh votes perfect, but actually backs opponent

With Walsh's support dropping faster lately than a court ordered rule to show cause, your LakeCountyEye has to ask: Does anyone have Joe Walsh's back these days?

When the New York Times prints an unflattering story about Walsh, he can still count on support from the corporate suits at TeamAmerica10th, who observe that Walsh has ...

almost a half-million dollars in cash-on-hand in his campaign account, no credible Dem opponent as of yet (yes, we know he has a primary to get past first), and a core group of solid (dare I say rabid) supporters. NYT notwithstanding, anyone who sneers and writes off Joe Walsh at this point would be making a big mistake.
The New York Times Takes a Swing at Joe Walsh

And the public sector pensioner's at the McHenryCountyBlog can be counted on to post photos of Walsh's sparsely attended job fair in Woodstock:

Hundreds and hundreds of job seekers.
600-700 Attend Joe Walsh’s Job Fair in Woodstock

But it would seem that other than TeamAmerica10th and the McHenryCountyBlog and the National Front Party in France ...

French far-right candidate visits with Walsh

Walsh has few friends left.

No doubt the rigors of appearing on the campaign trail and on cablenews and in court has found Walsh spreading himself thin lately. Walsh, who is caught in a close, winner-take-all primary battle, looks like he needs all the friends he can get. So as a service to the Congressman, your LakeCountyEye has posted a friends button:

Joe Walsh

Who needs money, message or manpower to win elections when you got lots of Facebook friends instead?

Poll No Punches

2011-11-04T23:58:00.007-05:00

Lake County's Republican Congressional candidates have been itchin' for a fight as far back as June, as readers of this blog are memorably aware ...

You Gotta Fight for Your Right-Wing Party

If this fightin' brigade has a tip of the spear, figuratively speaking, that would have to be fightin' Congressman Joe Walsh. Walsh is currently entrenched in the political fight of his life, where he is battling Randy Hultgren over who gets to be congressman-for-life in the 14th District. Catching Walsh off-guard, Hultgren polled the entire district and apparently drew first blood. According to the Daily Herald ...

after hearing from constituents that the poll contained a number of questions on child support and his financial past, Walsh is calling the effort a "push poll" — a political campaign technique designed to influence voters by disseminating negative and false information — and evidence of a dirty campaign. "If he raises his voice and calls into question who I am as a father, I'll punch him in the face, figuratively speaking," said Walsh, of McHenry.
Hultgren ramping up offensive: Walsh cries foul play

It is unclear whether Walsh intends to pummel Hultgren in the figurative face with some real fists, or the other way around.

Surprisingly, Walsh's fists of fury found the time to pen these words on his Facebook page:

George Washington can rightly be called the founder of our Republic. He resigned his powerful military commission to a powerless Congress and refused to be crowned king. When King George III heard this, he told the painter Benjamin West, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." And so he was, and is.
The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.

George Washington: First in war. First in peace. First in the hearts of his countrymen.

Joe Walsh: Fists in war. Fists in peace. Fists in the face of Randy Hultgren.

Figuratively speaking.

Custom Signage

2011-11-02T23:49:00.012-05:00

Your LakeCountyEye is liveblogging from the Emergency Room of -- had there been a County Hospital -- Lake County Hospital. And not only liveblogging, but liveblogging lefthandedly -- your LakeCountyEye's right hand is currently in a sling.

As readers of this blog are openly aware ...

Quitsville!

State Senate District 31 is now and all of a sudden an open seat. The world population may officially stand at 7 billion, but easily as many candidates may be found circulating ballot petitions in Senate 31. Or so it would seem -- your LakeCountyEye believes that citizenship confers a responsibility to the democratic process, even when that means signing nominating petitions. All 7 billion of them.

Long story short, one 911 call plus ambulance ride later, and your LakeCountyEye is mulling over a diagnosis of ~~writer's block~~ ~~writer's cramp~~ carpal tunnel syndrome -- and with nothing more to show for it than an unpaid hospital bill. Your LakeCountyEye takes some consolation in the knowledge that when those petitions are inevitably challenged in December, every one of those LakeCountyEye JohnHancocks will be stricken by the judge. You see, voters aren't allowed to sign in a district where they don't live. Or sign more than one nominating petition per any election contest. Or sign if they're not registered to vote. Or a convicted felon. Or whatever. So, to all those candidates in Senate 31 who are thrown off the ballot because your petition-packet is loaded with invalid LakeCountyEye signatures: Psych!

Ha ha j/k. Truth be told, your LakeCountyEye had been hoping to produce the signatures needed to personally appear on that Senate District 31 primary ballot. But now that the LakeCountyEye writing-hand is in a sling, it's looking like there are at least two names that will not be seen on the ballot in Senate 31.

Quitsville!

2011-10-31T23:49:00.002-05:00

Not since Sarah Palin abruptly quit being a Governor, not even since Edward VIII abruptly quit being a King, has Lake County been this surprised over a resignation statement. Your LakeCountyEye of course refers to Island Lake Trustee Laurie Rabattini's sudden announcement that she will no longer chair her village finance committee.

The resignation was delivered via a long and whinesome statement, reproduced on Rabattini's blog. The nut graf:

So with that ... I resign my chair of Finance and Administration. I do not ... let me make this clear ... I do not resign my Trustee seat.
Trustee Rabattini Resigns Chair

Rabattini, best-known for having coined the neologism ...

Rebuttles

has been a vociferous & partisan critic of Island Lake government before and during her tenure as a trustee. Her resignation is widely regarded as an attempt to make a virtue of political necessity. As even the most glassy-eyed operative knows, it's easier to be a political bomb thrower from the safety of the back bench, than it is from the front line. Take it from your LakeCountyEye -- nuff said!

In related news, the Daily Herald and other MSM outlets have reported that Suzi Schmidt will not try to keep her Senate seat in District 31:

Facing domestic problems, Suzi Schmidt won't run in 2012

Boom goes the dynamite.

The 411 on 911

2011-10-29T23:54:00.003-05:00

Who hasn't dialed 911 to order a pizza or get directions to Binny's? Like every Lake County community, Lake Villa counts on their 911 service for legitimate emergencies. So your LakeCountyEye took note when the News-Sun reported that ...

Emergency dispatch services for the Lake Villa Police Department will switch from Antioch's dispatch center to FoxComm 9-1-1 center at the Fox Lake Public Safety Building beginning Nov. 1.
Cost savings prompts Lake Villa 9-1-1 move to Fox Lake

Your LakeCountyEye recalls a recent spike in volume of 911 calls reported in that city, and wishes the village of Lake Villa the best of luck in the transition. Be sure to double-shift your night dispatchers!

In other, unrelated 911 news, the News-Sun updated their story about former Lake County Board member Larry Leafblad. Leafblad hopes to challenge State Senator Suzi Schmidt in the March primary. Your LakeCountyEye hears that other high-profile candidates may show up on the ballot for Senate 31, as well.

The reason Schmidt, an incumbent 20-year politican, is being challenged is well-known. According to the News-Sun, Leafblad thinks that Schmidt "mortally wounded herself" ...

"At the same time, I can see if she wins the primary, which I hope she doesn't, the fall is going to be the Democrats playing 9-1-1 call after 9-1-1 call after 9-1-1 call for 10 weeks up to the general election," Leafblad said. "It's going to be brutal, and I don’t think she can win."
Leafblad: Schmidt 'vulnerable next fall'

In a close primary it's a good idea to remind the voters about your opponent's flaws, in this case some embarassing 911 calls. However it is ill-advised to directly attack your opponent. But reminding the voters that the Democrats will be attacking your opponent about some embarassing 911 calls gets the job done. Well played, Larry Leafblad.

With a likely crowded field on the Republican side in Senate 31, look for at least one debate scheduled before the primary. Probably at Lakes Community High School or a similar venue. Your LakeCountyEye expects that every statement uttered at that debate will contain a noun and a verb and 911.

Tribune Creepy Cartoonist™ Shamelessly Milks Myth About African-American Males

2011-10-26T23:28:00.004-05:00

What is the connection supposed to be with black men and BlackBerrys®? Wasn't that stereotype debunked like back in the 1800s? Apparently the Chicago Tribune's Creepy Cartoonist™ never received the memo:

Bang Bang Barack

Operatives are asked to supply their own Hot Dog joke here. Your LakeCountyEye will not be touching that with a 3 point poll.

Refugees in the Middle East

2011-10-25T23:44:00.002-05:00

The Stevenson Center will host a program on the refugee situation in the Middle East:

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Refugees in the Middle East

Karen AbuZayd will speak about the plight and promise of refugees caught in the Arab Spring. Ms. AbuZayd is the recently retired Commissioner General of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), winner of a 2010 Spanish/Catalonia Peace Prize and a 2011 Golden Award with Star for Service to the Austrian Federal Republic. In her distinguished UN career, she oversaw education, health, social services and micro finance operations for UNRWA and emergency and repatriation operations for UNHCR in Namibia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Somalia and South Africa. She also served as the UNHCR Chief of Mission in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

Sunday
November 13, 2011
2 PM
The Stevenson Center on Democracy
25200 N St Mary's Rd
Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
847-816-7433
$15
Coffee and conversation following

Horse Manure

2011-10-23T23:47:00.010-05:00

The high rollers are all loading their dice in anticipation of a new casino rumored to be built in Old Mill Creek. Ha ha, as readers of this blog are improbably aware ...

A Trojan Horse?

your LakeCountyEye has been speculating that the village of Old Mill Creek's high-stakes, organized effort to fastrack the Route 45 Bypass is a strong indication that the new Lake County casino will be built there. The evidence for this inescapable conclusion is admittedly scant, but it does make for a convenient lead-in to another LakeCountyEye comedy bit.

Whenever seeking confirmation of an unconfirmed rumor, your LakeCountyEye relies on the tried and true method of conducting a push-poll. Ten Lake County odds-makers were asked at random what chance they give that Lake County sees a casino in Old Mill Creek. Here are the scientific results:

Ten Reasons to Build the Lake County Casino in Old Mill Creek

Two words: Roundabout Roulette!
OTB betting in all the stables.
Who isn't in for a round of Horse Poker?
Why drive to Hammond when there's a Horseshoe Casino in Old Mill Creek? Best odds. Highest limits. Biggest jackpots.
One quarter horse equals a seat at 25 penny slots.
Not everyone thinks of road apples when they hear the word craps.
Origin of CROUPIER: French, literally, rider on the croup of a horse
Merriam-Webster
Definition of CROUP: the rump of a quadruped
Merriam-Webster
An Old Mill Creek stable will be getting a cool new name: The Five Card Stud Farm
They're betting on the quinella. Nuff said.

Look for your LakeCountyEye on the horse your LakeCountyEye rode in on.

A Trojan Horse?

2011-10-22T23:54:00.005-05:00

A recent letter in the Daily Herald from a stable owner:

If the eastern bypass group get their way, Lake County Division of Transportation will not fund the bypass and will wait for the state to do it, some 20 years. Let us not stop the project and get traffic going, improve the traffic at 45-Grasslake-Millburn roads.
Don’t delay action on bypass

So many horse owners have posted letters-to-the-editor about the Route 45 Bypass, that it would seem the Pony Express has returned to Lake County.

Ha ha. As readers of this blog are ruminatively aware ...

Cadge & Release™
Circle the Wagons

a war of words is being is being fought between Lindenhurst and Old Mill Creek over the future of the Route 45 Bypass. Still in planning stages, the Bypass may be delayed further by new hearings proposed by the County Board. Read about it the News-Sun:

County Board member Newton wants full bypass airing

The position of the pro-Bypass side of the conflict has not changed: Living conditions in their area are so unbearable that work needs to begin on the Bypass -- it doesn't matter where it is built -- but immediately, if not sooner.

Of course, the last thing the typical bedroom community would want to see is a new state artery constructed in their backyards. The whole point of a being a bedroom community is to not see a semi-tractor doing 45mph past one's bedroom. But perhaps Old Mill Creek is not the typical bedroom community and your LakeCountyEye salutes their civic-minded altruism.

Ha ha, j/k. So what gives? The other big development up in the upper-right quadrant of Lake County has been the on-again-off-again Waukegan/Park City/TBD casino. The News-Sun observed ...

Gov. Pat Quinn won't sign a massive gambling expansion bill and, in its place, proposed a scaled-back alternative Monday that would still give Lake County a casino, but not in Park City.
Quinn backs county casino — not Park City

Well one doesn't need to be a Karl-Rove-political-genius to figure out what's going on. That Route 45 Bypass is being fast-tracked in anticipation of the Lake County casino that will be built up there.

Where? Not in Waukegan. Not in Park City. Yep, in Old Mill Creek.

Take it from your LakeCountyEye, it's in the bag. Or feed-bag as the case may be.

Horse feathers? Perhaps.

Splitsville

2011-10-20T23:59:00.003-05:00

As raps go, everyone is watching to see if Michael Jackson's doctor will beat it. And now with Abbott Labs in the news, is it any wonder that Lake County is in the grips of prescription drug fever? As reported in the News-Sun ...

Abbott Laboratories, Lake County's largest private employer, announced Wednesday it plans to separate into two publicly traded companies, one in diversified medical products, the other in research-based pharmaceuticals.
The big split: Abbott to spin off into two public companies

The restructuring, your LakeCountyEye has learned, was motivated by a desire to erect a legal firewall between Abbott's research and business operations. Or maybe it was to realize substantial savings in taxes. Or maybe some other corporate related junk, but what's important is the spin-offs are a convenient premise for another LakeCountyEye bit.

Your LakeCountyEye has learned that Abbott is not an isolated case -- Lake County will experience ten other spin-offs in the near future. No two ways about it, here are ten of them:

Ten More Divisions to Watch for in Lake County

The Millburn Strangler will be separated into the Millburn Headlock and the Millburn Chokehold.
Libertyville will be partitioned into Equalityville and Fraternityville.
The Route 53 Extension will be divided into Route 53. And the Extension.
High School biology classes will now divide their time between teaching intelligent design and young earth creationism.
Abbott is also splitting up with Costello.
Every game at Fielder Stadium is now a double header.
The Daily Herald vows not to endorse political candidates who double-dip.
The Park City Casino will be splitting all pots.
Joe Walsh will be dividing his time between seeking re-election and seeking re-election.
The Zion Nuclear Plant will be splitting more atoms. Ha Ha Psych!

Enough of this. Your LakeCountyEye has a splitting headache.

Occupations

2011-10-16T23:52:00.012-05:00

Inspired by the hippie 60s weathermen radicals of Occupy Wall Street, your LakeCountyEye held a demonstration this weekend. The protest rally was held at the LakeCountyEye compound. Which may explain the sparse attendance:

No doubt rather than whine about the no jobs, operatives were all out looking for the no jobs. Or something. So it's unsurprising that Joe Walsh, who knows a thing or two about how to get a job with the Federal Government, sponsored a jobs fair this weekend. Details are in the Northwest Herald:

Walsh to host jobs fair in Woodstock

You read correctly, a jobs fair was sposored by Eighth District Congressman Joe Walsh. Operatives are requested to supply their own joke here.

Your LakeCountyEye did manage to sneak away from the Occupy-the-LakeCountyEye-Compound sit-in to attend Walsh's job fair. While things still look unpromising, your LakeCountyEye can report there are some job openings available for the energetic go-getter. Ten to be exact:

Ten Most Popular Jobs at the Joe Walsh Job Fair

US Senator or Congressman
Venture Capitalist
Cable News Blowhard
Administrator of an Education Trust Fund
Actor
Financial Consultant
Political Science Instructor at Oakton Community College
Stay-at-Home Dad or Mom
Process Server
Hobo

Your LakeCountyEye pulled some strings and snagged a plum position: Understudy to Bowzer. Look for your LakeCountyEye at the next revival of Sha Na Na near you:

Sha na na. Sha na na na na.
Sha na na. Sha na na na na.
Sha na na. Sha na na na na.
Sha na na. Sha na na na na.
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip.
Mum mum mum mum mum mum.
Get a job.

Bates and Switch

2011-10-15T23:53:00.002-05:00

The DIY Cartoonist at the Lake County Journal this week published an homage to Oscar winning actress Kathy Bates:

Lake County Journal Editorial Cartoon

The spot-on likeness depicts Kathy Bates in her sleeper hit, About Schmidt. Bates, in that movie, is famous for doing a nude scene up against one lucky dog of an actor, Jack Nicholson:

Bates is probably most recognized from her breakout role in the movie Misery. Here is Bates in that scene with her big gavel:

Kathy Bates currently stars as criminal attorney Harriet Korn in the hit NBC series Harry's Law:

A tip of the LakeCountyEye eyeshade goes out to the Lake County Journal's DIY Cartoonist. In an age when youth and sex-appeal is worshipped, the DIY Cartoonist has impeccable taste in Hollywood actresses.

Cadge & Release™ Circle the Wagons

2011-10-14T23:49:00.006-05:00

The reason they are building all those traffic roundabouts on and nearby Hunt Club Road is now clear. They are circling the wagons in Old Mill Creek.

Ha ha, as readers of this blog are redundantly aware ...

The Roundabout Runaround

the Villages of Lindenhurst and Old Mill Creek are engaged in a non-shooting war over the proposed trajectory of the Route 45 bypass. The citizens of Lindenhurst would prefer to see the bypass routed through the valuable undeveloped real-estate in Old Mill Creek. While the citizens of Old Mill Creek would prefer to see the bypass routed through the valuable sub-developments in Lindenhurst.

The theater of battle, so far, has been the op-ed pages, lately inundated with salvos of angry letters to the editors. The balance of power in this war of words would seem to favor the more numerous troops of Lindenhurst, however the opposing forces of Old Mill Creek (pop 178) have not been silent.

All of which is the premise for this week's Cadge & Release™:

The Cadge:

Daily Herald
Support Route 45 bypass plan
The traffic congestion that will be alleviated by the U.S. Route 45 bypass will benefit thousands of people in the region daily - not just the residents of the Heritage Trails and Forest Trails subdivisions. U.S. Highway 45 is a major arterial used by thousands of motorists daily. The current traffic jams impact people from the entire region.

I trust the expertise of the Lake County Division of Transportation and the professional engineers hired to work on the project, and their ability to consider the factors as they relate to the transportation needs of the entire region, not just the immediate area. There are many more reasons to support funding the proposed bypass than to oppose it.

The proposed bypass is a better alternative for the region than no bypass at all. I hope that our Lake County Board members will support the recommendations made by the Lake County DOT regarding the transportation project that will benefit thousands of motorists who suffer through the Millburn Strangler day after day - and vote to fund the U.S. Route 45 bypass.

Jennifer D Andrew
Lindenhurst
Support Route 45 bypass plan

The Release:

News-Sun
Growth of sprawl
I am one of many area residents who has contributed to the suburban sprawl in northeastern Lake County. When I moved to Gurnee in 1987, there was no traffic. Grand Avenue was a country road with a stop sign at Hunt Club Road.

It took me 15 minutes to get to work in Libertyville. There was no rush hour. That was then. I built a house in Heritage Trails in Lindenhurst in 1996. It then took me 20 minutes to get to work.

It now takes longer and longer to get to and from work — anywhere from 40 to 75 minutes each way depending on the day and the weather. I adore my job, but I detest the commute. A significant portion of my commute is often spent just trying to get out of my neighborhood, Heritage Trails, and through the "Millburn Strangler."

I first learned of the proposed Route 45 bypass 15 years ago in the sales office of the Heritage Trails subdivision before purchasing my home. Yes, everyone who bought in Heritage Trails knew that a future bypass was planned, and that it was supposed to be located adjacent to our subdivision.

People who chose to build in the Forest Trails subdivision were also well aware that a future bypass would bisect their subdivision. People chose to build homes there anyway.

I was elated when Lake County decided to proceed with the Millburn Bypass, even though it is not a county highway. I participated on the Route 45 Bypass Citizen's Advisory Committee as the representative for the Historic Millburn Community Association, Inc. CAG members were told at the first meeting that we would be asked to provide input, but that we would not be voting to determine the location of the bypass.

Some members of CAG believe that the chosen bypass alternative will best resolve the traffic congestion and improve the traffic flow in the area. Other members were upset with the selected route. Emotions are escalating.

The sentiment expressed by those opposing the western bypass route appears to be that they would rather have no bypass at all if they can't have the location they desire. There are many more reasons to support the proposed bypass than to oppose it.

The proposed bypass is a better alternative for the region than no bypass at all.

Jennifer Durot Andrew
Lindenhurst
Growth of sprawl

Operatives will recognize the tried & true technique of the letter-blitz: send the same letter to multiple newspapers. Editors, happy to publish free content, typically play along. And if they like your letter, send it out again in a week or two, signed by someone else.

Operatives however may not recognize the identity of the author of the above letters, who is also an employee of the village of Old Mill Creek ...

Village of Old Mill Creek

By your LakeCouyntyEye's rough estimate, Old Mill Creek is trailing Lindenhurst in published missives by a factor of five to one. Government operatives in Old Mill Creek are encouraged to quickly convene a letter writing committee if they hold any hope of closing their missive gap.

Q the Eye/10.12.11

2011-10-12T23:47:00.010-05:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

As a holder of high office I would prefer it not be known that I am seeking your advice. Accordingly I will be obscuring my predicament.

In a nutshell my ex/separated/ball-and-chain spouse is suing me for divorce/child support/battery. As you can imagine, the news has not helped my political career. Any advice for a go-getting meteoric up-and-comer like myself would be appreciated.

Seeking help, mate, from a helpmate!

Dear Bitter Half,

You've come to the right place. Your LakeCountyEye has more exes than an Internet porno domain.

The solution to your predicament is simple: just declare total, thermo-nuclear legal war on that recalcitrant spousal-unit of yours. And be sure to do it in public. Send a press release, for instance, to the Sun-Times ...

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) says he hasn't paid his court-ordered child support because he and his ex-wife reached a "verbal agreement" three years ago that he could stop paying her child support.
Rep. Joe Walsh: I had ‘verbal’ deal not to pay child support

Also be sure to pull no punches in that press release:

Yesterday as he has promised to do from the start, Congressman Walsh continued to fight, through the legal system, the untrue allegations by his ex-wife Laura Walsh.
By blatantly and knowingly submitting false information in her pleading Laura Walsh and her attorney's not only broke Illinois state law, but it is clear that the only point in submitting these allegations was an attempt to tarnish the Congressman's reputation.
In fact for almost a full year while Laura Walsh was making $140,000 a year and living in another state, Mr. Walsh provided full time residential custodial care for his youngest son, despite making significantly less money than Laura Walsh.

And make sure the media knows that you refuse to engage your ex in a high-profile media war:

"I do know that I won't engage this case in the media, I won't do that to my children and I won't do that to the mother of my children."

Ha ha, j/k, your LakeCountyEye obviously made all of this stuff up. Operatives of every stripe (even those from McHenry County) know that no elected official of any stripe would be crazy enough to fight their domestic battles in public like that -- via legal proceedings and press releases. Unless they were bent on committing political harakiri or something.

The sane thing to do, of course, is cut a deal with all the exes and get them to endorse your candidacy. It goes without saying the goose won't be laying many more golden eggs if the goose is not re-elected. You can even post a video on YouTube ...

Scott Lee Cohen's ex-wife

The voters eat up these heartfelt kumbaya moments.

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

Mass Depreciation

2011-10-09T23:00:00.007-05:00

Not since JFK carried Cook County by a landslide will Illinois see this many precincts being this brazenly stolen in broad daylight. As readers of this blog are blissfully unaware, the Lake County Board is in a downsizing frenzy, and next on the chopping block are the County's voting precincts. According to the Daily Herald ...

Lake County voters will have fewer places to cast ballots on Election Day starting next year under a plan being considered by the county board. The proposal would reduce the number of voting precincts to 415, from 481.
Lake County may lose precincts

With fewer places to cast ballots, operatives should expect their election-day voters to find themselves at the wrong polling place or even at a mothballed poll. Voters who do get lucky will discover longer lines at their poll, than in the past. Fewer polls are farther polls, and more difficult to reach for anyone without transportation or a suspended drivers license. (Joe Walsh made a smart choice when he moved to McHenry County.)

A cost-cutting measure of this nature strikes your LakeCountyEye as a backdoor means to reduce voter turnout. The obvious beneficiary would be the Lake County Clerk's office. Reduce voter turnout to sufficiently low numbers, and the County Clerk's office would be able to declare election day an informal holiday, just like everyone else does. The Lake County Board can be counted on to take care of their County Clerk!

Operatives with long memories will recall this same Lake County Board reduced the number of Board Districts from 23 to 21. Your LakeCountyEye has learned that the axe is being sharpened and the clock is ticking for ten more Lake County governmental entities.

Ten Lake County Institutions Soon to be Downsized

The Fort Sheridan Golf Course will be downsized to the Fort Sheridan Miniature Golf Course
The Village of Long Grove will be downsized to the Village of Longish Grove
The Congressman in the 10th District will be downsized to the Congressman in the 9th District
The Park City Casino will be downsized to the Park City Bingo Parlor
The Route 53 Extension will be downsized to the Route 53 Detention
Avon Township will be downsized to Mary Kay Township
Half-Day Rd will be downsized to 2-Hours-and-45-Minutes Rd
The Lake County State's Attorney will be downsized to the Lake County Paralegal
The decommissioned Zion Nuclear-Power Plant will be downsized to the decommissioned Zion Rubber-Band-Power Plant
The Millburn Strangler will be downsized to the Millburn Wedgie

Now look for your LakeCountyEye being downsized on TinyURL!

http://tinyurl.com/3jkohco

Negative Feedback

2011-10-06T23:59:00.007-05:00

Autumn in Lake County means one of two things: Leaf-peepers are out looking for some primary colors. Or operatives are out looking for some leaf-peepers to sign their primary petitions. As readers of this blog are redoundingly aware ...

The Re-doozi

embattled State Senator Suzi Schmidt announced she will seek re-election, which means she must -- like every candidate -- collect the required number of petition signatures before the December 5 deadline.

Schmidt already has at least one announced Primary challenger. According to the News-Sun former County Board member Larry Leafblad ...

informed Schmidt that he intends to run against her because her "negatives" are insurmountable after the release last week of four embarrassing 9-1-1 recordings by the Lake County Sheriff's Office. "I told her, 'Imagine what would happen if the Democratic spin doctors run those 9-1-1 tapes in the commercials next fall. They're going to crucify you, Suzi, and I can't stand that happening to you,'" Leafblad said.
Sen. Schmidt to run for re-election

Apparently Leafblad wants to defeat Schmidt in the Primary to save her from being embarrassed in the General election. Ha ha. Anyhow, Leafblad is right about one thing, Schmidt's political negatives are at the moment skyhigh, erm, rockbottom.

Negative perceptions, it goes without saying, are kryptonite for a candidate. As you read this, the political campaigns in Senate District 31 have already mapped out Schmidt's negatives with an eye to exploiting or defusing them, as the case may be.

Those wishing to be a fly on the wall need look no farther than this blog. Operatives have informed your LakeCountyEye that while Schmidt's negatives are formidable they are still manageable in number. That manageable number happens to be ten; they are reproduced here:

Embattled State Senator Suzi Schmidt's
10 Highest Political Negatives

No Political Punch
Lacks the Acumen of a Career Politician
Makes Phone Calls When Behind the Wheel
No Street Cred
Too Many Connections for a Short Fuse
All Bark
No Bite
Did Not Demand the Death Penalty for the Millburn Strangler
Makes Joe Walsh Look Like Honest Abe
No One Takes Her Calls

For operatives scoring at home, your LakeCountyEye's negatives are all to be found at the FotoMat.

The Re-doozi

2011-10-05T23:48:00.000-05:00

The long protracted moratorium on Suzi Schmidt jokes is officially over. As readers of this blog are presciently aware ...

A Difference of Opinion

your LakeCountyEye has been dropping hints broad enough to stop traffic in a roundabout that embattled State Senator Suzi Schmidt will decide to run for re-election. Well today Schmidt made it official. According to the paper on top of the story, the Daily Herald ...

Some Republicans have pressured her to resign. Pat Brady, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, said he was disappointed with Schmidt's decision to stay in office.
Suzi Schmidt staying in Senate despite 911 call controversy

The story even made the 6 o'clock news. NBC Chicago has an inexplicably huge full-portrait photo of Schmidt on their website, to prove it:

Ill. Sen. Suzi Schmidt Defies Critics, Will Seek Re-Election

Anyhow, let the Suzi Schmidt jokes begin:

Q: What's the difference between Webster's Unabridged Dictionary and Suzi Schmidt?

A: There's no QUIT in Suzi Schmidt!

A Difference of Opinion

2011-10-04T23:56:00.001-05:00

It divided communities. Turned friends and neighbors into foes. Tore families asunder, pitted cousin against cousin, brother against brother, father against son. Operatives and Civil War buffs alike all know your LakeCountyEye refers to the one question that burns the bosom of every heart in Lake County: Suzi Schmidt, will she or won't she?

As readers of this blog are heartburnedly aware ...

The Spin Cycle

Suzi Schmidt, the Lake Villa State Senator, has been generating some earned media lately, but not exactly the good kind. Earned media of a kind that has the knowledgeable sources wondering out-loud whether and if Schmidt should resign ... or should not.

The first skirmish, in what no-doubt will be a long war of attrition, has broken out between Lake County's newspapers of record, the Daily Herald vs the News-Sun.

The News-Sun says it's time for Schmidt to make like the Michelin Man and retire ...

Lake County residents who have found themselves handcuffed and locked up in similar situations are watching this soap opera with awe and wondering with keen interest if this is once again a case of two sets of laws in Lake County: One for politicians, one for everybody else. Until the senator and her husband decide to seek marital counseling or choose family law attorneys, it will be impossible for her to carry on her duties to the voters who last November overwhelmingly sent her to Springfield from the 31st Senate District. She needs to resign.
Our View: Sen. Schmidt needs to resign

While the Daily Herald is all like, whoa not so fast there, Sparky ...

As a former Lake County Board chairwoman and current state senator, she should have known that emergency dispatchers could never ignore any call for help. And she certainly should have known better than to throw her political resume into the midst of an already complicated personal crisis. She owes her constituents a sincere and unequivocal apology. But should she forfeit her job? On that question, she and everyone else should slow down a bit and think.
Moving on from a public mistake

Your LakeCountyEye has a hunch what Schmidt will decide to do. One thing is certain, there is a paper-boy somewhere in Lake Villa with one less newspaper to deliver.

The Spin Cycle

2011-09-30T23:56:00.002-05:00

That giant unsucking sound you hear is everyone holding their breaths. Operatives are holding their breaths and waiting to see if this marks the end of Suzi Schmidt's 25 year political career in Lake County. As readers of this blog are breathlessly aware ...

Oh ~~Schmidt~~ Susanna

Schmidt is having a little problem over the release this week of some 911 calls. According to the News-Sun ...

GOP pressure at the Statehouse mounted Thursday on state Sen. Suzi Schmidt to either forego re-election next year or to resign after the release of politically toxic 9-1-1 recordings stemming from an ongoing domestic dispute with her husband.
Pressure mounts on Schmidt to resign

Schmidt issued a statement that was reproduced by the Daily Herald:

"Christmas, 2010 was the beginning of what has obviously become a very emotional period in my 31-year marriage. Information I discovered recently filled me with deep sadness. On the 911 call, I identified myself — but I never intended to inappropriately use my title. However, I apologize if any of my comments during this very emotional time seem inappropriate. I am taking the appropriate steps to deal with these issues. It is a very difficult, personal family matter that I would like to deal with privately. In the meantime, I remain committed to serving the citizens of my district."
Schmidt's statement

As mea culpas go this one is heavy on the meas while relatively light on the culpas. Soliciting sympathy from your constituents is at best a short-term solution to a problem, particularly when the damage is self-inflicted. Your LakeCountyEye hazards to guess that on a political-damage-scale this is toothpaste-out-of-the-tube damage. It is difficult to imagine how Schmidt recovers, but stranger things have happened. Time will tell.

Until then, your LakeCountyEye has found video of some cars in a roundabout. Enjoy.

How roundabouts work

What goes up must come down.
Spinning wheel, got to go round.
Talking about your troubles it's a crying sin.
Ride a painted pony, let the spinning wheel spin.
Spinning Wheel

Oh Schmidt Susanna

2011-09-28T23:59:00.001-05:00

There is no truth to the rumor that operatives on Monday night visited the home of Suzi Schmidt and a hockey game broke out.

Ha ha that is probably the last joke told on this blog about the State Senator from Lake Villa -- this is one political career that is officially kapoot. As readers of this blog are gobsmackingly aware ...

A Schmidt Decision

Lake County deputies were summoned Monday night to another domestic incident between the State Senator and her spouse. For operatives curious to hear the 911 calls, it looks like the Daily Herald was able obtain the MP3 audio:

The yuck factor alone is sufficient to send the the audio on a state-wide viral-spiral. Your LakeCountyEye estimates that poobahs both in Lake County and Springfield will soon be scrambling to find a suitable candidate to succeed their inevitably lame-duck 31st District State Senator.

The heavy in this drama is the Lake County Sheriff's Department who blew the whistle again on Schmidt's shenanigans. Your LakeCountyEye is not sure why. Perhaps the girl cried clout too many times.

In related news, the Daily Herald reports that Thomas Gooch, the Cuba Township Highway Commissioner, is on trial for misdemeanor battery against a employee:

Cuba Twp. highway commissioner on trial for pulling hair

Your LakeCountyEye has some career advice for the free-swinging Lake County politicians who might find themselves in the unemployment line. The WWE is always looking for new talent. Mixed tag-team matches, your LakeCountyEye hears, are quite popular.

Ha ha, that was the last Suzi Schmidt joke, promise.

A Schmidt Decision

2011-09-27T23:41:00.001-05:00

Operatives may recall the blow-by-blow account, reported on this blog last August, of the pugilistic match-up between Suzanne Schmidt and Robert Schmidt:

The Megilla in Lake Villa

Students of the sweet science hoping for a rematch between the Lake County State Senator and her spouse were not disappointed this week. According to the News-Sun ...

A call of a domestic battery at the home of state Sen. Suzi Schmidt and her husband prompted a visit from Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies for the second time in about six weeks. As in the previous visit to the home at 38532 Ardmore Lane in Lake Villa Township, which occurred on Aug. 16, no charges were filed, a sheriff's spokesman said Tuesday. At approximately 6:30 p.m. Monday, deputies responded to the home for a report of a domestic battery. Deputies met with Robert Schmidt, 63, and the senator, 60, and conducted an investigation, but the Lake County State's Attorney's Office declined to file charges, according to sheriff's Lt. Wayne Hunter.
Second domestic call at Sen. Schmidt’s home

Fans unable to attend the match had the option to view the fight on closed-circuit TV:

Police called to state senator's Lake Villa home for 2nd time

Ringside aficionados have closely followed Suzanne Schmidt's more than two-decade-long heavyweight career. They no doubt look forward to November 2012, when Schmidt will defend her title against an opponent yet to be determined. Rumors are circulating that Schmidt will also appear in a preliminary match, sometime in March 2012, necessitated by some recent poor showings in the ring.

McClatchey and Release

2011-09-26T23:54:00.011-05:00

There's an old saying in Lake County: when seeking the political kingmaker nonpareil, look no farther than your LakeCountyEye. Case in point, readers of this blog may vaguely remember ...

A Fresh Face in the 8th Congressional District

when a little-known political aspirant with the unlikely name Joe Walsh first appeared on this blog. Back in the day a satirical blogger could count on a knee-jerk laugh just by confusing tea-party candidate Joe Walsh with guitar-strumming Eagle Joe Walsh. Not any more.

The latest little-known political aspirant to approach your LakeCountyEye is Frank McClatchy, a Democratic candidate for the 14th Congressional District. McClatchy noticed that this blog was not aware of any Democratic candidates running in the 14th ...

Send a Bill to Congress

He sent a note ...

Hi there, I was reading your blog today....
I announced on Sept 6th....
Please visit our website for more info.

and a press release to bring your LakeCountyEye up-to-speed:

Announcement Press Release 9/6/11

Your LakeCountyEye thanks Mr McClatchey for the heads-up and wishes him the best of luck as a Democratic candidate for the 14th Congressional District. Looking to the future, your LakeCountyEye hopes to be able to do for Frank McClatchey what this blog has done for Joe Walsh!

McClatchey's website can be visited at ...

McClatchey for Congress

For operatives with carpal-tunnel and unable to mouseclick from a long weekend of roundtabling, here is a screen cap of the website, from Internet Explorer 8 (build 86001):

Your LakeCountyEye has not had an opportunity to meet Mr McClatchey, but assumes that is the top of his head.

Send a Bill to Congress

2011-09-25T23:03:00.001-05:00

This weekend witnessed the autumnal equinox, and your LakeCountyEye was naturally engaged in that end-of-summer ritual that everyone pursues: ~~round-tabling~~ gathering signatures from ~~phone books~~ registered voters for nominating petitions. December 5 is the deadline for candidates to submit their petitions if they want to see their names on the March Primary ballot. And with signatures going for something north of a dollar each, this marks the busy season for operatives. Party-on dudes. Naturally your LakeCountyEye was to be found this weekend augmenting a blogger's brobdingnagian income by participating in this bi-yearly paper chase.

And a debt of gratitude is owed to the golden-age public sector pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog for watching this blog while your LakeCountyEye was away. As readers of the McHenryCountyBlog are dimly aware ...

One of the writers of Lake County Eye apparently gets off on making derogatory comments about yours truly. When I wrote a story about Bill Scheurer's possible candidacy in the GOP primary in the 14th congressional district, an article appeared making fun of me and Scheurer.
Scheurer Challenges Lake County Eye to Put Up or Shut Up

The LakeCountyEye article indeed appeared to make fun of the thin-skin-libertarians at the McHenryCountyBlog as well as perennial candidate Bill Scheurer. Scheurer posted a response comment, indirectly confirming his intention to run in the 14th Congressional District Primary as a Republican:

The Third Man?

Scheurer, who has run for Congress in every election since 2004 with various parties and no success, could run as a Green Party candidate -- but that would require him to gather some 5,000 ballot signatures. The 600 hundred signatures required of a Republican candidate, no doubt, is much more appealing to Scheurer.

Anyhow, Scheurer's name could appear on the Republican ballot in the 14th along with declared candidates Randy Hultgren and Joe Walsh. In a three-way with Hultgren and Walsh, Scheurer would be lucky, on election day, to poll within the margin of error. Scheurer seems to relish the role of the spoiler but which candidate does he spoil: Walsh or Hultgren? The front-runner benefits in a crowded Primary, but it is difficult to pick a front-runner, here. Hultgren is the incumbent. But Walsh has the national soapbox.

Your LakeCountyEye is not aware of any Democratic candidates running in the 14th, which is surprising. Sure, the 14th was gerrymandered to be a Republican vote sink. But with the prospect of a Joe Walsh or even (with the help of divine intervention) a Bill Scheurer as the Republican nominee, the 14th would be a pick-up opportunity for any Democrat able to put together a professional campaign.

The big winners, naturally, are the ops gathering signatures at a buck a pop. Party-on dudes.

Nuclear Energy Video from the Stevenson Center

2011-09-23T23:58:00.000-05:00

The Stevenson Center hosted a program on Nuclear Energy last weekend.

Nuclear Energy:
Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives

The speaker, Roger Frechette, mechanical engineer and LEED-accredited professional with 20 years experience, clearly explained modern energy options using the Chicago Loop as his example. Facts and statistics illuminated his talk. Frechette's company, PositiveEnergy Practice, works with municipalities, urban planners, and others to create sustainable master plans and decarbonization strategies, including those that harvest wind, solar and geothermal power.

For those this missed the presentation, video is available:

More can be seen at Adlai Stevenson Center Video Archive

The Third Man?

2011-09-22T23:50:00.000-05:00

The perennial public sector pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog are floating a rumor that perennial candidate Bill Scheurer wants to run as a Republican in the 14th Congressional District:

McHenry County Blog has learned that this year he is exploring a run in the Republican Party primary. In a comment to our story about Joe Walsh's decision to seek re-election in the new IL-14TH District, Scheurer had this to say: "I'm looking for people who could help kickstart a campaign to give GOP primary voters an alternative to the two 'Tea Party' candidates. Not that I have anything against tea or a good party — it's just that I'm more of a diet cola guy for my caffeine jolt." He is exploring whether GOP voters would consider his "Cola Party" campaign as a refreshing alternative.
Bill Scheurer Exploring Republican Run in New 14th District Congressional

The rumor strikes your LakeCountyEye as either disinformation, pure & simple -- or the by-product of senescence, fueled by wishful thinking. Either way, the rumor is so bizarre your LakeCountyEye would pay money just to see it happen.

If true, the obvious beneficiary of a crowded primary would be 14th District Congressman Randy Hultgren. Hultgren is being challenged in his Republican primary by 8th District Congressman Joe Walsh. While Hultgren is the 14th District incumbent, Walsh is the Tea-Party's candidate -- and that in itself gets Walsh spotted at least even odds. In a situation where an incumbent has a strong challenger, it benefits that incumbent to pack the ballot with stealth candidates to water down the opposition vote. In a three-way between Hultgren, Walsh & Scheurer -- Scheurer obviously is the low man on the totem pole, but don't bet on Walsh holding on to the top position.

Scheurer in the past has been the third-party spoiler candidate on a number of ballots, and your LakeCountyEye is not surprised to learn he is being courted by the Cola Party. But if your LakeCountyEye was advising Scheurer, your LakeCountyEye would advise Scheurer to run as a Democrat, and play it to win.

If Walsh beats Hultgren, mano-a-mano, and becomes the Republican nominee, then the 14th Congressional District becomes an immediate pickup opportunity for the Democrats. Walsh may have the Tea-Party to hold him up in the polls but, like Sarah Palin, Walsh's negatives are even higher. A rap sheet that includes dead-beat dad, foreclosures, a suspended drivers license, FEC & financial disclosure irregularities, and who knows what else, is not a road-map to re-election.

With opponents like Walsh who needs enemies? There's a better than even chance that the DCCC will be throwing gobs of money and support in the direction of some lucky 14th District Democratic nominee. No matter who it is.

There Goes the Neighborhood

2011-09-21T23:55:00.010-05:00

Operatives are asked to check their ticket stubs, the Mega-Million Little Lotto has spoken: your winning number is 14. Those operatives with winning ticket number 14 are advised to claim their prize.

Erm, wait a sec, that's your LakeCountyEye's number. Your LakeCountyEye has been predicting for months that Joe Walsh won't be the Congressman from the Eighth District for much longer. Instead Walsh will opt to run for re-election in the Red-Meat-Republican Fourteenth District instead. As readers of this blog have been made aware ad nauseam ...

I'm Just Mad About Fourteen.
Fourteen's Mad About Me.

your LakeCountyEye has predicted that not only will Walsh challenge the Fourteenth District Congressman Randy Hultgren, but Walsh will beat him in a fair primary fight.

Well team-Walsh, being notorious students of this blog, made it official. According to the Sun-Times ...

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, R-McHenry, an outspoken favorite of the Tea Party, has announced he will run against Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Winfield, in the GOP primary for the 14th District.
U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh to run in 14th District; would face Hultgren in primary

Team-Hultgren was none too pleased. The Sun-Times again ...

Hultgren wasted little time in firing back, issuing this response about 1 hour and 20 minutes after Walsh's announcement: "I'm disappointed that the Congressman from the 8th District has decided to abandon his own district to run against me in a primary. By doing so, he’s playing into the hands of the Springfield Democrats and Nancy Pelosi, who have drawn the Congressional map for Illinois specifically to encourage just such a contest."
U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh to run in 14th District; would face Hultgren in primary

Ha ha, Congressman Hultgren, it sux to be you.

As an FYI for operatives, the new 14th Congressional District comprises distant and exotic lands like Minooka and Oswego and Crystal Lake. Now that Walsh has thrown his tri-corner into the 14th, does this mean that Lake County will no longer stand to benefit from Representative Walsh's crackerjack congressional liaison services? Nope, 14 was drawn to also include big chunks of Red-Meat-Republican northern Lake County.

Your LakeCountyEye foresees many many Joe Walsh blog posts coming up, in the future. Ha ha it sux not to be your LakeCountyEye.

Padlock Publications?

2011-09-19T23:48:00.005-05:00

No sooner did the New York Times erect a paywall around its online content that Lake County's newspaper of record, the Daily Herald, has followed suit. The gray lady of Arlington Heights, in her own words:

The Daily Herald becomes the first newspaper in the Chicago area to begin charging for access to its digital content -- a necessity the company says is mandated by broad shifts in the traditional newspaper business model.
Subscriber Total Access begins

As operatives are well aware, while video killed the radio star, the Internet killed every other media outlet. Your LakeCountyEye, feeling a little like David.v.Goliath, can commiserate and wish the Herald the best of luck.

Few operatives, however, are happy over the Herald's decision -- the Herald perhaps in anticipation wrote an editorial to explain their action:

It's not altogether clear where the notion arose, but there seems to be a deeply held belief among some that "The Internet should be free."
The reality behind Subscriber Total Access

Ha ha, oops, it looks like operatives are going to have to subscribe first if they want to find out why they have to subscribe.

Just for the record, the ~~deeply held belief~~ meme is actually:

Information wants to be free

The MSM can be counted on to look out for the interests of, first and foremost, well, the MSM. So you have your LakeCountyEye's solemn pledge: operatives will never be sandbagged by a paywall erected around this blog. Your LakeCountyEye has been disinforming the public for free since 1993, and will continue to do so as long as there is an Internet.

Erm, since 2008.

The Roundabout Runaround

2011-09-18T23:33:00.003-05:00

Readers of this blog will recall when, back in July, Lake County was in the grips of roundabout fever:

Roundabout Trips

At the time, the county seemed all hell-bent on constructing roundabouts at intersections where most drivers typically expect to find traffic signals. As reported by the Daily Herald, two of the three county roundabouts are for Hunt Club Road:

New way of getting 'round

A straight line can be drawn from roundabout #1 at Hunt Club & Wadsworth Rd to roundabout #2 at Hunt Club & Millburn Rd; and from there to the equestrian tunnel, south of Millburn on Hunt Club.

Sharp-eyed operatives who like to connect the dots will recognize the same tunnel, reported on this blog, being dug by the village of Old Mill Creek:

Pipe Smoke

That equestrian tunnel is being built because of the roundabouts. Horse traffic is unable to cross these intersections, because vehicular traffic does not stop.

Your LakeCountyEye understands that Old Mill Creek (Pop 178) was, nonetheless, quite happy to see roundabouts built on the county highway that divides that village. Trucks and commercial vans, it is hoped, will stay away from Hunt Club in favor of the more heavy-traffic friendly Routes 41 & 45 to the east and the west. In fact, planners were certain enough that no truck would ever cross Hunt Club Road that the roundabout at Hunt Club and Millburn was built to accommodate vehicles no larger than automobiles. Apparently no one remembered that fire trucks and emergency vehicles are larger than automobiles. This explains the delay in the construction of the Hunt Club & Millburn roundabout. It is being rebuilt. It goes without saying that the county taxpayer is -- ha ha -- footing the bill.

For those stuck in construction traffic -- particularly at the intersection of Hunt Club & Millburn -- your LakeCountyEye has constructed a skill test for passing the time:

Which One Does Not Belong?
Circle the Intersection that is Different.

Hunt Club &
Route 173

Hunt Club &
Wadsworth

Hunt Club &
Stearns School

Google Maps

Lucky winners will receive round-trip tickets to, you guessed it, Roundout.

Q the Eye/09.16.11

2011-09-16T23:36:00.005-05:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

So where is "Mettawa(Libertyville)"? Was there some odd municipal merger that I wasn't informed of?

Team America

Dear TA,

Hawk-eyed operatives will recognize that today's question is also a comment that was posted on a ~~press release~~ story appearing earlier this week on this blog:

Nuclear Energy:
Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives

The author of the question is one of your LakeCountyEye's most prolific commenters, Team America. Not totally coincidentally, TA was also a finalist in this blog's weekly trivia contest ...

The Thrilla in Lake Villa

For his winning entry ....

Sente vs Malnati

Team America is awarded a free upgrade from the comments section, with a walk-on guest appearance on Q the Eye. Way to go TA!

Anyhow, to answer TA's question, your LakeCountyEye does not know where "Mettawa(Libertyville)" is. TA is advised to ask Barry MacLean, the Village President of Mettawa (Libertyville):

Strong Mayors Make for Strong Codes and Safer Communities

Wherever it may be, safety is doubtless the #1 priority in Mettawa (Libertyville)!

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

Pipe Smoke

2011-09-14T23:58:00.002-05:00

Your LakeCountyEye sends apologies to operatives inconvenienced by the blanket of smoke that covered the county yesterday. As readers of this blog are hazily aware ...

Q the Eye/08.27.11

beneath the LakeCountyEye compound are a honeycomb of tunnels dug for a variety of purposes. One purpose in particular is to provide a home (at a nominal fee) for excess waste from the Zion nuclear plant. Operatives who know anything about radioactivity know that nuclear waste has a tendency to spontaneously combust for no reason at all. This time, unfortunately, the escape hatches all had to be opened, which explains the blanket of smoke. And your LakeCountyEye's profuse apologies.

The ~~conflagration~~ minor contretemps had the unfortunate consequence of delaying the construction of the tunnel being built beneath Hunt Club Rd near Millburn -- aka the strangler -- Rd. The tunnel is listed on the books as a project of the Village of Old Mill Creek (Pop. 178); its stated purpose is to permit equestrian access from one side of Hunt Club Rd to, erm, another side of Hunt Club Rd.

Sharp-eyed operatives will observe that Hunt Club is a county road, and outside the jurisdiction of any municipal construction project. Your LakeCountyEye can assure that the whole project is above-board and legal -- the Lake County Board green-lighted the project with a variance and also threw in $40,000 of taxpayer funds to help defray costs:

Agreement Between the County of Lake and the Village of Old Mill Creek for the Construction and Maintenance of a Multi-Use Trail Underpass Along Hunt Club Road (County Highway 29), Approximately 200 Feet South of Mill Creek in Old Mill Creek, Illinois

More info is to be found at the County Board's website:

Hunt Club Road Improvement, Underpass: Village of Old Mill Creek Agreement

The delay in construction is significant because the project not only has closed down Hunt Club Road, but is delaying other nearby county road projects. The tunnel must be completed by September 26. Otherwise the Village of Old Mill Creek is to be fined $14,300 for each additional day.

Fortunately, the Village was able to explain about all of the trouble they are having digging their tunnel, and the nice people on the Lake County Board extended that deadline to October 10:

Amendment #1 to Agreement Between the County of Lake and the Village of Old Mill Creek for the Construction and Maintenance of a Multi-Use Trail Underpass Along Hunt Club Road (County Highway 29), Approximately 200 Feet South of Mill Creek in Old Mill Creek, Illinois

More amended info is to be found at the County Board's website:

Hunt Club Road Multi-Use Trail Underpass: Village of Old Mill Creek Agreement Amendment and Appropriation

Operatives are encouraged to drive over to the site of the construction project ...

There may be an opportunity waiting to grab a shovel and help the workers -- or at least school them on the proper way to dig a tunnel, on time and under budget!

Nuclear Energy: Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives

2011-09-13T20:12:00.019-05:00

The Stevenson Center will host a program on Nuclear Energy this weekend:

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Nuclear Energy: Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives

Robert Rosner, the former director of Argonne National Laboratory and Director of the Harris Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago will speak about the benefits of nuclear energy. David Kraft, Director of NEIS (Nuclear Energy Information Service) will speak to the problems of aging plants and the management of nuclear waste. Roger Frechette, founder and president of PositiveEnergy Practice will speak about the use of conservation, design, planning and imagination in solving energy needs.

Sunday
September 18, 2011
2 PM
The Stevenson Center on Democracy
25200 N St Mary's Rd
Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
847-816-7433
$15
Coffee and conversation following.

Eat Hearty

2011-09-11T23:09:00.003-05:00

Your LakeCountyEye wishes Buffalo Grove's Sid Mathias a speedy recovery from heart surgery. According to the News-Sun, Mathias plans to challenge Carol Sente for State Representative District 59, in the 2012 election:

Mathias on mend after heart surgery

Judging from the News-Sun story, Mathias already has a fund-raiser scheduled this week at Lou Malnati's:

Your LakeCountyEye is not divulging any trade secrets to say that when it comes to pizza in Lake County, nothing approaches the deep-dish served up at a Lou Malnati restaurant:

Lou's is the home of the BEST Chicago-style deep dish pizza in the world! If you love a buttery, flaky crust, sweet and tangy tomatoes, gooey mozzarella cheese, perfectly seasoned sausage, and other fresh ingredients- you've come to the right place.
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

In fact your LakeCountyEye is salivating right now just thinking about a thick gooey slice of that world-famous deep-dish ...

Reserve your LakeCountyEye a seat at that Lou Malnati fundraiser!

Ha ha, better also reserve some more beds, afterwards, at that Northwestern Hospital Cardio-Ward.

No Bypassing Zone

2011-09-10T23:18:00.019-05:00

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of power and wealth but of clout; a journey into a prosperous land whose boundaries are that of Route 45 and Millburn Rd. That's the signpost up ahead — your next stop, the No Bypass Zone.

Submitted for your approval:
One Suzi Schmidt is stuck again in traffic on the way to work. But this Suzi Schmidt is no ordinary commuter because she is the Chair of her County Board. And she decides, once upon a time, that a bypass road needs to be built for frustrated commuters like her. Fast-forward to the present. Schmidt no longer holds down a job with her County Board. But her bypass road is on schedule to be built, on a course charted to cleave in two communities and schools and forest preserves. Can anyone stop the Millburn Bypass's path of destruction?

Ha ha. The village of Old Mill Creek, for one, has made it a priority. Old Mill Creek (Pop 178) has three special meetings ...

Public Hearing
Plan Commission
Village Board

scheduled for Monday night. Your LakeCountyEye understands the village wants a vote on a zoning ordinance to keep the Millburn Bypass out of Old Mill Creek -- and is in a hurry to do so.

Operatives eager to witness the establishment of a no-bypass-zone around Old Mill Creek can attend these, it goes without saying, public meetings:

Village of Old Mill Creek
40870 Hunt Club Rd
Old Mill Creek

Monday, September 12
6 p.m.

Case in point: one small town at odds with their neighbor, thanks to one small-time politician who didn't want to wait 5 minutes at one small road intersection. All of which proves the old adage: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Beginning at the No Bypass Zone.

Appealing Your Assessment in Lake County

2011-09-09T23:30:00.002-05:00

If you're like me, you paid your property taxes this week and your pocketbook is feeling a lot lighter. This is a good time to remind everyone about our friends at the Citizens Action Project. Here's what they have to say in their latest press release:

"As we do every year, Citizens Action Project releases a "do-it-yourself guide" to lowering property assessments in Lake County. This is based upon exhaustive discussions we have with township assessors, board of review, and the chief county assessor to gauge how best citizens can appeal. This year, we created a free multimedia presentation. It is available on facebook, or for those who are not on facebook, our blog. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have."

They have also a new video you can watch ...

Appealing Your Assessment
in Lake County 2011

Or visit their website ...

Citizens Action Project

I've met people who have appealed their property taxes and had their assessments lowered, many times. This really works!

Q the Eye/09.08.11

2011-09-08T22:30:00.002-05:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

It was a scant 12 months ago that saw candidate Joe Walsh begging Congresswoman Melissa Bean to debate him:
Dear Melissa Bean Debate meBack then, tough talking Joe was ready to debate anywhere, anytime.  But now I'm worried that Congressman Joe Walsh is becoming Melissa Bean in a dress. I'm ready to debate Walsh anytime, anywhere.  Are you listening, Joe?

Rising to Debate

Dear That's Debatable,

Good luck with that one. One Eighth District candidate has already invited Walsh to debate ...

Krishnamoorthi Challenges Walsh To Debate On Jobs

but you're more likely to see Walsh accept an invitation by the President to attend a joint session of Congress.

The Eighth was gerrymandered to be unwinnable for a Republican and twice as unwinnable for a Republican named Walsh. You'll have a better chance getting him to debate in District 14, where he is likely to run. District 14 was gerrymandered to be a black-hole-sink for Republican-red votes, and whoever wins the Republican primary there is heavily favored to win in the November election as well.

And your LakeCountyEye does expect to see Walsh win the Primary there ...

I'm Just Mad About Fourteen.
Fourteen's Mad About Me.

He may not be the incumbent, but in a Congressional District cut to corral-in the tea-party, Walsh has the Republican tea-party backing him, no strings attached.

And your LakeCountyEye daresays Walsh has the Democratic Party, there, backing him as well. Who do you suppose the local Democratic honchos would prefer to see as the face of the opposition party: A Randy Hultgren? A Peter Roskam? A Robert Dold? A Don Manzullo? Or a Joe "Dead Beat Dad" Walsh?

Ha ha, this was not a trick question. And who knows, after Walsh wins his Primary in the 14th District, he may totally fly off the rails and hand over an upset win to some lucky token Democratic candidate. Your LakeCountyEye expects to see the Democrats in the 14th District hustling their people to the polls next March with orders to cast a ballot for Joe Walsh.

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

I'm Just Mad About Fourteen. Fourteen's Mad About Me.

2011-09-07T23:55:00.002-05:00

For correctly guessing where Eighth District Congressman Joe Walsh will run for re-election, one lucky contest winner is eligible for a free dinner at the Subway Sandwiches & Salads of Minooka (conveniently located off the Interstate). Congratulations, and be sure to send your attorneys to claim your prize!

Ha ha. As readers of this blog are blithely aware ...

Got Any Gum?

local news outlets have made up their minds that Joe Walsh will try to retain his congressional seat in District 14, and are all abuzz because of it. Walsh has neither confirmed or denied the rumor. However your LakeCountyEye has learned that his polling data indicates that semi-rural District 14 represents Walsh's best opportunity for safeguarding his high-salary Washington DC job.

As this authentic-looking pie chart indicates, Alexa ranks Congressman Walsh among the most popular ~~targets~~ sources of discussion covered by this blog ...

Big LakeCountyEye Traffic Generators

so naturally your LakeCountyEye wishes to see Walsh re-elected, in perpetuum if possible. This nonetheless does not skew your LakeCountyEye's eagle-eyed assessment that if he chooses to run in the District 14 Republican Primary, Walsh will win.

No doubt the incumbent there, Randy Hultgren, would be a formidable opponent. Hultgren can probably count on the support of the local GOP establishment. But the hearts of the GOP base -- the tea-party -- belong to Walsh. In a fair fight between a frustrated establishment vs a riled up base, your LakeCountyEye gives it to the guys who will be knocking on the doors.

Fourteen is a huge district so operatives are advised to start their walkin' & knockin' if they haven't already. The primary is scheduled for March 20, 2012. Your LakeCountyEye hopes to have Joe Walsh to kick around some time to come.

Got Any Gum?

2011-09-06T23:56:00.004-05:00

Operatives playing the Joe-Walsh-Little-Lotto are advised to check their stubs. If you picked Congressional District 14, step up to the window and claim your prize.

One of the leading unanswered questions about the 2012 election is where Congressman Joe Walsh will run for re-election. Walsh may not have yet decided publicly where he is running -- but the area's two number-one news outlets have. Lake County's newspaper of record, the Daily Herald ...

Hultgren, Walsh lay groundwork for primary matchup

and the libertarian-public-sector-pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog ...

Is Walsh's Primary Strategy Viable?

are both calling it for Congressional District 14. That giant sucking sound you hear is the wind being knocked out of the sails of 14th District Congressman Randy Hultgren's re-election campaign.

Walsh, atypically tight-lipped, says he is waiting for the courts to decide what the Congressional map will look like. And when it comes to waiting for the courts to decide, Walsh no doubt speaks from experience. But for your LakeCountyEye's money, they are waiting for the numbers his pollster needs to determine whether Walsh should run in District 14 or 10 or 8 or 6 or somewhere else.

The new Congressional District 14 cuts a shermanesque swath of land from north and western Lake County all the way down to Minooka, ~~Kentucky~~ Illinois. Operatives venturing that far south are advised to remember their passports.

Now your LakeCountyEye has, on occasion, blogged about the exploits of Screamin' Joe Walsh and even Welshin' Joe Walsh. But if the Congressman does decide to throw his hat into District 14, look for your LakeCountyEye chewing over the possibility of a Minooka Joe Walsh.

Route 53 Where Are You?

2011-09-04T23:57:00.004-05:00

The news hit your LakeCountyEye like an incumbent office-holder driving with SR-22 insurance: Don't expect to be scoopin' the Route 53 extension any time during your lifetime. According to the Pioneer Press, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has no money to spend on the project:

Lake County loses Route 53 extension bid

If Route 53 is now literally a highway to oblivion, what is your LakeCountyEye to do for hilarious material? (With the exception of Island Lake) the jokes don't write themselves in Lake County. Operatives will observe that the Route 53 Extension comprises a significant chunk of your LakeCountyEye's comedic output:

Without Route 53 to kick around any more, does that mean your LakeCountyEye will have to blog about politicians or something? This is enough to drive your LakeCountyEye to Nippersink.

But enough with the jokes, this is serious.

Note to operatives: get on the horn, toot-sweet, and call the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Tell them to catch a clue and re-route the Route 53 extension through Old Mill Creek. Your LakeCountyEye guarantees the funding will show up -- from somewhere, like magic -- to send Route 53 somewhere else. Like through Long Grove or Lindenhurst something. Somewhere not in Old Mill Creek.

Grease the Wheels

2011-09-02T22:16:00.004-05:00

Q: What is the difference between the Millburn Bypass and a coronary bypass?
A: You need to have a heart to complete a coronary bypass.

Ha ha j/k. Lake County is being driven to distraction over the Lake County Division of Transportation's decision to route the Millburn bypass through Lindenhurst's suburbs and not through Old Mill Creek's farm fields:

A Gift Horse

Your LakeCountyEye has now discovered that Tempel "Tim" Smith -- along with various companies filing from Box 399, Wadsworth -- have contributed some $25,000 to Lake County and other Illinois politicians. Suzi Schmidt -- the prime mover behind the Millburn Strangler -- benefited from $2200 of Smith's largess:

Contributions List

Smith, no doubt looking out for the interests of the residents of Old Mill Creek (Pop 178) where he is the mayor, illustrates the power of civic-minded benevolence. Operatives worried about a US Highway dividing their neighborhood could do worse than follow Smith's example:

Reception for State Senate Candidate Suzi Schmidt

For those operatives more worried about a US Highway dividing their family estate, cf. above.

Garbage In. Garbage Out.

2011-08-31T23:53:00.008-05:00

The second law of thermodynamics guarantees that computer hackers will discover, sooner or later, the whereabouts of McHenry County. And according to the public sector pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog, that day has arrived:

The host I use to publish McHenry County Blog is Word Press. Last night I started noticing underline words that, when clicked upon, transfer readers to something called "en.wikipedia.com," whatever that is. I apologize for the annoyance.
Unauthorized Links Now Appearing on Word Press Publications

Discerning operatives will instantly recognize that en.wikipedia.com is the URL of a notorious Russian zombie botnet porn site. Ha ha j/k. Discerning operatives will instantly recognize that en.wikipedia.com is, erm, Wikipedia -- the Internet's (as well as your LakeCountyEye's) official reference source.

This blog, for one, will often post a hyperlink to the Wiki, like for instance ...

Public Sector Pension

These hyperlinks are intended to provide the reader access to a quick and authoritative brief on any topic. In fact the practice is so common among bloggers that blogsites offer standard tools to automate the process of tagging their HTML:

Plugin Directory
Tag: wikipedia

For operatives who are interested in installing a WordPress plugin for creating Wiki hyperlinks, your LakeCountyEye suggests ...

Creates links to Wikipedia with different languages
The plugin is a Wikipedia plugin, for setting links to Wikipedia articles. The language and the description for every link can be set individually.
Reference 2 Wiki

Unless of course you happen to be a tragi-comical blogger at the McHenryCountyBlog. In that case what you might be looking for is an appropriate plugin removal tool:

How to Uninstall a WordPress Plugin

Now, the last time a blogger in McHenry County actually attempted to uninstall a plugin, the area lost power for a week:

Power Outages in McHenry County

This may explain why the easily befuddled bloggers at the McHenryCountyBlog opted not to remove the annoying plugins off of their computers. They opted instead to keep the unwelcome hyperlinks, while asking their readers to install some annoying ad-blocking crapware on their computers:

Heck of a Guy blogger Allan Showalter came up with the solution to the pop-ads on my web site, as well as every other one with text. It's called "Adblock." You can access it here if you have words with dotted underlining on you screen. I'm so please to know that McHenry County Blog is not the exporter on unauthorized links.
Ad Blocker Add-on Cures Unwanted Links on Word Press, etc.

Content filters like Adblock Plus that block scripted HTTP requests to prevent popups and other unwanted ads usually have no effect on the sort of embedded hyperlinks that bedevil the bewildered bloggers at the McHenryCountyBlog.

A final note: smart operatives will make sure their antivirus software is up-to-date & current before any future visits to the McHenryCountyBlog!

Goodnight Irene

2011-08-30T23:29:00.007-05:00

Now that Barack Obama stopped Hurricane Irene in her tracks ...

OBAMA stopped the Hurricane!!!!!!!!

what is the President of the United States to do for an encore?

Oh yeah, the re-election thing.

Since his super-powers seem to be no match against the Republican Party, GOP candidates are amassing in droves for a chance to challenge Obama in 2012. There are, in fact, so many presidential candidates to choose from that the Republican Party local intelligentsia are having a hard time making up their minds. According to the Daily Herald ...

As the Republican primary race for president begins to pick up steam, top GOP leaders in the suburbs largely are delaying picking who to get behind. It's a process that's usually well under way by now, with local officials already wearing buttons and stumping for their favorite national figures. But not this year.
Local GOP slow to back presidential choices

Among those with a wait-and-see attitude include State Reps Mike Fortner & Randy Ramey, State Sens Matt Murphy & Kirk Dillard, and Congressman Randy Hultgren.

One GOP luminary not eager to mealymouth-pussyfoot around is Lake County's own Congressman Joe Walsh:

Walsh contends Obama is vulnerable enough that "we don't need to find the next Ronald Reagan."
Local GOP slow to back presidential choices

Walsh is not called the tip-o-the-spear for nothing.

Well your LakeCountyEye has never shied away from a directive, particularly one from Congressman Walsh. Having surveyed a database of past presidential candidates, your LakeCountyEye has compiled not one but a list of ten mopes -- none of whom are the next Ronald Reagan -- but could still beat Barack Obama in 2012.

Ten Douches
Who Can Beat
Pres Obama in 2012

Harold Stassen
Alan Keyes
Alfred E Neuman
Lyndon LaRouche
Ralph Nader
Ross Perot
Al Sharpton
Newt Gingrich
Bill the Cat
Joe Walsh

Watch for your LakeCountyEye, looking presidential.

Q the Eye/08.27.11

2011-08-27T22:44:00.002-05:00

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Where is the LakeCountyEye compound? I say it's somewhere up with the horse farms. A friend says it doesn't exist. A pair of box-seat Fielders tickets are riding on your answer.

Lookie Loo

Dear Snoop Dogg,

Heavily guarded compounds must be the hot topic of the week. There are some eerie similarities being revealed between the LakeCountyEye compound and Colonel Gadhafi's Tripoli compound. For instance did you know that the LakeCountyEye compound also has a secret tunnel network, extending from Waukegan to Chicago to Springfield and parts beyond? And the LakeCountyEye compound is also the site of one of Lake County's largest scrapbook shrines to Condoleezza Rice?

But to answer the question, your LakeCountyEye's witness protection program case officer strongly frowns upon the divulging of such information. Suffice it to say the compound does indeed exist. Hopefully that admission is good enough at least for an autographed photo of ~~Kenneth~~ Kevin Costner.

Your LakeCountyEye is authorized to share some interior photos of the compound:

The above is the summer breakfast nook. Discerning operatives will immediately recognize a mahogany fauteuil dining set w/matching endtable, folding portafinestra french doors, and a 20'x 30' anatolian carpet.

Discerning operatives may also recognize Lake County Clerk Willard Helander. Your LakeCountyEye graciously loaned the space to Helander, a few weeks back, to shoot her QVC guest-host segment.

The entire video can be reviewed on the YouTube:

Candidate Petition Filing Process

Late-Night-TV-aholics may want to also keep an eye peeled for more video of your LakeCountyEye's compound on an upcoming episode of Hoarders.

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

The Hound of the Baskervilla in Lake Villa

2011-08-26T23:18:00.007-05:00

Lake County loves a whodunnit. As readers of this blog are strangely aware ...

Godzilla in Lake Villa

Last week, sheriff's deputies were summoned by the spouse of State Senator Suzi Schmidt to intervene in a domestic kerfuffle. In this case however, the mystery is not so much a whodunnit -- operatives everywhere know who did it -- but a what-happened-to-it.

The what-happened-to-it, in this case, is a Daily Herald report of the incident. The report, posted online on Aug 18, vanished as suddenly as it appeared, without a trace, never to be seen again.

Most media sources -- including the Tribune, News-Sun, Sun-Times, Northwest Herald -- posted versions, which are still available online. However all that remains of the Daily Herald story are a few tantalizing bits and pieces of evidence captured by the search engines:

Google

This much is known:

Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Christopher Thompson said deputies were called to the Schmidt home near Lake Villa at 6 p.m. Tuesday by Schmidt's husband Robert, 63. Deputies took statements from both Robert Schmidt, and Suzie Schmidt, ...
Police called to Schmidt home for domestic disturbance

Everything else is subject to much heated debate.

That Lake County's newspaper of record -- the Daily Herald -- could so quickly misfile a story, and under mysterious circumstances, and without a word of explanation, is disturbing to say the least. Your LakeCountyEye has taken the liberty of rounding up the usual ~~operatives~~ suspects, and with the aid of 100% legal enhanced interrogation methods, has obtained some valuable leads. Ten, to be exact. Operatives are challenged to dust off their deerstalker caps and join in the hunt for the whereabouts of the missing Daily Herald story:

Ten Leads for Locating a Missing Daily Herald story:
Police called to Schmidt home for domestic disturbance

Look under the campaign bus.
Check all the public reststops on the Route 53 Extension.
Inspect the skybox at the Fielders Stadium.
Talk to the roulette croupier at the Park City Casino.
Find the owners of Winchester House.
Lost in the mail, along with Joe Walsh's child support check.
Search along the Lake County Olympic Village Equestrian trail.
Canvass Lake County Board Districts 22 & 23.
Ask the Millburn Strangler.
Follow the Money

Where to look for your LakeCountyEye this weekend? Not a clue!

Joe Walsh: Quite Lying

2011-08-23T23:11:00.003-05:00

This must be Lake County connubial bliss week or something. LakeCountyEye operative, Katie Halper, sent this ~~venereal~~ viral video, no doubt with high hopes of taking the Internet by storm.

Actually, your LakeCountyEye found the video somewhere on the CapitolFaxBlog. And Katie Halper is some Internet comedienne in New York. Probably.

Joe Walsh: Quite Lying

Your LakeCountyEye cannot not recall an accent dominating a performance quite like this one, since Fargo.

Your LakeCountyEye notes that the generic Internet comics, wielding generic southsidechicago accents, may now be targeting Lake County's very own Eighth District Congressman, Joe Walsh. This means Walsh has jumped the shark or something.

Probably.

Godzilla in Lake Villa

2011-08-20T23:56:00.016-05:00

There are some big footprints to follow in Lake County. As readers of this blog are stridently aware ...

A Gift Horse

the owner of those footprints once met the Millburn Stranger, long long ago, on the field of battle. And won. With the Strangler vanquished, the trail of those footprints then lead through heavily populated areas of the once-tranquil suburban Lindenhurst.

Now the trail leads unmistakably to once-tranquil suburban Lake Villa, and to a scene where Sheriff's deputies were summoned to intervene in a domestic altercation. As readers of this blog are lawfully aware ...

The Megilla in Lake Villa

County Sheriff Mark Curran issued a news release stating his deputies responded to a disturbance call, last Tuesday, from the home of State Senator Suzi Schmidt. Needless to say the papers this week were all over the story. Like Godzilla on downtown Tokyo.

Ha ha j/k. Actually the opposite has happened, no one is talking to anyone, the wagons are circling, it's as if a news blackout has been decreed upon the media. So if you've come to your LakeCountyEye for the latest on this still unfolding story, you've wasted your time.

Your LakeCountyEye can note that this is an anniversary of Tiger Woods's notorious domestic incident. Exactly 631 days ago, the police responded to an incident involving an automobile at Woods's Orlando home. (This is significant because 631 is your LakeCountyEye's Little Lotto number.) If your LakeCountyEye recalls correctly, police arrived that evening to discover that the Mrs had rammed the Tiger's car with her car, and had attempted to run him over. She was upset over the Tiger's drunken condition. Anyways, the Tiger was so frightened that he called the police.

This all happened back in the day -- so your LakeCountyEye's recollection may be a little fuzzy. Your LakeCountyEye does know the successful career Tiger built on the links never quite recovered afterwards.

The Megilla in Lake Villa

2011-08-19T23:03:00.007-05:00

Ha ha, your LakeCountyEye must be psychic or something. No sooner does this blog publish its hard-hitting expose of domestic violence ...

The Thrilla in Lake Villa

than domestic violence is brought home, courtesy the local headlines:

Lake County Sheriff's deputies were called to the Lake Villa home of State Sen. Suzanne Schmidt by her husband, Robert, earlier this week, Sheriff Mark Curran said Thursday in a press release. Police were called to a domestic incident Tuesday evening involving the 60-year-old Republican state senator
Police: State Sen. Schmidt involved in domestic incident

More of the same can be seen at ...

Suzanne 'Suzi' Schmidt, State Senator, Involved In Domestic Incident With Husband, Police Say

Deputies called to domestic at Sen. Schmidt’s home

'Verbal argument' brings deputies to state senator's home

Police called to home of state senator for domestic incident

Its been said: dog bites man is not news, but when man bites dog, you got a story. Pretty much the same applies when the Sheriff is called to intervene in a domestic incident. When the incident involves a State Senator, and when it's the Senator's spouse who made the call, you got a story.

The fact that the incident involves a prominent Lake County political figure, Suzi Schmidt, may account for the reason that the Daily Herald has already yanked their version:

The article requested can not be found! Please refresh your browser or go back. (DA,20110818,news,708189903,AR).
Police called to Schmidt home for domestic disturbance

On the flip side, the Lake County Sheriff's office was to the fore and ready with a press release following the incident. Sheriff Make Curran is expected to announce his candidacy for State's Attorney and one doesn't get elected by missing opportunities to see one's name in the media.

For operatives wondering when the 2012 election cycle unofficially begins, you may be looking at it.

The Thrilla in Lake Villa

2011-08-18T23:47:00.004-05:00

August is traditionally the slow-news month -- and traditionally the slow-political-news month, times two. Lake County is no exception to the rule, your LakeCountyEye has been scouring the media all day for something to blog about, and with little to show for it. As readers of this blog are sluggishly aware:

A Gift Horse

Tuesday nights are reserved by your LakeCountyEye for listening to the County Sheriff's Police scanner. The scanner is the source of more than 90% of your LakeCountyEye's stories. However, last Tuesday your LakeCountyEye fell asleep early and has nothing newsworthy to report.

Your LakeCountyEye can report a strange dream, while asleep by the scanner, about your LakeCountyEye's all-time favorite TV show, the battling Bickersons. Your LakeCountyEye's comedic eye-teeth were cut -- back in the day -- memorizing John and Blanche Bickerson's hilarious routines.

Blanche: You used to be so considerate. Since you got married to me you haven't got any sympathy at all.
John: I have, too. I've got everybody's sympathy.
Blanche: Believe me, there's better fish in the ocean than the one I caught.
John: There's better bait, too.
Blanche: I don't see how you can go to bed without kissing me good night.
John: I can do it.
Blanche: You'd better say you're sorry for that, John.
John: Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Blanche: You are not.
John: I am too. I'm the sorriest man that was ever born.
Blanche: You stopped loving me the day we were married.
John: That wasn't the day at all.

Ha ha, timeless comedy always reads like it was ripped fresh from today's headlines! Anyhow, your LakeCountyEye was inspired to compile a list of ten other famous battling couples, taken from the annals of history. This will be a quiz and readers are challenged to guess who would win in a fair fight:

Who Would Win in a Fair Fight?

Al Bundy vs Peggy Bundy
Leroy Lockhorn vs Loretta Lockhorn
Ralph Kramden vs Alice Kramden
Felix vs Oscar
Lucy Ricardo vs Ricky Ricardo
Archie Bunker vs Edith Bunker
Wile E Coyote vs Road Runner
Hyacinth Bucket vs Richard Bucket
Fred Flintstone vs Wilma Flintstone
Abbott vs Costello

Readers may send their guesses to LakeCountyEye@gmail.com

Bonus points will be awarded to readers who can suggest other famous battling couples omitted from the list. There are no restrictions, the couples can be real or fictional, famous, or just someone who coulda been a contender.

A Gift Horse

2011-08-17T23:49:00.002-05:00

When not monitoring the Lake Villa police scanner, your LakeCountyEye spends a muggy summer night reading excerpts from old Daily Herald stories from 2005:

There's one intersection Lake County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt avoids. It drives her nuts when she gets sidetracked and ends up trapped behind a line of traffic. If anyone should remember to stay away from Grass Lake Road and Route 45, it's Schmidt. She nicknamed it "The Millburn Strangler" a decade ago. The dubious moniker stuck, and became part of local lore. Even today, residents slowly snake though the crossing, especially during rush hours. The speed limit drops and two stop lights stand a quarter-mile apart. Homes and antique shops of the Millburn Historic District sit on either side of the intersection. But thanks to $2 million in federal funds, a new bypass is coming that will ease congestion by taking drivers around the historic district. Local politicians and U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean met near the area Tuesday to chat about ending the congestion. "That intersection has been a problem for as long as I can remember," Schmidt said. "It's horrible." In recent years, traffic has worsened with the addition of two new subdivisions and a new Millburn Elementary District 24 school, she said.
'Millburn Strangler' to be untangled.

Well, that horrible intersection is soon to be a thing of the past. A bypass soon to be built, will send drivers point-blank instead through those two inconvenient subdivisions and elementary school. As readers of this blog are jawdroppingly aware:

Q the Eye/08.14.11

Former County Chair Suzi Schmidt is seeing her wish become reality, as Route 45 is to be re-routed away from the historic antique shops. However, instead of being built through empty farmland, the Route 45 bypass is scheduled to divide suburban Lindenhurst much like Sherman divided Atlanta in 1864.

The news marks the end of a years long struggle between interests situated in Old Mill Creek to the east of Route 45, and Lindenhurst to the west. For operatives wishing to know what needs to be done to be on the winning side of this sort of inter-urban contretemps, your LakeCountyEye is happy to oblige:

To begin, send those campaign donations to your Springfield representatives. Route 45 is a US Highway, and your rep in Springfield is well suited to lobby your rep in Washington:

Reception for Suzi Schmidt with Judy Baar Topinka and Dan Rutherford

Next, pay a visit to city hall. It never hurts to enlist the mayor of your town:

Village of Old Mill Creek

Finally, if your mayor is related to one of Lake County's prominent land owners -- game-set-match!

Tempel Farms

Just follow to the letter these step-by-step recommendations and you and your neighbors will be sleeping with assurance again each night. Your LakeCountyEye guarantees that noisy, smelly, dangerous US highway will find itself, as if by magic, rerouted through someone else's backyard.

Get a Room!

2011-08-15T23:55:00.004-05:00

An actual lede from an actual Daily Herald story:

Clapping his hands, Joe Walsh strides into a room at Richard Walker’s Pancake House in Crystal Lake on a sunny Saturday morning. He is wearing worn blue crocs, a red polo shirt tucked into rumpled green cargo shorts, his striped belt missing a loop in back.
Walsh faces tough fight ahead in re-election bid to Congress

You have just enjoyed the inaugural segment of your LakeCountyEye's newest running gag:
Get a Room!™
Readers will be apprised of future installments of Get a Room!™ when they are available. In the interim, move along please, there is nothing else to see.

Q the Eye/08.14.11

2011-08-14T23:00:00.007-05:00

Dear LakeCountyEye, 

The Lake County Department of Transportation wants to reroute a highway through our Subdivision, as well as through our Elementary School and Forest Preserve. The road could've just as easily been routed to the east, through farmland. I'm seeing red and it's not just the traffic lights! 

I Need a 45-tuple Bypass

Dear Crash & Millburn,

These are the facts as your LakeCountyEye understands them. The County is given a choice to reroute your highway through either:

Nearby farmland, rendering the property much less valuable to residential developers.
Your subdivision.

And you want to know why they chose (B).

Erm, is this a trick question?

Anyhow, the solution to your problem is easy. Convene a blue-ribbon community advisory group, and interview all the concerned parties, and assess the various environmental, economic and societal impacts, and codify your findings in a report, and present your report to the Lake County Division of Transportation, and expect the LCDOT to do the right thing.

Ha ha j/k. Only someone who just fell off the turnip boat would think that's the way business is conducted in Lake County. Just look at what happened to the tragically inept residents of one Lake County community near the soon-to-be-rerouted Route 45:

Lake County Department of Transportation staff and the engineering consultants appeared to be cavalier and dismissive about the concerns of residents who make up the advisory panel that has been reviewing bypass options for two years. While LCDOT and consultants emphasized traffic flow and preserving a deteriorating historic district, they did not even touch on the impact on residents, their quality of life and their property values.
Diana Kuyper: Red flags raised over bypass option

Instead of being rerouted east through the farmlands of Old Mill Creek, Route 45 is now scheduled to be rerouted to the west through the subdivisions of Lindenhurst. There is no secret howcome -- the answer is as easy as finding out who has been making the ~~bribes~~ donations to the election campaigns of which Springfield legislators.

In Illinois one pays to play. If you think you've backed the wrong horse, then follow the money. Just find out who has been ponying up the dough. 'Nuff said!

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

Joe Walsh:	THIS IS WAR, PEOPLE, THIS IS A REVOLUTION FOR THE VERY SOUL OF AMERICA. THE MEDIA DOESN'T GET IT. THE PARTIES DON'T GET IT. IT'S HIGH TIME WE PULLED OUR HEADS OUT OF THE SAND. SO, YOU SIR, I HAVE TO ASK YOU ONCE AGAIN ... RESPECTFULLY ... WHY DO YOU HAVE A BANANA IN YOUR EAR?!
Barfly:	Could you speak louder, please? I have a banana in my ear.

Lake County Eye

An Endorphin Endorsement Rush

Blogrolled!

Statement on Senator Kirk's Medical Condition

Did Santorum Outscorum?

Walsh v Obama

Musical Board Chairs?

Q the Eye/01.15.12

Ballotations for the Chairman, Now?

Rebuffing with Faint Praise?

Q the Eye/01.07.12

Historical Fiction on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban

The Santorum Post-Mortum

Sanctum Santorum

You Say You Want a Resolution

Happy Day After New Year's Eve

Little Bridges

Frank God it's Christmas

Merry War On Christmas!

The Loyal Opposition?

Unnatural Election

Smittened?

The Screaming Memes

Re:Pete After Me

Q the Eye/12.18.11

Municipally Munificent Mundelein

Challenge Challenged?

Unidentified Flying Objections

Good Cop Bad Cop

Beyond the Countdown to the End of the Countdown

Countdown to the End of the Countdown

The Spies Who Came in for Cong. Dold

Teh Crazy Eighth

The Spy Who Came in was Rep. Cole

Onionized!

Q the Eye/12.02.11

Rated R: for Things Blown Way Out of Proportion

Digressional Districts

Signature Song

Christmas in Springfield?

Happy X-Giving!

Debatable Candidates

The Petition Edition

Monument to Cupidity?

The Bob & Tom Show

Dold & Hammer

Assessing the Damages

Thank you

Q the Eye/11.10.11

Virile Video

Dirty Poll!

Friends in High Places

Poll No Punches

Custom Signage

Quitsville!

The 411 on 911

Tribune Creepy Cartoonist™ Shamelessly Milks Myth About African-American Males

Refugees in the Middle East

Horse Manure

A Trojan Horse?

Splitsville

Occupations

Bates and Switch

Cadge & Release™ Circle the Wagons

Q the Eye/10.12.11

Mass Depreciation

Negative Feedback

The Re-doozi

A Difference of Opinion

The Spin Cycle

Oh Schmidt Susanna

A Schmidt Decision

McClatchey and Release

Send a Bill to Congress

Nuclear Energy Video from the Stevenson Center

The Third Man?

There Goes the Neighborhood

Padlock Publications?

The Roundabout Runaround

Q the Eye/09.16.11