Vote Early Vote Awesome

It may be spring break in Lake County -- but that doesn't mean there won't be a surprise pop quiz:

Who recently told one local newspaper: "College of Lake County is an awesome place and I want to keep it that way."
	Buchanan La Quinta Occupation: Political Science Undergraduate, College of Lake County Age: 19
	Ashley Wilkes Occupation: Digital Game Design Instructor, College of Lake County Age: 31
	Barbara Oilschlager Occupation: Retired Age: 64

If you guessed "Awesome" Barbara Oilschlager then step forward and claim your prize: An all-expenses-paid spring-break weekend on Blarney Island.

Barbara Oilschlager is a candidate for College of Lake County Trustee. And with election day just around the corner, on April 9, Oilschlager is doubtless courting that important off-year-election youth-vote -- even if that means going to the Patch and signifying to the kids that you speaks their lingo:

College of Lake County is an awesome place and I want to keep it that way.
Barbara D. Oilschlager: College of Lake County Board Candidate

A public statement like that is hard to top -- but Oilschlager also told the Patch:

The most important challenge is to remain fiscally sound. Without fiscal stability, not much else is possible. One of the fiscal challenges include pension reform. CLC is a very labor intensive entity where anywhere from 74 percent to 76 percent of our budget goes to salary and benefits. If the state were to push the entire pension obligation on to CLC all at once, our first year obligation alone would be about $8 million. Another challenge for us will be the impact of "Obama Care." Right now CLC is struggling with a definition of what will constitute an eligible employee.
Barbara D. Oilschlager: College of Lake County Board Candidate

Even your LakeCountyEye can read between those lines. How awesome will CLC be after they lay-off all of those labor-intensive educators and outsource their jobs to China or Mexico or with web-bots or something? Triple the awesome? Quadruple? The mind boggles.

Some of your LakeCountyEye's fondest recollections are of times past spent at CLC: the raccoon coats, the hip flasks, the Model-T's, the ukuleles. And that was just 2012! The old alma-mater won't be the same if they turn CLC into an online teaching institution. Did your LakeCountyEye mention that election day is April 9?

Boola Boola!