Obvious Signs

There is nothing sadder than the silly season of an off-year election. And were there any doubt that Lake County is in the midst of either, look no farther than this tale out of Fox Lake, of election yardsigns and square footage, all courtesy the Daily Herald:

At issue is the size of the sign. Under the village's election sign law, which was updated in February 2012, the length and width of an election sign is limited to 4 feet, and the sign is not allowed to have a surface area totaling more than 16 square feet. The sign, which reads "Ed Bender, Mayor, Focused Party", covers the billboard. A billboard exceeds 100 square feet in size, village officials say.
Mayor’s oversized billboard causing controversy in Fox Lake election

They say the silly season is the laboratory of democracy, where desperate campaigns experiment with halfbaked ideas, hoping to turn that landslide defeat into a last-minute victory. The latest halfbaked idea appears to be the ginormous yardsign.

Does this signal a new trend -- the incredible growing yardsign?  Operatives are advised to always consult the experts before unleashing new campaign technology on an unsuspecting electorate. The undisputed expert on yardsigns is Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, a professor of Evolutionary Political Science at the College of Lake County. Your LakeCountyEye asked him what Lake County has to look forward to, regarding the humble yardsign. Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi replied that empirical studies have shown that the bandwidth required by the average yardsign is increasing exponentially. He produced a graphic on his laptop. "I am sure you have seen this chart of human evolution. No?" ...

"If you have, this is the projected evolutionary progress of the Lake County political yardsign." ...

"According to our estimates, the typical yardsign by the 2016 election will be bigger than a drive-in movie screen. This should serve as a fair warning to city and highway planners in Lake County. Not to mention homeowners who agree to plant a yardsign in their front yards. I can't think of anything too big to fail in Lake County, except now the yardsign."

Words to ponder. Your LakeCountyEye asked Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi if he had any parting advice for operatives.

"Enjoy your views of the sunny skies and moonlit nights. While you still can."