Q the Eye/03.09.13

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Where is all the pork-barrel money hiding in Lake County? Please reply soon, this is for a homework assignment that is due Monday.

Bags Under My Eyes

Dear Bag Man,

It's all hiding in plain sight -- just follow the money.

One place where your LakeCountyEye likes to look, especially close to an election, are Letters to the Editor. Here is a recent letter to the Daily Herald, selected at random:

On the night of the Feb. 26 snowstorm, I couldn't help but notice how well the roads were maintained in Ela Township. I think it is important that the Ela Township Highway commissioner, Bill Kruckenberg and his crew, receive the credit that is due. I saw a number of cars in the ditches but none of them on the unincorporated roads.
Derrek Pathmann
Praise for Ela Township roads

Hawkeyed operatives might wonder who would take the time to write a letter praising the unincorporated roads in Ela Township. As it turns out, the Ela Township Board -- including the Highway Commissioner -- is running for re-election in April and is being challenged by an independent slate. So your LakeCountyEye Googled Ela Township + Pathmann:

Google

Haha, it looks like Ela Township is throwing a lot of business in the direction of a Hawthorn Woods firm called Pathmann Construction Management, Inc., owned by Jeffery Pathmann. Google produced a slew of hits connecting Ela Township and Pathmann Construction. Here are a couple of Patch stories:

The Ela Township board recently approved a contract with Pathmann Construction Management, Inc. to oversee renovations at the post office building at 380 Surryse Road for a new community center.
Ela Township Approves Firm For Renovation Of New Community Center

The estimated cost of the project is expected to be around $200,000, 10 percent of which will be paid to Pathmann Construction Management, Inc., to cover overhead costs like permits, labor, dumpsters and other necessary equipment to move the project forward. An additional 5 percent of the total project cost will be paid to Pathmann Construction Management, Inc., to compensate them for their services.
Ela Township Approves Firm For Renovation Of New Community Center

The renovation project to transform the building was handled by Hawthorn Woods-based Pathmann Construction. In June 2011, the estimated figure to cover renovations for the new facility was $200,000. But when Pathmann came back to the board at its September 2011 meeting, the company stated the price tag nearly had tripled to $586,685 due to costs that came in higher than expected.
New Ela Township Community Center to Open Soon

(Note to ops: if you're in a competitive bidding situation, keep in mind that the job always goes to the lowest bidder.)

Now, according to MyLife.com the road-praising letter writer, Derrek Pathmann, 29, lives in Hawthorn Woods and is related to Jeffery Pathmann, 60:

MyLife.com

And LookupAnyone.com pretty much tells the same story:

LookupAnyone.com

Your LakeCountyEye can't think of an easier method to find out just where all of those tax dollars of yours are going!

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