The Night of the Illiana

Halloween is when the undead are released from their crypts to toll the living of Lake County. If you find yourself on the highway, take care to watch out for the undead in all of their forms: the vampires, the ghosts, the zombies, the Route 53 Extension.

Haha, with no further ado, the Illiana Expressway got a big boost last week from Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawlor.  According to the Daily Herald ...

Amid a split among suburban leaders, the controversial Illiana Expressway received a shot in the arm Thursday when a planning board endorsed the road, marking a significant political victory for Gov. Pat Quinn.
Planning board approves Illiana Expressway construction

Lawlor sits on that planning board that voted to give a green light to the Illiana Expressway. Up until then, Lawlor had been undecided. The Daily Herald reported only a week earlier that ...

Aaron Lawlor previously said he needed time to study the different analyses.
Illiana Expressway fails to get support from planning group

What was the reason for the sudden change of heart? A proposed map of the Illiana Expressway has been leaked to your LakeCountyEye:

Illiana Expressway plan

As operatives can plainly see, the proposed Illiana Expressway will end precisely where the Route 53 Extension is proposed to begin. In Lake County, between Crown Point and Lowell.

Eeek!

In the Wake of the News: Private Covenants

A story I posted here, In the Wake of the News, needs a correction. I said that the Village of Round Lake passed a zoning ordinance restricting the use of watercraft on Wooster Lake. And that Kirk Denz then reciprocated by getting a state law passed to overturn these zoning ordinances. That is not quite correct. Denz obtained a clarification of the law from Springfield, which had the effect of overturning the zoning ordinances.

This is important because the story revolves around a Declaration of Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions (DCCR) -- or more simply put, a homeowners covenant -- between residents of Wooster Lake. The basic issue, as I see it, is over how and by whom are these covenants enforced.

Denz has subsequently filed a lawsuit against the homeowners association, Wooster Lake Conservation & Control Association (WLCCA). One statement alleged in the suit leapt out when I read it. One year prior to the Round Lake zoning ordinance, Deputies on August 6, 2004

"... arrived at the Petitioner's home in a Lake County Sheriff's squad car while fully uniformed, waved a provided copy of the WLCCA DCCR's in the faces of Petitioner Kirk Denz and his guest Jim Murray, repeatedly threatening ticket and arrest ..."
DENZ VS WOOSTER LAKE CONSERVATION

My immediate question was: On whose authority were Lake County Sheriff Deputies sent to enforce a homeowners covenant? These covenants are basically legal agreements between homeowners and have no statutory force.

Not too long ago, the political career of a Lake County State Senator was cut short when it was revealed that she requested inappropriate favors of the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Is there a mindset among some elected Lake County officials that the Sheriff's Department is their private police force?

To my knowledge, this incident with Kirk Denz was never investigated by the State's Attorney or the press.

Luck o'the Irish

If you were Ed Sullivan Jr you'd be feeling like you were in clover about now. Yes, the Republican State Representative is likely to be challenged by a member of his own party in the upcoming Primary Election. And yes, this blog has been trumpeting a totally made-up highly believable rumor ...

Sullivan's Traversal?

that Sullivan may switch sides and run instead as a Democrat.

Well, Jim Durkin, the leader of the Illinois House Republican Caucus, must keep abreast of the local developments here by monitoring this blog. That's because soon after the aforementioned rumor appeared on this blog, Durkin told the Daily Herald that ...

he'll back incumbent lawmakers that have primary election challenges next year even if their views are at odds with his own. Among suburban Republicans so far, state Rep. Ed Sullivan of Mundelein is facing a potential opponent in the primary over his backing of same-sex marriage.
New Republican leader "absolutely" supports incumbents in primaries

Sullivan is sitting in clover because, by all appearances, he is presently at the center of a bidding war. At the risk of angering the right-wing of his Party, Leader Durkin is signaling that he is ready to parachute into District 51 with a sackfull of the greenstuff -- on Sullivan's sayso.

Your move, Leader Madigan.

Note to ops: Bidding wars do not just happen by luck or magic. A lot of scutwork and skulduggery has to be executed before the magic happens. If you are an ambitious elected official who worries that their stock is being sold short, then your LakeCountyEye is here to help. These days, a politician without professional representation is like a State's Attorney without a conviction. Lacking the services of a professional agent, you -- Mr Career Politician -- are going to be remembered as being Mr-Pants-On-Fire. Because your political career will have been spent warming a seat.

Call your LakeCountyEye today for a ratecard. And a list of satisfied clients.

In the Wake of the News

The government may have been shut down for 16 days, but there is an ongoing conflict closer to home in Ingleside that has been going strong for more than a decade. The conflict is over the sort of watercraft that are acceptable on Wooster Lake, and is an example of what happens when environmental concerns go against individual property rights. It is also an example of how political clout is wielded in Lake County.

The story appeared in the newspapers as recently as 2011 when the Daily Herald reported that ...

Round Lake village board members have repealed a nearly 6-year-old ordinance that limited boat speed on a private lake. Under a staff recommendation agreed to by the village board, property owners along Wooster Lake are now responsible for settling their differences and deciding whether to have no-wake restrictions for the roughly 100-acre body of water.

One side had obtained a municipal zoning ordinance to get their way.  The other side reciprocated by getting a state law changed to overturn the zoning ordinance. The News-Sun reported that ...

Wooster Lake is back to being wide open for boats to travel at any speed after a Round Lake ordinance was rescinded last month. The controversy on the lake goes back many years and resulted in state legislation to allow boat owners to accelerate their boats beyond the no-wake limit that some area residents wanted to impose on the 100-acre lake off Route 134.

In what may be the latest skirmish in the battle, a small claims suit has been filed in Lake County Court.

DENZ VS WOOSTER LAKE CONSERVATION

The complainants charge that restrictive covenants from a Wooster Lake homeowner association filed with the Lake County Recorder of Deeds have slandered the reputation of their neighborhood, and have negatively impacted their property values. The claim is for a judgment of $5000.

To my knowledge, this development has not been covered by any of the newspapers. I will watch the case and post updates.

Improving Learning in Public Schools

The Stevenson Center will host a program on Improving Learning in Public Schools:

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Three giants of school reform, Martin "Mike" Koldyke, founder of AUSL, Academy of Urban School Leadership, and John Simmons, founder of SLI, Strategic Learning Initiatives, discuss working models for improving learning in public education, two vibrant non-profit organizations with moderator, Eleanor Nicholson, co-founder of High Jump, Senior Instructor at Erikson Institute, and twenty-five years in school administration, including two years as Interim Principal of Erie Elementary Charter School.

• Sunday
  October 27, 2013
  2 PM
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  847-816-7433
• Cost $15
• Coffee and conversation following

Sullivan's Traversal?

There is no joy in Mundelein. As readers of this blog are sadly aware ...

Sullivan's Travails

an Illinois PAC opposed to marriage equality has vowed to defeat State Rep Ed Sullivan Jr in the 2014 Primary. At the same time, State Rep Ed Sullivan Jr is looking at his first credible Primary challenge in more than a decade.

When fear, uncertainty and doubt cloud the erstwhile sunny horizons, your LakeCountyEye turns to one man, Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Political Strategery at the College of Lake County. Your LakeCountyEye met Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi for burgers at Emil's on Route 45.

Your LakeCountyEye saw some irony in the fact that, two years ago, Sullivan was remapped into a heavily Republican district. And now he might be looking at early retirement because of his own party's right-wing.

"Ya, be careful what you wish for." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "But I wouldn't sell my Sullivan stock short, not quite yet. My recommendation to Sullivan would be to flip, and the sooner the better."

Flip? Your LakeCountyEye was not quite sure what Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi meant -- did that mean to come out of the closet?

"Only if 'come out of the closet' means to switch parties." answered Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "If Sullivan runs as a Democrat in 2014 he can count on being State Rep for another twenty years."

Democrat?

"Ya, that's the Party that throws those Jefferson-Jackson dinners." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Sullivan would win in any Democratic Primary and without breaking a sweat.  Most of the voters in 51 think he is a Democrat, anyways. Why fight city hall?"

Your LakeCountyEye was totally nonplussed. Sullivan, granted, could possibly win in a Democratic primary. But wouldn't the voters feel like they were played, and toss him out in the November election?

"Why don't you ask 'Ex' Sheriff Mark Curran?" When he said Ex, Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi pantomimed air-quotes.

Your LakeCountyEye was not convinced. Could Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi vote for Sullivan if he ran as a Democrat in the general election?

"Absolutely." he said. "And once Sullivan makes it onto the general election ballot he is home-free. The Republicans are sure to nominate some chumbolone who couldn't beat a backyard chicken with a wooden drumstick. Besides, the Sullivan family alone counts for more than half the vote in District 51."

Haha, your LakeCountyEye loves that joke.

"Haha." chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi.

Your LakeCountyEye heard the Metra train coming and took the opportunity to ask if there was any parting advice.

"Tell your operatives that there may just be a position waiting for Sullivan in the Democratic leadership -- something a lot better than what he got from the new House Republican leader. I've been told it's Sullivan's for the asking. All he needs to do is mention my name, Bhatschidtkhrazzi."

Sullivan's Travails

It may not be an open seat, but there is a tempting pick-up opportunity for some politician on the rise in Lake County. State Representative Ed Sullivan Jr's right flank might be a tad too exposed in the next primary election; according to the Daily Herald:

A new conservative group will meet Saturday in Lake County to talk to potential primary challengers to Republican state Rep. Ed Sullivan of Mundelein, one of three Illinois Republicans who have pledged to vote for same-sex marriage. The meeting is being arranged by Illinois Families First, a Chicago-based political action committee led by conservative Paul Caprio, who on Wednesday called Sullivan a "Cadillac representative of everything that is wrong with this state."
Same-sex marriage at root of Republican primary push

For those interested in taking on Sullivan in a primary, the Illinois Constitution sets a pretty low bar:

OFFICE: GENERAL ASSEMBLY STATE REPRESENTATIVE
MINIMUM AGE: 21 years
RESIDENCY: United States Citizen and a resident of the district for two years preceding the election and a registered voter.
State of Illinois CANDIDATE'S GUIDE 2014

You're not even asked to show a birth certificate!

Your LakeCountyEye would certainly advise any ambitious young operative looking for a sugar daddy with wads of dough to at least investigate this once-in-a-decade opportunity. Illinois Families First -- an Illinois PAC -- will be talking to potential candidates tomorrow, October 19, from 9AM to 5PM, at the Holiday Inn Express in Libertyville.

What are you waiting for? When you meet tomorrow with Illinois Families First, be sure to tell them that you play to win. And that you are already measuring the drapes in the District 51 State Representative's Springfield office.

For the record, your LakeCountyEye understands that the Holiday Inn Express does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation:

InterContinental Hotels Group Code of Ethics & Business Conduct

Are We There Yet?

Does anyone know if the Federal government has defaulted on its debt obligations, sending the world economy into a post-apocalyptic spiral of death? Ordinarily your LakeCountyEye trusts news alerts from no source other than the Daily Herald -- Lake County's newspaper of record. However the LakeCountyEye mobile device only displays this tantalizingly ominous sign:

And clicking the Daily Herald emergency hyperlink is of not much help either:

Unable to access Daily Herald eEdition? Here's how to fix it

It goes without saying that total economic Armageddon is the sort of desperate time where your neighbor has 24-hour guards posted around the backyard chicken.  Mindful of that, your LakeCountyEye may not be able to spare the 99¢ just to find out how desperate things are.

So does anyone know if it's safe to go outdoors -- or does your LakeCountyEye have to wait it out and see if a crew of Mad Max pillagers show up?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Shut Up & Shut Down

Did you know that Lake County Ex-Congressman Joe Walsh has awesome paranormal powers? Here is Walsh, in 2011, taking credit for shutting down the Federal government and torpedoing ObamaCare:

Joe Walsh calls for govt. shutdown

How spooky is that? Brrr!

Of course the government shutdown is ancient history now, and ObamaCare smolders atop the trashheap of history. Can Mr Nostradamus Ex-Congressman Joe Walsh predict if or when the Federal government will go into default on its debt obligations?

Operatives can find out for themselves. Walsh will be at a Downers Grove fundraiser this week:

Downers Grove Township Republican Organization 2013 Annual Reagan Day Dinner

Walsh is scheduled to appear along with Lake County's nominal Congressman, Peter Roskam. Your LakeCountyEye has been told that Walsh and Roskam will be doing their crowd-pleasing Carnac the Magnificent act.  This is your opportunity to ask Walsh if government default is fated to be the real deal this time, or just more smoke and mirrors!

The fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, October 17, which happens to be the debt ceiling deadline -- the exact same day the United States of America risks defaulting on its debt obligations, sending the world economy into turmoil.

How spooky is that? Brrr!

Surveillance: The Balance between Privacy and Security in a Democracy

The Stevenson Center will host a program on Surveillance: The Balance between Privacy and Security in a Democracy:

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Senator Adlai E. Stevenson III, former Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on the Collection and Production of Intelligence, will serve as moderator of a panel made up of author James Bamford, researcher and writer James Andrew Lewis and former intelligence official Jill Rhodes.

Bestselling author and journalist James Bamford wrote The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA From 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America, the third in a trilogy on the National Security Agency following The Puzzle Palace (1982) and Body of Secrets (2001.) He is a former Investigative Producer for ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.

James Andrew Lewis is a senior fellow and director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His current research examines international security and governance in cyberspace, the relationship between innovation and technology, asymmetric warfare, and the effect of the Internet on politics.

Jill Rhodes is Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for Trustmark Companies. Prior to that she spent 20 years working in and with the federal government focusing on intelligence and security issues. She has written and published on several national security law topics.

• Monday
  October 21, 2013
  12 noon -- Lunch
  12:30 -- Program
• The University Club of Chicago
  76 East Monroe Street
  Chicago IL 60603
  847-816-7433
• Admission $50

Eat, Drink and be Meretricious

Lake Zurich -- the Brigadoon of Lake County -- the land that time forgot -- got its fifteen minutes of fame, and then some, this week. As readers of this blog are wistfully aware ...

F is for Friends Who Do Stuff Together

Lake Zurich was the subject of a new Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi space thriller; as well as the scene for an expletive-laden village board meeting. Ordinarily this would be enough excitement for the lifetime of any staid Lake Zurich burgher. But news is now circulating that Lake Zurich's new micro-distillery will be shuttered indefinitely due to the Federal shutdown. According to the Daily Herald, the distillery's owners intended to open ...

Copper Fiddle Distillery in a 2,100-square-foot storefront on Route 22, just east of Rand Road. Copper Fiddle is expected to become the 11th or so small-scale distillery in Illinois. But Copper Fiddle is in a holding pattern in seeking approval for its labels from the U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau due to the government shutdown that started Oct. 8.
Lake Zurich distillery plan affected by Federal shutdown

Watching furloughed federal workers starve because of the government shutdown is one thing. But depriving people of their distilled spirits is another thing entirely. Operatives are understandably outraged.

It is not known whether Peter Roskam -- Lake County's nominal Congressman -- is outraged. Roskam is the featured guest at an upcoming $150 per plate fundraiser:

The menu includes:

• Gumbo of Duck Confit and Wild Boar Sausage
• Salad with Goat Cheese Crumbles and McHenry County Wild Ramp Vinaigrette
• Combination of Local Grass-Fed Strip Steak and Pop Corn Shrimp with Blue Corn Deep Fried Batter
• Purple Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Squash
• Apple Crisp with Peach Whipping Cream

Furloughed Federal workers (and those jobless because of the recession) may contact Roskam's congressional office about the availability of any leftover food.

But despair not, your LakeCountyEye has not forgotten ye thirsty operatives. This same McHenry County GOP fundraiser is being promoted as a Scotch Tasting and Dinner:

The event will start with an hour of hors d'oeuvres and the first scotch. A second flight of scotch will accompany a surf and turf dinner, and a third flight will be served with dessert.

The last time your LakeCountyEye attempted a third flight with a bottle of scotch, boy were your LakeCountyEye's arms tired. All kidding aside, it seems that shutting down the government and closing the distilleries may be a very clever way to get people to attend a fundraiser!

McHenry County is a long hike from Peter Roskam's home turf in Wheaton. Your LakeCountyEye should remind the congressman, and operatives, about the importance of appointing a designated driver.

F is for Friends Who Do Stuff Together

Lake Zurich, the Rodney Dangerfield of Lake County villages, may be on the verge of jumping the shark. The town that can't get no respect, Lake Zurich now plays a prominent role in Hollywood's newest sci-fi blockbuster:

Gravity

Your LakeCountyEye has not, technically speaking, actually seen Gravity. Informed sources who have seen the movie say Sandra Bullock crash lands the Space Shuttle on Old Rand Road in Lake Zurich; whereupon Bullock and co-pilot George Clooney mistakenly believe they crashed into Neptune; comedy ensues.

But truth, they say, is stranger than thinly veiled fiction. Some Lake Zurichers are more concerned about what to do with the moonscape more commonly recognized as downtown Lake Zurich. A few local burghers are none too pleased about the situation and, according to the News-Sun, developer John Breugelmans and a supporter Greg Schwermer expressed their displeasure to Mayor Tom Poynton at a recent Lake Zurich board meeting:

"You guys are a bunch of f---ing idiots. OK? I've owned property eight years in this village ... and all you guys ... you f--- everything up!" Schwermer screamed. Again, Poynton tried cut off the conversation there. "No, he is not out of order," Breugelmans said. "He is speaking the right language ... because it is a f--- up ... you should be ashamed of trying to run a village like this, you are destroying it."
Trustees hit with expletive-laden tirade after rejecting proposal

Operatives can rest assured that they are not reading your LakeCountyEye's college transcript. All those F minuses you see printed above ...

F---

are really words redacted from the story by a censor. The real question doubtless niggling at every operative is: "Just what the heck was that F-word anyways?" Your LakeCountyEye, for one, does not know.

No stranger to a mystery of any sort, your LakeCountyEye hit the meanstreets of Lake Zurich and proposed the same question to people selected at random.  Then quit after 10:

Ten Acceptable F-Bombs to Scream at Your Next Village Meeting

Friggin Freakin Flavin Francophile Fur Bearing Fartface Freeboodler Phallus Fahrvergnügen Feminist

Look for your LakeCountyEye at a Fuddruckers near you.

Princess Nudelman We Hardly Knew Ye

Breaking news, your LakeCountyEye has learned that Princess Nudelman will be retiring in 2014. Nudelman -- a goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) -- encountered instant celebrity in 2008 when she became the first inter-species county resident to be registered to vote in Lake County.

Nudelman gained national attention, largely through the efforts of Lake County Clerk Willard Helander, when ...

a month before Barack Obama's election to the White House, she announced her office had received an "unprecedented volume" of voter registration forms with fictitious or incorrect information. One form had information for a local resident's dead goldfish, Princess Nudelman, Helander said. Her remarks were picked up by the national media and even "Saturday Night Live."
Lake County Clerk Helander won't run in 2014, cites changes to election laws

The sudden fame led to guest appearances for Nudelman on Saturday Night Live, Deadliest Catch, Lunkerville, as well as a brief stint as a celebrity judge on Dancing with the Stars.

Nudelman's decision to retire was precipitated when negotiations between the Army Corps of Engineers and the owners of Didier Farms broke down over a proposed reservoir in Buffalo Grove:

Army Corps removes Didier Farms from flood relief plan

Nudelman had exclusive signatory rights on the deal, which included plans for upscale water-park at the reservoir, called NudelLand.

Nudelman told your LakeCountyEye that retirement represents an opportunity to spend more time with relatives, and that her near-term itinerary includes swimming back upstream to ancestral spawning grounds in Wooster Lake.

In related news, Lake County Clerk Willard Helander will not run for re-election in 2014.

Will Work for Food

The Lake County food pantries and soup kitchens are operating at capacity, serving needy families of furloughed Federal employees. With no end in sight to the shutdown of the US government, everyone is pitching in to help, including Lake County Congressman Randy Hultgren.

As readers of this blog are hungrily aware ...

Hultgren Agonistes

Hultgren is one of the prime movers behind the current Federal impasse. A signer of the the Meadows Letter, Hultgren is among ...

the 80 conservative Republican congressmen who back in August sent a letter to Boehner, demanding that he refuse to pass a spending bill unless ObamaCare is defunded. By some accounts, that letter -- initiated by U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, and backed by groups such as FreedomWorks and Heritage Action -- is the origin of this government shutdown. So who are the members of this "suicide caucus," as it was dubbed by Charles Krauthammer?
Who put the handcuffs on Boehner? These guys did

Perhaps he had second thoughts, but Hultgren is now offering free food to anyone affected by the Federal shutdown:

You just need to show up and be willing to donate a couple hours of work. Hungry volunteers will have their choice of either pizza topped with provenzano, or donuts with a cheesy provenzano filling.

Don't delay, your efforts can help Congressman Hultgren end the debilitating cycle of poverty and hunger in Lake County:

• Ideologue Congressman votes to shut down the Federal government.
• Furloughed Federal workers go hungry.
• Furloughed Federal workers are given food to gather ballot signatures for Ideologue Congressman.
• Ideologue Congressman is re-elected.
• Repeat.

Hultgren Agonistes

If your LakeCountyEye took a free junket to Taiwan for every time asked how to get a Republican into Congress, you would now be reading this in Chinese. Haha, Congress's approval ratings may be in the low negative digits, but getting re-elected to the House of Representatives has never been easier in Lake County. The trick is to position yourself far enough on the extreme Right to scare away any Joe Walsh who wants to run against you in the Primary. But not so extreme that your voters blame you for shutting down the government and bouncing grandma's Social Security check.

Don't take it from your LakeCountyEye. This foolproof pathway to re-election has already been forged by Lake County's stealth Congressman, Randy Hultgren. In August Hultgren signed a letter, along with some 80 other like-minded House Republicans, urging their leadership to "de-fund" ObamaCare by removing it from any appropriation bills -- all at the risk (and now a reality) of shutting down the Federal government:

Since much of the implementation of ObamaCare is a function of the discretionary appropriations process, including the operation of the "mandatory spending" portions of the law, and since most of the citizens we represent believe that ObamaCare should never go into effect, we urge you to affirmatively de-fund the implementation and enforcement of ObamaCare in any relevant appropriations bill brought to the House floor in the 113th Congress, including any continuing appropriations bill.
The Meadows Letter

Once the Primary predators that were circling around got scared off, Hultgren then pivoted to the center by hurrying over to the Daily Herald ...

Congressman Randy Hultgren says he is deeply torn between two mandates from his constituents: Fighting Obamacare and keeping the federal government open for business.
Hultgren's dilemma: Derail Obamacare or keep government running

... to warn everyone about the dire consequences of a government shutdown:

"No one wins with a government shutdown," Hultgren said. "We realize that a government shutdown doesn't defund Obamacare. We need agreement on a continuing resolution."
Hultgren's dilemma: Derail Obamacare or keep government running

Your LakeCountyEye would not be surprised if the crafty Hultgren is currently pricing residential real estate in or near Washington D.C. for permanent occupancy.

Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry. How many plans are truly foolproof? What if a fact-checker finds the letter that Randy Hultgren signed, and the Daily Herald then spills all the beans?

Did your LakeCountyEye just say fact-checker and Daily Herald in the same sentence? Haha -- foolproof!

Put Down or Shut Down

It's no secret that your LakeCountyEye has been living the lavish lifestyle of a McHenry County blogger, all thanks to the generous support of grants from the NEA, NIH, NSA and other Federal agencies. But with the smackdown shutdown this week of the Federal Government, it is unknown how long the LakeCountyEye lifestyle, that your LakeCountyEye has grown accustomed to, can be maintained.

Ordinarily this level of uncertainty would be enough to drive your LakeCountyEye to drink.  Luckily on the very same day the government shut down, ObamaCare became the law of the land -- and not a minute too soon. Your LakeCountyEye can now look forward to a steady flow of government subsidized mood-altering pharmaceuticals, and for many years to come!

Of course not just your LakeCountyEye is feeling the pain of a government shutdown. Whether you know it or not, everyone in Lake County will be impacted, some way or another. Here are 10 repercussions of the government shutdown that may affect you.

Fallout from the Government Shutdown Ten Things to Watch for in Lake County

Without Federal money, entrance ramps will not be built on the Route 53 Extension. Peter Roskam's October Taiwan Junket: CANCELLED Federal medicinal marijuana DEA agents furloughed. The Six Flags Over Great America National Park will be closed. Lake County backyard chicken eggs will not be FDA approved. Marshals will not be deployed to the Lake County Election Commission, to enforce the Federal Voting Rights Act. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco discount outlet shops will all be closed in Lake County. INS agents will not be guarding the Wisconsin border. The Zion Nuclear Plant will be shut down for the duration. Your Second Amendment rights are suspended.

Look for your LakeCountyEye applying for food stamps, near you.