Tower of Power

It may be $10.5 million over budget but the Lake County Courthouse expansion project is officially under construction. And it already has been christened with a new name. The News-Sun said ...

Breaking tradition of the usual groundbreaking, artwork was unveiled Friday to celebrate the start of construction on Lake County's new $110 million Court Tower. "Justice Tower" was built by Waukegan artist Eric Marston, who used found items to create his original work.
Lake County celebrates groundbreaking of new $110M 'Justice Tower'

Your LakeCountyEye attended the ceremony alongside Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Urban Justice at the College of Lake County. When ground breaks, Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi is the one person who knows where all the fault lines are buried.

He examined an illustration of the completed structure: "Ya, justice is blind, to be sure! And justice is not cheap, either. The County Board could also have used found items to construct this building. They could have saved themselves $10.5 million. They wouldn't be breaking ground over a fiscal hole today."

Your LakeCountyEye wanted to know if the horse was out of the barn and if the new Courthouse will henceforth be known as the Justice Tower.

"Absolutely. And here's why." Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi pointed to a nearby parking sign:

VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED AT OWNER'S EXPENSE

"If anything, this building is a monument to the municipal tower."

Your LakeCountyEye was confused: Municipal Tower?

"You know, as in towing company." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Virtually every court case involves a towing operation one way or another. If you don't believe me, just look at how many towing companies contributed to Sheriff Mark Curran's election campaign." He produced a spreadsheet on his iPhone 6:

Friends of Mark Curran D-2 Quarterly Report 4/1/2014 to 6/30/2014
Contributed By	Amount	Description
A-Express Towing	$500.00 6/5/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
A-Tire County Service, Inc.	$1,600.00 6/5/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
Ernie's Wrecker Service, Inc.	$1,000.00 6/2/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
Fox Recovery & Towing of Lake County	$500.00 6/5/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
J.R.'s Wrecker Service, INC.	$2,050.00 5/2/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
Roger's Automotive Services, Inc.	$700.00 6/5/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
Whitmore's Wrecker Service, Inc.	$1,000.00 6/5/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran
Wildwood Service Inc.	$2,050.00 6/2/2014	Individual Contribution Friends of Mark Curran

Friends of Mark Curran
D-2 Quarterly Report
4/1/2014 to 6/30/2014

"How do you think the County got its triple-A rating? The Auto Club doesn't bestow one of those on just anyone."

Quite an arresting revelation.

"We will be calling this Courthouse the Justice Tower for a long time." continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "It's the tower who greases the wheels of county government."

Your LakeCountyEye heard enough. Did Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi have any parting advice?

"Tell your Ops to embrace the change. By the way, do you have any quarters? My meter is expired."