Size Matters

Would Lake County benefit from a good shrink? Jack Franks thinks so. The State Representative thinks McHenry County would benefit as well.

Franks is the sponsor of a bill that would enable Lake & McHenry County leaders to shrink the size of their fiefdoms by eliminating some specific units of government.

Originally intended for McHenry County, the bill was expanded to encompass Lake County. As told by the Northwest Herald ...

several Lake County politicians, who have expressed interest in pursuing consolidation measures, asked Franks to include Lake County as well, County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor said. "We did it so we could have the same authority as DuPage [County] and see where the opportunities might exist for consolidation," Lawlor said.
Jack Franks trying to remove government consolidation bill sponsor

Not unsurprisingly, no one is saying just exactly what is on the consolidation chopping block, or how close to the scalp the intended haircut will be. All they are saying is that some high-profile Lake County institutions are in the cross-hairs. And by some they mean ten:

10 Conspicuous Lake County Jurisdictions Targeted for Elimination
	Before Consolidation ...	After Consolidation ...
1.	The Route 53 Extension	The Route 53 Distension
2.	Village of Green Oaks	Village of Green Oak
3.	Lake County's Dirty Jobs	Lake County's Minimum Wage Jobs
4.	County Clerk Division of Elections	The Lake County Election Commission
6.	Winchester House	A GTCR Golder Rauner Nursing Home
7.	The Waukegan Court Tower	The Waukegan Court Bungalow
8.	Fox Waterway Agency	Blarney Island Waterway Agency
5.	Wooster Lake	Jeeves Lake
9.	www.lakecountyeye.com	www.commonsense10th.com
10.	$20,000,000 Wrongful Conviction Settlements	$20 Wrongful Conviction Settlements

Look for your LakeCountyEye maintaining a low profile near you.

Waste Not Want Not

The Zion nuclear power plant is in the news. At issue is whether no-wake restrictions should be mandated inside the plant's cooling towers.

Haha, j/k. The actual story concerns nuclear waste. According to the News-Sun ...

A bill working its way through the Illinois General Assembly this spring would allow Zion to impose impact fees for the storage of spent fuel at the lakefront nuclear plant that shut down in 1998 and continues to undergo decommissioning.
Lake County senators push bill to collect nuclear impact fees

Exelon, who owns the plant, unsurprisingly opposes the bill:

In a statement opposing the proposed legislation, Exelon officials said any "new fee or tax on used nuclear fuel or used fuel installations in Illinois (would) place further financial burdens on Illinois nuclear plants."
Lake County senators push bill to collect nuclear impact fees

The bill passed the Illinois Senate 36-20, despite votes against the measure from Lake County Senators Dan Duffy and Pam Althoff.

Kudos need to go to Senators Duffy & Althoff for their gutsy votes. Why should Exelon Corporation be expected to clean up their own the City of Zion's mess?

Besides, if your LakeCountyEye reads the News-Sun correctly, Lake County already has the situation under control:

SWALCO offers bailout for chemical gunk hoarders

The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) will be accepting household chemical waste on May 16, at the Metra Station in Vernon Hills, no questions asked:

HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL WASTE COLLECTION EVENT

Note to all the government freeloaders in Zion: Start filling those 55 gallon drums pronto, and get over to Vernon Hills on May 16. The sooner that radioactive waste is in SWALCO's hands, the sooner Zion's problem becomes Vernon Hills's problem!

Eye of the Beholder: Working with High-Risk Adolescents

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Dr. Eugene Griffin, a clinical psychologist and attorney, will discuss various approaches governments and institutions use to treat abused children and whether they adequately address the needs of the children. Griffin, who previously worked at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, is the Director of Research at the ChildTrauma Academy. Dr. Griffin will be introduced by Kathy Ryg, who recently retired as President of Voices for Illinois Children.

• Sunday
  May 3, 2015
  2:00 pm
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  773- 281-0378
• Admission: $15
  No Charge for Students

A Response to the Grant Township Assessor

Yesterday I posted some documents provided by the Grant Township Assessor. The documents are a response to criticisms made by a Grant Township homeowner, that were posted on this blog earlier this week.

I received a response today from the same homeowner, which is embedded here ...

April 26 2015 letter to EOLC

At issue is how homes on Wooster Lake should be assessed, and specifically, whether or not the lake is subject to no-wake restrictions. Properties on no-wake lakes are typically assessed at lower values than comparable homes on lakes without restrictions.

The Grant Township Assessor currently regards Wooster Lake as unrestricted, and gives properties there higher assessed values than comparable properties on other lakes. Prior to 2014, Wooster Lake properties were valued the opposite way -- as restricted.

The Grant Township Assessor cites a 2014 court ruling (in favor of the aforementioned homeowner) as the reason for the change in policy. Because of this court ruling Wooster Lake is now assessed as an unrestricted lake:

DENZ VS WOOSTER LAKE CONSERVATION
JUDGEMENT ORDER

Readers may notice that the court ruling in question is actually a civil judgement. The court awarded the homeowner some $4000 in damages over a Wooster Lake related dispute.

I am not certified to assess property nor am I an attorney. But it seems to me very questionable that a stated policy of a Township Assessor's Office could be based on the outcome of a civil lawsuit.

This is the question that the aforementioned homeowner raises. Wooster Lake has traditionally been appraised as being restricted. The Grant Township Assessor recently changed that policy, and now appraises Wooster Lake as having no restrictions. Does the Grant Township Assessor have a court ruling to justify this change in policy? Or is the change in policy based solely on the outcome of a civil lawsuit?

A Letter from the Grant Township Assessor

Earlier this week, my colleague Barney Baxter and I posted stories about the Grant Township Assessor. At issue were apparently conflicting statements made by the Assessor's Office regarding wake restrictions on Wooster Lake.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from the Grant Township Assessor in response to the stories:

Response to Blogs Regarding Grant Township Assessor

I pulled out some relevant passages:

As a reader of your blog, I was surprised to find myself and my office as topics on your site and wanted to correct some of the "factual errors" you've shared with your readers.

In June 2014, the property owner made us aware that he had won in court and sent us documentation confirming that Wooster Lake is not restricted (see documents provided). In September 2014 the property owner appealed his assessment with an appraisal dated 9/23/2014 which claimed restricted water use when in fact the property owner has been disputing this and won his court case clarifying the use of the lake as unrestricted prior to having the appraisal done.

The time frame and court decision are the factor that lead to the two different responses by my office NOT any other implied reason.

The second letter did not "deny the homeowner's tax appeal" it was in response to the appeal filed with the Board of Review in Waukegan disputing the appraisal submitted by the property owner and pointing out differences in the comps that were not adjusted for.

The "documents provided" can be seen by clicking this PDF link:

WOOSTER LAKE.pdf

As I understand the Grant Township Assessor, the two documents in question were produced during different time periods. The first document was written during a time when it was generally accepted that Wooster Lake was governed by no-wake restrictions. The second document, on the other hand, was written after a Court had ruled that Wooster Lake is not subject to no-wake restrictions. This alone accounts for the discrepancy.

If anything I have written, or that has appeared on this blog, is misleading or factually incorrect, I regret the error.

A final note about comments:

Anyone is welcome to post comments here. The standard disclaimers apply. Comments posted here do not necessarily represent the opinions of this blog. The comment section is largely unmoderated. But comments that do not meet a certain threshold of propriety will be removed.

Taken for Granted?

Have you heard the one about the Township Assessor who was thrown out of office? The voters caught him working both sides of the street.

Haha, as readers of this blog are aware ...

Second Opinions from Grant Township

the Grant Township Assessor's Office is sending mixed signals. One document sent to a homeowner suggests that his Wooster Lake property is assessed subject to No-Wake restrictions. While another document, given to the same homeowner, suggests the property is appraised as NOT being subject to No-Wake restrictions.

This same homeowner, understandably confused, asked Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim for a legal opinion:

Whether there are no wake restrictions on Wooster lake is a legal issue for a judge to decide. As for the representations of the Grant Township Assessor that may have been made in connection with a property assessment at a property tax hearing, those representations do nothing to alter my position. Office of the State's Attorney, Lake County, Illinois

One source close to the State's Attorney Office told your LakeCountyEye (on condition of anonymity): "Move along. There is nothing else to see here."

That's all your LakeCountyEye has. Move along. There is nothing else to see here.

Second Opinions from Grant Township

The only thing I like about my property tax is appealing my assessment and winning. For that reason, I am grateful that I do not live in Grant Township.

A property tax appeal is mostly a matter of finding homes comparable to yours which are taxed less. These COMPS may be accepted or rejected by your Assessor on a number of grounds. For example, are all of the homes equivalent lakefront properties? Whether or not there are no-wake restrictions on your lake can make a difference in value.

Bearing that in mind, I thank heavens I don't live on Wooster Lake, where you can't win a tax appeal no matter what.

We've obtained a copy of a letter from the Grant Township Assessor's Office, where it is stated that they evaluate Wooster Lake as subject to no-wake restrictions:

Q: The reason(s) your Office officially indicates Wooster Lake's private properties currently have restrictions.

A: Certain homeowner association covenants and the fact that it has been historically no wake. I believe it goes back to when Wooster Lake Park was in full operation many years ago.

We've obtained another letter from the Grant Township Assessor's Office, which denies a homeowner's property tax appeal. The comps cited in this appeal are rejected, in part, because the homeowner lives on Wooster Lake, which according to the Grant Township Assessor's Office is NOT subject to no-wake restrictions:

#8 There are no restrictions on Wooster Lake.

Forgive me if I'm scratching my head here. But I don't have property in Grant Township, for which I am grateful.

The Old Turnaround

Good news everybody, your LakeCountyEye has a new job with the Bruce Rauner Administration. As Springfield's newest Turnaround Specialist I, your LakeCountyEye has been tasked with selling the benefits of the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda^® to a skeptical Lake County ...

Turnaround Specialist I

So what is the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda^®?

Excellent question! The Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda^® submits that Illinois needs to be operated according to the principles and best practices of of any Fortune 500 Company ...

Illinois needs to become more competitive in order to increase jobs and grow the economy: We have one of the worst lawsuit climates in the country, ranking 46th out of 50; We need to make Illinois a growth state again. That means structural reforms to major cost drivers for businesses: Reforms to our judicial climate to rein in frivolous lawsuits; Turnaround Agenda

Your Takeaway: Tort Reform, what could be simpler?

Any questions? Good!

So what is NOT the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda^®?

Another excellent question!

Illinois's Turnaround Agenda is not to be confused with this TurnAround Agenda ...

In July 1985, Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship (OCBF) in Dallas, Texas, established Alternative Community Development Services, Inc. d.b.a. Project Turn•Around (PTA) as the social outreach of OCBF. In February 2010, Project Turn•Around was renamed "The Turn•Around Agenda (TTA)". Since its inception, The Turn•Around Agenda has served as an agent for change, developing an array of program initiatives to address the critical needs of urban youth and families in the greater Dallas community. TurnAround Agenda

... which is a Dallas, Texas charity, that was established in 1985.

Lake County is enjoined to pay no attention to this Dallas-based charitable organization, which stole the name of the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda^®.

Furthermore, since Illinois has outlawed frivolous lawsuits of any sort, the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda^® may not not be held liable for trademark infringement of any sort.

Any questions? Good!

They're Not Booing, They Are Chanting Bruuuuuce

Illinois's n00b Governor, Bruce Rauner, mounted a fullcourt press against Lake County. And got taken to the cleaners.

Rauner was observed twisting arms this month, hoping to get a vote of confidence from some handpicked Lake County municipalities for his Turnaround Agenda. Libertyville, on Tuesday, talked about it but declined to call a vote:

Village of Libertyville Board of Trustees Meeting AGENDA

Sharp-eyed operatives reading this, to be sure, should be all like: WTH is the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda?

One veteran Mundelein Trustee explained the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda to your LakeCountyEye in a nice E-mail reply:

Good evening Mr. LakeCountyEye, Thanks for your information in regard to the "middle class". It is my thought that the "middle class" you speak of are the real victims of unions and the union officials that prey on them. Furthermore, the thoughts presented in your email are simply a lot of baloney. Get used to it. Your days of destroying the Illinois economy and the right to work by its residents are coming to an end, perhaps slowly but most certainly surely.

For the record, the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda did not fare any better at this week's Mundelein Village Meeting:

Gov. Bruce Rauner's controversial plan to improve Illinois' poor financial outlook by attacking labor unions has failed to gain initial support in Mundelein.
Rauner reform plan fails to gain Mundelein's support

Note to Gubernatorial Operatives: there are other venues in Lake County where you can beat the drum for the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda. Your LakeCountyEye recommends Lambs Farm.

Haha, j/k, don't try that.

Seriously, do not ask the Lambs Farm Executive Board to support the Bruce Rauner Turnaround Agenda.

Unsafe at Any Speed

Your LakeCountyEye got a speeding ticket and totally missed the presser that US Senator Mark Kirk gave to the Peoria Journal Star:

I want to make sure we have elected people constantly looking at helping the African-American community. With this state and all of its resources, we could sponsor a whole new class of potential innovators like George Washington Carver and eventually have a class of African-American billionaires. That would really adjust income differentials and make the diversity and outcome of the state much better so that the black community is not the one we drive faster through.
Sen. Kirk offers his viewpoint
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk sat down with the Journal Star for a wide-ranging interview.

Note to State Senator Jim Oberweis: With regard to the Amstutz Expressway that runs from Waukegan to North Chicago -- kindly raise the speed limit to 70mph.

That's all your LakeCountyEye has.  Please move along, cruising is not permitted here.

McHenry County Pop.

Experts who track these things say voter turnout was down a whopping 110% during this municipal election. McHenry County gets a waiver, but only because their population is down as well. The McHenryCountyBlog says ...

Since finding out that the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that McHenry County's population has decreased 1,543 people since 2010, I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for other indicators.
Pessimism about McHenry County’s Future

For your LakeCountyEye's money, there is only one other indicator who matters: Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, Professor of Dwindling Demographics at the College of Lake County.

"Ya, they're shrinking faster than Margaret Hamilton in the Wizard of Oz." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Here's your $64 question: Where is everyone in McHenry County going?"

Where indeed.

"Not Lake County." observed Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Test scores haven't dropped here."

Did your LakeCountyEye hear correctly ... test scores?

"Absolutely." vouched Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "When a population from McHenry County enrolls in an education program of any sort, the standardized test scores go down. It's a well documented phenomenon."

Your LakeCountyEye did not know that.

"The one exception is Wisconsin." continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Wisconsin test scores skyrocket when McHenry County numbers migrate northward."

Was McHenry County going to the morgue?  Your LakeCountyEye pulled up a headline on the smartphone:

Man accidentally shoots himself at McHenry gun range, fire official says

"For sure McHenry County is armed to the dentures." chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "And their maternity hospitals doubtless are lagging way behind their gunslingers. But that doesn't explain their vanishing population. The smart money says McHenry County is disappearing because of climate-change deniers."

Did your LakeCountyEye hear correctly ... climate-change deniers?

"Absolutely." avowed Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "McHenry County public servants will deny that climate change is real. As a consequence, nothing is done about climate change -- so when a monster tornado cuts through McHenry County, people disappear."

People disappear?

"Have you ever seen the Wizard of Oz?" asked Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "The same dynamic is at work with fracking. McHenry County public servants deny that hydraulic fracking is harmful. As a consequence, when the next monster earthquake hits McHenry County, people disappear."

Like in the Wizard of Oz?

"No flies on you today." chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "There is a rival hypothesis which alleges that people aren't leaving McHenry County at all. Instead, a fringe-group there has gone completely off the grid. A cohort of survivalists have dropped out to pursue a pre-industrial lifestyle somewhere in uncharted central McHenry County."

Hard to imagine.  What could be a possible motive?

"To prepare for a zombie apocalypse, would be my guess." shrugged Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi.

Did your LakeCountyEye hear correctly ... zombie apocalypse?

"Absolutely." replied Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, nearly shouting. "When the zombie apocalypse happens it will begin in McHenry County."

In McHenry County? Your LakeCountyEye was all like Why?

"Brains of course." grimaced Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Zombies would want McHenry County brains."

Your LakeCountyEye was at a temporary loss for words.

Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi got close and whispered: "A zombie prefers McHenry County brains over all others -- very few of those have been used."

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

"Tell your Operatives that I can get them a deal on virgin vacation real-estate in central McHenry County."

What The Voices of Heaven reveals about today's North and South Korea

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Maija Rhee Divine, a Korean War survivor, addresses contemporary questions raised in her autobiographical novel, The Voices of Heaven. Have Confucian patriarchal values vanished from high tech South Korea? What causes gender population imbalance issues? What is the legacy of the Korean War on women and the young generation? What cultural characteristics distinguish Korea from China and Japan?

• Sunday
  April 12, 2015
  2:00 pm
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  773- 281-0378
• Admission: $15
  No Charge for Students

A Sticker Shocker

Did you forget to vote? You're not alone, your LakeCountyEye forgot too.

Haha, j/k. Your LakeCountyEye always makes time to vote, even when there is no one on the ballot or there isn't even an election. Your LakeCountyEye votes to earn one of those colorful I VOTED stickers. And then fixes the sticker to the blueblazer like a merry boutonnière. And like a banty rooster struts it around town. And reminds everyone that their LakeCountyEye voted. And they didn't.

Haha, j/k once again. Everyone knows that the Lake County Clerk doesn't hand over those I VOTED stickers any more. The Daily Herald says so ...

While voters in most suburban counties will receive a sticker in exchange for their completed ballot Tuesday, Lake County voters haven't had the option to receive the coveted "I Voted" sticker in years.
Why Lake County voters don't receive 'I voted' stickers

What happened, were the popular stickers all given to Wisconsin voters by mistake? No, the stick-ons apparently were showing up on cars and in voting booths and all sundry places except where any elementary-schooler will say every sticker belongs: on the forehead. As a consequence, the Lake County Clerk dropped the ax -- and the beloved I VOTED sticker has now joined the choir invisible.

Note to Ops: mourn not their passage. For the Lake County I VOTED sticker still exists. No, not in spirit nor even in your hearts, but everywhere -- anywhere in Lake County where one of them might still be stuck. Well, there are 10 such spots, at least ...

Ten Places to Look for an I VOTED Sticker in Lake County

Princess Nudelman's Fishbowl Lens of a Grand Ave Red Light Camera Lake County Election Commission Chapter 11 Sale In the Lake County Casino, on the $1000 Chips Moving Targets at the McHenry County Shooting Range Two Words: Awesome Tattoo eBay Medical Marijuana Baggie Seals Under Waukegan Harbor Gumming Up the Toll Baskets on the Route 53 Extension

Look for your LakeCountyEye sporting (what else?) a merry boutonnière.

There Ought to be a Law Against That

As US Senators go, Mark Kirk is no Bob Menendez. He hasn't been indicted.

Haha, as readers of this blog will recall ...

100% Cotton?

a letter bearing Kirk's signature was sent to the Supreme Ayatollah of Iran, which some argue was treasonous and violated the Logan Act. So far the Lake County State's Attorney has declined to press charges against Kirk (who lives in Highland Park). A spokesman said that no DNA evidence was found on the letter.

Since then, Kirk wasted no time violating another law -- with a statement issued about last week's Iran nuclear deal:

"Neville Chamberlain got a better deal from Adolf Hitler," Kirk said in a written statement.
Mark Kirk likens Iran pact to a deal with Adolf Hitler

Legal scholars agree that Kirk's statement is a clear transgression of Godwin's Law:

In a public dispute of any sort, whoever mentions Hitler or the Nazis first automatically loses.

Is a pattern developing? A spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) told your LakeCountyEye that they don't care if Kirk breaks any more laws -- and that they would just be happy to see Kirk break the Law of Diminishing Returns come November 2016.

Q the Eye/04.04.15

Dear LakeCountyEye,

Being a good GOP footsoldier who carried water for the elephant all his life, it was time to ask Where's Mine? So the Governor appoints me to a State Commission. It's called the Illinois Advisory Commission Review Panel Task Force. Or something like that. And that's OK -- until I find out I'm not paid anything except expenses.

Expenses? I did not think indentured servitude was still legal. Do I have to attend these meetings or should I resign now?

No Representation Without Compensation

Dear Non Compos,

The bad news is that while some IL Commission members are paid quite well, most only get expenses. The Governor's office told your LakeCountyEye that unpaid Commission seats are harder to fill than a Kanye West concert in McHenry County.

The good news is you get reimbursed for your expenses. So just follow the lead of those unpaid public officials who have raised the art of padding an expense account to a science: the Community College Trustee.

One nearby Community College is an industry leader when it comes to remuneratory overreach. Your LakeCountyEye refers not to the College of DuPage -- who are pikers when compared to some of the creative expense reporting that has come out of the College of Lake County.

Just for instance ...

• CLC Trustee Barbara Oilschlager recouped ...
  $1,198.73 in mileage and toll reimbursements for driving from Chicago to a national conference in Boston and back in 2012. Oilschlager's trip began Oct. 2, although the conference didn't start until Oct. 10, according to the Association of Community College Trustees' website. Even though the conference concluded Oct. 13, Oilschlager didn't leave Boston until Oct. 16, according to the I-PASS records she submitted. She returned to the Chicago area the next day.
  College of Lake County board spent $110,000 on travel, food over two years
  
  Oilschlager also ...
  charged taxpayers for six hotel nights in Boston costing $1,847 on that trip. She also spent $283 in the past two years on tips to hotel maids, bellmen, valets and airport porters, according to her expense reports. None of those expenses were documented with receipts.
  College of Lake County board spent $110,000 on travel, food over two years
  
  
• CLC Trustee Richard Anderson was reimbursed for an ...
  "appetizers" receipt from the Coq d'Or at Chicago's Drake Hotel at 10:15 p.m. June 7, 2013, on Anderson's wife's credit card
  College of Lake County board spent $110,000 on travel, food over two years
  
  
• CLC Trustee Bill Griffin got ...
  $600 in airfare to fly Trustee Bill Griffin to Springfield twice
  College of Lake County board spent $110,000 on travel, food over two years

As should be abundantly clear, life hasn't given you lemons. Life has given you limos. You just have to know how to expense them.

Take that golden expense account and party on like it's still 1999.

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

Zero Commissions

Will anybody in Lake County who has not been appointed to an Illinois Commission please step forward? Not so fast, there, Falbe!

Note to Bruce Rauner: if you plan to backfill your IL State Commissions with any more Lake County Republicans, the pickins are getting slim. Gov. Rauner's latest pick is Larry Falbe, for a seat on the Enterprise Zone Board. Falbe, as every reader of this blog knows, is the creator of Lake County's #1, bar none, political blog:

team america's 10th district blog

The Daily Herald recently caught up with Falbe, and confided that ...

He also is president of the Lake County Republican Federation, the party's fundraising arm but says he does not consider himself a politician.
Mettawa attorney specialzing in environmental issues named to state enterprise zone panel

Haha, too funny.

The question that remains unanswered is: How many? As in: how many dollars has Falbe contributed to political campaigns? Your LakeCountyEye looked it up and estimates about $17,000 (47 individual donations over 15 years) ...

Illinois State Board of Elections : Contributions List

None of these donations went to Bruce Rauner's 2014 election campaign.

Your LakeCountyEye also observes that, other than for expenses, Enterprise Zone Board Members are not compensated:

Enterprise Zone Board

Note to Ops: correlation is not always causation.

Just sayin!

The 10G Network

Lake County serial Congressman, Robert Dold, has been clinging to the Benjamins. And none of them are named Netanyahu.

Haha, in 2014 Dold received $10,000 -- i.e. 100 Benjamins -- from Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock. Since then, Schock abruptly resigned from Congress (to spend more time with his family) and now Dold has been called to return the money. The CapitolFax says ...

Congressman Dold has refused to jettison the $10,000 he received from now disgraced almost former Congressman Aaron Schock. Dold's spokesperson said that the Schock money had all been spent
Pot, meet kettle

Anyone who has counted their Benjamins lately should know exactly what the Rep Dold PR guy means. Ten grand just doesn't go very far anymore -- certainly not where it used to.

If failing to return your LakeCountyEye's phone calls is any indication, then the Dold campaign team declines to say how exactly they spent the $10,000. Not a problem, anything worth having for $10,000 will be found on Alibaba.com anyways. Well, 10 things worth having:

Ten Luxury Items the Robert Dold Election Campaign May Have Bought with Aaron Schock's $10,000

A Downton Abbey Do-Over Lifetime Subscription to Men's Health Magazine Used Chevy Tahoe Low Miles! Down Payment on a Condo in the 10th Congressional District One Gubernatorial Appointment to the IL Racing Commission Facetime with Delos Communications [paid advertisement] A Big Raise for Everyone at Rose Pest Control White Whale Consulting LLC Charge Up the I-PASS and Ride the Route 53 Extension from End-to-End Walkin' Around Money A Coveted LakeCountyEye Endorsement

Look for your LakeCountyEye counting the Georges near you.