The Non-Profit Motive

The word on the street is that only Trump University graduates are eligible for jobs in the new Trump administration. And it shouldn't be a surprise that the UPS delivered to the LakeCountyEye doorstep a Trump U baccalaureate degree in real estate development ($1,695 USD) -- good for one (1) executive branch deputy assistant undersecretary position, location TBD.

Until then, Operatives will have to make do with a few of the Donald J Trump closely held secrets on how to make a billion with real estate in your spare time.

The first world-class trade secret your LakeCountyEye learned at Trump U is: Never Pay Taxes. The trick is to file for non-profit status -- charities do not pay real estate tax. And you don't have to set up a sophisticated money laundering operation like the Trump Foundation, either.

For instance, one local not-for-profit pays no taxes on these two properties:

Treasurer's Bill: Lake County, IL


Treasurer's Bill: Lake County, IL

It's perfectly legal. All you need to do is file the necessary paperwork ...

Illinois Secretary of State -- CORPORATION/LLC SEARCH RESULTS

And you don't even have to be a current non-profit to realize those gains!

Illinois Secretary of State -- CORPORATION/LLC SEARCH RESULTS

Next Week ...

Formula OPM: The Donald J Trump classified secrets to real estate with zero dollars down!

Land of the Free

Lake County is being sued in Federal Court, and not by Donald Trump this time. The County has been sued by its Township Assessors and property owners, who want to roll back the 2016 assessment, according to the Daily Herald:

Assessors sue Lake County over property-value feud

Now, as readers of this blog are certainly aware ...

Comparison Shopping

You don't have to go to court to get your property values lowered. The smart way is to file for non-profit status.

For instance, this non-profit pays no taxes on this property ...

Treasurer's Bill: Lake County, IL

That's because non-profits are exempt from property taxes ...

Illinois Secretary of State -- CORPORATION/LLC SEARCH RESULTS

And as a bonus, you don't even have to be a current non-profit to realize those gains!

Illinois Secretary of State -- CORPORATION/LLC SEARCH RESULTS

Note to Ops: Charity begins at home. Nuff Said!

Down for the Recount

Lake County is being sued in federal court for a recount.

According to the Daily Herald:

The assessors in Grant, Cuba, Libertyville, Ela and Vernon townships have sued Lake County Chief Assessment Officer Marty Paulson, Lake County Treasurer David Stolman, the county and the county's board of review in federal court in Chicago. Seven Lake County property owners also are plaintiffs in the case. In a news release, the assessors claimed Paulson is blocking the township assessors from properly valuing land, and that Paulson reversed thousands of property value changes they made.
Assessors sue Lake County over property-value feud

One source told your LakeCountyEye: "The sooner those assessors can recount our property values, the sooner everyone will spend more cash on Black Friday bargains!"

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Gobble Gobble!

Too Taxing?

Voters typically aren't given the opportunity on election day to vote for free beer. But some Lake County residents were asked to vote for nearly the same thing:

Advisory referendum questions in Wauconda and Fox River Grove asked residents if they'd prefer to vote on the matter whenever a taxing body wishes to increase property taxes by any amount. The measures, backed by the conservative, anti-tax advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, passed overwhelmingly: 90 percent of Wauconda voters approved it and 91 percent of Fox River Grove voters did the same.
Anti-tax advisory measures pass overwhelmingly in Wauconda, Fox River Grove

Pollsters are baffled that a whopping 10% of the electorate would vote against lower taxes.

As luck would have it, your LakeCountyEye conducted an exit poll, and those 10% of the voters responded ...

Is this a Trick Question?

Note to Ops: The 2017 consolidated election will be here sooner than you think! The last day to file your advisory ballot referendum question is January 3 2017 ...

Q:	Should Lake County Build a Route 53 Extension ... and Make Mexico Pay for It!

It's the Economy, Stupid

It has come to your LakeCountyEye's attention that there was an election last week. And that the next President of the United States will be Donald Trump.

Huh?

When truth is stranger than fiction your LakeCountyEye gets hold of the one person who can separate the wheat from the crap, Dr. I.M. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, College of Lake County visiting Historian of Presidential Erections.

"Ya." said Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Electing Donald Trump is like electing (former Congressman) Joe Walsh to be President -- except with bad hair."

The nightmare scenario, your LakeCountyEye had to concede.

"This is why the Founding Fathers believed the office of President too important to be left to the whims of the voter." offered Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "I'll bet you thought the Presidential election was on November 8. Guess again -- when you voted, you did not vote for a President. The Republic will choose a new President on December 19."

Your LakeCountyEye did not follow.

"When you voted last Tuesday," explained Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi, "You voted to appoint electors to the Electoral College."

Ah, no one expects the Electoral College.

"And not only that," continued Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "You may have voted for electors, but those electors are bound by no constraint to vote for the candidate chosen by the voters."

They're not?

"Nothing in the US Constitution that says so." chuckled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Your vote is only a recommendation. The 538 presidential electors are free to vote for whosoever they want."

Anyone?

"Anyone. Living or dead." smiled Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "If you are a Presidential elector then your vote is a valuable commodity. Enterprising electors could be able to monetize the ballot by offering their votes to the highest bidder."

Monetize the vote?  That sounded like bribery to your LakeCountyEye. Isn't that against the law?

"Nothing in the US Constitution that says so." deadpanned Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "Besides, the stated goal of the GOP is to privatize nonessential government functions. Why not privatize the Electoral College? Electors could post their services with an online auction marketplace. TaskRabbit comes to mind."

Your LakeCountyEye was nonplussed. Privatize the Electoral College?

"Donald Trump promised to make America rich again." grinned Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "A good place to start would be the Electoral College. That would send a strong signal to the American people."

Your LakeCountyEye was not listening. Lalalala.

"Open your eyes." shouted Dr. Bhatschidtkhrazzi. "This is an opportunity to make your vote really count. There must be dozens of electors out there who could use a few extra bucks. You'd be surprised. Especially electors from rural and low-income Red States."

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

"Tell your Operatives there is still time to raise the necessary capital on GoFundMe or Kickstarter -- while those Electoral Votes are still cheap. I hear they are currently going for about $5000 a pop!"

Crooked Peter Roskam

Note to Ops in the 6th Congressional District: Look for yellow police tape around your mailbox outside. That postbox may be a crime scene -- if you received this recent mailer from Peter Roskam:

The Roskam mailer was franked -- it was paid for by the taxpayers ...

This same Roskam mailer arrived in mailboxes in early October despite the fact that it is against the law to frank mail before an election:

A Member may not send any unsolicited mass mailing or mass communication less than 90 days immediately before the date of any primary or general election (whether regular, special, or runoff) in which the Member is a candidate for public office.

2015-2016 Election Blackout Dates | Committee on House Administration

When informed of Peter Roskam's illegal use of the mail, President-Elect Trump told reporters ...

Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Water Quality and Quantity: Visions for Our Streams and Rivers

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

The Chicago area is home to three important rivers - the Chicago, Calumet and Des Plaines. Experts will present ideas on how to make them cleaner, more accessible to the public and sustainable. Kara Riggio, Manager, Metropolitan Planning Council Three Rivers Project, and Patricia Werner, Planning Supervisor for Lake County Stormwater Management Commission will examine how to balance choices such as flooding or fishing; polluting or paddling; run off or land restoration and ideas for public/private land and water collaboration.

• Sunday
  November 13, 2016
  2:00 pm
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  847-816-7433
• $15
  No Charge for Students

The Trump Card

The Daily Herald sent out a staff photographer get some snapshots at the polls today.  And who do you think was there ... none other than Peter Roskam:

Polls busy, but lines short in many suburbs

Note to Ops: If you are a man-of-leisure, then the best time to set up a photo-op at your voting booth is mid-day -- when the lines are short, and opportunities to co-mingle with your constituents are few.

Roskam (Lake County's vestigial Congressman) told the Herald that he was voting for a third party candidate by the name of Free Media. Haha, j/k, Roskam voted for Donald Trump.

Roskam's vote is expected to give Trump the necessary 270 electoral votes to become the 45th President of the United States. In case of an Electoral College deadlock, Roskam can vote for Trump again, when Congress meets to break the tie.

The Trump transition team has already offered Peter Roskam an ambassadorship, to Benghazi. However sources say that Roskam is holding out for the job of IRS Commissioner.

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Spare the Rod Spoil the Child

It looks like the Russian KGB agents may have hacked into roddrobinski.com ...


roddrobinski.com

Note to Rod Drobinski campaign operatives: It's easy to change the passwords. And be sure to use a strong password like ...

roddrobinski

Just sayin!

One Trick Pony

Does Aaron Lawlor have a new dirty job waiting for him on Wednesday morning after the election? The Lake County Board Commissioner may want to consider a new career in video voice-overs. Here, Lawlor does his spot-on Mister Ed impression:

Dirty Jobs: Meet Gerri's One-Trick Pony, Whoa-Is-Me

Hello Wilbur!

Newspaper Silence on Roskam's Sins

We received a press release recently that has us scratching our heads. Lake County's Congressman, Peter Roskam, apparently violated the Congressional rules on postage and spent taxpayer dollars illegally. Just like Dan Rostenkowski did back in the day.

Maybe the press is too focused on Hillary's emails and Trump's newest outrage, but you'd think Wasting Taxpayer Dollars would get some MSM ears pricked up. But no. Crickets. So the Lake County Eye has the honor of breaking this story. Enjoy.

 ************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Palatine Committeeman Files Taxpayer Complaint Against Rep. Peter Roskam

A legal complaint against Rep. Peter Roskam (R-6th) was filed Tuesday by Palatine Township Committeeman Matt Flamm. The complaint concerns a taxpayer-paid (“franked”) mailing that Rep. Roskam sent the first week of October. Such mailings are prohibited within 90 days of an officeholder's election by the Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, with whom the complaint was filed.

 “Our representatives in Congress should not be allowed to use taxpayer money to promote themselves to voters this close to the election,” said Flamm. “These rules are in place for a reason – to prevent Congressmen from taking advantage of their position to waste our taxpayer dollars promoting themselves right before an election.”

The mailing used Rep. Roskam's signature instead of postage and specifically notes on its face that the mailer was “prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense.”

The Sixth Congressional District covers part of five counties in the west and northwest suburbs including DuPage, Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane. Flamm is a resident of the Sixth Congressional District and filed the complaint as a constituent of Roskam's.

Cubs Win!

Your LakeCountyEye has important breaking news to report: Surprising most pollsters, the Chicago Cubs has been declared winner of the US Presidential Election.

This marks the first time a third-party candidate has been elected US president since 1908. Historians can also note that the Chicago Cubs will be the first Ursine-American elected President of the United States.

Operatives are advised to update their calendars:

Jan 20 2017: Inauguration Day
Feb 28 2017: Spring Training Begins
Apr 03 2017: Opening Day

Your LakeCountyEye sends congrats to the President-Elect Chicago Cubs.