There's No Fool Like a Fossil Fool

Peter Roskam emerged this week from his climate-controlled underground bunker to take credit for having defeated global warming:

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican in a tight race with Democratic challenger Sean Casten, took credit for the EPA's commitment to conduct more testing for ethylene oxide in part of the area he represents in Congress. Casten has criticized Roskam for having a 7 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters on public health and environment legislation, and for supporting Republican-authored bills that would strip the EPA of authority to address health risks from ethylene oxide and other toxic chemicals.
After weeks of public outrage about Sterigenics, Trump EPA to test air in surrounding neighborhoods

Roskam, Lake County's vestigial Congressman, subsequently saw the shadow of a townhall, and quickly retreated back to his underground cleanroom facility. Where fossil fuel industry lobbyists are asked to send their checks:

Fossil Fool Peter Roskam

The Groundhog was unavailable for comment.

Fall Family Festival

Fall Family Festival - Busy Brains Children's Museum

Stick to Your Gunx

CONCEAL CARRY must be something like concealed carry, because whatever it is, Helene Walsh is all for it.

An actual unretouched screencap from State Rep Helene (née Joe) Walsh's website:

GUN RIGHTS / CONCEAL CARRY
I am a proud member of the NRA and have my conceal carry license. I truly believe in the sanctity of the 2nd Amendment as well as the practicality of having law abiding citizens who are trained to handle firearms. I believe conceal carry was long overdue because our old gunx laws restricted the rights of well-trained citizens, particularly veterans, from possessing firearms while criminals seemed to publicly carry with impunity. I believe conceal carry has made Illinois safer, not less safe, and provides greater ability for law abiding citizens to protect themselves, their families and their property.
GUN RIGHTS / CONCEAL CARRY

If you are someone who has seen Walsh's website, to be sure stranger things have happened. And if you are at all like your LakeCountyEye, you would have one question:

What's a GUNX?

According to the urban dictionary:

GUNX
a crew that consists of girrl punx, rude girls, zipper girls, psychobettys & drunx
GUNX

It is not known which crew Representative Walsh caucuses with:

• girrl punx
• rude girls
• zipper girls
• psychobettys
• drunx

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Make a Clean Breast of It

In preparation for Halloween, the Chicago Tribune has been channelling Helene Walsh. They scrubbed their website.

As readers of this blog are aware,

Does BGLCC Stand for NSFW?

the Tribune ran a story about a pornographic website that had been spoofing the Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce.

The Trib story contained a hotlink to the website in question. And by hotlink, your LakeCountyEye means an active hyperlink to a XXX hardcore pornsite.

Now having, erm, blown the whistle, your LakeCountyEye observes that the hyperlink to the pornsite has been disabled in the Chicago Tribune story:

Fake website displaying obscene content taken down by Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce

Note to Ops: Are there any other pornsite links remaining on the Internet? Just askin!

How To Save Constitutional Democracy

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy

Drawing on the experiences of numerous countries that have seen democratic norms undermined by the rise of authoritarian populist movements, Professor and author Tom Ginsburg will discus how the United States is also vulnerable to these forces.

• Sunday
  September 23 2018
  2:00 pm
• The Stevenson Center on Democracy
  25200 N St Mary's Rd
  Mettawa (Libertyville), IL 60048
  773-281-0378
• $15
  (Students Free)

Does BGLCC Stand for NSFW?

Look out Pornhub, the Chicago Tribune is breathing down your neck.

The Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce website was hijacked by a pornsite and the Chicago Tribune was on the story:

Rife with obscene content and, at one time, the face of President Donald Trump, a fake website that claimed to represent the Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce has been taken down weeks after officials discovered it.
Fake website displaying obscene content taken down by Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce

Note to Ops: Don't you just hate when this happens to you? Your LakeCountyEye certainly does.

According to the Tribune:

the chamber managed to shut down the site 24 hours after filing a complaint on Sept. 14 with the hosting company
Fake website displaying obscene content taken down by Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce

What makes this a man-bites-dog story (and not merely a dog-bites-man story) are the hyperlinks that are posted on the Tribune's website. Here is an actual unredacted screen cap from the Chicago Tribune story:

The fake website is circled above.

Spoiler Alert: Contrary to what the Tribune story implies, the hyperlink is active. And there is a reason why the hyperlink has not been posted on this blog.

Nuff said!

Miller-Walsh's deleted Facebook posts are her opponent's dream

If the dark web means anything, it has to be the Lake County Gazette. That's because stories there keep vanishing.

Last week Lake County's #1 fakenews source -- the Lake County Gazette -- posted a story critical of State Rep Helene Walsh. But don't bother reading it, the story was quickly killed:

Miller-Walsh's deleted Facebook posts are her opponent's dream

Not to worry. With the expert help of a 400lb hacker sitting on a bed, your LakeCountyEye has been able to resurrect the story:



And just to make sure the search engines can pick it up, here is the text of the story:

Miller-Walsh's deleted Facebook posts are her opponent's dream

In less than a month on the job, state Rep. Helene Miller Walsh (R-Mundelein) has served up plenty of campaign material to her Democratic opponent Mary Edly-Allen of Libertyville.

For the second time since Mark Shaw, Lake County GOP chairman and co-chair of the Illinois Republican Party, appointed her on August 18 to the 51st House seat vacated by Nick Sauer over charges of sexual misconduct, Walsh has scrambled to delete over-the-top, offensive statements from her Facebook page.

Just yesterday on the anniversary of 9/11, Walsh wrote about the dangers of socialism and globalism “bringing down our government and our duly elected officials in far more insidious ways” than the 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

"They come in the form of a pretty young woman (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) or a very old man (Bernie Sanders) who has never worked a 9-5 job preaching a form of government that has been responsible for more human tragedy in all of recorded history,” she wrote. “Or an eloquent former president (Barack Obama) who could never utter the words 'radical Islam' but had no trouble apologizing for the USA at every world stage."

In August, she deleted other posts after the Democrats skewered her.

Nancy Shepherdson, the 6th District Democratic State Central Committeewoman and co-chair of the Illinois 6th District Democrats, said in an August 20 statement that Walsh deleted a July 3 Facebook post about illegal immigrants that stated: “Don't want to be separated from your kids…don't break our laws.”.

“Helene Walsh should be straight with the voters of the 51st District,” Shepherdson said. “If, for instance, she believes that children should be separated from parents who are applying for legal asylum, she shouldn't be afraid to say so.”

At the time of the appointment, Shaw told the Daily Herald that Walsh would not only represent constituents well in the 51st, but would be capable of "putting a campaign together virtually overnight."

He also said that her travels to many parts of Illinois will benefit the legislature.

"She really understands the different viewpoints of people from across the state," Shaw said.

Walsh is married to former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, an outspoken and controversial evening radio host on WIND AM-560 – he was suspended a few years ago for using the N-word on the air.

The Illinois 51st District stretches from western Mundelein in the north to Vernon Hills, Long Grove and Barrington in the south, with most of Libertyville in its center.

The election is November 6.

Note to Ops: The Internet is forever.

The Culture of Tightfistedness

If the culture of corruption is a disease then Lake County GOP has it. That's because the Republican Lake County Board has slashed the health insurance on County employees:

The passage of a new health insurance plan by the Lake County Board this week drew warnings from the circuit court clerk and the union representing employees in that department to reconsider part of the plan or face an unfair labor practice charge.
Employees 'feeling betrayed' over Lake County's cuts to insurance contributions, circuit clerk says

The sore spot is over Health Savings Accounts (HSA):

Under the new proposal, the county's contribution to the HSA would be reduced by $50 for single coverage and $100 for family coverage for the second year in a row.
Employees 'feeling betrayed' over Lake County's cuts to insurance contributions, circuit clerk says

HSA (aka junk insurance) accounts are favored by the Republican Party:

HSAs can be a beneficial option for certain consumers, but those who are wealthy are more likely to benefit. Those without a substantial income are less likely to benefit from HSAs because they do not have the money to set aside for the account.
What are health savings accounts, or HSAs, and why do Republicans like them so much?

This may be why Barry Burton is happy with the County's HSA plan. Burton is the Lake County Administrator, and makes $247,090:

County Administrator Barry Burton said Friday that the HSA account policy started with large contributions by the county, but the payments have been been scaling it back so they are more in line with the industry standards. "We have had increased health insurance costs, but it is well below the national average," he said.
Employees 'feeling betrayed' over Lake County's cuts to insurance contributions, circuit clerk says

Note to Ops: Barry Burton will be leaving for a higher-paying County Administrator job in Florida. So, if you work for Lake County and you can't afford your health insurance, you have no cause to complain. Just switch jobs to Lake County Administrator. It pays quite well.

What the Helene

The Russian Twitter Bots that post the fakenews stories on the Lake County Gazette have gone haywire. The Lake County Gazette posted an uncomplimentary story about their favorite-son State Rep, Helene Walsh:

In less than a month on the job, state Rep. Helene Miller Walsh (R-Mundelein) has served up plenty of campaign material to her Democratic opponent Mary Edly-Allen of Libertyville. For the second time since Mark Shaw, Lake County GOP chairman and co-chair of the Illinois Republican Party, appointed her on August 18 to the 51st House seat vacated by Nick Sauer over charges of sexual misconduct, Walsh has scrambled to delete over-the-top, offensive statements from her Facebook page.
Miller-Walsh's deleted Facebook posts are her opponent's dream

The Lake County Gazette -- Lake County's #1 fakenews source -- took Helene (née Joe) Walsh to task for posting some of her extreme rightwing-nutjob ideas on Facebook, for all to see. Only to later scrub those same extreme rightwing-nutjob messages off of Facebook, for no one to see.

But don't try to click the link above to the Lake County Gazette. This Lake County Gazette story that criticizes Helene Walsh for scrubbing her Facebook, has been -- wait for it -- scrubbed from the Lake County Gazette:

Operatives are asked to make up their own joke here.

The Culture of Obfuscation

The Lake County Republican Party -- the party of identity politics -- has an identity crisis.

Is the Lake County GOP the culture of corruption?

A House of Cards

Or is the Lake County GOP the culture of obstruction?

The Culture of Obstruction

Or is the Lake County GOP the culture of ammunition?

The Culture of Ammunition

If you believe State Rep Helene Walsh, the Lake County GOP the culture of obfuscation:

You'll recall that state Rep. Helene Miller Walsh (R-Mundelein) scrubbed her Facebook page of some pretty odd and extremist stuff shortly after she was appointed to the seat. Well, here's her Facebook page today ...
Apparently, Rep. Miller Walsh isn’t finished posting extreme stuff on Facebook

Rep. Miller Walsh has taken down her divisive post. The person who pointed me to the post in the first place says FB commenters were posting screen shots of their online contributions to her Democratic opponent.
Scrubbed

One informed source told your LakeCountyEye that Helene Walsh's Facebook has seen more scrubs than a Beverly Hills plastic surgery spa.

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

They Stop to Conquer

An actual unretouched screen grab from WLS 890 AM:

Roskam accuses Casten of stopping to “the politics of ridicule”

After learning of Peter Roskam's accusations, one informed source told your LakeCountyEye: "Only an asshat would say something like that."

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

International Literacy Day

Ordinarily in Lake County, September 8 is International Literacy Day. Except that State Senator Dan McConchie petitioned President Trump to withdraw from the treaty:

McHenry County GOP leaders: Want tax cuts? Look at libraries
Libraries under attack in McHenry County political realm

Perhaps to compensate for cancelling International Literacy Day, McConchie announced that he will be hosting Coffee and Conversation events. Where? At a public library near you:

Sen. McConchie hosts Coffee and Conversation events

Haha, j/k. Dan McConchie has these events all scheduled at bars.

Note to Ops: If you read about the evils of drinking, give up reading.

A Hole in the Wall

Legitimate businessman and US President Donald J Trump suffered a setback. Part of his Mexico border wall collapsed this week in Libertyville:

A retaining wall on Route 45 in Libertyville collapsed overnight, one day after the Lake County Sheriff's Department shut down the roadway in both directions.
Route 45 closed in Libertyville; railroad bridge retaining wall collapses

Libertyville State Rep Helene Walsh was quick to the scene with a first response:

If you come to America illegally, don't you dare attack us.

For the record, no terrorists entered US soil through the breach in the Libertyville wall.

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

Zornswoggled

Well on his way by now to the Governor's mansion, Lake County favorite son Kash Jackson -- née Benjamin Winderweedle -- picked up some earned media from the Chicago Tribune:

Why would a politician change his name from Benjamin Winderweedle to Kash Jackson? I'm hard pressed to come up with a better ballot name than Winderweedle.
Campaign curiosities: Why not 'Winderweedle'?

If your spider-sense is all tingly with deja-vu, that's because you remember this LakeCountyEye story:

A ballot-name like Winderweedle comes along once in a lifetime. Could you resist casting your vote for the guy named Winderweedle? Your LakeCountyEye could not.
Wither Winderweedle

That sounds a lot like your LakeCountyEye. Has the Chicago Tribune -- née Eric Zorn -- been datamining your LakeCountyEye for ideas?

There are some differences. The Chicago Tribune made this crack about Kash Jackson's name:

Kash Jackson sounds to me more like a mixed martial arts fighter than a public official.
Campaign curiosities: Why not 'Winderweedle'?

While your LakeCountyEye likened Kash Jackson's name to a role in a porn movie:

Appearances to the contrary, Kash Jackson is not the name of a character in the new Stormy Daniels movie. No, Kash Jackson is is the name of Lake County favorite-son and candidate for Governor.
Wither Winderweedle

Note to Ops: How many times has this happened to you? Your are watching porn. Someone walks into the room. You quickly click to the mixed martial arts channel.

Just Sayin!

Your LakeCountyEye: Ripped off by the Chicago Tribune since September 2018.

The Culture of Ammunition

Why does the Lake County GOP need to own a trademark on the Culture of Corruption^® -- when they can just steal it instead?

Haha, the Lake County Republican Party invites you to their annual family picnic:

An old-fashioned family picnic and all are welcome to attend!! Hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, corn-on-the-cob, soft drinks, beer and wine will be provided. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish or dessert to share. Come out and join in the fun!!
September 9, 2018: Republican Assembly of Lake County Picnic

Your LakeCountyEye notes that there are no sex, drugs or misuse of public funds on offer at the Lake County GOP picnic. How much fun will that be?

One thing not mentioned in the promo for the Lake County GOP family picnic -- and not searchable on Google -- will be a raffle. For a Mossberg 590 Shockwave:

In case you didn't know, the Mossberg 590 Shockwave is a military-style shotgun:

590^® Shockwave


LEGENDARY MOSSBERG PUMP-ACTION RELIABILITY IN A COMPACT 14" BARRELED PACKAGE.
The Shockwave Raptor bird's head pistol grip is uniquely shaped to minimize felt recoil. Includes all the features that have made Mossberg pump-actions the choice for millions worldwide: ambidextrous safety, dual extractors, positive steel-to-steel lockup, twin action bars, and a smooth operating anti-jam elevator.
Mossberg 590^® Shockwave

It is unknown if the Mossberg 590 Shockwave military-style shotgun being raffled off at the Lake County GOP family picnic will come with child-proof safety-locks.

Bring the kids anyways.