October 2008 Archives

The Hound has to give chops to Rex, the K-9 Kop with the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The German shepherd sniffed out one of the three mopes allegedly involved in a home invasion in Round Lake Beach the other day. Good, boy!

As a fellow traveler, The Hound hopes Rex's partner, Deputy Jim McKinney, rewarded the K-9 with the wonder smell. Perhaps he got an extra dose of kibble or hopefully a sirloin steak bone to chew. Yum!

Three suspects allegedly brandished a sawed-off shotgun, and surprised a woman, took her ATM card and locked her in a bathroom in the breakfast time break-in. The woman was unhurt. Also taken, allegedly, was a Chevrolet Blazer.

Rex and McKinney arrived on the scene after deputies and Round Lake Beach police tracked a 16-year-old suspect to an area around routes 12 and 120. The juvenile apparently left a piece of clothing inside the Blazer which, allegedly, was used as a getaway vehicle.

The K-9's super sense of smell got a scent of the teen and Rex discovered him inside a dumpster at a landscape company. The suspect was taken into custody and now resides at the Depke Center in Vernon Hills. Two alleged accomplices were taken into custody late Wednesday by Round Lake Beach police. They currently reside in the Lake County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bonds.

This is one case for the good guys and a good dog.

By this time next Wednesday, we should know who will be our national leader for the next four years. That is unless there are voting irregularities in Florida. But, the end is in sight.

The Hound knows this not because Election Day is Nov. 4, but that the attacks are getting weirder and weirder. Such as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin being attacked for wearing about $150,000 worth of clothes purchased by the Republican National Committee after she was tapped by John McCain as his running mate. Did folks want her running around in plaid flannels and Levis on the campaign trail?

Really, if clothes make the man, how about the woman? Pols use campaign funds all the time to pay for a lot of their expenses. In Illinois, some have been known to purchase Chicago Bulls playoff tickets or Chicago Bears season tickets. Few donors ask what their campaign donations will be used for. Give the hockey mom a break. She's got enough to worry about being so close to a rising Russia.

The other weird attempt at the end game is people wanting to see Barack Obama's birth certificate. The Internet buzz is he wasn't born in Hawaii, but some foreign locale. That, according to these conspiracy theorists, would make him ineligible to be president because he was not born in the U.S., one of the requirements for high office.

That won't pass the smell test, let alone the constitutional law test. If his mother's an American, it doesn't matter if he was born in Andorra or Argentina. He's an American.

To prove that, he worked for the Chicago Democratic machine. They research these type of things as the late political scientist Milton Rakove noted when he showed up to volunteer for a political campaign. "We don't want nobody nobody sent," Rakove was told by a ward heeler.

The same could be said for presidential candidates. Yup, the end is in sight. And none too soon for The Hound.

The power brokers are pulling out all the stops to make sure Illinois voters don't call for a constitutional convention on Nov. 4. We've already been warned lobbyists would be a major force in any con-con (like they don't currently have influence among lawmakers?). Now, the opponents are aiming for our pocketbooks.

Like Chicken Little, these special interest folks are saying a constitutional convention would cost more than $100 million at a time when the state is lucky it can afford blacktop to patch potholes. Except, the non-partisan Legislative Research Unit figures the cost to be between $14 million to $23 million. That's less than $2 for every Illinoisan. It costs that much for a good latte these days. It doesn't even buy a good-sized bag of chewy bones for The Hound.

Regardless of the cost, it would be worth it to get rid of "pay to play" politics in the state and have recall provisions for public officials. Actually, The Hound has a whole plethora of causes a con-con can address --- including life sentences for those who practice dog fighting --- but the wish list can wait until after voters make the right move to improve this state and make the con-con call.

It's either that or keep letting them pass out political bon bons --- let alone plums --- to friends, contributors and fellow players. You make the call.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich discounts a recent poll that showed his popularity ratings were lower than journalists. Lower than used car salesmen. Lower than Wall Street bankers. Lower than President Bush. He's kidding, right?

Blago's approval rating, according to the poll, hovered around 13 percent. His rating could be lower, could be higher depending on the margin of error. The Hound, being a pessimist, figures they're lower. Blago's ratings are lower than governors who have done time ---Otto Kerner and Dan Walker, both Democrats, and George Ryan, currently a guest of a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind.

But Blago said Friday it's not the reported federal investigation looking at everything Blagojevich, including his wife's real estate dealings, or his job as governor. People don't
like him because of the current state of the economy.

He may have something there. Under his watch, we've lost lots of businesses to Wisconsin because the governor of the Badger State returns phone calls from company owners. The state's jobless rate increased across Illinois in September. Lake County's rate skipped from 4.7 percent in September 2007, to 6.3 percent last month. That's not good, Governor Rod. Did The Hound mention the state has lost 14,000 jobs since January?

Meanwhile, Illinois home sales were down 8.7 percent in September and the median housing price dove 9.7 percent to $179,650. A year ago, housing prices were $199,000. Still not good.

So, the governor thinks people don't like him because of the economy. People don't like George Bush because of the economy. Illinoisans don't like Blago, because, well, he's just Blago.

Except for seniors. He gave them free mass transit rides. But those seniors will turn on you faster than a rattlesnake. Things aren't looking good for a third term in 2010.

Remember this exchange between Bruce Willis and Joel Haley Osment in "The Sixth Sense":

Osment: I see dead people.
Willis: In your dreams? While you're awake? Dead people like, in graves? In coffins?
Osment: Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're dead.
Willis: How often do you see them?
Osment: All the time. They're everywhere.

So it must have been when Lake County Clerk workers started going through those voter registration forms --- about 1,000 of them --- some union member and voter registrar dropped off in downtown Waukegan the other day. The Hound expects dead people to leave Graceland Cemetery, near Wrigley Field, on Election Day and vote in Cook County, but Lake County has always been a different matter.

Guess Democratic Machine politics finally made their way up here to light blue Lake County. The silly Hound thought we were above such funny goings on here. Wrong, again.

The question, though, is what will authorities do about this apparent attempt to undermine the electoral process after these registration forms which listed dead people, even pets, were turned in to the clerk's office? Supposedly, there's a criminal investigation going on. The Hound hopes they sniff out what exactly went wrong.

Hopefully, before Election Day. The Hound would hate to be in line ready to cast a vote standing next to dead people. That would be creepy and it would be days after Halloween.

It appears you can take the candidate out of Illinois, but you can't take the Illinois out of the candidate. Or at least his campaign staff. The Hound is referring to Democrat Barack Obama's insistence the media pay to play to cover the candidate's Election Night victory party at Millennium Park in the big city.

The Obama camp is rolling in dough, yet they want to charge news organizations nearly $1,900 to buy space up close and personal. Photographers will be charged $410 for access and a seat in the heated press filing center will cost $935. The Hound would be in the cheap seats, by the way, and that includes power, cable TV, Internet access and, the only thing that really matters --- food.

There is no charge for reporters in a standing room outdoor press area which may have obstructed views. You know, like those posts in the grandstand at Wrigley Field. Did The Hound mention the election night event at a public venue is free and open to the public? Except the public probably doesn't get food.

The media normally pays for telecommunications services, but this is the first time The Hound has heard of charging people to cover a campaign event. Us freeloading media types usually get gratis passes to cover rock bands and sporting events.

But remember, this is Illinois where Chicago Democrats have had that "pay for play" mantra so long it's become inbred. Obama's advisers should rethink this latest ploy. If Joe Biden's right about being tested after taking office --- if the duo is elected --- they might want the media on their side in the first 100 days.

That media post-election honeymoon could be quite short if this is what they're up to. Hopefully, Illinois' pay for play politics won't be exported to Washington...

The Hound has been beating up the Wall Street bankers, credit managers, the Bush administration and certain members of Congress who went along with the financial meltdown we've been nervous about the past few weeks. Like the rest of you, The Hound's mistress' 401(k) is now a 104(k). She says her early retirement target date is now age 86. But then The Hound did some research.

Boy, are we a bunch of stupids in this country, living on borrowed time --- borrowed money time, that is.

Blame Wall Street? Hah, look in the mirror, rubes. Check out these facts:

1) Today, the average American household has $8,565 in credit-card debt, a figure 15 percent higher than it was in 2000, when President Bush was narrowly elected.

2) Nearly 30 percent of the U.S. national debt --- $2.6 trillion --- is held by foreign governments. The top four? Japan, China, United Kingdom, Brazil. How did the Carnivale country get to own a piece of the U.S. rock?

3) Forty-three percent of U.S. households spend more than they earn annually, therefore living on credit card debt. See No. 1 above.

4) Forty-four percent of American households say they live "pay check to pay check" --- up from 37 percent in 2006.

5) About 42 percent of U.S. households lack enough liquid savings to support themselves for three months.

So the next time you want to blame politicos for the state of your personal economy or even the nation's economy, remember the 1992 Clinton campaign mantra: It's the economy, stupid. In this case, as we approach Election Day 2008, it's plural.

So don't expect Uncle Sugar to bail you out. You have no credit or capital and are close to having no collateral. Welcome to the Third World.

The Hound has kept muzzled on the Kirk-Seals race, but that irritating Seals commercial with the unidentified Iraqi vet was the last straw. Officeseekers always decry those negative ads and voters say they don't like them, but pols sure keep those ad agencies busy with them.

Unless you've been in a coma the past few weeks, Dan Seals of Wilmette, who doesn't live in the 10th District, is running for the second time against incumbent Republican Mark Kirk who lives in Highland Park which is about smack-dab in the middle of the district. The contest is getting downright nasty. Dueling polls show a close race on the Nov. 4 horizon with Seals hoping for some coattails from presidential candidate and fellow Illinoisan, Barack Obama.

The ad The Hound referred to has been airing frequently, attempting to tie Kirk to the Bush administration's Iraq policy. It doesn't identify the veteran, how long he served in Iraq, which unit or what his military occupational speciality was while he was there. He also accuses Kirk of voting to cut off Iraq veterans' health care once they've returned. The Hound wants to know: Where'd they find this guy? Does he live in the 10th District? Can they find any more? Why didn't his fellow GIs frag this guy when they had the chance? What branch of the service did Dan Seals serve?

It has been determined this veteran Seals discovered either agrees or has ties to a group which believes the 9/11 attacks are part of a government coverup. The 911truth.org alleges the terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon somehow were a shadowy conspiracy. Sounds like talking points for a Section 8 out of a war zone.

But the silliest of the commercial is maintaining Kirk is anti-veteran. Nobody's anti-veteran. Veterans vote. Veterans know Kirk saved the North Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center by partnering with the Navy. Besides, The Hound will take an astronaut Jim Lovell --- a real American hero who has endorsed the congressman --- over an unamed, unranked GI.

Being attacked, Kirk has started his own set of negative ads about Seals' last full-time job being with General Electric and how the company was involved in the subprime meltdown. That's a stretch, too. We'll see come Nov. 4 if negative political ads carry the day.

. .

Waukegan once again is setting itself up for disappointment, The Hound predicts. After entering a cheapskate bid of $225 million for a gaming palace and hotel at an easily accessible 31-acre site at Fountain Square, the city and its casino partners got trumped by a $435 million bid from the village of Rosemont, which really, really wants that 10th and last Illinois gaming license.

Don't get The Hound wrong. By all rights, Waukegan should have the casino. The state's original gaming law envisioned helping communities like Waukegan. The then-riverboat law certainly helped Aurora, Elgin and Joliet. A Waukegan casino would help the city and neighboring communities, too.

The Waukegan site is the best site because it will bring new money to the table and not take away from the existing casinos. The other sites, including Rosemont, are too close to the venues in Aurora, Elgin and Joliet. Gamblers would just switch sites. Waukegan can draw new players from southeast Wisconsin. And, it could be up and running sooner than the other bids.

Logically, the Waukegan site is perfect. But logic doesn't dictate the way things operate in Illinois, as we've seen the past few years.

The Hound is barking for the Waukegan site, but there's bad juju surrounding this remaining license. The Hound hopes the hex isn't on, but don't say you weren't warned.

At least the city rolled the bones and took the gamble. As the lottery folks remind us: If you don't play, you can't win.

That was awful nice of the Lake County Health Department to offer "good neighbor" etiquette for leaf burners which appeard in the paper over the weekend. Here's a better idea on how to be a good neighbor: Ban leaf burning in unincorporated Lake County.

While nearly every municipality has banned leaf burning and gone to collecting them, then turning them to compost, Lake County officials cling to this old-fashioned, country-bumpkin ideal of letting residents send leaves up in smoke. Which probably runs counter to the Health Department's creed, but who's counting when the County Board holds the purse strings, right?

Did The Hound mention that most unincorporated areas border incorporated areas so, like other forms of pollution, leaf smoke doesn't stop at the limits of corporate entities? Like Beach Park, which still thinks its unincorporated, even though it is a village.

In Beach Park, they seem to burn seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Hound feels sorry for kids in Beach Park with asthma this time of year. Beach Park has this antiquated view of things, unlike Zion, Waukegan, Winthrop Harbor and North Chicago which all have controlled or no burning at all. Some great environmentalists there in Beach Park.

But the same can be said of Health Department folks who were quick to jump on the anti-smoking bandwagon, but not so quick to do the same for leaf burning. Guess the county hasn't heard of second-hand smoke. Instead, they want us all to be good neighbors. That policy goes up in smoke when the leaves fall.

The Hound was watching the Bears game Sunday, enjoying a beverage at a local pub, when one member of the TV team noted that Atlanta Falcons running back Michael "The Burner" Turner --- who the Bears contained fairly well --- was born in Waukegan, went to North Chicago High School and Northern Illinois University.

It was at that point that one of the barflies belched and then pointed out the city of Waukegan claims Turner as one of the city's native sons, right up there with Jack Benny.

"No way," The Hound retorted. "How can Waukegan claim a guy who went to North Chicago?"

"Check their Web site," the barfly grumbled. The Hound did and the barfly was right.

Under the "celebrities from Waukegan" link on the city of Waukegan Web site, there was Turner, right under the late actress Janice Rule, and next to filmmaker Greg Strause. Apparently, Turner was born at either then-Victory Memorial Hospital or St. Therese Medical Center. That qualifies one as being a Waukegan legend?

If that's the case, aforementioned Janice Rule was born near Cincinnati, Ohio. Maybe she lived in Waukegan while a dancer at Chicago clubs back in the '50s, but The Hound sure would like to know her tie. The city also claims actress Lolita Davidovich as one of its own, although she was born in Canada. What's the logic there? She's Serbian, therefore some Serbs live in Waukegan, therefore she's from Waukegan?

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, but you don't see him going around claiming to be Hawaiian. John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. You don't see him saying he's Panamanian.

So what's the deal, Waukegan? Is the city that hard up it has to swipe folks from nearby communities to add to the roster of famous Waukeganites? The city doesn't have enough sports heroes so city officials beef up the requirements to be a member of their highly subjective "honor roll"?

The Hound may start calling some of these folks --- the ones still alive --- and asking them about Waukegan's place in their hearts. City folks might not like the answers.

The Hound is so glad the dog house is not in Chicago these days, especially after learning city garbage crews are actually paid to do nothing during most of their shifts. Yes, let's just keep pouring more Illinois money into that hole they call the Second City.

Of course, the union representing the workers who were caught working only a part of the time, blamed management for not supervising employees of "Streets and San" as they say in the old neighborhood. Apparently, these folks have low self-esteem and haven't figured out they're adults who have certain responsibilities. One of them is showing up for work and doing a job.

Unless you live in the Windy City. A 10-week surveillance of workers showed deez guys wasted at least $14.3 million a year in taxpayer dollars. This in a city which has the highest sales tax in the nation. Oh, it get's better.

Despite funneling in massive amounts of Illinois money into the CTA, the agency is still proposing to boost fares to $2.25 for bus and El rides. Seems one of the reason the fare increases are needed is because Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Chicagoan, decided to give senior citizens free mass transit rides.

So, not only do we have a state that is in the toilet, but the biggest city in the state, normally known as the "city that works" is heading that way, too. Where's Honest Abe when you really need him?

The financial markets are in turmoil, we're fighting a two-nation war and the two presidential candidates have questionable skeletons in their pasts. How come some tougher questions weren't asked of these candidates the other night in Nashville? Those were the best questions submitted from the Internet and those in the "town hall" audience at Belmont University? The Hound doubts that.

What were the ones moderator Tom Brokaw was holding back? Were there questions about William Ayers or Charles Keating? Perhaps Brokaw knew neither John McCain or Barack Obama had the answers to questions dealing with the nation's recession-like economy. And, weren't some of those questions asked and answered during the first debate which dealt with foreign policy? Sure sounded like they had.

While polls declared Obama the winner, The Hound believes neither won. Talk about a stalemate. McCain calls Obama, "That one", while Obama reminded us McCain sang "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" at one time. It would have had more effect if he had reiterated that to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann". McCain claimed Obama's proposals are like "nailing Jell-O to the wall." Obama countered with this zinger, referring to McCain's bus: "I think the Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one."

Maybe the last presidential debate set for Oct. 15 at Hofstra University in New York, dealing with domestic and economic issues, will answer some of the tougher issues facing the nation. The Hound is waiting for that one defining moment to bring everything into election focus. That one hasn't happened yet. There's still time, candidates.

As a taxpayer, The Hound is one of the millions of Americans who own a stake in AIG, the once-mighty insurance giant now 80 percent owned by the government. The Hound wants a free spa retreat like those company executives got less than a week after Uncle Sugar bailed them out to avoid bankruptcy.

No wonder Americans were skeptical of the bailout and afraid the fat cats would make out when the average Joe Sixpack, as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin characterizes them, is left holding the bailout bag. Read on, feather merchants.

According to The Associated Press, the American International Group, Inc., which the federal government gave a $85 million loan for that aforementioned stake, sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a tony Southern California resort. The tab included $23,380 of spa luxuries for said AIG employees. If The Hound gets a flea dip, it's a special day.

Did The Hound mention that because of getting involved in shaky sub-prime mortgage-related securities, AIG executives withheld damaging auditing reports from stockholders? Yup, smells just like Enron.

The Hound invites other AIG stakeholders to request the spa weekend at the SoCal retreat. Wonder if they'll mind if The Hound rolls around in a mud bath. They're so refreshing, yet expensive.

The Hound now knows what his older siblings, aunts, uncles, grandpas and grandmas felt like as the Cubs and Sox both folded early in the baseball playoffs: No expectations.

What the &*^%$#@! happened here? Should The Hound start rooting for the Kane County Cougars or the Area 51s in Vegas? It should be noted The Hound predicted the Cubs' demise because of West Coast voodoo. The Hound didn't expect that West Coast gris-gris to include the Gulf Coast of Florida as the Devil Rays took the best-of-five series. Does one detect a satanic underpinning here?

OK, we move on and ignore the chaos theory, curses and just plain not prepared for the post-season for the second year for the Cubs and since ought five when the South Side hitmen ruled the roost. Dare The Hound utter those sorry words: Wait until next year. Or as Leo Durocher once said: "Back up the truck."

Well, the Bears are in first in the old black and blue division of the NFC --- for the time being.

As for those of you who, like The Hound, had no expectations, The Hound offers the original thanks to the world's greatest rock n' roll band:

Take me to the station
And put me on a train
I've got no expectations
To pass through here again

Once I was a rich man and
Now I am so poor
But never in my sweet short life
Have I felt like this before

You heart is like a diamond
You throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me
You pack my peace of mind

Our love was like the water
That splashes on a stone
Our love is like our music
Its here, and then its gone

So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again

The Hound isthisclose to becoming a soccer hooligan.

The Hound is glad Six Flags Great America didn't back down under pressure from PETA and not serve a buffet of creepy crawly things during this year's edition of Fright Fest. Instead of Madagascar hissing cockroaches to dine on, those brave enough can munch on another assortment of sorts. The Hound is glad for kibble at this time of year.

Yes, you can save a cockroach, as PETA urged, and instead eat grasshoppers, silkworms, night crawlers, snails and superworms, the larvae of a specific black beetle. This lineup sounds just yummy. The Hound had snails once, but the doggie bag was from a French restaurant which called them escargot. Who knew they were snails?

If one has a strong stomach, large and small intestines and colon, feel free to dive in an pig out on this lucious dining experience. The feast takes place Friday nights at 7:30 in the park's Hometown Square through Nov. 1.

What is it with the Cubs and playoff opponents from the Left Coast? Does The Hound have to refresh everyone's memory about what happened in 1984 against the San Diego Padres? How about '89 versus the San Francisco Giants. There's something going on here and there's only one explanation: Deep gris-gris.

Did The Hound fail to mention that Arizona is just a few quakes away from being beachfront and what happened when the Diamondbacks and Cubs met in the playoffs last year? Those snakes swept the Cubs.

There's only one thing to break this spell. If your heading to Wrigley Field today, grab your mojo bag and take it to the ballpark. The Z Train may need it.

Or, you could travel to the Wildfish restaurant on Waukegan Road in Deerfield and have the Cubs/Sox Celebration sushi combo which includes a Sox Roll, freshwater eel and black tobiko over spicy scallop, cucumber and avocado, and a Cubs Roll, special spicy tuna roll. That's enough raw stuff to scare any voodoo doll away.