Kane County politics: nitty, gritty, downright dirty

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Kevin Burns

Updated: March 22, 2012 10:36PM

Wednesday’s press conference inside the Caboose’s Bar and Restaurant at the Geneva train station concluded at about 4:45 p.m., so I rushed home to write the story on deadline.

But first I had to take a shower.

OK, so I didn’t really jump under the hot water before sitting down at the computer to pound out this column. But I sure wanted to.

The press conference was called by Jon Zahm, chairman of the Kane County Conservative Coalition, to make sure the entire free world knew about the sleazy string of email exchanges between Kevin Burns, GOP candidate for Kane County Board chairman, and his partners in slime, a distinguished pack of GOP leaders who seem to behave more like a bunch of sophomoric frat boys.

Zahm, with hordes of eager media surrounding him, released the sometimes vulgar, sometimes rude exchange of emails that were sent out by Burns from his office as Geneva mayor from August 2011 to this February.

Zahmgot got his hands on the 116 pages of embarrassing emails after filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the city of Geneva concerning these Internet exchanges between Burns and Ken Shepro, St.Charles Township chairman; Mike Kenyon, the county’s Republican chairman; Pat Brady, Illinois Republican party chairman; and Ellen Nottke, Batavia Township Republican party chairman.

Because I was on such a tight deadline, I’ve not had time to go through the entire packet, but Zahmhad conveniently outlined the highlights for us press folks. And it clearly showed “the good guys” (as Nottke referred to this group) had formed a nice little rat pack intent on beating Sen. Chris Lauzen, Burns’ opponent in the GOP primary race.

“What we have here is an inside look at how this group plays politics,” Zahm declared in his carefully crafted yet outraged press release. “The mask is off and the taxpayers of Kane County can read for themselves the vulgarities, the hatred, the manipulation, the depravity that some Republican party insiders practice.”

Lauzen was called a few choice names in some of the exchanges (s.o.b., holier than thou, fraud and a few others not so mentionable); as was Congressman Randy (“that weasel”) Hultgren, whose endorsement of Lauzen didn’t set too well with these GOP movers and shakers. In one email, Burns, upset the congressman wasn’t returning a phone call, wrote, “Apparently Randy is busy@ a Prayer Dinner in DC. Won’t he be surprised when he learns there is no God.”

Even Lauzen’s wife Sarah, whose fashion sense obviously didn’t pass muster with this crew, was in their snide line of fire.

Now you see why I wanted to hit the shower?

And it wasn’t just this sophomoric email exchange from Burns’ office as Geneva mayor that creates such a high ick factor. It’s also the way this campaign between Burns and Lauzen has so quickly – and deeply – slid into the mud after promises early on of sticking to a strict code of conduct.

Zahm happens to be a paid consultant for Lauzen’s campaign, which he happily admitted at the press conference, while trying to downplay that very part-time role. Zahm swears Lauzen had nothing to do with him filing the FOIA :and that he did so simply because it is his mission to shed the light on slimy politics as usual.

And oh is it usual.

On Tuesday, Burns told reporters at a meeting that Lauzen is the target of an FBI probe. He claimed to have talked to people who had been questioned, and later told Beacon-News writer Matt Hanley that Lauzen has been interviewed as part of a widespread investigation into the state’s now discontinued legislative scholarship program. (The FBI did not respond to a call for comment, which is not unusual when there is an active investigation.)

Lauzen has categorically denied his opponent’s charges, saying he’s not been contacted by the FBI, nor has anyone he knows.

He also told Hanley that “at some point, you have to consider the source,” referring to Burns’campaign consultant Bill Page, who was part of a defamation case that arose from a column he wrote for the Kane County Chronicle about Illinois Supreme Court Justice Bob Thomas back in 2003.

I could go on: More accusations. More denials.More innuendos. More name calling, back-stabbing and game-playing. More reasons so many of us are just plain tired of the dirt.

Pass the soap, please.