The Bard Would Be Proud...

..As He Makes a Mark on Buffalo Grove

Even though he died 394 years ago, William Shakespeare, is probably beaming with pride somewhere.

His noted comedy, Much Ado About Nothing has opened in Buffalo Grove.

The original takes place in Messina, Italy, and old Bill (he turns 446 on April 23) would be proud how the play has been adapted to the village. Unlike the original where Claudio and Hero trick their friends Beatrice and Benedict, the new version, which also features trickery, involves trustees who try to trick village board members and residents into thinking the village is crumbling at the scene, falling into disarray.

Why just read the papers -- Environmental crisis, corrupt officials, gambling... run for the hills.

But wait, before you do, take a look at the media reports.

The environmental crisis over on Milwaukee Avenue is, says the EPA, as cited in The Daily Herald, is clean. The Herald's report says the facility has been given a "clean bill of health" and the residents in that area should contact the Lake County Board of Health -- which the village had done in recent months. But since this is a comedy, where would we be without Lisa Stone who seems to still contend there's a problem. It seems that water samples taken by the EPA in January did not yield a problem. That does not, however seem to be good enough for Madame Quixote.

Oh my, so many windmills, so little time. (OK, it's Cervantes and not Shakespeare, but we're talking high drama here, folks). But wait -- surely the Herald, presumably following the shame and scandal in the Village Manager's office -- ineptness, corruption, disease, plague, famine -- is reporting the problems.

But wait, check out page 1 of Thursday's Herald. What that's you say Mrs. Robinson, not only has joltin' Joe left and gone away, but "Outgoing Buffalo Grove manager got high job rating."

Well, as the Bard would say, it looks like it was much ado about nothing. Unless, of course, you are Miz Stone. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Herald represents a way to circumvent the Illinois Opens Meeting Act that clearly says only three topics may be discussed in Executive Session -- litigation, land acquisition, and personnel matters. That means that persons with vendettas need to keep quiet. It's a way to preserve the dignity of all parties involved.

Who knows who contacted the Herald and TribLocal about filing a FOIA request (wink-wink), but isn't it interesting to see that the only trustee who gave Bill Brimm poor marks was Ms. Stone. And what was revealed?

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Except for the fact that village officials have had confidence in Brimm's performance all along.

It's the performance that has earned him respect from colleagues in and out of the village.

So what would Shakespeare do?

My guess he'd find a new role for Ms. Stone. He wouldn't cast her as Hero, he would probably have a better role for her.

Hecate in Macbeth.