What? A hand in the cookie jar?

There's no doubt about it -- $11,000 is a lot of money.

In fact, if you use the 2000 census, which found 42,909 resident in Big Animal Grove, that would come out to 26 cents per resident.

That's too much for Lisa Stone who takes exception with 11 grand being spent on the recent hearing during which she challenged some of the signatures on the petitions submitted by the committee that is seeking to have Stone sent over the rainbow or sent  somewhere in Kansas where she can live peacefully with the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.  Toto has been deemed dangerous and cannot be on public land.

Stone has voiced (this is news?) her objection to the amount because she has no idea why so much research had to be done by the attorneys.

Interesting, isn't it, that she was not concerned about the cost  before she challenged the signatures.  Once he dust settled and reality set in that the challenged signatures would have no impact as to whether the question to recall her or not is placed on the Nov. 2 ballot, Stone decided to complain about its cost.

What would have happened had she won?

Odds are the cost would not have been an issue.  That's because Lisa Stone thinks nothing about spending village money when it's for her.

We're not talking fancy cars or jewelry, we're talking "personal" staff. Stone apparently does not realize the hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars in village funds she has used through her incessant emailing of village staff.  Email obtained by through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that Stone seemed to contact whomever she wanted about her own pet causes.

One of the most striking examples is an email sent to the village manager's office in which Stone wanted staff to text or call her husband if a certain person was in attendance at the March 22 meeting.

It seems as though this person, whose name is redacted  (removed) from the email was at the previous Village Board meeting at had the nerve to ruffle Stone's perm during heated exchange.  Mind you, this took place after a nearly five-hour board meeting.

Stone took offense to this, claiming, according to an email, that someone demonstrated  "unusual  and frightening episode and anger towards me" at the previous Board meeting, which happened to be March 8.

The information, including the name of the evil person who rattled Liza, is  redacted in the FOIA'ed email, so I will not reveal the name.  But here's a hint-- watch the meeting she is upset about and you may just find out.

So how does this cost the village money?  Stone file a police report against the redacted individual and then proceeded to contact the Village Manager's asking for a  "police presence" at the next meeting.  Oh, by the way, she also wanted to have someone contact her husband if the evil redacted one should be there.  

Why?  Because in the email, Stone says, and as Dave Barry would write, I am not making this up -- "I stated in the report that the community has expressed concern and worry for me, given this  this man's anger towards me after viewing the meeting on channel 6.They only know what they witnessed watching the meeting, without any further background or detail.  That alone scared them."

The community?  Which community?  Probably the community in her mind.  If she thinks the community as a whole is worried sick about her, she is, to coin a phrase, delusional.   Perhaps the community that may be concerned about her safety is, as noted before,  the community in her mind.

Stone claims to be concerned about the safety and well being of the community -- but aside from trying to milk the video taping of Village Board meetings for her own personal gain, Lisa Stone has done nothing to gauge the pulse of "the community" -- the village of Buffalo Grove as a whole.

Instead she cries foul whenever someone disagrees with her.  What?  Signatures I don't like --  I want a hearing -- What?  I didn't get my way?  Then it's way too expensive.

What? Someone dare to yell at me at a Village Board meeting?  I'm filing a police report, I want to take up an officer's time, I want to talk to the chief, I want a police presence.  

And who pays for this, Lisa?  We do -- the community.  Not only is the "community" paying for your personal favors, you are taking valuable time of the Police Department from crime prevention and investigations and, who knows, fighting drug dealings.  Oh, wait, you forgot how important that is, didn't you?

And a police presence?  Wait -- wasn't Stone the one who admonished the Village Board because she said people did not want to come to the Board meetings because of the way they were treated?

But when someone is upset at her, it's OK for her to file a police report, spend village money on police reports, village staff time because she doesn't like, or agree with some one?

This is concern for the community?  What concern?  Stone's concern is there only if the village pays for it.  If it's not on her agenda, well, by gosh, it's too expensive.

Yes, $11,000 is a lot of money.  But it was money that came from the village's budget for legal costs for village operations.  Village -- as a community of a whole.

Not for some public official operates on a double standard.