He sees London, he sees France?

It was, by all accounts, a simple glance through the paper.  Aside from coverage about the Packers taking on the Bears, there wasn't much to read.

For whatever reason the words "Buffalo Grove" caught my eye in an article about, of all things, women's underwear.  Seriously.  Seeing as inquiring minds want to know I took a glance at the coverage.

Seems as though the Lake Villa District Library held a program about, of all things, women's underwear.  You'd think they'd focus on reading, but what the heck, if this is a way to get people to come to a library, why not.

What amazed, or should that be amused, me the most, was the fact that the Library apparently thought this should be for women only.  While I am surprised that any public organization would bar anyone from a presentation, if this is what the folks up in Lake Villa want to do, fine.

So how does this impact Buffalo Grove?  Is it likely that the Village Board will discuss underwear?  Is womens underwear a topic to be placed on the must read list at either the Vernon Area Library or Indian Trails Library?

Probably not.

Our local connection here is that Buffalo Grove's own Rob Sherman was one of two men who attended, and, to no surprise, made a public campaign about it.

If Sherman gets his jollies researching women's underwear, that is certainly his prerogative.  However, Sherman is running for public office in Buffalo Grove, challenging incumbent Jan Sirabian for the village clerk's post, so you would think he would take an interest in what's happening on the home front.

It doesn't seem that way.  Sherman was not at the last Village Board meeting, and when he does, his comments are laced with acrid comments about the minutes.  That seems to be his campaign -- the minutes need to be a narrative of Village Board meetings, and not just a recording of Board actions.


So instead of spending time on the home front, Sherman is scooting around from town to town dropping his name for any cause.

But really, women's underwear?  There seems to be a theme here. As mentioned in a recent blog, one of the things that Sherman dedicates a good portion of his web site to is a graphic posting of his car being washed by bikini-clad Hooters girls.  Sherman also flaunts his visit to Lake Villa on his web site.

Let's see, women's underwear, bikini-clad coeds.....please don't tell me it's in the name of constitutional rights or equal rights for men.

There seems to be a somewhat unusual trend here -- and for the record, it's not one that reflects well for a public official wannabe.

Just how much does character count?

More than a few years ago I covered the desolate territory known as Vernon Township.  Lake-Cook ended at Milwaukee Avenue, Chicagoland Airport still existed, and Milwaukee Avenue was dotted with the Cheetah II and other assorted places of entertainment.

Gas was about 50 cents a gallon and, for the most part, village board meetings dealt with few items of substance -- except for future development.

But small town, and that's what they were politics always seem to have a surprise.  In one area community, there was a rumor that one of its village trustees saw fit to pose for a calendar.  Think about it for a moment. Yes, the trustee allegedly poses sans an ordinance or legal briefs -- of for that matter any briefs.  Back then the Internet was nonexistent, as was sitting down and clicking.  Village officials took advantage of local media to dig up any kind of information. I had heard to the rumor, but before I could find anything, the trustee had decided not to run.  A good idea on his -- yes his -- part.

Some things never change.  Thirty five years later rumors still circulate around village officials and what they do in their private life.  I'm not interested in rumors.  If I blogged about all of the rumors I heard, I would be blogging every day.

However, when a candidate decides to brag about his escapades, it's a different story.  

Rob Sherman is running for Village Clerk in Buffalo Grove.  His web site, "Rob Sherman News", contains a collection of Sherman's thoughts on everything from being an atheist to his opponent, Jan Sirabian, and who know what else.  That's fine. 

It is interesting, however, how one of Sherman's biggest accomplishments is having his car washed by a series of Hooters Girls.  Really.  

I have nothing against Hooters, in fact, like Rob, I have a picture with a Hooters staff member.  For the record, she worked at Hooters in Norfolk, Virginia and was from Green Bay, Wisconsin.  We Packer fans find any reason to connect.  

But the staff member I met was working and I was not beaming with pride about having her put her arm on my shoulder.

Sherman's car wash as noted on his web site

Sherman does.  As noted by the picture, he was having a good time.  

In fact, he joyfully wrote about it -- the entire episode can be found at http://www.robsherman.com/news/2010/07/27.htm.

Sherman details his escapades, including the fact that "They were really careful not to get me wet, um, with water from their bucket or hose."

Again, if Sherman wants to be surrounded by bikini-clad Hooters employees, that's fine.  If he wants to make questionable remarks about their handling a hose, that's fine too.

However, the question is this -- Is this behavior appropriate for someone who considers himself a public figure and wants to be a public official?

His comments about Jan Sirabian are degrading to women and, with all due respect, senior citizens.  To some people, his flaunting of young women in bikinis is degrading to women.

Sherman is not the first public figure to do something questionable.  Last election night proved that -- but at least Elliott Hartstein had the dignity to realize his mistake and apologize to then trustee Lisa Stone and the community for his behavior. 

Sherman, however, does nothing but flaunt his sexist and degrading escapade.

Truth is,  the Hooter girls who washed his car are lucky that he wasn't driving his massive "Rob Sherman news van".

I guess they can thank G-d for that.  Oh wait, I guess they can't.  If they do, Sherman won't let them wash his car again.

A crowded ballot?

 As I pulled into the Village Hall for the Jan. 3 meeting, I could not help but notice the number of cars in the lot.

My first thought was that there must be some big issue brewing and the masses were getting ready to voice their malcontent with the Village Board.

What I found were members of Cub Scout Troop 36 from School Dist. 102 and not a lot more.  What I heard following the pledge (nice job guys..) was a lot of discussion about the height of fences from 5 to 6 feet.

I was a surprised, albeit a bit, because I had heard at previous meetings about the amount of displeasure with the Village Board by residents.  With this much dissension, surely there would be a heated election this come May.

There isn’t.  Only one race for village trustee, that for a two-year term, is contested with Andrew  Stein facing Denise Bocek. The other contested race is that for Village Clerk where incumbent Jan Sirabian is being challenged by Rob Sherman.  Jeff Braiman is unopposed in his bid to be village president.

That’s it. Eight candidates for six spots

So if there is that much upheaval among the residents, why aren’t more running?

Like ‘em or not, the residents who serve on the Village Board do so out of dedication.  As I’ve said before, they’re not perfect – nothing is – but it is a thankless task.  As noted before, the village staff has been excellent and responsive to the needs of residents and business owners.  Again, nothing is perfect.

While we heard about the numbers of residents who are dissatisfied we haven’t see an outpouring of people who want to storm the Bastille because the village was going to Hell in a handbag.   We’ve seen special interests represented, but everyone has their specific bug or bias.

But when push comes to shove, so to speak, there was very little of either.  A village of  more than nearly 50,000  residents and there are eight candidates.

It’s either a case of everyone being content, or no one caring -- with the exception of eight people.

So with the dust seemingly settled and the focus on village business and not special interest being discussed, it appears that when all is said and done – things in Big Animal Grove are just fine – not perfect – but a long way from the brink of disaster.