Tea party planned in Libertyville

The summer experience in downtown Libertyville will include a new type of party in Cook Park.

A reconstituted Lake County tea party has received village permission to host a "family friendly" voter education event from 1 to 4 p.m. July 5.

Modeled after events held in Palatine the past two years, the nonpartisan organization hopes to draw 200 to 300 people for speeches by area political figures, according to Chairman Lennie Jarratt.

It also will have "respectful protest signs and people waving flags," he informed the village in a request for a permit.

Jarratt, a website designer from Round Lake Beach, said the village was a natural selection because of its central location and motto: "The Spirit of Independence."

"Libertyville was the perfect place to do a tea party," Jarratt said. "Just the name, the whole freedom movement."

Village code requires that any public meeting, concert or public entertainment within the park system be approved by the mayor and village board. Groups in excess of 25 people using the park must also obtain a permit.

The village board on Tuesday unanimously approved the request.

So what to expect? Jarratt said it is too soon to tell.

"We wanted to secure the location," he said. "We're strictly nonpartisan so we'll be contacting all the (political) parties."

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, the only confirmed speaker so far, said Wednesday the gathering should be educational, particularly regarding fiscal issues.

"If we're not the most fiscally irresponsible state in the U.S. we're in the top three," he said.

Jarratt, said his interest in the movement has grown from his years of being a watchdog in Grayslake Elementary District 46. Several weeks ago, he submitted requests to the district for 21 open records on behalf of 15 people, and has been pushing for a complete online check register. He cited the backing of Americans for Prosperity, a government watchdog group.

The idea of a Lake County tea party chapter took root last fall but stalled, according to Jarratt.

"We're finally reconstituting it and getting it going again," he said. "Everybody is tired of taxation."

Directors of the Lake County chapter are not new to the public spotlight.

They include: Michael Carbone, a District 46 school board member who is working on getting more documents on the district's website; Paul Mitchell, who in February lost to state Rep. Sandy Cole in the House District 62 Republican primary election; and Peter Karlovics, a Gurnee activist.