Republican megadonors Dick and Liz Uihlein have lost some big battles over the years, but the latest one hits close to home. Literally.
The Uihleins, who have backed conservative political candidates across the country, asked the Village of Lake Bluff, Ill. — where they live on a huge estate — to exempt them from a new regulation that bans smelly, noisy gas-powered leaf blowers from May 15 to Sept. 30.
As the regulation stands, only public properties such as golf courses, village athletic fields and schools are allowed the exemption. And that’s just for two years while they get battery-powered equipment in hand.
In a June 2 letter to Village Administrator Drew Irvin, the Uihleins wrote: “Given the size of our 22-acre property in Lake Bluff, we would like to request a similar two-year exemption."
They added that battery-powered blowers “simply cannot get the job done as well and are basically just as noisy as gas-powered ones.”
Village President Regis Charlot referred the Uihleins’ request to the village’s Sustainability and Community Enhancement Committee, which discussed the issue but rejected the request, Irvin told POLITICO's Illinois Playbook.
Village trustees unanimously snuffed the Uihleins’ request at their June 27 board meeting, according to the Pioneer Press, which first wrote about the issue.
“There are tools out there that can be used,” Trustee Marietta Hance said in Pioneer Press. “This is a private family asking the community to make an exemption for them. It doesn’t fit with what we have decided.”
The Uihleins, who didn’t return requests for comment, are among the largest Republican donors in the country. They've been criticized for squandering millions of dollars on failed long-shot candidates — including several in 2022, like Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and Arkansas Senate hopeful Jake Bequette.
The couple’s combined political giving to federal candidates and causes over the last decade exceeds $230 million, according to campaign finance records.
This reporting first appeared in the July 13 edition of Illinois Playbook. Sign up to get the newsletter here.
