Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Republican megadonors Dick and Liz Uihlein have lost some big battles over the years, but the latest one hits close to home. Literally.<\/p>\n
The Uihleins, who have backed conservative political candidates across the country, asked the Village of Lake Bluff, Ill. \u2014 where they live on a huge estate \u2014 to exempt them from a new regulation that bans smelly, noisy gas-powered leaf blowers from May 15 to Sept. 30.<\/p>\n
As the regulation stands, only public properties such as golf courses, village athletic fields and schools are allowed the exemption. And that\u2019s just for two years while they get battery-powered equipment in hand.<\/p>\n
In a June 2 letter<\/a> to Village Administrator Drew Irvin, the Uihleins wrote: \u201cGiven the size of our 22-acre property in Lake Bluff, we would like to request a similar two-year exemption.” <\/p>\n They added that battery-powered blowers \u201csimply cannot get the job done as well and are basically just as noisy as gas-powered ones.\u201d<\/p>\n Village President Regis Charlot referred the Uihleins\u2019 request to the village\u2019s Sustainability and Community Enhancement Committee, which discussed the issue but rejected the request, Irvin told POLITICO’s Illinois Playbook.<\/a><\/p>\n Village trustees unanimously snuffed the Uihleins\u2019 request at their June 27 board meeting, according to the Pioneer Press<\/a>, which first wrote about the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are tools out there that can be used,\u201d Trustee Marietta Hance said in Pioneer Press. \u201cThis is a private family asking the community to make an exemption for them. It doesn\u2019t fit with what we have decided.\u201d<\/p>\n The Uihleins, who didn\u2019t return requests for comment, are among the largest Republican donors in the country. They’ve been criticized for squandering<\/a> millions of dollars on failed long-shot candidates \u2014 including several in 2022, like Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and Arkansas Senate hopeful Jake Bequette.<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s combined political giving to federal candidates and causes over the last decade exceeds $230 million, according to campaign finance records.<\/p>\n