Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Tire?

By Matt Wood in News on Sep 28, 2006 3:09PM

So you own 17 acres of land filled with old cars, tires, and barrels in Wauconda and the Man wants you to clean up it, what do you do? You tell them to shove it and refuse to pay your property taxes, that's what.

John Tarkowski has been dumping his favorite things on the land for 35 years, and was held in contempt of court on Tuesday for refusing to clean it up. In July the state EPA ordered him to stop dumping trash there after it discovered 15,000 tires on the property, likely the source of the West Nile Virus for the entire northern hemisphere.

Lake County officials estimate it would take up to $2 million to clean the property, which makes our neighbor's display of dead plants and moldy garden statues on their porch seem quaint. Residents fear that the money would have to come out of their taxes, which would add to the $8,000 a year in legal fees Tarkowski already costs the township every year because he sues over his property taxes.

Hey, if you're gonna to be an inconsiderate jackass, you may as well go big. CBS 2 says their calls to Tarkowski were not returned, probably because he couldn't find the phone.