Slow down, Speed Racer
Thursday, Jun 27, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As the owner of a putt-putt pontoon boat, speeding boaters is one of my pet peeves…
Earlier this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker received a warning for speeding during a weekend boating trip on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, according to his press secretary.
On the evening of June 7, Pritzker was in a boat on Williams Bay, “enjoying a weekend at the lake with his family,” said Jordan Abudayyeh in an email response to questions.
It was still light out, she wrote, and the governor was traveling at 41 mph. At 8:30 p.m., Pritzker was given a warning for his speed, she wrote, but she did not include any other details about the stop. […]
However, during weekends, which begin Friday at noon, boats are prohibited from operating on Geneva Lake at speeds higher than 35 mph during the day, according to the Village of Williams Bay boating regulations. Additionally, boats must not operate at speeds higher than 15 mph from sunset to sunrise.
- Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:46 am:
Why am I having visions of the marina scene from Caddyshack after reading this?
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:47 am:
Oh cmon pontoon man. Lakes have all kinds of boaters. I’d be far more worried about boats specifically designed to be loud than about whether someone violated the speed limit because the limit changed at sunset. I’m a former boater and I can’t imagine taking notice that I missed sunset by a minute and slowing down 6mph (all those details were in the story).
- A Jack - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:47 am:
Mystery band at State Fair: Sammy Hager singing “I can’t drive 35.”
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:49 am:
We need to know why the gov wasn’t using a DNR boat, this stuff of using his own money to pay for aircraft and now using his own boat has got to stop. Good Government cannot come soon enough to Illinois.
- Just Saying - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:51 am:
Did Barney Fife stop him?
- JoanP - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:51 am:
Oh, come on. ONE minute after “official” sunset?
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:52 am:
===35 mph during the day===
This inadvertently makes slalom skiing illegal or difficult, especially for a heavier skier.
===scene from Caddyshack===
For an 80s movie plot, clearly the town wanted to crush a group of dedicated slalom skiers who refused to water ski in the traditional way and shocked the town’s simple folk with their antics.
- Back to the Mountains - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 9:52 am:
IPI’s article lamenting Pritzker’s brazen act of lawlessness will be forthcoming.
- Swamped - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:02 am:
Clearly, some didn’t read the last section that the rules kick in at noon on Fridays. He was 8 1/2 hours past the speed limit change. And what was he doing in Wisconsin? Aren’t IL State Parks good enough?
- Nick Name - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:04 am:
===We need to know why the gov wasn’t using a DNR boat,===
Using state boats for private use is illegal?
- XonXoff - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:04 am:
…and he’s a hooligan boater, too? Really starting to like this guy.
- Perrid - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:09 am:
Swamped, you are going to complain about him doing 41 mph in a 35? Because that is what the limit was from noon to 8:29, literally a minute before he was warned.
- Louis G Atsaves - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:12 am:
He should learn how to ride a motorcycle instead.
- Yep - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:13 am:
Boat’s name “Titanesque”
- JS Mill - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:17 am:
=He should learn how to ride a motorcycle instead.=
Yeah and wear neato costumes too.
- Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:20 am:
Now now. For all we know he might have a spiffy 70’s era captain’s hat.
- Responsa - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:21 am:
==you are going to complain about him doing 41 mph in a 35?==
The difference between going 35 and going 41 on water on a weekend is a bigger deal than on roads with lanes.
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:24 am:
Nick Name your snark alarms didn’t go off?
- Amalia - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:30 am:
ok, this is in a car, but still…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZP7HJnOe8
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:31 am:
“The difference between going 35 and going 41 on water on a weekend is a bigger deal than on roads with lanes.”
No, it’s really not. It’s six over. On water. So not a big deal.
- @misterjayem - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:32 am:
FYI: Going 41 mph in a 35 mph zone — 1.17 times the posted limit — is the proportional equivalent of going 64 mph in a 55 mph zone.
– MrJM
p.s. I am not a nerd.
- ESL Survivor - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:35 am:
The rules do not apply to Governor Prixter. He is above the law.
- Swamped - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:37 am:
But when the sun sets, the speed limit drops to 15, so he got lucky that he was only doing 6 over and not 26 over the limit… 20 over on the road is more serious.
- Henry Francis - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:39 am:
It is rather quaint that this is the law breaking of an Illinois Governor these days.
JB isn’t upset. He’s just going to buy the lake.
- A Jack - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:41 am:
Now if the Governor really wants to go fast, he could go to Lake Shelbyville, the autobahn of Illinois lakes. However, it is part of that Eastern Bloc that wants to break away. Even though Lake Shelbyville is a giant Federally funded lake.
- The Boat of You - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:47 am:
I boat on LG and heard that the Water Safety Patrol that is staffed by teenagers from Illinois had a few good laughs about this.
- Juvenal - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:57 am:
Nothingbrat.
If he’d been drinking while operating the boat, this would have been a big deal.
Or if he’d uttered those infamous words “Do you know who I am?”
If Pritzker is lucky, and he seems to be atleast when it comes to politics, every single downstate radio station will pick this up.
- Angry Republican - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 10:58 am:
Is JB so poor he can’t afford a driver? No wonder cheeseheads refer to us as FIBs
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 11:14 am:
June has been a cold month up north but probably warmer away from Lake Michigan. It was 76/48 in Lake Geneva on June 7. That’s a cold low temperature.
Though the official name is Geneva Lake, it will always be Lake Geneva to me. Love that place, one of the most beautiful lakes.
Once a very long time ago there used to be a boat rental place on Lake Geneva called Van Dyke’s. I remember once a rowboat crowded with people pulled up to the dock, and a man went into the shop to complain about the rough water. There must have been about 8 or more people in the boat. The owner came out and just blew up and chewed the guy out about having too many people in the boat.
- Nick Name - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 11:19 am:
===Nick Name your snark alarms didn’t go off?===
I need to pay my snark detector bill.
- A guy - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 11:30 am:
As soon as he hit 40, he was screaming “Wheeee” like that little piggy in the commercial. They whacked him for disturbing the peace. That’s the ticket.
- isp - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 11:34 am:
oh yeah - well Wisconsin’s Governor just better not cross the border any time soon as we don’t for this exact reason have any extradition agreement with the Badger State…
- Honeybear - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 11:41 am:
Totally agree with your pet peeve. The inlaws have a boat on a beautiful lake. I can’t stand the numbnuts who scream about creating insane wakes for everyone to deal with. That being said we’ve been know to scurry home at dusk racing the sun to get back to the dock. They’ve got a hoist and man is it hard to do when it gets dark. But leisurely evening outings on the lake are a time of great peace.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 12:18 pm:
“Hey, you scratched my anchor.”
- vole - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 12:29 pm:
Jay ain’t no jay boater.
- Me - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 1:24 pm:
Speaking of……Boat Racing. Loud, smelly, and boring. Boring. A great way to foul up a beach vacation.
- Leave a light on George - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 1:30 pm:
Honeybear, @ 11:41am. That might be the first time you did not use the word perfidy in a post!
I actually could understand what you wrote.
- NATTY BOY - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 1:32 pm:
As a fellow putt-putt pontoon boat owner myself, and one who was darn near ran over by a speeding speed boat last year on Lake Taylorville, I couldn’t agree with you more rich.
- Wylie Coyote - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 1:39 pm:
If you’ve ever been on Lake Geneva/Geneva Lake on the weekend you’ll understand the speed limit laws. My preference is to boat early and sit at Gordy’s or Popeye’s watching all of the idiots trying to launch their boats or get them back on the trailer.
- 37B - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 2:10 pm:
Call in the Feds:
Out of state stinkpotter uses instrumentality of interstate commerce (I-94) to cross state lines in furtherance of crime (operating a speeding stinkpot on beautiful Geneva Lake).
Book em Danno.
- allknowingmasterofraccoodom - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 2:37 pm:
I wonder it his boat has any working toilets?
- revvedup - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 3:27 pm:
“I can’t boat thhiirrtyyffiivvee (banned punctuation)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvV3nn_de2k
- Liquid Limo - Thursday, Jun 27, 19 @ 3:28 pm:
I want to know what kind of boat it was and what the hp of the motor is. It can be easy to run a little over without even trying with the right motor. As a lifelong boater, to me the circumstances are more important. If you’re cruising along with no boats around you, I say this is no big deal. If you’re weaving in and out and swamping other boats, it’s a totally different story. Put a 250 on Rich’s boat and it no longer putt putts. Although, I love a good slow cruise with friends and cold beverages. I think to many people, this story makes JB look more like a regular guy.