Woman Can Use Toilets As Planters

A McHenry County woman has successfully challenged a village ordinance that tried to keep her from using two toilets and a sink in her front yard as planters for her lilies and hostas. Tina Asmus of Lakemoor was fined $25 in June of 2009 after police said the bathroom fixtures violated the village's public nuisance ordinance. McHenry County Judge Michael Caldwell ruled this week that the planters didn't appeal to him, but he said the ordinance was being misapplied. Caldwell said the ordinance was really aimed at junker cars and unauthorized scrap metal recycling yards. For the moment, Asmus has the toilets filled with poinsettias for the holidays. One of them has "God bless my neighbors" written on it, as well as a smiley face.