New Lake County Blogger

Lake Counties Coroner Dr. Richard Keller has a blog at coronerlakecountyil.blogspot.com where he writes about some interesting stuff. The blog was mentioned in the Chicago Tribune front page of the Metro section with a line that I got a kick out of.

"House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes are also a part of the blogosphere."

Interesting company I am keeping in that sentence. However it appears that one of those blogs is written by a PR flack and the other may or may not be written by the representative. Both however are pretty good.

Here is the article from the Chicago Tribune.

County coroner brings job to life in online posts
Blog helps give public a closer look at office

By Courtney Flynn Tribune staff reporter Published February 9, 2006

The question posed on a new online journal seemed more fitting for a forum on lost love, amorous crushes or the pitfalls of dating: Is it possible to die from a broken heart? But with Lake County Coroner Richard Keller as the host of the Web blog, the response had a bit more clinical flavor, with a healthy dose of sensitivity thrown in for good measure. "I do have an autopsy picture of an individual's heart damaged in an auto accident," Keller wrote in late January. "Other than the fact that a heart isn't really heart-shaped, the injury looks quite a bit like a drawing made of a broken heart ... you can die of a broken heart, but fortunately it is a rare occurrence."

Although countless others have preceded Keller in joining the highly popular world of Web logs, better known as blogs, he is among a growing number of elected officials in the state who are latching on to the craze. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes are also a part of the blogosphere.

Keller acknowledges that his blog might help him score some political points with constituents who may feel more connected with him, but he insists that the reason he decided to create "Live from the Coroner's Office" was to give the public a better understanding of the work his office does. "While I think everything in my job certainly is interesting, it's not all newsworthy, so it wouldn't be in newspapers and I only have a limited number of speaking engagements," Keller said. "This just seemed like the best and easiest way to get [information] disseminated widely."

Keller's blog, which was set up last month to explore "life and death in the purview of a county coroner," features serious topics with lighthearted asides that range from busy days in his office to organ donation. Keller said he spends about an hour at home each night drafting the next day's post.

The idea for the blog had been brewing since he campaigned for office in 2004 and was constantly peppered with questions by people unfamiliar with his work, Keller said. Irving Rein, a communications studies professor at Northwestern University, said blogs raise the profiles of ordinary people who might otherwise remain faceless and Keller should be able to demystify the work of the coroner through his.

"He's expanding the idea of what a coroner's office is," said Rein, the author of "High Visibility," which examines the influence of blogs. "Over the years, when you think of the coroner, you don't think of somebody who has an identity; it's kind of a scary thing, and he's really redefining that."

In a lighthearted post on Jan. 24, Keller mused about a phone call he received from a mystery writer who wanted to pick his brain about a plot line for a murder. "What would be the right medicine or toxin to cause a death that might look natural, or a toxin that would cause them to linger before dying as the story unfolds ... the possibilities are nearly endless," he wrote. "It is certainly a change in pace to have these discussions [alright I do enjoy them] and I do like a good mystery story."

Then, Keller had second thoughts. "But at the end of the call I get to thinking, what if it isn't a murder-mystery writer or what if it is a murder-mystery writer actually contemplating a real murder?" he wrote. "That almost sounds like the premise for a mystery story itself."

Other blog entries are more serious. In a post Jan. 23, Keller explores his grief over the loss of a loved one, which surfaced when he was speaking at an event about hospice care. "As I know from personal experience and as has been reinforced by my professional experience, don't expect others to get over a loss, to get over their grief," he wrote. "Help them, support them as they work through this life experience, but there is no `blueprint.'"

He also explained how the coroner's office uses inquests to determine causes of death with the help of a jury in homicides, suicides and accidents. He went on to discuss the impact the inquests have on victims' families.

"These can be long tough days for everyone involved," Keller wrote Jan. 12. "At times the roiling emotions of the family reach the point of outburst, but can they be blamed? There are few more emotion-laden occurrences in life." In his most recent post, Wednesday, Keller wrote about suicide and how many people's lives have been affected by it, including his own with the death "of a close relative." "Many, many individuals have been touched, people I have had contact with without ever knowing. It has been eye opening," he wrote. He's now available at www.coronerlakecountyil.blogspot.com to answer any of those questions people might be dying to ask.