In Great Britain and its commonwealth nations today is Boxing Day, but the gloves come off tomorrow in Lake County.

The Lake County Council will be taking up the question of overriding the veto of the county commissioners of the proposed 1 percent local income tax, and the results promise to be some of the most interesting since "Gentleman Jim" Corbett knocked out John J. Sullivan in 1892.

(Yes, I know "Boxing Day" does not refer to the sweet science but to boxed gifts given by the wealthy to their servants the day after Christmas.)

The continued presence of convicted federal felon Will Smith on the council virtually ensures there will be a lawsuit challenging the tax if the override is successful, even though county lawyers say Smith is a legal member of the council. Smith OKs their paycheck, so no surprise there.

It was imperative that Smith have the lawyers find whatever loophole they could, because he is the real mastermind behind this tax. Elsie Franklin may be council president, but Smith pulls her strings, and none of the other pro-tax councilmen have Smith's political acumen.

Without Smith's shadow leadership, the pro-tax folks would be wandering bereft of direction. I cannot imagine Franklin, Ernie Dillon, Christine Cid or Ted Bilski leading the way through this minefield.

So even if Smith gets the heave-ho when he is sentenced Jan. 9, he will have done his job, and any challenge to his authority will wind up being in court for years.

Here's an example of this type of leadership.

A lot of people are criticizing Councilman Tom O'Donnell for missing Tuesday's vote, but O'Donnell had called and asked them to hold the meeting until he could get there. Instead, the council session started one minute late and was over by the time he arrived minutes later.

Imagine if Bilski, who changed his mind and became the essential pro-tax swing voter, had called and said he was running late. Smith would have made sure no vote was called until he arrived even if it were well after the cows had come home, mixed themselves a drink and sat down for dinner.

O'Donnell's vote would have been meaningless Dec. 18. The fact that Bilski has been co-opted made that so. But it will be interesting to see what the full council does.

My prediction is that only O'Donnell and Councilman Larry Blanchard will vote against it. The others are under the sway of Will Smith.

At least until Jan. 9, and at this point, that is all that counts.

The opinions are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at markk@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-4170.