Bingoloid Posted January 20, 2020 Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 https://www.ocalapost.com/entire-county-board-arrested-following-citizens-arrest-by-2-military-veterans/ Oldie but a goodie. Quote Public boards are used to facing angry crowds, but most have never encountered what happened at one recent meeting in central Illinois. In what was one of their most epic displays of political crime-fighting, which was captured on video, Allen and Kraft held the entire Clark County Park District Board under citizen’s arrest on May 13, 2014, for violating the Illinois Open Meetings Act, a Class C misdemeanor. When asked if there would be public comment, one of the board members said, “I vote no,” followed by five other board members. Board attorney Kate Yargus could be heard on video saying there would be no public comment that night and telling the board members they were “free to go,” even after Kraft’s citizen’s arrest announcement. She tried to cite statute to Kraft, but before she could finish, he said, “Just sit down, you are making yourself look like a fool.” Deputies were dispatched to the scene, but Clark County Sheriff Jerry Parsley personally responded that night. Parsley said he knew it was a heated situation and felt it would be best if he handled it. He said that Kraft handled the citizen’s arrest responsibly, and the board was definitely in violation of the Open Meetings Act by not allowing the public to speak. “It’s not that they should have. They’re mandated to,” Parsley said. “The people need to have their voice. It’s not a dictatorship. It’s a democracy.” The sheriff arrested six of the board members. The seventh board member was not arrested because he voted against the other members. As they were escorted out of the building, the crowd cheered. The board had previously laughed at the watchdog group and called them troublemakers, However, the Sheriff and the State Attorney’s Office didn’t see it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginger Posted January 20, 2020 Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 Bing are you going to leave us hanging? What was the final disposition of the arrests? Did the board members get jail time or fined...bail...anything? Let me guess...they all got community service but since they were all community organizers who worked for not for profits it was considered time served ala Jusse Smollet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bingoloid Posted January 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 The matter was referred to the Illinois State Police, the board members had to pay the activists' legal fees to settle their lawsuit about the Open Meetings law, and they started providing the required public comment time from them on: https://will.illinois.edu/news/story/clarke-cty-park-board-settles-lawsuit-over-open-meetings-violation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteMoss Posted January 20, 2020 Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 Thanks Bingo. The ignorant lawyer resigned. NYS is different. Boards do not have to let citizens speak but many do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginger Posted January 20, 2020 Report Share Posted January 20, 2020 Thanks bing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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