The City of Woodstock has a raffle ordinance. It requires an organization to obtain a permit before conducting a raffle in Woodstock.
Should it be enforced? Should the City take the initiative?
Yesterday a benefit was conducted at the Woodstock Harley-Davidson dealership for a young boy with a serious illness. The benefit was organized by the Blue Knights of Illinois, which is a motorcycle club for active and retired cops.
The newspaper promotional articles referred to "cash drawings". Key word, right? Raffle was not used in the newspaper articles.
But the flier produced for the event clearly read "Raffles" and "50/50". No mistake there.
And so a permit was required. As of mid-week, no permit had been applied for.
What action would be taken on an application, if one had been submitted? The only appropriate action would be a denial of the application - for the following reasons:
The benefit was for one individual - the 5-year-old boy.
The benefit was not for the general public good.
Permits are issued only to Not For Profit (NFP) organizations.
Is the Blue Knights club a 501(c)(3)? Could be.
Even if it is, no permit should be issued for this benefit, because the raffle was not for the "public good"; it was for one individual.
The fact that a motorcycle group of cops was conducting the raffle did not make it a "better" group than, say, the Salvation Army, United Way, P.E.A.C.E for All, or any other NFP group.
Whenever those in City white-collar offices see "fundraiser" or "benefit" in the newspaper, they should routinely check for any indication that a raffle will be conducted and then monitor the event for the required raffle application. They should send a letter to the organizer, alerting him/her/it of the raffle ordinance and outlining the types of groups that might qualify for a permit.
They should state clearly that the benefit must be for public good, if they expect to conduct a raffle, and that raffles for the benefit of one individual will not be permitted.
There are plenty of ways to conduct benefits and fundraisers without illegal raffles.
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11 comments:
And you wonder what people despise you.....
Don't you have anything better to do? Like find drug dealers? How about a child molester? Why aren't you picking on them instead of a five year old that is dying and their insurance is running out?
Instead of picking on the helpless why don't you go after the real bad people? Maybe because they really can hurt you and a missing woman and little boy don't have a chance of fighting back. I will have to say I bet after this blog your probably one of the most hated people I have ever met...
Oh one more thing...all those signs in people's yards....it is spelled wrong and it is a hoot thanks for the laugh Gus finally a good one at your expense.
No, I don't wonder. What I do wonder is why law enforcement types like you believe laws should not be enforced, or enforced only selectively.
I am certainly not picking on a 5 y/o boy who is very ill. There are plenty of ways to run a benefit without breaking laws.
When you step into the voting booth on Nov. 2, vote for the one guy who has been standing up in McHenry County for more than ten years and complaining about what's broken AND doing something about it. And who is not afraid to take on the cops or the government - lawfully. And who signs his own name.
Have you ever heard the phrase "pick your battles?" McHenry County is not the "safe" too-far-to-be-suburban community that some would think it is. There's a drug problem (meth houses, dealing in high schools, etc.) there's a woman missing, there's people who are sick. Yes, this may be illegal, but what's the greatest threat to the community? I want a sheriff who has his/her priorities straight! Not ones that are just trying to rile people up on a technicality. Are you going to waste taxpayers' time on nonsense (OK we get it, it's illegal, but trust me, this is nitpicking in the greater scheme of the law)?? Or do you really have a plan to improve the county??? I don't think you do. You can take to your blog and complain, but I don't think you really know how to fix things. You just like pointing out flaws.
Oh Gussy-
What do you mean you sign your "own name"? Isn't your real name Frank?
You've heard of the "broken window" theory as it relates to police work? Does jaywalking lead to a life of crime and Death Row?
Does blowing off "nitpicking" offenses lead to greater crimes, because no one was looking?
If you can't first point out the flaws, you can't fix them.
As anyone with half a brain knows, my legal first name is Frank and I have been called by my nickname, Gus, most of my life.
"Frank", next time you run into your boss, I want you to call him Robert (not Bob or Chief). Let me know how you like your new beat (midnights in the stockyards).
Hey Mr. Wanna Be Sheriff....you might want to know people who are giving money to a five year old dying child could careless about how you feel about the 50/50 raffle. And you might want to know that instead you should look at the drug dealers, missing women and child molesters in your area. And what about drunk drivers. If you become sheriff we know that you will take care of the illegal fund raisers and let the drug dealers and rapist go free....
But a accounting of your funds that you have received from the public on how you have spent this money, from whom you have received this money I would like to know and I bet everyone else would also. And if you paid the printer that printed your signs......well Gus you have been cheated. A word or two has been misspelled....but it was good for a belly laugh today after reading one......Thanks for the laugh
Orange,
I took the following quote from his most recent blog on the departments doing the checkpoints...I just changed it a little. You hit the nail on the head when you said he doesn't have his priorities right. He will undermine the work of that department (remember, they ONLY took four drunk drivers off of the street), but he chastises the "illegal" raffles to help families in need. The best part about his rape of publicity in the missing woman's case is that any voter with a little sense is getting to see what insanity Gus would bring to the Sheriff's office.
"There is nothing dangerous about holding a raffle if you don't have a raffle license in your pocket, for raffling while unlicensed, for operating an unlicensed raffle, for having raffles in your bar or even having 50/50 in your bar. It's illegal, but it's not "dangerous." The "dangerous" part is the actual ??????????."
brewcrew2, what I think you are missing is 1) C.L. PD, C.L. Parks Police, and MCSD accepted grant money to get impaired and dangerous drivers off the road.
Do you think arresting only four DUIs in five hours with 4-5-6 officers and squad cars gave the taxpayers their money's worth?
... and 2) By your logic, it's probably okay just to rob a bank and give the money to those in need. Wait a minute; somebody already did that. Wasn't it Robin Hood?
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