Can cops get tickets for speeding?

Sure. The answer to that question is Yes. That is, they can. But do they? This one did.

Check out the award given in this case investigating news reporting. Sun Sentinel got recognized for a three-month study. How fast do some cops run? 90-130MPH, including off-duty runs (for donuts?).

A long chase of a cop heading for his off-duty job went viral on YouTube.com, and it's not the only one. 

From reason.com came this sentence: "A three-month Sun Sentinel investigation found almost 800 cops from a dozen agencies driving 90 to 130 mph on our highways."

And from the South Florida Sun Sentinel website came this: "The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Monday won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its investigation of off-duty police officers who were endangering the lives of citizens."

Law-enforcement personnel should be the first to obey laws (all of them), not the last. 

Thanks to the Woodstock Advocate reader who sent this story to me.

Gov. Quinn is wrong - Tell him!

Our fearful governor

I am infuriated at Gov. Pat Quinn's statement in the Chicago Tribune that "It would be helpful to ... the people and the public safety of Illinois if that case (would) be reversed."

He is so wrong! The People want concealed carry. The politicians do not.

Quinn is recommending to Attorney General Lisa Madigan that she appeal the December decision of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which told the Great State of Illinois to get its butt in gear and enact a concealed carry law within 180 days; i.e., by early June.

Gov. Quinn is so out of touch with the People of Illinois that he ought to have his head examined. I wonder what he would have thought on February 2, had he been sitting in the townhall meeting of State Rep. Ken Dunkin and State Sen. Mattie Hunter in Chicago. The townhall wasn't in the War Zone, but it was near it, at 35th & State St. Over half the audience indicated it would apply for a concealed carry license. And that's on Chicago's near South Side. I'll bet that Dunkin and Hunter were surprised, if they were paying attention.

And I just called and told Gov. Quinn what I thought of his statement, through one of his "messengers" at the phone desk.

If you agree, dial 217.782.0244 right now and pile on. Of course, be nice and polite to the poor (figuratively speaking, only) person who gets stuck answering his phones. Too bad that Quinn doesn't answer the phone a few hours each week and hear directly from us!

Read today's article in the Chicago Tribune right here.

While you've got your hand on your phone, call AG Lisa Madigan (217.782.1090) and ask her to tell the legislature to stop fooling around and pass an equitable concealed-carry law. This means with "shall issue" and without pre-emption for Chicago or any other cities, towns, villages, burgs or wide-spots in the road. One law for all in Illinois! [The person who answers the phone may be in a hurry to get you off the line; don't let her hurry you. Ask to be transferred to someone who will take the time to record your message.]

Amnesty in Woodstock

Are you illegal?

Is it going to cost you?

Are you a bad person?

The Woodstock Public Library is going to stick it to you (even more) if you have checked out books, movies, etc. and are late returning them.

Starting May 1st overdue books will cost you 20¢ every day and being late to return DVDs makes you a really bad person and will cost you 25¢ for each day overdue.

If you wait a week and then square up on overdue or lost books and other materials between April 22 and April 30, you can save 50% under the Library's amnesty program.

Do you have an online library account? No? Sign up for one and get free reminders that you have books or materials coming due. Check your library account and be sure that notices are to be sent to your correct email address, not to an inactive one that you never check.

Don't you wonder just how big the Library's overdue account is? Perhaps it would shock many of us to know. Why is it that borrowers don't just return books on time? I mean, it's kind of a no-brainer. When you check out a book or a movie, librarians tell you when it's due, and you get a receipt with the due date. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that your library materials are to be returned by that date.

Take the survey to the right.

VLT danger

Read this enlightening article about Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs).

In the first paragraph, an economist from the University of Missouri at St. Louis "said that, unlike casinos, which create some jobs and foster businesses that cater to the casino-goers, video lottery terminals [VLTs] provide almost no economic benefit to anyone but their owners and the states."

That ought to make you want to read more; right?

And look how the article ends:

“The way to make money in a lottery is to be the one running it.”
— James Walsh, author of True Odds, Merrit Publishing, 1996

Any community (or county) approving VLTs ought to demand examinations of the brains of the elected people who approved them.

Those pesky tow fees

The Northwest Herald carried a long article yesterday about the administrative tow fees that are the rage of McHenry County. If you hurry, you can still read it online; click on the link. After a week, you'll have to figure out how to get around the Herald's desire to nail you for $2.95 to read it (hint: use your Woodstock Library card to access newspaper archives without a fee).

The article reports that 15 jurisdictions in McHenry County now nail drivers a extortion-level fee for "paperwork" connected with their arrest. In addition to the $500 fee common in many, if not most, of the municipalities, a driver will be forced to pay tow fees and, probably, storage before he can get his car or truck back.

One towing company told me that about 10% of the drivers cannot recover their cars, because they cannot afford to pay the costs. Municipalities require payment of the $500 "fee" (or a $500 bond) before releasing the vehicle, and then the driver or owner must cough up the tow fee and storage costs.

And all that before the case comes up in court. After all, at $40/day storage, how long will you leave your car in the storage lot?

An extremely unfair provision in Woodstock's ordinance is that you cannot get your $500 back, even if your case is thrown out of court. Let's say that the cop is sloppy about writing your ticket or the City's prosecutor realizes they really don't have a case. Let's say that the case drags on for 2-3-4 months' worth of continuances, and the City's prosecutor finally indicates that he doesn't intend to prosecute, and the judge then dismisses the case.

Can you get your $500 back? Nope! The lawyers for the City of Woodstock wrote the ordinance so that a driver or owner can only get his $500 back, IF there is a trial and IF the defendant is found Not Guilty.

So, if there is no trial, there is no refund. This is the same law firm that the City uses to prosecute cases.

Does the public really understand this?

How much has the City of Woodstock removed from the wallets of its own residents and others traveling through the City? The first impound fees were collected in February 2012 (from January arrests). In the first month "only" $2,500 was collected. At $500 each, that would represent five vehicles.

But then the Woodstock cops got with the program, and in March 2012 administrative fees of $16,000 were collected (for February arrests)!

Month of Arrest
2012
January $2,500
February $16,000
March $10,000
April $10,500
May $6,000
June $10,000
July $10,000
August $6,500
September $8,500
October $6,500
November $8,500
December $8,000
2013
January $5,000
February $7,500

In 14 months of the new ordinance, Woodstock has raked in $105,500!!! (The Woodstock police chief had estimated $25,000 in their first year of this fee.)

Beth Bentley - Week 151

One hundred fifty-one weeks ago Beth Bentley, then 41, vanished.

Somebody knows where she is. Or, somebody knows where her body is.

Readers have contacted me to suggest locations for intensive searches, even now. I don't have experience with sniffer dogs, but I'm told that they could, even now, identify buried human remains.

Maybe some of these "somebodies" know that she won't ever be found, unless someone looks in certain well or mine shaft or a certain underwater location. Others have suggested specific locations,but these could be searched only with the owner's permission.

Is this really "just" a Missing Person case? Did Beth just take off, leaving her sons and husband and friends and job and money and clothing and possessions? How does a "serial texter", as she was described, go "cold turkey" with many acquaintances?

There are people looking for her. Beth will be found. It's only a matter of time.

Home fire - just how suspicious?

A house fire and one fatality are being investigated in Crystal Lake, according to the Northwest Herald. In an article first published at 9:33AM and supplemented at 2:19PM, the paper reported that Crystal Lake Police were dispatched at 7:33AM.

O.K., so then the house, in the 1700 block of Moorland Lane, must be in Crystal Lake.

The paper reports that a "deputy of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department had discovered 'suspicious circumstances'."

If the house is in Crystal Lake, how did it happen that a deputy of MCSD discovered suspicious circumstances. What was a deputy doing at a house within the jurisdiction of the City of Crystal Lake? Was the deputy on-duty and there in an official capacity? Had there been some type of disturbance at the house prior to the fire?

Was a deputy just driving by, saw smoke and ran in to save the occupants? If the house is in Crystal Lake, why would the McHenry County Sheriff's Department be part of an investigation, as reported by the paper?

Was anyone injured before, during or after the fire? Anyone transported to the hospital? The identity of the deceased male is being withheld, pending the proper notifications.