Here is an interesting little side story to the police matters in Marengo. We have all, I am sure, read the stories of the Richmond and Spring Grove officers accused of beating up Ron Hallet. His picture was even on the front page of the Northwest Herald, garnering him huge amounts of sympathy. However, what I am about to claim is even more shocking.
I firmly believe that the reasons the Spring Grove officers were arrested and charged with the beating was because of Brian and Kevin Gaughan?s case. The investigator William Kronke wanted to show that he did not make mistakes in the Gaughan case and that he was not purposely taking sides with the police for personal interest, despite evidence, by going and arresting police officers whom he did not know.
It is interesting to note that the prosecutor, Nichole Owens, and the judge are exactly the same as in the Gaughan case. Also, the officers Quilici, Pilati, Volstad, and Thelan, had a share of troubles with their case, that shows how ruthless the state investigator, Kronke is. How far he is willing to go to bring charges against people, even bending the law to make this happen. And how the McHenry County judicial system works in his favor. We all read in the paper how he sat in on the grand jury for these officers, how he intimidated the grand jurors by rolling his eyes and making gestures. From what I understand, he talked to one of the witnesses who testified before this grand jury and threatened her on the stand, by sitting there and intimidating her. Nichole Owens, the prosecutor, also contacted a grand jury member beforehand, and should not have been allowed to prosecute the case, yet the judge let her. He also ruled that it was alright for Kronke to be there, despite that they couldn?t find the document saying that he had permission. Just as in the Gaughan case, certain cameras supposedly had blank tapes, so things could not be handed over. My guess? There was no such document, and the judge, investigator, and prosecutor got away with bending the law to suit their own reasoning.
What really happened?
Of course, all this leads to the question of what really happened with the three cops and Hallet? Apparently, Hallets injuries appear to be real, so he did get beaten up. But why? What occurred? I myself am not as familiar with this as with the Gaughan case. In the latter, I know for a fact that Kevin and Brian Gaughan are innocent of all charges. In the case, of the four cops, I am not quite as sure that all four of them are equally innocent. One of them appears to have a bad track record….
Brian Quilici has been arrested and almost fired for a DUI before, but all charges against him were dropped. He used his position as a police officer to interfere with his roommate?s personal relationships with a girlfriend. He had a complaint filed against him because he yelled at someone who discovered a motorcycle lying in a ditch. He was involved in domestic abuse with his girlfriend by throwing water in her face and pushing her against a wall. Worst of all, Quilici got into a fight in Porter?s Oyster Bar in Crystal Lake with an another man, whom he accused of dating his ex-girlfriend. If he got into one bar fight and seems like an interfering, violent person who doesn?t follow the law in all other respects, why wouldn?t he beat up a man outside yet an another bar?
Well, I think he would! I see no reason why this man wouldn?t pick a fight or make one that is in the making that much worse! I just don?t think the other police officers, including the female cops Thelan, would be involved in it as well.
From what I understand happened, it is mysterious to me why or how the original argument that took the cops into the parking lot with Hallet started in the first place. But there they were in the parking lot. Yes, I am fairly sure they were arguing. The female cop, Thelan, walked past Hallet and he grabbed her and put a knife to her throat, then started dragging her into his car. The other officers fought back to protect her and from there on, its anyone?s guess how he obtained his injuries. Innocent of all wrongdoing, he is not, though. Very unlike the Gaughan brothers, who did nothing wrong but say two words to Crawford, who then got the older of the two into handcuffs before proceeding to beat him up.
But, things do not end there. Like with the Gaughan brothers, the state investigator Kronke proceeded to interrogate them in much the same way. He threatened them, yelled at them, and called them names. He charged Volstad for impersonating a police officer simply because he told Kronke that he was on sick leave. Kronke used weird interrogation tactics by asking him if he was a police officer. Of course he is, right? Who wouldn?t say so?! There you go, now Kronke had an another charge against him - impersonating a police officer! Much the same way irrelevant charges were added on for the Gaughan brothers. He also, much as in the Gaughan interrogation, lied to the people he was interrogating. He insisted that he had a tape of he parking lot to the bar and knew what really happened. The officers insisted that if he really did indeed have the tape, then he would know what happened and that they were not at fault. Of course, Kronke had no such tape, since there was no video camera facing out to the parking lot!
With all this in mind, we must keep in mind how corrupt our McHenry County system of government is and how corrupt some, not all, but some, state police officers are. Kronke is definitely one of them. I would venture to same that so is Perez, who lives in Marengo, and was also one of the investigators who was interrogating the Spring Grove cops. He is very familiar with the Marengo Police department. I am sure that the reason for the arrest of these officers and the piling up of extra charges against them rests with how they treated the Gaughan brothers and how they have completely screwed that case up. I hope the truth will soon come out and Kronke and his buddies will pay a price.
The Truth is in the Middle
Has anyone in Marengo heard of Scott and Brenda Kniffen from Bakersfield, California? I think it is a very interesting case and worth hearing about. I have heard a lot of people say about the people who are bringing a lawsuit against the police in Marengo, that "the truth is somewhere in the middle". In other words, what happened is also somehow the fault of the kids who were falsely charged by the Marengo Police. If one is arrested for a crime, that means one is somehow at fault, even in some small way, right? Is THAT what "the truth is somewhere in the middle" means? See what you think of it after reading about this case….
Scott and Brenda Kniffen had two boys, ages 4 and 6. They also knew an another family in Bakersfield, who had little girls who came to play with them. The second family, though, was undergoing a custody battle where the grandmother was trying to take the little girls away from the parents for personal reasons. She somehow got the little girls to accuse their parents of sexually abusing them, torturing them by hanging them up in closets, etc. There was no physical or other evidence of the abuse, but sure enough, the little girl?s father was arrested. The little girl went on to say that her father was part of a satanic sex ring and named Scott and Brenda Kniffen, saying that they also abused her when she was over to play at their house with her parents, and that they abused their sons at the same time, all part of this satanic sex ring.
The prosecutor in this case acted promptly. Police broke into the Kniffen house and took the little boys away from Brenda and Scott. They searched the whole house, but , of course, found no evidence of the supposed satanic abuse. They then went and arrested Brenda and Scott, who were eventually charged with over 160 counts of abuse. The little boys just wanted to go home. They were only 4 and 6 years old. The prosecutor himself interrogated them. They were kept in separate rooms and interrogated for hours. All the interrogations were taped and available to the jury, by the way, but the defense attorney was unable to present them as evidence due to the judge. The defense attorney also could not present medical testimony as evidence, or other witnesses, such as the couple?s pediatrician and teachers, who knew the boys well. Again, the judge ruled it as irrelevant. What was on the tapes? Something that would make one?s hair stand up. The boys were interrogated for hours. They kept saying that they wanted to go home, but the prosecutor insisted that they needed to answer his questions the right way and agree with him that their parents abused them and torture them. They were told they could go home after drawing pictures of how their parents abused them. And every time they refused, they would be left alone in the room for hours. Finally, they started giving the prosecutor the answers he wanted, though in yes and no form, just to get out of there. Before they were forced to testify against their parents, they boys were interrogated again and again, to make sure they said the right things. They were also made to think that if they went on the stand and said those things, they would see their parents again. Which of course wasn?t true. Brenda and Scott Kniffen were sentenced to 200 years in prison. They served 14 of those years and the boys were in foster homes all that time. Once the boys were almost adults, they insisted that their parents did not abuse them and that they were forced to testify against them for the above reasons. The case was turned over on appeal and the family was reunited.
Now, I have to ask you: Is the truth here in the middle? Neither is it in the Gaughan case.
It Could Happen Here
Illinois has been having many problems in regards to school districts and education. All school districts in Illinois have lost a lot of funding this year. Many are struggling to survive. Marengo is not immune to these problems, so lets see what Harvard did. What do you think?
In order to save money because of lack of funding, Harvard school district decided to fire or not renew contracts for all their cafeteria workers, janitors, and custodians. The idea is to hire all new ones next year at a minimum wage. This was done very quietly, so people would not be aware that it is happening. The School Board did it with very little discussion or awareness. In fact, the meeting on April 17 with the school board where this issue is going to be made public and discussion about it will take place, was not announced too many places and even at this time, few people know about it.
What will the effect of this be in Harvard? Well, for one, all these people the next year will be strangers to the students. I need not elaborate on what that can lead to. Also, would there be enough funding to do background checks on all of them? Background checks on that many new workers are expensive. So are TB tests and medical exams. Or will this step be also quietly skipped over in the hope that no one notices? How well of a job will minimum wage workers do compared to people with years of experience? And what about the question of what is right? Is it right to get rid of people who have been at their job for years and years just in order to save money?
Young Women in Dresses
This subject comes up time and again. What is proper dress for teenagers? Meaning, of course, teenage girls, as no one worries in our society about what the boys are wearing. On the one hand, I am tempted to say that by telling young women that their bodies need to be covered up sends them the message that there is something to be ashamed of. No one tells the men that. On the other hand, I think a lot of society is to blame.
What happens when one walks into a women?s clothing store? What do the jeans look like nowdays, for instance? They have low waists that show off half of a person?s butt! The tops are short and meant to show off a stomach. Shoes are equally strange. They have high bottoms or wide sides. They clearly would not work well for walking around in, but are purely ornamental. Then, look through a magazine that?s for teens or young women. Madmoiselle, Glamour, or Cosmopolitan come to mind. What is in them? Besides model after model that is unnaturally skinny, and in fact looks like she belongs in a refugee camp rather than on the cover of a magazine, there are articles about sex, makeup, hair, clothes, nails, beauty spas, clothing stores, love, and men. There is occasionally a sob story about a woman who got caught up in a prostitution ring or someone who is raped. Or even someone who ran out of money and her boyfriend dumped her. But the majority of articles have nonsense as their subject matter. There is nothing there for young women to think about, nothing for them to get angry about or take actions against. For the most part, the magazines send a message to women that the important things in life have to do with hair, beauty, your body, sex, and men. No wonder then, that many young women choose to dress in such a provocative manner! I, for one, would have no problem at all with it if it was a matter of taste, or freedom, or just a desire to keep cool in the summer. But it seems to me that modern culture still treats young women as objects to be used and useful for men in some way. And until there is a change in this or an understanding among young women that it is wrong and a desire to no longer follow it, true equality and freedom will be awfully hard to reach.
In Secrecy...... Again
As things have progressed in Marengo, I have found it really interesting the pattern that the town takes in getting rid of some of the bad officers. It appears that there will now be a hearing on May 9th on what to do with Officer Given. I can't help but wonder how much of this hearing will be public and how much will be discussed in closed session. Of course, I do admit, this is a personnel issue and some of it might not be appropriate for people to hear. That is the excuse that those in City government will use, however. I beg to differ. This Officer has done harm to a member of our community by stealing confidential information and handing it over to the papers. Not that the NW Herald had any real common sense when they published this information. It was obviously inappropriate for them to accept it and publish it, as they also did harm to the person whose police record it was and which should have been kept private. It seems that in some places not only do the police and town governments have better morals than in Marengo, but also the newspapers are more ethical and conscious of the harm that they might do when publishing certain information. However, in Marengo this does not seem to be the case and few people have any moral scruples. They are all out for themselves. It seems to me that the hearing concerns us all. This is something that an officer of the law, who is there to protect us, has done to actively hurt a member of our community. Shouldn't we insist that it be made public, so that we can decide what the officer in question has done wrong? I'm not even mentioning the fact that the MPD had to get rid of the police dog and how much taxpayer money was wasted in getting, training, and then disposing of the dog. The reasoning for that in itself should be something that people demand be made public. I'm just implying that we who live in this town should demand more accountability from those who run our town.
Beware Of School Fundraisers!
Each year, it comes home in a backpack. A fundraising form. Meaning that in order to raise funds for the school a student and his or her parents have to sell candy, cookies, or pizzas to relatives and strangers. Now, needless to say, we have all heard of kids who went to someone's house and got attacked by a dog or kidnapped and molested. So, that's not always the safest alternatives. This means that the parent can either stand outside a store while their child tries to sell the offending item or he can go door to door with them. I personally think that the whole idea of selling in order to gain funds for the school teaches our children the wrong skills.I have one of the fundraising forms with me today, and this is what they recommend that parents do:
- That they contact everyone they know - ffriends, relatives, etc. What does this mean? That the child will be contacting those that they know and instead of greeting and talking to them, will try to get something out of them - for them to buy the item on sale. It teaches the child that social relationships are there for them to use in some way. Yes, even if a parent is doing this, I imagine that the child could pick this up from them.
- To approach local businesses in their coommunity. In other words, children are supposed to go door to door and beg people for things like beggars, annoying busy people at their jobs in the process.
- Involving your church in this. Okay? Andd the church doesn't need any money? Again, children will be taught to use an organization that needs help from them for their own gain.
- Announce your fundraisers at your newspaaper or local radio station!! I hate to say it, but not only is this impossible for the said newspaper or radio station to do(why would they want to announce every kid selling candy?), but it's a total waste of a community resource.
- Finally, to create flyers and post them in cafeterias, libraries, and community boards. Needless to say, this just litters such advertising sources up. And will produce few results.
Mary Kay and the Statement About Our Society
A long time ago I met a new type of person. The reason I found her so interesting, is because never in my life have I met someone with such a strong purpose in life. This woman's whole reason for living was to sell Mary Kay products! No, no, I'm not just kidding or making this up. This was actually her purpose in life. She had at least $250 worth of cosmetics in her home at a time and constantly and consistently held make-over parties at other women's homes. The only reason she made friends or met people is for the sole purpose of selling them cosmetics. Should the person not be interested in being her customer, she no longer showed any interest in her. When she went on vacation with her husband, she brought her cosmetics with in order to try to sell to her in-laws and their friends. She advertised and sold cosmetics at work, where, again, she did not form relationships unless it was with a potential buyer. All in all she was a very friendly, cheerful, and happy young women. If you talked to her, the first thing she would be interested was in whether or not you had changed her mind or if perhaps you had some friends of yours who could be her potential customers.
Now, I am sure no one who reads this board has met anyone quite like this! It is certainly pretty unusual to see such a sense of purpose and commitment in a person! However, one has to think. ARE there others who think the same in many different ways? Those who are so obsessed about their jobs, or making money, that they have no time for friends or families? Those who judge friendships by how much they can get out of the relationships? Those who take, take, take from those who they are close to, but give very little in return? I think this is something worth thinking about. The reason this Mary Kay lady, who, by the way, is a completely real person who I have actually met, exists is because our society encourages this type of behavior and, in fact, even rewards it. One is supposed to purposely go after what they want, society in modern times centers on the individual not on relationships. I think it is likely that we'll see more and more of these kinds of people pop up. It's a scary thought.
Herbs In Marengo
By Museumlover
Spring has come to Marengo. Now that the snow has melted, our ugligness is showing. By that I mean the trash and plastic bags that are blowing around, stuck on bushes and laying in ditches. It would be very nice if everyone tried to beautify their own little part of the world.
If each of us picked up junk or trash along the edges of our property, no matter who threw it out or left it there, the community would look better. I'm thinking most of you on this list already do that, so, maybe flowers would be the answer.
Some early flowers that can be put out right now are pansies. They are so pretty and can take a lot of weather abuse without curling up and dying like their more delicate friends. Plant a pot of something and put it on display.
Today I started little seed pots of basil, lavender, tarragon and rosemary. It is the beginning of my herb garden. These little seeds will sprout in about ten days. After about three weeks, they will be ready to get transplanted to a pot outside or a small garden plot. Herbs are wonderful to use in cooking, or just to smell and see in the garden. Mine will join the sage, thyme and oregano that is already popping through outside.
I must have a gazillion chive plants growing wild. They are really invasive, but if you have some spots that could use color, dhives will work wonderfully. Eventually they will have a ball shaped lavender flower.
The chives I grow get mixed in with sour cream on baked potatoes, in salads, soups, and anything which needs a bit of green and a delicate "onion like" flavor.
The tarragon will be wonderful with vinegar for salads. Tarragon and rosemary are also excellent with chicken. Just lay the sprigs right on the meat before you bake or grill. Throw rosemary on the grilling coals for a wonderful scent. Basil goes with everything. Couldn't imagine making anything Italian without basil!!!
I would be happy to write a gardening column here in the Gazette on a more regular basis if anyone is interested. If you want more, please let Mirage or another administrator know.
