McHenry County Blog

The McHenry County College Student Peace Group, or course, had no way of knowing its timing would be bad.

They canceled NIU Professor Marc Falkoff’s talk about his book

“Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak”

Now its on for the Thursday after next Tuesday’s election.

The group’s press release follows:

MCC’S STUDENT PEACE GROUP RESCHEDULES EVENT FEATURING GITMO LAWYER ON FEB. 4th

[Jan. 26, 2010.Crystal Lake, IL] The McHenry County College Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) has rescheduled a controversial event focusing on a book of poetry by Guantanamo Bay detainees. for Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in the college’s conference center.

The keynote speaker, Marc Falkoff, a Northern Illinois University criminal law professor who represented 16 detainees, plans to speak about a book that he edited titled “Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak.”  The moderator will be Todd Culp, Ph.D., political science instructor at MCC.

Falkoff initially was scheduled to speak at the college in December, but the event was canceled because of security concerns. SPAN had planned the December speaking engagement well in advance, but publicity about the event stirred up controversy as it coincided with funeral visitation for Sgt. Jason A. McLeod, a 22-year-old from Crystal Lake who died in a mortar attack in Afghanistan.

He will discuss the torture the prisoners suffered, the false information elicited, the disarray of evidentiary files, and the telling resignations of  key military prosecutors.  According to Dr. Falkoff, a very real problem exists,

“politics rather than principle reigns at Guantánamo.  As concerned American citizens, we can learn what action we can take to demand accountability and redress of grievances.”

Following the program, he will be available to sign books.

The event is part of SPAN’s Current American Issues Information Seminar Series. SPAN is made up of students promoting peace nationally and locally through action and education. The event is co-sponsored by Pax Christi and the McHenry County Peace Coalition. The event is free and open to the public.

The college is located at 8900 U.S. Hwy. 14, Crystal Lake.  For more information, contact the MCC Student Activities Office at (815) 455-8772.

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Here’s background from NIU on the professor:

Background: Falkoff comes to NIU after three years as an attorney with Covington & Burling in New York. The firm, which is considered the top pro bono law firm in the nation, once named Falkoff the Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year during his time there. He earned his juris doctorate from Columbia and also holds a Ph.D. in literature from Brandeis. While this is his first full-time faculty appointment, he taught for several years as an adjunct member of the faculty at the Brooklyn Law School. He is currently working on behalf of 17 Yemeni men who are being held without charges by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay.

Why NIU? “NIU has a very high commitment to public interest law, and that is extremely important to me.”

Goals: “I want to give my students a solid grounding in legal theory, but also instill in them an appreciation for the amount of social good they can do in the world as a lawyer. Personally, I want to not only do excellent scholarly work, but also maintain my real-world focus. It is very important for me to do both, and that is actually something that is encouraged here.”

My friend Pete Castillo and I were at Keith and Route 14 when the funeral procession of Sgt. Jason A. McLeod was driving to the cemetery.

Police cars, fire engines, ambulances, the hearse, the limo with the family, motor cyclists with flags, with lots of people driving behind.  There were people on the Coventry side of Virginia Street with signs and flags.

My son said Mrs. Braun’s sixth grade Bernotas Middle School class was standing outside with a flag and that she knew the family.

In addition to those standing in the cold along the route throughout Crystal Lake, there were businesses who forewent the holiday advertising opportunity to post various messages on signs.

I drove Route 14 from Pingree Road to Flowerwood and found the following. (There may have been more which have already had their messages changed, but these were the ones I saw still there Sunday after church. Others may have been elsewhere and, if you know where, drop me an email with a photo. My car is in Mike’s Service Center Monday, but, if you can’t send one, let me know and I’ll try to get it on Tuesday.)

I saw the most confusing sign at Cassidy Tire. It said,

DONATIONS
CALL
815-477-5050
MARIE DAVIS

I saw this on the way west and didn’t connect it to McLeod until I returned. That’s when I saw,

THANK YOU
JASON A
MCLEOD

After seeing both panels, the message made sense. I had to wait in the parking lot what seemed five minutes for the panels to switch. Must be a Crystal Lake City Council effort to protect residents from seeing too much information. (I was there when the modern moving message boards were discussed. You may be pleased that the councilmen and women made sure that your eyes would not be overly distracted while driving or you may think such protection is an example of the Nanny State coming to Crystal Lake.)

In any event, as I was sitting in Cassidy’s parking lot, I multiplied Crystal Lake’s population of about 40,000 by 10 and was astounded that the family left behind would have $400,000, if every one just family wrote a check for $10 per member.

As my ministers at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake have noted the last two weeks,

“It’s not your birthday,”

referring to Christmas. Surely this now-single parent family will need a tremendous amount of help, not only emotionally, but financially.

Just east of Cassidy was the sign below on Total Car Total Care’s sign:

GOD BLESS
SGT JASON A
MCLEOD

Across from the Jewel and Hobby Lobby shopping centers was a sign on Northwest Properties:

THE ULTIMATE
SACRIFICE
SGT JASON A MCLEOD
REST IN PEACE

Next door was Don Devine’s State Farm Insurance sign:

GOD BLESS
SGT MCLEOD
& FAMILY

Mama Rini’s Resturant, at the intersection of Route 14 and Virginia Street Road, had the next sign:

OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH
THE MCLEOD FAMILY

The sign at Merlin of muffler fame stated,

SGT
JASON A
MCLEOD

At Burger King, I found a sign saying,

GOD BLESS
SGT JASON
MCLEOD
AND FAMILY

This is the new pick up site for the McHenry County Veterans Assistance Commission bus to North Chicago. So much better than the parking lot for the old Crystal Lake Public Safety complex.

The Lions Club sign in McCormick Park in front of the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce building was the next sign I sighted. It’s big enough for a longer message:

GOD BLESS
SGT. JASON A. MCLEOD
FOREVER OUR HERO
BECAUSE OF YOU
WE ARE FREE

At Integrated Health, S.C., at the corner of Route 14 and West Crystal Lake Avenue, was this sign:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
SGT JASON A MCLEOD

The Westlane Bowling Center said,

WE SALUTE YOU
SGT JASON A MCLEOD