McHenry County Blog

A press rele4ase from the Crystal Lake Police Department:

Pin-Hole Camera Located within Central High School – Crystal Lake

The Crystal Lake Police Department announces that an arrest has been made in the matter involving a pin-hole camera found in a boy’s locker room at Crystal Lake Central High School.

Crystal Lake Community High School

Luke Patrick Gildea (17) of Crystal Lake, a student at the school, has been charged with two (2) counts of Unauthorized Video Recording;

• count 1 – 720 ILCS 5/26-4(a) a class 4 felony
• count 2 – 720 ILCS 5/26-4 (d) a class 3 Felony (victim under 18 years of age).

Mr. Gildea will be transferred to the McHenry County Jail, where bond will be set by a Judge at 8:00 a.m.

The Department continues to work closely with School District 155 investigating this incident. Additional charges may be forthcoming.

While Mr. Gildea has been charged with these offenses, he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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The email to CLCHS parents is here.

The first press release from the CL Police Department is here.

The second email from District 155 is here.

Here’s the latest news from Crystal Lake Community High School about the camera found in the boys’ locker room:

Crystal Lake Community High School

Dear Parents,

We are contacting you with an update on the situation at Crystal Lake Central.

Due to the quick investigative work by our school resource officer, other members of the Crystal Lake Police, and our deans, the police now have a student in custody who they believe acted alone.

Still, we have searched all locker rooms and washrooms at each District 155 school, and have not found any additional recording devices.

Please understand that because there is an ongoing investigation, we cannot provide more details at this time.

Sincerely,

Dr. Johnnie Thomas
Superintendent

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Here’s the original email to parents.

Here’s the press release from the CL Police Department.

A press release from the Crystal Lake Police Department:

Pin-Hole Camera Located within Central High School – Crystal Lake

On Thursday, March 7, 2013, the Crystal Lake Police Department was contacted by District 155 officials after a student found a pin-hole camera secreted within the boy’s athletic locker room at Central High School.

Upon further inspection, the camera is a stand-alone device, which does not possess the capability of main streaming video to a wireless system.

Crystal Lake Community High School

This device was turned over to the Crystal Lake Police Department.

This matter is currently under investigation.

We will be using a forensic examiner to review any digital images.

Anyone with information relating to this incident is urged to contact the Crystal Lake Police Department at 815 356-3620.

Information can also be left anonymously via cellular phone by texting CLPDTIP along with the information to 847411 (tip411), through the web at http://www.citizenobserver.com/cov6/app/group.html?id=4930, or by calling Crime Stoppers at (800)762-7867.

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Here is the email sent parents.

And here’s what parents were told this afternoon:

Crystal Lake Central High School.

Dear Central Parents,

We are writing to inform you of an unfortunate incident that occurred at Crystal Lake Central High School today. A student discovered what appears to be a video recording device in a boys’ athletic locker room.

We take incidents like this very seriously, and a full investigation was launched immediately by our school resource officer and other members of the Crystal Lake Police Department. We also immediately inspected every locker room and bathroom at Crystal Lake Central and the district’s other high schools. No other devices were found. The recording device has been turned over to law enforcement authorities.

We are fully cooperating with the police investigation, and are very disappointed that someone would commit such an act. Pending the results of the police investigation, we will pursue criminal and disciplinary action to the full extent possible under the law and school policy.

What we can discuss about this situation is very limited because it involves an ongoing police investigation, but if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Steve Olson. In addition, please be aware that we have our full array of social workers, counselors, and school psychologists available to support your child should he or she have any issues processing this situation. If you or your child has any information regarding this incident, they should contact the Crystal Lake Police Department directly.

The safety and welfare of all of our students is a top priority and we continue to work with the Crystal Lake Police to ensure that this issue is resolved in a thorough and expedient manner. Thank you for your support of our school district and our students.

Sincerely,

Dr. Johnnie Thomas, Superintendent and Steve Olson, Principal

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Here is the Crystal Lake Police Department’s press release.

I have written how reformer State Rep. Jeanne Hurley got snookered into sponsoring a bill in 1957 to prohibit reporters like Jack Mabley from using tape recordings of legislative corruption.

Hurley married Paul Simon and is Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon’s mother.

The retired State Representative who told me the story was Roland Libonatii.  After taking a busman’s holiday to the Illinois House Chambers, we were in the Amtrak Station waiting for the train back to Chicago.

Marvelous story of how those close to the Currency Exchange scandal took steps to try to prevent others from getting similar evidence of corruption.

So, now people have cell phones and record everything imaginable, even police making arrests.

And the policemen don’t like being held accountable.

You can see that from this recent YouTube taken by professionals across the street from a Chicago Hospital where a little girl had been taken after having been shot by a gang banger.  (Thanks to Illinois Review for pointing me to it.)

So, why is House Republican Leader Tom Cross leading the way to coverup wrongdoing?

You tell me. I didn’t hear the debate.

Here’s the 45-59-1 roll call vote on House Bill 1944:

Besides House Republican Leader Tom Cross, State Reps. representing parts of McHenry County who voted against the reform bill include Kent Gaffney and Tim Schmidt. Democrat Jack Franks was missing from the House floor today. State Rep. Mike Tryon voted in favor of the measure.

Here’s how the synopsis describes the bill:

“Provides that a person who is not a law enforcement officer nor acting at the direction of a law enforcement officer may record the conversation of a law enforcement officer who is performing a public duty in a public place and any other person who is having a conversation with that law enforcement officer if the conversation is at a volume audible to the unassisted ear of the person who is making the recording.”

Besides violating the confidentiality court order in former Sheriff’s Deputy Zane Seipler’s wrongful termination case, his attorney Blake Horwitz argues in his motion for sanctions that defendant McHenry County Sheriff’s lawyer James Sotos has wrongfully withheld a long video interview made of Seipler by the Department.

As before, paragraphing and formatting has been added in the text to make the text easier to read on a computer screen.

“The Video Recording

“This Court recently granted Plaintiff leave to re-take the deposition of two Defendants, Lutz and Miller, given Defendants’ failures in producing a lengthy video taken of the Plaintiff during the Plaintiff’s internal investigation into racial profiling and ticket writing. See Order, Dkt No. 311, October 12, 2011.

“Plaintiff desires to remind the Court that three affidavits were filed in support of the Defendants’ position that the video was somehow lost. (Exhibit J, Affidavits of Defendants Miller and Lutz and Affidavit of Elizabeth Barton). These affidavits were filed by party defendants and their counsel (Ms. Barton) in response to Plaintiffs motion to compel and this Court’s order (Dkt No. 134) [Foot Note 3].

James Sotos

“This Court will recall Mr. Sotos’ recent oral argument before the Court, where he stated that the hour long video was recently ‘found’, but only after the Plaintiff’s deposition was taken.

“During Mr. Sotos’ argument, this Court on repeatedly referenced the ‘convenient’ post-deposition find and then granted Plaintiff’s motion to compel as to the two Defendants.

“Notably, Defendant Affiant Seith stated that she gave the CD to the Sotos law firm (Exhibit J, pg 5, para 6) but then the video became ‘missing’ (Id. para. 8).

“Ms. Barton, a Sotos Associates states that she performed a ‘reasonably search’, including Mr. Sotos’ involvement, to obtain the video (Exhibit J, para 5 and 7).

“Apparently, the search became more reasonable after the Plaintiff testified.”

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Foot Note 3 – “As to Plaintiff’s motion to compel the production of an audio-video recording of the internal investigation of Plaintiff, Defendants are ordered to complete a reasonable search to produce the compact disc. According to the Defendants’ affidavit, a copy of the disc was sent to Heidi Parker, but no explanations have been proffered as to efforts to locate this copy, or any other copies that may exist. Within 21 days, Defendants shall either produce a copy of the compact disc, or submit an affidavit to the court to explain why Ms. Parker’s copy is unavailable.”

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In addition to asking for sanctions, Seipler attorney Horwitz asks for “attorneys’ fees for having prevailed with regard to depositions of Miller and Lutz (concerning the newly found video).”

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More tomorrow.

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Other articles in the series:

• Point, Counter Point – Sotos, Horwitz Both Request Sanctions – Part 1
• Point, Counter Point – Sotos, Horwitz Both Request Sanctions – Part 2
• Point, Counter Point – Sotos, Horwitz Both Request Sanctions – Part 3
• Point, Counter Point – Sotos, Horwitz Both Request Sanctions – Part 4

A video taken by Round Lake Beach District116.orgblogger Gene Carey of Round Lake Beach last weekend in Gurnee’s Uno Chicago Bar & Grill made not only ABC News in Chicago, but also MSNBC and Fox News.

Congressman Joe Walsh replied to a question about banks from postal worker Melissa Rakestraw in a more spirited manner than he wished he had used, accoridng to his interview on Chicago's ABC News.

The clip used featured a short part of one of Congressman Joe Walsh’s small group meetings in coffee shops, bars and other local gathering places. In Crystal Lake he has held them at Country Donuts and Walker’s Pancake House.

These typically last about an hour and can get heated.

In the instance featured, Walsh was talking to postal worker Melissa Rakestraw, who admitted not voting for Walsh in 2010.

Chicago Tribune web site treatment of the story,.

Having attended the two Crystal Lake events, I can tell you that Walsh relishes defending his conservative positions.

And I never saw him lose his cool, as one headline put it.

The postal worker wanted to know Walsh’s position about saving jobs in the Postal System.

Walsh did not give her the answer she was seeking.

You can read about this past week’s Grafton Township meeting in these articles:

Downsizing the Grafton Township Supervisor’s Office – Part 1

Downsizing the Grafton Township Supervisor’s Office – Part 2

Downsizing the Grafton Township Supervisor’s Office – Part 3

That’s the meeting where the township trustees, led by Rob LaPorta, moved Township Supervisor Linda Moore into the windowless township clerk’s office, moved newly-appointed Township Administrator Pam Fender into Moore’s outer office and the township clerk into Moore’s inner office.  To complete the game of musical ofices, Moore’s assistant was put where Fender was, the conference room through which one must go to find the bathroom.

Now, you can not only read my articles, but you can see all the action and raised voices yourself.  The index to the approximately 10-minute segments of YouTube videos, which you see below, is here.  (For some reason, they are not listed in order.)

YouTube Postings of March 2, 2010, Grafton Township meeting at which Linda Moore lost her office space.

Just in case you have an abnormal interest in public affairs,  you can see a lot of the meeting on YouTube.

The early reaction of LaPorta to David Moore’s taping you see below.

Trustee Rob LaPorta holding up paper to block David Moore's video taping of the March 2nd Grafton Township meeting.

Or, if you are into juvenile antics, take a look at the first YouTube posting.  Four minutes into it, you can see a man blocking the video taping the meeting.

Paper blocking David Moore from taping all township trustees but Barbara Murphy at March 2nd meeting.

You will see who is is below.  He took a photograph of David Moore after being admonished for his obstructive behavior by Supervisor Linda Moore.

Man who was blocking David Moore's videoing of the township trustees takes a picture of Moore after Supervisor Linda Moore admonished him for his obstructive behavior.

If you are really, really interested in what the township board does, here is a link where you can find the January 14, 2010, videos.  I see 20 parts, although they are not listed in order.  That was one long meeting.  These were not posted by the township.

As you watch the videos, remember that the Township Trustees voted not to operate under Robert’s Rules of Order.  The board operates under no rules of order.