The following block quotes come directly from Councilman Prigge’s own website.   We will debunk each one of his lies and/or misrepresentations one by one:

 Citizens have brought the following to my attention recently:

“Citizens,” or the special envoys to the Elgin City Council sent to spy on those opposing breed-specific legislation (BSL)?

There are many inaccuracies, mistruths and outright lies circulating about this proposal in the form of Web sites, radio talk shows, meetings, etc…

Really?   Others have been inaccurate or outright lied, but you haven’t Mr. Prigge?   So, you haven’t misrepresented your statement about how you only want to hear from Elgin residents in favor of BSL when you, Mr. Prigge, entertain suggestions from the likes of PETA, dogsbite.org and other outside “sources” you ought to be altogether ashamed to cite?   You haven’t declined to speak to Steve Dale on his talk show Mr. Prigge?   You haven’t cited a radical animal rights group with domestic terrorism ties as reason to pass BSL Mr. Prigge?   These are all documented either by published reports or from several first-hand accounts.  

Q. Why won’t you listen to people outside of Elgin on this issue?

A. Elgin citizens are the only ones who matter here. An Elgin pitbull will not attack someone who lives in Loves Park, IL or Sarasota, FL. Data sent to me from anyone has been examined by myself and/or city staff. Imagine the outcry if I went to a council meeting in Lincoln, NE and asked their officials to ban smoking in their restaurants. 93% of the e-mails I have received on this issue have been from non-Elgin citizens and many of those are non-Illinoisans.

Mr. Prigge should be more forthcoming about the fact that he absolutely is listening to people outside of Elgin.   He’s listening to PETA, Alan Beck, and Dogsbite.org, all of which or whom have unscientifically and/or erroneously defended Prigge’s initial false supposition that “pit bulls” are inherently dangerous and/or should be banned, restricted, or killed.   He has, however, not truly heard or entertained those from within or without Elgin who are opposed to BSL.   And if by saying that Elgin citizens are the only ones that matter he means that he has chided Elgin citizens opposed to BSL with rude, arrogant and smug comments, then yes, I suppose Mr. Prigge is telling the truth.  

And in terms of misrepresentation, campaigning under the guise of updating Elgin’s Animal Control laws is not exactly truthful or accurate when what was really meant by that was that Mr. Prigge would be pushing breed-specific legislation from almost the moment he entered office.   Funny how he left that out while stumping.   Hmm…sounds like at the least a misrepresentation, and at the most, a lie by omission.   It’s as if he knew that if he stumped for BSL while he campaigned for his own election that Elgin voters wouldn’t vote for him…Hmm…So, who’s really not been telling the truth Mr. Prigge?  

Q. It seems like you are punishing good owners of pitbulls and not the bad ones. Why?

A. To get bad people who abuse these dogs you have to make laws that they can, and probably will, break. Most importantly, those laws have to be made for everyone to follow. Good pitbull owners must deal with the fact that there choice of breeds – not individual dog – is mauling and killing people and other pets. Provoked or not, trained to fight or not. They are killing people and it’s not just strangers. I believe good pitbull owners know this.

And here’s your smoking gun.   Let it be known across the land that Mr. Prigge has, in the above quote, just acknowledged that the BSL he seeks to pass will be an equal protections violation. He has just acknowledged that there are “good pitbull owners” which means not all “pit bulls” are bad, or that not all “pit bulls” are trained to be bad or trained to fight. As such, any passing of breed-specific legislation which Prigge acknowledges will affect good “pit bull” owners will be in stark violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment which protects citizens from unlawful deprivation of property. He has to prove that all “pit bulls” are inherently vicious, and he has just acknowledged the opposite.   He’s also insinuated it’s an owner problem, not a breed problem. Not only this, but he ADMITS that he is adversely affecting good, law-abiding citizens and their property 1) because he is trying to set up the “bad owners” using the “good owners” and their dogs as bait!, and 2) because Elgin has not enforced its own existing laws.  

And Prigge is not making laws that everyone must follow.   He’s making laws that only “pit bull” owners have to follow which is a further acknowledgment that he is violating Elgin citizens’ equal protection rights and has no basis on which to deprive them of the enjoyment of their property (their dogs)!

Q. How will this get pitbulls off the streets of Elgin?

A. Bad owners will not comply with any of the requirements of law. They do not now on many things. Therefore, it is vital that pitbulls seen in violation of this law must be reported to 911 right away. Is it “ratting out” your neighbor to report an unlicensed pitbull? If reporting a crime is “ratting out” to you, then yes, I guess it is.

The narc-on-your-neighbor thing is a play right out of the radical animal rightists’ play book. I’m sure they’re quite proud. And here again, Mr. Prigge acknowledges Elgin cannot and has not enforced existing laws.   He also acknowledges that criminals will not follow the BSL he proposes.   Further, in true nanny-state style, Prigge is expecting his citizens to narc on fellow citizens!   This is unconscionable!   Prigge is opposed to red-light cameras (that invade people’s personal privacy), and yet he advocates that Elgin citizens should surveil their own neighbors?!

Not only is Prigge asking Elgin citizens to play the part of the rat, but he seeks to pass a law he acknowledges Elgin law enforcement cannot enforce without the Big-Brother help of Elgin citizens!   What’s next Mr. Prigge? Will you be forming the Ministry of Truth in true Orwellian style?   Will you require citizens of Elgin to use Newspeak?   Will your Ministry of Truth require citizens to chant:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Will Mr. Prigge then be hanging posters promoted by the Ministry of Truth that say: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU?   And will Elgin citizens wonder, as Winston does in 1984 (Would you like to borrow my copy?   It’s dog-eared and everything!), if it’s “conceivable that [the Thought Police] watched everybody all the time…in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and…every movement scrutinized”?

IMPORTANT NOTE: I will only speak to Elgin citizens about this issue. Elgin citizens are the only ones I serve. Those who live in other cities and states wishing to debate this issue are of no concern to me. Elgin citizens matter.

Serve?   Serve?   You do not serve Elgin citizens, Mr. Prigge.   You dictate to them!   If you served them, you’d remove the BSL from the ordinance proposal like a majority of your citizens want!  

And remember “outsiders,” it appears as if Mr. Prigge only really wants to hear from you if you are a radical animal rights group or the author of a junk science study or website supporting his agenda.