Councilman Prigge (and perhaps others on the Elgin, Illinois City Council) must be thinking “Third time’s a charm” after the Daily Herald reported in an article yesterday that Elgin Mayor Ed Schock fought off a “pit bull” “attack” Thursday evening. I won’t include excerpts from the article, because really, I think Elgin residents have learned by now that some in the media, at least as far as “pit bull” “attacks” go, can’t be trusted.
Indeed, does anybody else find this latest “pit bull” “attack” suspicious? Here again we have another “pit bull” incident within weeks and even months of prior incidents in Elgin. And again, the media is reporting it as an “attack” when the dogs in question did not bite, just like the May 28 Festival Park incident wherein the victim was reported as having been bitten, when he was merely scratched. That alone shows that the media is blowing these incidents out of proportion. (And no, that does not excuse owner irresponsibility should it be determined that the owner was irresponsible.) Are some in the media that much in the lap of the Elgin City Council? Are they that much a part of Prigge’s banwaggoning? Or has the agenda changed now? Yes, what is the Elgin City Council after now we wonder?
At this point, it’s more plausible that these “attacks” were set-ups than that they were mere happenstance since, as we’ve said before, there have been more incidents involving “pit bulls” in the last year (since Councilman Prigge took office) than we can ever remember having been reported in the almost 10 years that we have been following Chicago-area breed-specific legislation (BSL). That alone is suspicious, but so too is the latest “pit bull” incident occurring a mere day after a rather fiery city council meeting on Wednesday, June 23. In that meeting, Elgin resident John Collins* presented photos of the house and grounds of Ms. Sonia Torres, whose two “pit bulls” on May 28, 2010, mysteriously escaped from their locked cages, apparently traveled a mile from Ms. Torres’ home to Elgin’s Festival Park, and supposedly “attacked” a boy, though as noted, the boy was only scratched when one of the dogs jumped up on him. Following is a partial transcript of Mr. Collins’ speech:
I was discussing at the last meeting how it was inappropriate to shoot the dogs over at the [Festival] Park. Well I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Torres yesterday. I looked her up and I went and visited her home. This…is a picture of her driveway… There’s a short little fence over the top. Down by these garbage cans in the back is where she had her dog pen set. Two cages. The dogs were in these cages when she left to go to work and to pick up her kids from school. Upon returning, the dogs were not in the cages but she didn’t realize that until…her kids went out to feed and give the dogs some water.
They realized the dogs were gone so they immediately went out looking for the dogs. Well the dogs did not jump this fence. Instead they went out another way… This here is a picture of one of the locks. There are two per cage. I locked them personally. This is one of them barrel-bolted…locked. I shook the daylights out of that cage. I could not budge that cage door open…None of the dogs had blood on them, had any bruises, bleeding or anything when they were found at the park down there. None. This is the other lock on the other gate; a gate that they never use because there is a hole in the back fence of this caged area… I had a hard enough time even budging that to open it. The dogs, they’re about this tall. [Here Mr. Collins indicates that the dogs were not tall enough to reach the lock.] They could not get out… This here…is the hole they supposedly went out of. Yet there was no blood anywhere on the gate, on the floor, on the ground, anywhere. Another question was, and Ms. Torres asked me, how was it the police were able to locate her so quickly, know exactly who she was, and…track her down that same day? …Yet none of her neighbors called the police to report the dogs missing, because they didn’t know they were missing either.
…So how did [the dogs] get out? Why were they not bloody? And how did the police know exactly where she lived so quickly? I find it rather offensive that the police ignored her request when she was telling them what was going on. She kept getting the bump off to talk to another officer and he was very curt with her and very rude… And the boy…that was injured [at Festival Park]…his parents were told they had to take him to the hospital… It was not a dog bite. It was a minor scratch. Required no stitches. Yet it was reported in the paper as a dog bite…So where did the police drop the ball?
Were some on the Elgin City Council so unnerved by Mr. Collins’ speech that they went on the very next day to coordinate yet another “pit bull” “attack”??? After all, Mr. Collins demonstrated that Ms. Torres’ dogs were stolen which begs the question: Who took the dogs and for what purpose? Mr. Collins had pertinent questions of his own: How did the Elgin Police Department know so quickly who the dogs belonged to, and why aren’t they investigating the theft of Ms. Torres’ dogs? It’s hard to say what exactly is going on, but something fishy is definitely in the works in Elgin. The sheer number of these “pit bull” incidents that just so happen to precede members of the Elgin City Council proposing already-prepared legislation is highly suspicious.
Speaking of his supposed “pit bull” “attack” on Thursday, Mayor Ed Schock told the Courier News that “he decided to call police only after the owner of the pit bulls began to argue with him about hitting her dogs.” Does that mean he too thought the incident was not a big deal, meaning, not worthy of looking at breed-specific legislation? After all, the incident has nothing to do with breed, and more to do with dogs being off-leash and off their owner’s property. Or was Mayor Schock’s comment meant to distract potential critics from conjecturing about his motives? And what could his motives be, we wonder? He told the Courier News that he,
…felt the incident highlighted the importance of having the new rules in place, as well as the need for more animal control officers within the Elgin Police Department, where there is currently only one.
“I think we could use at least two more,” he said. “We should probably have one on an early evening shift as well as the day shift.”
He said hiring another animal control officer was not within current city budget plans. He said he might once again propose a plan that would require dog owners to pay a registration fee as a way of raising the necessary funds.
“I’ve had some people with dogs say they support the idea ” that they think we need to have people register their dogs and help pay for the animal control officer,” he said. “We dog owners are the ones who potentially create the problem.”
So, Mayor Schock is seeking to push for dog licensure so he can pay for additional Animal Control officers. Does that mean Mayor Schock took a page out of Prigge’s black book, profiled a particular “pit bull” owner, and placed himself in an area ripe for an “attack” in order to push for his plan? It’s hard to say, but what we can tell you is that we don’t believe in coincidence and that it’s probably no mistake that all these “attacks” have preceded members of the Elgin City Council pushing for Animal Control legislation; legislation which has run the gamut from breed-specific legislation and a very complex and comprehensive dangerous dog law to now licensure.
And for the record, we oppose licensure, as do most cash-strapped Elgin residents, especially if it is resultant of a set-up. Also for the record, we will renew our sentiment that members of the Elgin City Council (starting with Councilman Prigge) should be investigated for criminal and political malfeasance. Although who would do the investigating? If Mr. Collins’ implication is correct, the Elgin Police Department may just be a part of this whole mess. So I’ll ask again. What’s it going to take for the FBI or the Illinois Attorney General to investigate? Elgin may quite possibly have members of its own city council hurting its citizens via false-flag tactics in order to pass onerous and otherwise unwanted legislation. Does somebody have to die before a proper investigation is conducted???
***
Read more about it:
BSL Not Imminent in Elgin, Illinois, but a Criminal Probe of Councilman John Prigge Should Be
I Love the Smell of a Set-Up in the Morning¦
Do You Believe in Coincidence? Neither Do We¦
* Elgin dog owners owe Mr. Collins a debt of gratitude for doing what the Elgin Police Department seemingly won’t do: investigating the May 28, Festival Park “pit bull” incident. We here are certainly appreciative of the footwork he has done and invite him to contact us using the comments section below as we would be more than happy to post his photos. Ms. Torres too is welcome to tell us her story. We are heartened that there are still people in this day and age willing to stand up for other people and do the right thing.
6 responses to “Are They Hoping the Third Time’s the Charm???”
Stand up for people and do the right thing?
Then please do not deny that this breed is killing people and pets at a rate much higher than other breeds. BSL is a Pit Bulls friend these days.
This “breed”? Those who refer to the conglomeration of medium- and large-breed dogs and their mixes that fit a type as “pit bulls” are showing their utter ignorance. That, or they’re just once again sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring the truth. THERE IS NO BREED “PIT BULL”! Just to repeat so it sinks in, “pit bull” is a type, not a breed; a type that can describe almost any medium- and large-breed dog and their mixes, which means statistics on this type, not breed, “pit bull” are massively skewed and therefore meaningless. Heck, some have even confused Chihuahuas for “pit bulls.”
As for Elgin, yes, Mr. Collins did stand up for Ms. Torres and do the right thing by her when law enforcement and other city officials seemingly would not, and he was right to ask the questions he did. After all, if a comment to this blog is correct, then Ms. Torres was clearly profiled, surveiled, and targeted as a set-up. And as Mr. Collins discovered through his investigation, Ms. Torres’ “pit bulls” were clearly stolen, with the possible intention of releasing them all hyped up in Elgin’s crowded Festival Park. There is at least one report and rampant speculation that the now infamous Councilman John Prigge hired a private investigator to find the “perfect problem owner” in order to bring back the BSL issue to Elgin this year. (It’s ironic that even Councilman Prigge would seemingly acknowledge that there are problem owners, not problem breeds.) In other words, the Festival Park “pit bull” incident may very well have been a set-up — and more evidence points to that than not — as may the most recent supposed “pit bull” incident that involved the mayor.
This is the arrogance and the seeming impunity with which the Elgin City Council operates. They have their own citizens basically standing before them now pointing a finger and accusing them of corruption, and they can’t seem to be bothered with caring. For instance, look at what Elgin resident Gary Bolene had to say about the Elgin City Council, and specifically the mayor, at last week’s meeting when he accused the council of “abusive bullying” in the use of improper zoning tactics:
“You can harm a few to benefit the majority? Is that it?…Our property rights should not be stripped just because you covet what we have.”
One could say the same for the breed-specific legislation (BSL) fiasco that has been going on for well over a year since Councilman Prigge took office. Have some on the Elgin City Council harmed people like Ms. Torres and her family (the result of which was the needless killing of her dogs), under the false supposition that BSL would benefit the majority? Are there those on the council that are that treacherous and ego-driven that they would do anything to get their way?
For the answer, let’s look at the parting exchange between Mr. Bolene and Mayor Ed Schock when Bolene asked how much time in his allotted 3 minutes were left for his speech:
Bolene: How much time do I have left Mayor?
Mayor: About a minute.
Bolene: How much time do you have left?
Mayor: That’s up to my Maker.
Bolene: I see. Maybe you should talk to Him about this a little bit.
Mayor: He’s got bigger issues on His mind.
Bolene: Bigger issues???
So Mayor Schock thinks God has bigger issues on His mind? According to Isaiah, not so:
“Woe to those who enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,
So as to deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of their rights…” -Isaiah 10:1-2
Isaiah goes on to say,
“Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD,
And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
…For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off;
Who cause a person to be indicted by a word,
…And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
…Those who err in mind will know the truth,
And those who criticize will accept instruction.” -Isaiah 29:15,20-21,24
Sounds like God cares a great deal about what is going on in Elgin, and indeed, the mayor is in error thinking that God does not see.
Only someone extremely ignorant would claim that BSL is in the interest of a pit bull.
Please show me the proof they are killing more than any other breed? Colorado has banned them in many areas and now shows labs to be the highest biter in the state. You can’t fix stupid (owners). All they do is change breeds. Stricter dog laws holding ALL dog breed OWNERS accountable is what we need to have in place and then they need to ENFORCE it.
Anyone who criticizes pit bulls probably never owned one,it’s called believing everything you hear. This is a great family pet, p. bulls love children, they are a great watch dog, loyal and highly intelligent. People love to hear bad news, the media eats it up, if you notice, anytime there’s a dog attack, the breed of dog is never mentioned unless it happens to be a pit bull, even then you can’t believe them. I worked at dog pound and one day they brought in a dog that attacked a woman, they claimed it was a pit bull, after the Vet examined the dog we found that he wasn’t a p.bull, it was a boxer, Akita mix. If you don’t know your breeds then don’t point your finger. Just like everything else in the world, there’s good and bad in all. Educate yourself, don’t discriminate. The bad owners should get punished not the animal. Just like a child, dogs only learn what their taught. Unfortunately these irresponsible owners will always exists they’re the one’s that don’t care about other people’s safety. They show no love or affection toward their pet, they treat them like an object and feed them steroids until they become vicious, they beat them so they learn how to defend themselves and attack anything that gets in there way, this somehow makes the owner feel tough for some reason, it’s cruel. I love my p.bull and I brought him up with lots of love,he was taught to respect everyone and everything, he wouldn’t hurt anyone, I would never want to see a dog officer take him away and put him to sleep, Also, I could never live with myself if he ever hurt another human being, that’s why I’ve spent so much time teaching him right from wrong. He’s the most obedient dog I know, and I taught him with love, not cruelty. He’s the happiest lovable dog ever. Everyone else who knows him also loves him, he can’t speak for himself so I have to. Think of your own dog, if they wanted to punish him because some other dogs his same breed were brought up to be mean, wouldn’t you fight for your best friend too? Let’s Punish the guilty owners who know better but have no heart, instead of punishing a dog that will love you unconditionally. Please think about it, the good dogs need our help. Thanks for reading.
Wow there sure is some interesting information here regarding Mr Prigge and I use the term Mr lightly. All sounds a bit fishy to me as well, he wanted another incident to happen he pretty much stated publically that he wished some thing would happen again. I went to the first city meeting they had but was then told that since I didnt live in Elgin that my voice didnt matter so I didnt attend any further city council meetings. Dogs are what you put in to them irregardless of the breed, but I will say this once you get one you will truly see how much they give back.
Thanks for your comments Dan. We couldn’t agree more. I’ll be sure to check out your site http://www.pitbullpositive.org .
And in case you folks commenting here missed it, here’s a re-posting of a comment from June 4 about Prigge from someone in Elgin:
El said,
June 4, 2010 @ 2:37 pm
“There was a rumor in town in April that John Prigge hired a private investigator to follow Pit Bull owners around town, keep track of incidents and look for ˜warning behaviors. It could not be confirmed by the Elgin Police when asked, then again a P.I. doesnt have to check-in with local authorities when they are being paid by the hour. The firm that was hired is a local Elgin firm, and the people commenting on the rumor said the P.I. was bragging about his new gig to find the ˜perfect problem owner to bring the BSL issue back up in 2010. Interesting, huh? Again, hear-day and drama¦ no proof¦ but an incident for family dogs found over 1 mile from their home and panting in the hot sun to be shot by police? no prior records, over 100 people in the park and only hours before a HUGE Wine Festival to be held over memorial day? Suspicious indeed¦ And the only crime the owner of the dogs committed was to not renew her 1-year rabies vaccination before the expire date, many of us responsible dog owners have done the same. Now we have to wonder who in that neighborhood, that was so close to where the 22 pit bulls were found earlier¦ could of possible trespassed on her property to let out two secured animals to wander?”
It’s odd that folks on this site and other folks that opposed the Elgin breed ban were chided for criticizing the Elgin City Council and Elgin city officials while supposedly hiding behind “anonymity.” The insinuation is that we’re cowards or we wouldn’t have the guts to say these things to their faces. That’s not it at all. For us at least, we know that the truth that we tell makes us targets. (One person opposing Elgin’s BSL even got hacked. Care to take a guess as to who might have been behind it?) And if the above comment about Councilman Prigge is true, then there may be one or more Elgin City Councilman or city official profiling and surveiling dog owners. So, Elgin BSL opposers should give their names why? So Prigge can send his P.I. after them?
It’s odd too that so many Elgin city employees seem to have been told to do the same thing: deride people who don’t give their names if/when they criticize Elgin city officials, attack the criticizers of Elgin officials for their “negative attacks” or their “rogue postings,” or just flat out mock the criticizers of Elgin officials. A good defense is a good offense? Still they claim they don’t read or watch the things we write and put to video. Uh huh. Right. Well, stats to this site sure show a lot of searches for certain Elgin councilmen. But perhaps the worst thing, and what I find most offensive, is that some councilmen seem to send out others to do their dirty work: whether it’s Prigge allegedly hiring a P.I. to profile certain Elgin dog owners (ostensibly ones that couldn’t fight back), the flood of supposed BSL proponents that some have accused some city officials of sending to the comments sections of the Daily Herald and Courier News to pad seeming support for unwanted legislation like BSL, or those Elgin city officials who slam citizen activists like Elgin2030 (or even our blog) for doing what any God-fearing, red-blooded American should do: question their government.
And do these councilmen think we think this is funny? What’s funny about having to police government in your own state because you suspect them of being corrupt? (And this has been true for Elgin and many other municipalities here and all across the country and even at the state levels where we’ve fought shady lobbyists who seek to negate the Constitution at the drop of a hat!) What’s funny about the possibility that one or more Elgin councilman may be SPYING on their constituents in an effort to set them up so they can pass legislation they’ve been put upon to pass? It’s sad that these councilmen are so often fingered by their own constituents for the things they’re alleged to have done in the shadows; things they dare mock their Creator about all the while saying He doesn’t see. If these allegations are true, they can be sure their wickedness will find them out.