By Ted Slowik
A Naperville woman and a Downers Grove man are charged with reckless conduct and other misdemeanors for standing on a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 355 and displaying a banner that read, "Impeach Bush and Cheney - LIARS." Is this a case of a peaceful protest or did they put lives in danger by distracting drivers?
Journalists love to champion First Amendment causes, and this case is no exception. Regardless of your feelings about the war, I don't think they should be prosecuted for exercising their rights to free speech.
During the demonstration on May 6, the protestors took down the banner when police showed up and asked them to. End of demonstration. Weeks later, they were arrested. This should be a case of no harm, no foul. How could the banner be any more distracting than the giant signs that say, "THIS TOLLWAY BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH," or something like that.
Do you agree? If not, why do you think the protestors ought to be prosecuted?
These arrests are a sham. It seems like they are being prosecuted because of what was written on the banner.
I don't advocate displaying the flag upside down or burning it, but if the United States Supreme Court has ruled that flag burning is protected speech, how can our States Attorney prosecute people for doing much less (displaying the flag upside down). It's harassment and nothing else.
I agree this is suspicious and I love the comparison to the Blago signs. There are signs and other things to read everywhere along the course of your drive, and a banner is no more distracting than trying to decipher someone's bumper sticker or figure out what their vanity license plates are trying to convey. I'm quite surprised the state's attorney would take this seriously.
There's nothing wrong with advocating a particular position. But these two self-indulgent punks went overboard by using I-355 as a conduit for expressing their feelings. Driving is a serious business. Anything which distracts drivers from the job at hand (the safe operation of a motor vehicle)deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. This goes for anyone, regardless of their political persuasion. There are a multitude of venues in which opinions of all kinds can be expressed. To this man and woman, I say grow up!
Tom,
If this is true, then why does the state put electronic informational displays above the highway...just so we are to ignore them and pay attention to the road. Good to know that they are wasting tax dollars. War is also a serious business and shouldn't be waged for a personal vendetta. Displaying a banner over the tollways and freeways is perfectly legal as long as it doesn't hang on the overpass or have anything on it that can potentially fall into traffic. Quit rationalizing why it is ok for the fascist republicans in this coutry to try and take away our rights. This is not hting but a purely politially motivated charge. If there was a reason for them to be arrested, the Illinois State Trooper would have arrested them.
It's time we stand up and show our government that we will not stand for this fascist attitude and stop our fall into a corporatist police state. They have a court date n Monday (July 30th) at 8:30 am in building 500 room 407. We are trying to get as many people as possible together to show our support and show the fascist Joe Birkett that we will not tolerate his dereliction of duty and violation of the Constitution.
One Pissed off Veteran
Eric Roberts
Naperville, IL
Tom,
There are only two self indulgent punks that I can think of when it comes to advocating their position about our occupation of Iraq; President Cheney and his mannequin George Bush.
Obviously I do not think two citizens who are exercising their right of freedom of speech should be prosecuted/persecuted by the Republicans in this county. I have a question; Why don't the local authorities arrest people who put a "just married" sign on their car? The answer is obvious, and there is no difference between the two situations.
The real issue of this case begins with the Sheriff's Deputy who arrived at the scene. Not only did he pontificate his own personal opposing views at Jeff and Sarah, he left them with a threat to contact the State Attorney's office. It is not within the scope of duties of a Sheriff's Deputy to pontificate any political opinions to any citizen they are involved with in their duty period. This is a clear abuse of power. This Deputy needs to be investigated and dismissed from duty permanently and immediately. How can we know his name and immediate Supervisor. I urge everyone reading this to contact Birkett and demand the Deputy's immediate firing.