March 8th, 2010 by Editor

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.  Read the rest of this entry »

March 7th, 2010 by Editor

 It appears as if some on the city council have sent what I can only describe as “disinformers” to make comments on the Daily Herald.  These disinformers have, like city councilmen themselves, cited poor evidence in favor of BSL, and have spread animosity and made personal attacks on those opposed to Elgin’s breed-specific legislation (BSL). Councilman Prigge so proudly lies through his teeth when he says he’s entertaining information only from Elgin citizens and yet he freely cites PETA, Kory Nelson’s Denver “pit bull” ban “data” (and Corporate Counsel Cogley and/or Prigge can keep saying Denver’s ban has withstood legal challenges, but they forget the ban was passed before Colorado’s prohibition of BSL and they conveniently ignore Margolius v. Denver in which ALL of Denver’s Animal Control officers could not pick an American Pit Bull Terrier out of a line-up)  and hacks like Alan Beck and dogsbite.org (which have both been widely discredited as unscientific witch hunters)!  We might be embarrassed for Councilmen Prigge, Gilliam, and Warren and Mayor Schock if they weren’t working so tirelessly to kill good people’s dogs.  We may not be able to dethrone these kings of the “unwashed masses” (and yes, that’s just how they see you Elgin!), yet, but we certainly can expose their malfeasance and violation of the public trust.  What all Elgin and Illinois citizens can do now is boycott Elgin businesses (including the casino!) until the city council does the will of the people; the people who elected them their representatives! Notice that word representatives.  Not dictators.  Not authoritarians.  Not absolutists.  Not autocrats.  Not oligarchs.  But representatives who stand or act for another or others; those who do the will of the people! 

And don’t you wonder why Councilman Prigge is so sure of himself any time anyone brings up the idea of Elgin being sued?  (Elgin citizens should be aware that there may be as many as 3-4 lawsuits against the city should BSL be passed in Elgin.  And yes, the proposed ordinance is just that poorly-written and vague!)  Will Prigge be as strident and smug when he has to use $1 million of Elgin’s taxpayer dollars to defend Elgin’s indefensible BSL??  Or will the special interest lobby that we suspect has been coaching him behind the scenes foot the bill?  And if it’s true that Prigge has been entertaining radical special interests (radical special interests that by the way are affiliated with domestic terrorists the Animal Liberation Front), and we strongly suspect that he has been, then perhaps he should be investigated.

March 6th, 2010 by Editor

March 6th, 2010 by Editor

Are you listening Elgin City Council?  Are you listening Mr. Prigge, Mr. Gilliam, Mr. Schock, and Mr. Warren???  Read the rest of this entry »

March 6th, 2010 by Editor

Another great post from WLS ‘Pet World’ host Steve Dale:

Are They Joking? Elgin Says They Will Compromise on Their Pit Bull Restrictions

When the wording of the “compromise” began all Pit Bulls will continue to be deemed dangerous, I knew this wasn’t a compromise at all. Read the rest of this entry »

March 6th, 2010 by Editor

While we can’t agree with the “special consideration” part — any singling out of breeds is still an equal protection violation — Tony is right. This council works for the citizens of Elgin. And while Mayor Schock was displeased with Tony’s and others’ “outburst” last week, Tony is right. Britain’s parliament is much more raucous than city council has ever been. So, bang on Tony!

March 5th, 2010 by Editor

The Courier-News today has an interesting piece.  Wag the dog indeed!:

Bow, wow, wow – wag the dog

Elgin Mayor Ed Schock owns a German shepherd, while Councilman Robert Gilliam once owned a Doberman pinscher. Why this might make some folks go bow-wow-wow is that Schock and Gilliam are proponents of amending Elgin’s animal control ordinance to include strict breed-specific restrictions on pit bulls.

Thing is, through the decades, shepherds and pinschers have had image problems of their own. According to Karen Delise, author of “The Pit Bull Placebo,” in 1928, the Australian government imposed one of the first official breed bans on German shepherds — a ban that stayed in effect until 1974.

Delise writes that Dobermans, which were used by the Nazis as well as U.S. Marines during World War II, reached the height of their fame/infamy in the 1970s with popular culture portraying them as the archetypical vicious dogs.

For a hilarious caricature of Mayor Ed Schock, click through to the Courier-News here.

For more about the Elgin City Council’s astounding hypocrisy, click here.

March 5th, 2010 by Editor

Editor’s note: Councilman Prigge saying “we’re not against sound input by the people who are going to be affected most by this legislation, which is Elgin citizens” is an outright LIE considering the consistent belligerent tone he has taken with Elgin citizens.  And while Councilman Gilliam waxes slippery about compromise, a true compromise would be giving a majority of Elgin residents what they want which is leaving the dangerous dog ordinance as is and striking the breed-specific portion of it.  The truth is, Councilman Prigge and his partners in crime aren’t truly entertaining input from anyone but proponents of BSL and radical animal rights groups apparently.  And the only “compromise” here I’m guessing is done for the benefit of other reticent councilmen to pressure them into passing the BSL that Elgin voters have consistently said they don’t want.

The latest from the Daily Herald:

Calling it a compromise, Elgin leaders have toned down a new batch of laws aimed at controlling pit bulls.

“It’s an attempt to try and compromise with concerns people have,” said Councilman Robert Gilliam. “We’re not set in stone. We’re not trying to ram it down people’s throats.”

Under the proposed changes, pit bulls will still be declared “dangerous dogs” and violators of the lengthy ordinance still face fines of $1,000.

But city leaders have proposed:
• reducing the cost of a three-year license from $100 to $50;
• lowering the amount of liability insurance for homeowners or renters with pit bulls from $500,000 to $100,000;
• eliminating a requirement for pit bull owners to obtain a special permit from police when driving through town, visiting or taking their dog to an Elgin veterinarian;
• axing a requirement that pit bull owners post a 2-foot by 2-foot sign outside their homes warning of a “dangerous dog”;
• and allowing pit bulls to run free in a backyard – as long as they are muzzled and there is at least a 3-foot-tall fence. Before, a 6-foot fence was required if an unmuzzled pit bull was to run in a yard untethered.

…Councilman John Prigge, who along with Councilman Mike Warren formed a four-vote majority to advance the measure last month, also said he is OK with the proposed changes.

“We’re committed, but we’re not against sound input by the people who are going to be affected most by this legislation, which is Elgin citizens,” Prigge said. “This is the right thing to do.”

The council meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, in the Heritage Ballroom at The Centre, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin.

March 4th, 2010 by Editor

Once again, Steve Dale, host of the WLS show “Pet World,” addresses Elgin, Illinois’ proposed “pit bull” restrictions.  This is from the Anchorage Daily News:

Q: I know you’re aware that Elgin, Ill., a community just outside Chicago, wants to ban pit bulls. I live here, and while I don’t have a pit bull, I’m concerned that my breed might be next, or my dog might be mistaken for a pit bull. Any thoughts? — C.S., Elgin, IL

A: The City of Elgin is not planning to ban pit bulls, or at least that’s what local officials are saying. Instead, if a proposed city ordinance is passed, all pit bulls (or dogs the city calls pit bulls) will automatically be deemed “dangerous” dogs. All owners will be required to carry $500,000 of insurance, and each owner’s yard would have to have a 6-foot-high fence with locks. Their dogs would have to be spayed/neutered and micrcochipped, and wear muzzles in public. Read the rest of this entry »

March 4th, 2010 by Editor

The prophet Isaiah offers a warning to corrupt government and the evil-doer:

So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness…

Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, and sin as if with cart ropes…
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
…Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!
Woe to those who…justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts…

Isaiah 5:15-16, 18, 20-24