IllinoisCorruption.com
Kendall County
2001
In August 2001, SHARK investigators Jim Bruce and Steve Hindi attended the Kendall County Fair rodeo, and documented repeated violations of the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act.
The rodeo was produced by the infamous Big Hat Rodeo Company. Both Jim and Steve documented Big Hat owner Rudy Calzavara and others liberally using electric shock to force animal victims to "perform."
At one point, Steve was hit from behind by a member of the Kendall County Fair Association, who was intent on stopping the documentation. Steve immediately called the Kendall County Sheriff's Department to report the incident.
When sheriff's deputies arrived, however, they were more concerned about ejecting Jim and Steve than dealing with the battery that had just occurred. The police gave Jim and Steve "trespass warnings" telling them not to return to the property.
Jim and Steve and committed no offense, and the warnings had no legal weight. The warnings suggested that the Kendall County Fair Association knew of the animal abuse, intended to allow it, and that the Kendall County Sheriff's Department was willing to not only ignore animal cruelty, but violence against human animal protectors also.
To add insult to injury, the fair association member who committed the battery then claimed he was the one who had been hit by Steve. Still pictures, along with Steve's immediate call to the police would soon disprove the fair association member's claim.
Steve obtained police reports of the incident, only to find that two sheriff's deputies had lied on their reports to try to incriminate Steve, and cover for the fair association member.
Steve attempted to have battery charges filed against the fair association member for the battery and for filing a false police report, and requested an internal investigation of the two police officers who also filed false reports.
Kendall County State's Attorney Tim McCann (a former Kendall County Sheriff's Deputy) claimed that he didn't have enough evidence to get a conviction in the battery case. Given the fact that he had pictures and a 911 audio tape, we can't imagine what else he could possibly need, except perhaps for the desire to see justice done.
Kendall County Sheriff Richard Randall similarly refused to conduct an internal investigation. Such a refusal to even investigate is incredible, given the obviously false reports, which were made obvious by other sheriff's deputies whose reports were truthful.
Kendall County has long been controlled by a political machine. If you are in the machine, you are almost invulnerable. If you are outside the machine, you are at the mercy of those in the machine.
The Kendall County Fair Association is in the machine. Kendall County politicians like Tim McCann and Richard Randall serve the machine. Jim Bruce and Steve Hindi are outside the machine.
That's how things work in Kendall County.
2002
We wouldn't have thought it possible, but in 2002 the Kendall County "Good Old Boy" machine managed to outdo their corruption of the prior year.
SHARK investigator Jim Bruce chose to return to the Kendall County Fair rodeo, and he had a welcoming party waiting for him. Kendall County Sheriff's deputies ordered Jim out of the stands where he quietly watched the rodeo. Jim was arrested, handcuffed and taken away to jail.
Jim was released on bail once the rodeo was over, and once again the Kendall County machine, a member of the Rodeo Mafia, had done its job. But as before, problems arose for the corrupt Kendall County Sheriff's Department.
Apparently sensing that their false arrest of Jim Bruce might not sit well with a judge, the Sheriff's Department manufactured an additional police report shortly before trial. This report claimed that Jim had been given an opportunity to leave the fair or be arrested, and that he still refused to leave the fair. This is an absolute lie.
Jim was represented at trial by Rick Halprin, famed Chicago attorney and friend of SHARK. Jim was found Not Guilty. As with the year before, an internal investigation was requested regarding the latest false police report, and again there was no investigation.
Steve Hindi did appear before the Kendall County Board, and with both the State's Attorney and Sheriff in the room, Steve asked for an investigation into the corruption that had now been documented two years in a row. Predictably, the County Board did nothing.
Steve's parting shot with the board members was to walk over to the American flag, and holding one corner of the flag Steve asked if there was anyone on the board who remembered what it stood for. There was no response. We take that as a "No."
Further action is planned in this case, and it will be posted here as it develops.
You can send your thoughts to Tim McCann and Richard Randall regarding their protection of the Rodeo Mafia and the Kendall County political machine. Please send us any response you may receive.
Kendall County State's Attorney Timothy J. McCann
Kendall County Courthouse
807 W. Johns Street
Yorkville, IL 60560
Phone: 630-553-4204
Fax: 630553-4157
E-mail: TMcCann@co.kendall.il.co
Sheriff Richard Randall
Kendall County Sheriff's Department
1102 Cornell Lane
Yorkville, IL 60560
SHARK encourages State's Attorney McCann, Sheriff Randall, the Kendall County Fair Association or any member of the Kendall County Board to comment on this issue if they disagree with our portrayal. If they do so, we will post their comments, unedited, in their entirety.
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