River Forest trustee's campaign signs vandalized
In a repeat of 2015, Henek signs being targeted
Two years ago, politics in River Forest got a bit nasty when as many as 40 corrugated plastic signs for first-time trustee candidate Patty Henek were slashed. At the time, some speculated that the actions might have been in response to her involvement in the debate over the renovation of Roosevelt Middle School.
Though the Roosevelt School issue has been settled, Henek's signs once again are being damaged, apparently. And, to date, it appears she's the only candidate whose signs have been targeted for vandalism.
The incidents were troubling enough for Village President Catherine Adduci to call them out during the March 13 meeting of the village board.
"This is not who we are in River Forest. I hope all of us around the board – anyone -- will denounce this as a bad thing, that they don't accept it, they do not like it," Adduci said. "This is not who we are. We will prosecute if we see anyone vandalizing any signs on private property."
Henek's signs had been out around River Forest for about two weeks. Over the March 11 weekend, she received email and calls from some supporters informing her that that signs in front of their homes had been damaged.
The signs are constructed in such a way that it would take some effort to kick them in and would take a tool to cut them. On William Street, one sign and its metal stand were damaged, Henek said. Other Henek signs were damaged in different parts of town, she said.
"I'm not 100 percent sure who did this. I thought maybe we were past this," said Henek.
Henek said that in 2013 as many as 40 of her signs experienced the same type of damage. In one instance, she had to replace a sign three times.
As she did two years ago, she will replace all the signs. She has not contacted police; she did not two years ago, either, she said.
Two other candidates running for trustee expressed concern over the incidents.
"I was shocked; it was shocking to see it in person," said Trustee Tom Cargie, who noted that two of Henek sings on his block were disturbed, though the one in front of his house was not.
"It was troubling that it just happened to Patty's signs given that others were undisturbed," Cargie said. "These are not kids just being destructive. The only conclusion I can make is that this is directed and destructive. And unfortunate."
In an email, first-time candidate Respicio Vazquez said, "I am disheartened that any one candidate's lawn signs were vandalized. Each River Forest candidate works hard in contributing their personal time and financial resources towards their campaign with the hopes of serving the community. We should all be respectful of each other's expressions, viewpoints and property."
Reader Comments
4 Comments - Add Your Comment
Note: This page requires you to login with Facebook to comment.
Facebook Connect
Answer Book 2017
To view the full print edition of the Wednesday Journal 2017 Answer Book, please click here. |
Quick Links
Sign-up to get the latest news updates for Oak Park and River Forest. | |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Subscribe | Classified |
Multimedia | Contact us |
Submit Letter To The Editor | |
Place a Classified Ad |
Latest Comments
The Imagine group has provided no logical reason why...
By Monica Sheehan
Posted: April 19th, 2018 6:28 PM
Another Oak Park business gone.... I wish her well!
By Jennifer Malloy Quinlan
Posted: April 19th, 2018 4:06 PM
The district isn't the only village entity that spends...
By Mak Flournoy
Posted: April 19th, 2018 12:55 PM
Will any of the units be adaptable for persons with...
By Jim Coughlin
Posted: April 18th, 2018 8:09 PM
Dori, The one constant in all three Imagine plans is...
By Monica Sheehan
Posted: April 18th, 2018 6:34 PM
Mindy Credi
Facebook Verified
Posted: March 22nd, 2017 9:02 AM
Is anyone else concerned that some "sicko" is running around town, in the dark of night with a KNIFE? Is one of my family members or friends going to get stabbed? For the record, another candidate's sign was cut too. Let's use are words and ballots instead of violent criminal behavior. We are better than this.
Bryan Rekar from River Forest
Facebook Verified
Posted: March 20th, 2017 9:48 PM
If memory serves, she's the candidate who went crying to the Wednesday Journal during the last election after she was being raked over the coals because she could not deduce the meaning of Home Rule. The further drama on this site caused the implementation of the policy of comments only being allowed to be posted from Facebook profiles. Generally when this much drama follows someone around, it's not a positive thing and someone I certainly would not want to be associated with or represent my community.
Brian Slowiak
Facebook Verified
Posted: March 20th, 2017 8:40 AM
The other side of the coin could be Mel Reynolds possibly faking getting shot in the head while running for elected office. The PBS special The Kennedys, cites Joe Kennedy saying "We are going to sell the kid (JFK) like snow flakes. Also, JFKs first election to the house was a three way race, with two of the three condidates having the same name.
Kevin Peppard from Oak Park
Facebook Verified
Posted: March 19th, 2017 9:51 PM
Unfortunately, this practice is all too common when someone is not viewed as being part of the club. I hope someone gets caught, and it isn't necessarily kids. Tony Peraica, formerly a County Commissioner, got convicted for damaging his opponent's sign, and he was also a lawyer, and should have known better. The punishment he got? Four months of court supervision, no fine, no community service. And then he complained outside the courthouse.