Board attorney, Kate Yargus, could be heard on video saying there would be no public comment that night, and told the board members they were “free to go,” even after Kraft’s citizen’s arrest announcement. She tried to cite statute to Kraft, but before she could finish, he said, “Just sit down, you are making yourself look like a fool.”
By relentlessly pursuing justice for even the smallest infractions by bureaucrats and politicians, the Edgar County Watchdogs have driven 102 public officials to resign from their posts, including 33 officials in Edgar County alone. The pair busted the mayor of Redmond for attempting to hold office while living out of town. They represented themselves in court and beat Illinois Assistant Attorney General Emma Steimel in a lawsuit seeking access to state e-mails. Officials who have resigned due to the Watchdogs’ efforts include a property tax assessor, the Edgar County board chairman, an entire airport board and its manager, the attorney for Kansas Township’s fire department, Shiloh’s superintendent of schools, and Effingham’s health department administrator, among others. After they exposed corrupt, illegal, and self-serving spending habits by the Ford-Iroquois County health department, the entire bureaucracy was dissolved. In some cases, federal agents have even stepped in to investigate and issue subpoenas to local officials after receiving tips from Kraft and Allen.
The first conflict of the American Revolution might be said to be the result of the Stamp Act of 1765. In August of 1765, Andrew Oliver, the stamp agent in Boston was hung in effigy from the Liberty Tree and forced to resign his commission.
"What a greater Joy did ever New England see
Than a Stampman hanging on a Tree".Lt. Gov Hutchinson and the sheriff attempted to break up the crowd around midnight only to be driven off by a hail of stones and harsh commentary.
A couple of weeks later a crowd gathered and lit a bonfire on King St in Boston. They then moved on to the house of William Story, a Crown agent in the admiralty court. The crowd swarmed the house, destroying Story's papers and his furnishings as well as Court records held there.
The crowd then moved on to the home of Boston's Controller of Customs, Benjamin Hallowell. They tore down his fence, broke out his windows, stormed the house and stripped it of contents.
The next target of the night was Hutchinson's home. The Lt. Gov. had gotten warning and sent his family to safety. But his eldest daughter had returned and declared she would stay unless Hutchinson also departed. Hutchinson retreated with her to a neighbor's house. The crowd did its work again and left only a shell and a partial roof to greet the dawn.
Thus our ancestors met overreaching government. It was not the last battle but merely a beginning. There followed the Declaratory Act and the Townsend Acts and the Tea Act. Martial law and direct resistance pushed back and forth until "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" and then it was game on.
The sheriff arrested six of the board members. The seventh board member was not arrested because he voted against the other members. As they were escorted out of the building, the crowd cheered.
This is Exactly what needs to happen Nationwide!!
Hopefully this will catch on across the nation, the republican congress could learn something here, but they won’t, so they should find themselves subject to arrest also for failing to adhere to their constitutional duties.
This is a great story!
ping!
Way past time for another Battle of Athens in this country on a national basis. By any other name that would be called a Civil War. Past time for that as well.
In the span of about 10 miles in County, Oklahoma are three very small independent school districts. Each with a Superintendent and full compliment of “support employees”. The head of each snake is paid a bout $170K a year of taxpayer money and a handsome benefit package that just about nobody in the community can even dream of. Pretty damn ridiculous I’d say.
We pay $13,00 a year for each child’s education in the US. That is $390,000 per 30 student class. The teacher may get $75K in wages and benefits. The other $315,000 goes for the building, utilities and “support” staff. We got by with teachers, a secretary, a janitor and ONE principal in the 500 student grade school I went to 50 years ago. I don’t think we had the equivalent of 500 x 10,500 = $5.25 MILLION a year in overhead for the building, janitor, secretary and principal.
Hope and change we can live with, and need to support.
Those who now govern are so bad that citizens must intervene. The watchdog group may be only the lead in to the coming Social War.
That's impressive. Kudos to these patriots.
It is starting, thank goodness. It will spread faster as successes mount and are shared. We all like power, and in America the power is ours - we the people - so no regrets whatsoever about exercising it, fully.
This is something that FReepers in every state and locality should feel obligate to do. We are probably the best equipped.