Clik here to view.
Seats were filled at Grant Park’s Village Board meeting, and two residents spoke during public comment regarding Village President Jamie Hawkins’ January 27 arrest.
At one point during the brief public comments, Hawkins called the meeting to order and threatened to remove an audience member, who repeatedly spoke out of turn.
Following the public comments, Hawkins read a prepared statement that indicated Trustee Ben Detloff had requested Hawkins’ resignation.
“I would like to say that on January 27, I was involved in a private family matter that did result in my sister’s and my arrest. This matter is an open investigation, and I am unable to answer questions or make any comments,” Hawkins read.
“For trustees who were not aware of the meeting requested of me by Trustee Detloff on Thursday, January 30, at 4 p.m., Trustee Detloff informed me that he feels I should step down as village president and also asked me not to volunteer at the upcoming Cabin Fever Reliever. I did inform Trustee Detloff my personal matter has nothing to do with the rest of my term as village president, and I intend to continue as planned before my unfortunate personal matter did come into light. So that is enough, and that is all that is going to be said at this meeting on the matter,” Hawkins said.
The Vedette obtained the police report of the incident, which was, as Hawkins said, a family incident. The report included a brief narrative revealing the victim, later revealed to be Hawkins’ sister but redacted in the report, had allegedly driven while intoxicated with a one-year-old baby in the vehicle.
This reportedly enraged Hawkins and caused her to “lose it,” throwing the victim to the ground and punching her. The report noted Hawkins was sober at the time of the alleged beating but indicated the victim was given a breathalyzer, which resulted in a .27 BAC and subsequent DUI charge.
The report also indicated that neither Hawkins nor the victim sought medical attention. Hawkins will return to Kankakee County Court on February 20 to face two Class A misdemeanor battery charges.
The rest of the meeting went on business as usual.
Hawkins reported that village engineer Neil Piggush was on the mend following his stroke, which he advised was a result of a chiropractic injury.
Additionally, Hawkins did get an estimate for a sign for Trey Boecker, which was approved for $183.76.
The issue of whether the village hall and park should be painted was on the agenda, but the board wanted a quote before deciding whether to proceed. Hawkins said she would get quotes and explained she hadn’t done the work to get the quotes because she was unsure if the board wanted to continue with updates. Ultimately, she would get quotes for painting, replacing the ceiling tiles, and for ServPro to clean the kitchen.
Hawkins also explained she met with ServPro at Flanagan’s Pub, whereupon she noticed some retired people hanging out. She asked what they thought about the village opening up the park building for recreation, to which they responded that they liked that idea. The board planned to look into the cost of heating the building to see if that would be feasible.
Another item Hawkins brought up was country line dancing, which would be taught by a local resident at the park district on Thursday evening, at 6 p.m., for one hour. It would be free for residents to do something. She advised no rental fee would be paid, but if anyone on the board had an issue with it, she would cover the cost. No one voiced any concerns.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.
The post Grant Park Residents Seek Answers Following Village President’s Arrest appeared first on Southwest Regional Publishing.