Resident says Winfield trustee threatened him

Their feud goes back more than two decades but this time Winfield resident Stan Zegel says Trustee Tony Reyes pushed it too far, confronting Zegel in “a loud, hostile and threatening manner.”

The confrontation occurred after an Oct. 6 village board meeting during which Zegel, a local publisher, accused Reyes and Trustee Tim Allen of not complying with a Freedom of Information Act request concerning development along Roosevelt Road.

After the meeting, Reyes approached Zegel and told him he “had better not ever again accuse me of doing something illegal,” according to the complaint filed by Zegel with Winfield police and obtained by the Daily Herald.

The complaint says Reyes then shouted obscenities at Zegel and threatened to sue him. There was no physical contact, according to the complaint, but it says Reyes got within “a distance any reasonable person would know is threatening.”

Zegel accused Reyes in the complaint of assault, aggravated assault and official misconduct.

A spokesman for the Illinois State Police Department said Tuesday the matter has been passed along to the state, but that officials have not decided whether they will launch an investigation. The spokesman could not be reached Wednesday.

Winfield Police Chief Stacy Reever refused comment on the case.

Reyes said he has not seen the complaint. He said Zegel has harbored ill will toward him and other elected officials for nearly 25 years.

“Everybody has a breaking point, and I have put up with him for over 25 years,” Reyes said. “I have had enough. When I said what I said, I guarantee you the number of people in Winfield who have called and congratulated me has been enormous. He doesn’t let up.”

Reyes said he does not regret his actions.

“I wasn’t speaking just for me,” he said. “I was speaking on behalf of everyone in the village of Winfield who has been tortured by this creep ... He has no limits of how far he will go to destroy good public servants.”

Zegel denies he holds any personal vendetta against Reyes. Zegel said Reyes blames him for undermining his bid to become village president in 2009.

“This whole thing arose because he has not complied with the (Freedom of Information Act request),” Zegel said. “I have made my formal complaint and he doesn’t like the fact that it’s being brought out.”

At that Oct. 6 meeting, Zegel said he had filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s office after Reyes and Allen did not release emails related to development along Roosevelt Road. Reyes and Allen have been encouraging development of the area to increase village revenue since they took office in May. Zegel requested correspondence about their efforts.

After the meeting, Reyes approached and confronted Zegel.

Winfield police denied a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Daily Herald for the police report related to the incident citing an exemption that allows law enforcement to deny reports that are part of ongoing investigations.

Zegel says he has “no personal vendetta” against Reyes. “But he, of all people, should be following the law. When he makes residents fearful of coming to a board meeting because they may be assaulted, that is not appropriate conduct of an elected official.”

Zegel has been the head of two now-defunct local newspapers and started his publishing career with a neighborhood newsletter in 1990. His most recent publication, the Winfield Register, was often critical of Reyes when he served on local school boards. The paper also published several letters to the editor against Reyes’ bid for village president four days before the April 7, 2009 election.