No charges after Waukegan alderman killed sick raccoon with tire iron

A Waukegan alderman who beat a sick raccoon to death with a tire iron last month will not be charged with a crime, and some residents, including the woman who witnessed the beating, are not happy about it, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Waukegan resident Carol Alleman spotted a raccoon behind her house acting disoriented and said she planned to keep an eye on it until an animal control officer could pick it up. She went into her house briefly, but when she came out she saw Alderman Larry TenPas "whaling" on the raccoon.

"I saw him hit it 12 times at least," Alleman told the Tribune. "The raccoon was suffering. It was trying to get away from him and it wasn't able to. I was sickened."

TenPas, 81, said he took matters into his own hands after hearing about the raccoon from another resident. TenPas said he thought the raccoon was showing signs of rabies or distemper and was concerned about the safety of the kids in the neighborhood.

According to the Tribune's report, Mayor Wayne Motley said aldermen are not authorized to take care of nuisance animals but added that TenPas told him he felt it was an emergency. Motley said he would not have a problem if a regular citizen did the same thing.