Hoffman Estates in a huff over tickets

Hoffman Estates Trustee Cary Collins said Monday night residents sent him messages over the weekend supporting his intervening on the behalf of several teens who received loitering tickets in June.

"I should have ran for governor myself," Collins said at the village board meeting.

The tickets weren't heard on Monday night. Instead, they're scheduled to be heard at the Aug. 16 adjudication hearing at the police station. Police continue to investigate why the tickets were issued.

The grandmother of one of the ticketed teens remains outraged at police. Louise Lawry said her 18-year-old grandson, Blake Thomas, was unfairly targeted by police who cited him for loitering.

"They're not troublemakers or anything; they're not out causing any problems," she said.

The tickets were supposed to be heard on July 19, but adjudication hearing officer Cheryl Axley never had the opportunity to see the citations. Lawry said she called Collins and complained about the tickets. Collins then showed up the night of the hearing and talked to police. The tickets, which come with a $50 fine, never made it to Assistant Attorney Dominick DiMaggio, who represents the village at the hearings.

Axley then sent an e-mail to Mayor William McLeod claiming Collins circumvented the hearing system, which was established three years ago, and persuaded police to throw out the tickets. Axley rules on noise violations and other minor infractions during night court, which meets twice a month.

DiMaggio said he didn't know for sure if the tickets would be heard, as police continue to investigate the incident. There's a chance the tickets, given to as many as eight teenagers, would be dismissed.

Police Chief Clinton Herdegen said the tickets would be heard and declined to comment further. He said a report would eventually be made to the village manager's office.

Lawry said she wants the tickets to be thrown out and that there shouldn't be a hearing. She said she witnessed the entire incident, and many of parents of the ticketed teens also were present while police were issuing tickets. She said she doesn't trust the police or Axley, adding that police entered her home illegally without permission.

Police issued the tickets near Barrington Square, which has been problematic with crime lately, Lawry said. She's lived there for 17 years and wants the area improved.

"I could see if the police came up and warned the kids at first, but they never warned them," Lawry said

Her grandson was ticketed on June 29 for loitering and for tinted car windows. Lawry said her grandson's car met the village guidelines for tinted windows.

Axley declined to comment for this report, as she prepared for Monday's hearings. Lawry said she took issue with Axley's e-mail, which described the ticketed teens walking out of the police station triumphant with their fists raised, happy to have beaten the system. Lawry wants an apology and doesn't want to be part of a hearing.

"If this had been outside of Hoffman Estates, if this was a hearing officer in Rolling Meadows, maybe," she said. "But to be honest, I don't feel like anybody, any law-enforcement person in Hoffman Estates, is going to be upfront and honest with us."

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<li><a href="/story/?id=397623">Hoffman Estates official: Trustee abused power at hearing <span class="date"> [7/31/10]</span></a></li>

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