Prejudice behind cycle cancellation
Shame on Grayslake Mayor Timothy Perry for canceling the Ironhorse Roundup Bike Show at the Lake County Fairgrounds less than 48 hours before it was to take place and without even having the guts to cite a credible reason for doing so.
I have attended every one of the events since 2005 and there has never been even a hint at any problems.
No Hell's Angels, no bad boys, just a large group of people and families gathered to listen to good music, eat great barbecue, spend some money with the vendors and ogle some beautiful motorcycles.
Mark Khayat, the reputable owner of Austin's Saloon and Eatery and promoter of the event has worked tirelessly over the last few years to bring an excellent motorcycle event to our area and the only one of its kind.
They expected 40,000 riders from the area and surrounding states to attend, who would have pumped money into the local economy at restaurants, gas stations, motels and other Lake County businesses.
Now thousands of them will mistakenly focus their anger and frustration at the promoter, who is obviously blameless, yet whose reputation will be tarnished.
And the money that Khayat has invested in the event, and now lost, will probably exceed six figures.
And all the vendors who set aside the date to attend the show will lose thousands of dollars of revenue that they can't make up.
The mayor had months to voice any concerns or make any changes to the event while in the planning stages and before a permit was issued and plans made.
This is a clear case of discrimination against motorcycle riders who are perceived as some threat to public safety.
Yet every year, 500,000 riders spend 10 days in Sturgis, S.D. without any serious problems, and small towns like Laconia, N.H., Lake George, N.Y., Myrtle Beach, S.C. attract tens of thousands of bikers for multi-day events without incidents.
I hope the promoter will be able to sue Grayslake for the lost monies so the citizens will know who to blame for their taxes going up to pay the judgments. Hopefully Mayor Perry will be out of a job.
Ken Glassman
Arlington Heights