After being kicked out of the Village of Mundelein during the summer Truth Tour (see story), we vowed to return to the village. On September 6, thanks to the diligence of Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society Pro-Life Law Center in dealing with the Village of Mundelein attorney, the League brought the Tour back to Mundelein for two sites. However, the village still has far to go in respecting the rights of pro-lifers to protest abortion in the public square.
Mundelein Police required protestors to stay within a box spraypainted on the grass on the south side of Route 176, Sept 6 [Photo by EJS]
Pro-Lifers Literally Boxed In by Police
Upon arriving at the morning site across from Carmel High School on Route 176, we were instructed by Mundelein police to remain within a 50′ by 4′ box spraypainted on the grass on the south side of the street. This restriction dramatically reduced the impact of the display, which would normally have taken up an area three times that size on both sides of the street. Several protestors could not hold signs because there was not room for them within the box.
When the group moved on to the next site at Route 45 and Route 60, the scene of our ouster during the summer, police again insisted that we remain clumped together in a group, on the northeast corner of the intersection. However, Eric Scheidler was able to convince the deputy police chief to allow the protest to proceed as normal, pointing out that our signs are rendered useless when clustered together.
Mundelein Will Face Legal Action
We intend to pursue legal action against Mundelein for both the summer ouster and the restrictions imposed in September. Courts have recently sided with pro-life demonstrators in recent cases (see Activism Update).
