Mayor speaks about suddenly cancelled motorcycle event
The Staff of Clutch and Chrome
May 5th 2008
Officials who
cancelled the permit for a motorcycle event in Grayslake,
located north of Chicago in Illinois are finally giving
reasons beyond the initial two paragraph press release
originally issued on
Friday.
Grayslake
Mayor Timothy Perry said the show was canceled because
Illinois State Police and a regional gang task force
received word Friday that members of the rival Outlaws and
Hell's Lovers reportedly had a score to settle and would do
it at the Ironhorse Roundup, the event cancelled with only
two days notice.
According to
reports, police Chief Larry Herzog told the Mayor public
safety could not be guaranteed without at least 20
additional officers assigned to the fairgrounds. However,
the organizers of the rally had previously arranged for more
security, including many from the Grayslake police force.
Organizers
are complaining of profiling by local officials. The
previous three years of the event had no record of incidents
or arrests and was only moved to the fairgrounds, which
required a permit from the Village of Grayslake due to an
expected larger turnout.
With Motley
Crue's Vince Neil scheduled to headline and as many as
35,000 people to attend this year, organizers began working
with city officials more than a month ago and were upset
officials didn't come forward with concerns earlier so a
solution could be found to keep the event open.
Many have
pointed out that rival motorcycle clubs attend many
motorcycle events throughout the year without major
incidents.
Because the
it had been cancelled without much notice, thousands of
riders were already on the road and arrived on Sunday for
the motorcycle event. After police turned the bikers away,
they either took advantage of local rides or went to
Austin's Saloon in Libertyville, owned by the organizer of
the Ironhorse Roundup Bike Show and the rally's former home.
Even locals
who didn't enjoy motorcycles understood the sudden influx of
bikes and according to local reports, didn't seem to mind
the impromptu event. |
