QUESTIONABLE RUMOR CANCELS BIKE RALLY

Citing rumors of planned biker violence, the Village of Grayslake, Illinois, revoked a permit granted to use the Lake County Fairgrounds for a motorcycle gathering just a day before the event was to take place. The reason: fears and predictions of “biker gang” violence by the Illinois State Police's Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center.

The Ironhorse Roundup Bike Show is sponsored by Austin's Saloon in Libertyville, where the roundup show had been held previously. Mark Khayat, owner of Austin's, made plans to move the popular event due to its growing popularity. Some 40,000 people were expected to attend.

Organizers had spent the week finalizing details of the event only to learn late Friday afternoon the village of Grayslake had yanked its permit to use the Lake County Fairgrounds. Grayslake officials informed Khayat of the decision around 4:30 p.m. Friday shortly before closing.

"I went to the village directly and everybody scattered," Khayat said. “No one would talk to me.”

Grayslake leaders refused to give reasons other than a terse statement citing "circumstances which threaten the health and public safety" of the village and visitors.
However, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said the Illinois State Police's Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center received information that members of the Outlaws and Hells Lovers motorcycle clubs would be in attendance and passed it on to Grayslake. Curran added federal authorities have identified the Outlaws MC as an international criminal organization.

"They've been around for as long as most street gangs have been around," Curran said. "They're bad guys, they're involved in homicides and drug dealing."

The information passed on to Grayslake Police Chief, Larry Herzog, was that the Outlaws and Hells Lovers planned to settle a score at the event.

The fallout was immediate, with vendors and attendees suffering the immediate impact.
"We've got people who rode here, they spent money on food and got their bikes ready. It's a real let-down," Khayat said. "There's people staying in hotels from Colorado and Wyoming; and they get this."

Khayat held a scaled-down version of the event at his Libertyville bar which saw about 1000 attend. But it was little consolation for the underhanded tactics of the Village and a poor replacement for all the hard work and jumping through hoops to get ready for the event. Austin's Saloon and the Lake County Fair Association spent thousands of dollars on preparation.

Khayat said legal action is an option he's considering. Lawyer Pete Naylor met with Khayat for about an hour the week after the cancellation and said he likely will seek a class-action lawsuit against Grayslake on behalf of various businesses that were harmed by the cancellation.

Naylor is part of the Hupy and Abraham Law Firm, which represents motorcyclists, and successfully defended a club that was booted from Milwaukee's Summerfest five years ago for insignias the members were wearing.

Aside from the immediate fallout, there have been bigger, and potentially more damaging ramifications for Grayslake.

Buzz Walneck, owner of Walneck's Inc., faxed a letter to Lake County Fair Association officials to inform them that he would no longer hold swap meets at the Grayslake site. Walneck, who, with his wife, Pixie, sponsors about 16 swap meets a year throughout the Midwest. They have held two or three events a year at the Lake County Fairgrounds during the past five years, usually attracting 2,000 people and 300 vendors.

Walneck said in his letter that he was canceling the June 22 and Nov. 16 swap meets "and any future events with you" out of fear that his events also would be canceled.

"Right now the name of the village is tainted among the motorcycle community," Walneck said. "We put our reputation on the line. If it could happen one time, it could happen to us."

Dave DeYoung, president of the Lake County Fair Association, said he was disappointed at losing the Walnecks events, and hoped to work with the village and the Walnecks to bring back the swap meet.

Local public opinion is decidedly against the action taken by the village. Wisconsin radio station WIIL-FM, which is just across the state line in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, jumped into the fray with a protest of Grayslake's move. The station dumped its rock music programming for three hours in favor of talk and comments about the Grayslake move. WIIL was a sponsor of the Ironhorse Roundup.

Chief Herzog and Grayslake Mayor Timothy Perry remain defiant. Despite the uproar and likelihood of legal action, both say they would make the same decision again.
"The decision was easy," Herzog said. "The discussion among Grayslake officials was very difficult concerning the expected aftermath of our decision. Everyone assumes that what could have happened would have been contained to the fairgrounds. I can't guarantee that."

Herzog said the factors involved went beyond worry about the fairgrounds and the immediate area, and pointed out residential neighborhoods are near the fairgrounds site.
Perry, the mayor, said he’d rather be safe than sorry.

"Whether it's a cat show, a quilt show or a bike show, I am always going to err on the side of caution," Perry said.

Perry and the Village leaders sat through withering public comments at a board meeting the week following their decision. Most, if not all, comments were critical of the action taken.

Dan Harper, legislative coordinator from the ABATE of Illinois, addressed the board.
"You discriminated against a whole class of people," Harper told the Grayslake village board, echoing similar comments. "Yes, it was discrimination."

Harper later filed a Freedom of Information request with Perry and the Village demanding documents with details about the cited threat.

Dave White, a biker from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, said it would take a while to overcome the damage Grayslake has done to local bikers.

"It's really caused a lot of consternation among the clubs and individuals that do charity work, year after year after year," White said. “Most of us are good people who just like to ride motorcycles, and you treat us as something less than yourselves.”