I do.

[background] The lib mayor from Grayslake hated the gunshows. So she sent a couple of her PD into the show with the following instructions:

claim they were from Indiana
claim they left their DL's in their cars in the parking lot
attempt to buy ammo.

Out of 60 sellers, IIRC only 2 sold to these guys (both obviously over 21, but still a violation of state and fed law).

She used this as an excuse to shut the show down, claiming a "public safety issue", with her lapdog anti police chief heeled at her side.

Funny, though... she never had her PD attempt to purchase cars at the dealerships in her town w/o driver's licenses, or buy bait & poles w/o a fishing license.

F*ckin' b*tch.

Anyway, just wondering if any of y'all remember it.

I remember them.    I remember going not long after incident at Waco.  Someone was selling conspiracy videos about it.  I think the tinfoil was included ! !    he he

Oh, we remember it quite well. Doc here at M&A used to drag my tired @ss to the show every third Sunday of the month at 0400 hrs.

BTW- at every gun show the "tin hat brigade" is present.

The show was great, 850 tables at it's high point, "Bob" always came by here and loaded up his trailer with enough for four tables.... but the writing was on the wall.

The day Grayslake absorbed the Fairgrounds into their fair city... whay would any city take on the responsibility for services to a non-revenue producing, no-taxable chunk of land... maybe the last 100 acres of undeveloped land in the middle of the urban sprawl?

Why would Grayslake want land that has three major roads (including the threatened  I-355) and two Metra Train Lines within minutes of the property?

Convention center? Bears Stadium? How about Gambling? Can you say Casino?

Here's how it was really done.

The Mayor   Carey got her Police Chf   Larry to run some pals over and do the deed.

Guy walks up to table, asks for some oddball handgun ammo. Jap Nambu or something. Clerks says, FOID please. Buyer   shows Indiana ID. Deal is done. Not more than 5 minutes later, same buyer approaches same seller and says "Gimme some more of that stuiff". Deal gets done, this time no ID was demanded, Cuffs go on. Being a Michigan small time dealer, guy pleads-out to misdemeanor and minor fine. Why drive back and forth for three court appearances LCGS gets stuck with a   documented case.

Second thing, same day
Cops approach show management and advise that they have dealers that are in violation of the rules set down between promoter and village. Details read that all handguns must be tied to table. Cops point out that, altho these 56 handguns are tied to each other, they are not   tied to the table.

Also- unattended display cases are to be locked. See this closed display case? The rear hasp is closed and has a dog collar snap device through the loop, but it simply isn't a lock!

That's the way it went. The promoter, Mike, spent every penny on lawyers, including his personal accounts. NRA lawyers would take the case, but they wanted in on any future profits of the show. All in all, LCGS was bled dry, and that's the way they always win.

You might be right, but do you have the money to prove it?

One of our guys here at M&A, Doc, worked on the Security Team for LCGS and acted as an on-scene liason for press and polticians. He watched it all unfold and fought all the way down.

He sat in the lobby of the local PD (Where Larry was the Chief), all day during the "gun buy back day". He assisted the liason officer in opening an unfamiliar antique weapon. The only other thing brought in? Well, when the newspaper photog arrived, the Chief handed a single shot ancient (and slightly collectable) .22 short pump to his secretary, and had her walk around outside and bring it in to the foyer. Her cover was blown during the turn in as when she exited, she walked over to the interior security door and punched in the access code to go back to work.

Several comnmunity meetings, the mayor was presented with brooms to fly away and make her escape. (That was pretty damned funny). Brooms started appearing everywhere she went.  She did leave office, and left her protege to take over, a guy who also serves as a VP of the local Bank.

He ran against a pro-gun, pro-rights activist named Staci Braverman. The gossip mill was cranked up to full speed, and before you know it Staci had her water service disconnected and fines levied against her family by the water department... and on-and-on. You get the picture.

People came to these meetings and voiced their opinions. It mattered not. If you were against the show, it counted. Curiously, a contingent from the subdivision bordering the show to the West, "Hunter's Ridge" (of all names!) expressed fear for their safety... what with all the stray gunfire (?) and all.

What most people do not realize is that the Lake County Fair and Grounds is not some pastoral field that is owned by a bunch of hay suckin farmers in overalls. It is owned by a small insurance company, Farmer's Somethingortheother, which is owned by a small group of very wealthy land owning farmers in Lk County. They knew where the Fair was headed- no body wants dairy goats- they want Monster Trucks, Tractor Pulls and Tilt-a-Whirls. They saw the writing on the wall- they provided the spray paint and the wall.

Then we have the anti-gunners that are harassing Northbrook Sports Club in Hainesville.

Lawyer 'em to death with lawsuits. Doesn't matter if you're right. Just how much money do you have to prove it?

In Illinois, we have one day (Sunday) shows. There has never been anything close since. Damned shame. I do like sleeping later, anyhow.

Veronica at M and A Parts

Thanks Veronica for that inside look at how that show was done in. Very insightful.

There have been some recent rumblings about that land getting developed but I am not up on G Lake politics anymore.

I am reminded of goofs like that dealer made all the time. Just this morning the clerk, at a dealer I won't name, who most certainly did not know me says "I guess I will trust you" after merely asking me if I had a FOID card. He proceeded to let me in his vault and I insisted he look at my card before letting me handle a rifle.

Whether or not you think the FOID regs are BS or not ( of course they are), when there are lazy dealers and consumers who play lax with the law we will all pay.

JR

<grows misty eyed>

<far away look>

Yes, I remember.


Regards,

Michael
efxguy

Two things I miss most in life. Fox Valley and the old Lake County Gunshow. I got my first butterfly knife at the Lake County show in 1983.

Fox Valley was the greatest thing that we didn't know we had.

The long bench and table in front of the pond was the coolest. You cound throw in marshmallows or wood chips and blast away with .22 rifles until your fingers went numb.

It had a great foot release "trap" line, which altho no where near regulation trap, it did give new shooters a real introduction to the game.

The rifle ranges were fine, the pistol was a little ugly, but what the heck.

They got some pressure from the local powers because some drive-by shootings (that hit some siding with 762x39 slugs) got passed off as "escaped bullets" so they had to build all sorts of extended awnings and roofs.

The final nail in the coffin? The owner was offered metric cubic dollars to use it as a building site for Federal Section 8 Housing.

That should have cut down on the gun fire... a little bit, maybe.

They're running us out of town.

Veronica at M and A Parts

Not to thread hijack, but  I moved back from St. Louis to my current location in part as it was near to Fox Valley. (Well, really as it was close to my wife's work) I came to find that it has since closed.  hen Some of the local residents there thought it would be fun to try to run me off the road on my bicycle. Then cam back and tried again.had
efxguy

There have been article written about the fairgrounds saying Grayslake is going to (wants to?) develop the sight into an upscale shopping area and the fairgrounds will be moved into a less populated section....I haven't seen anything on it recently...

Done deal - from "idea" to "over" in something like two weeks.

Like these guys didn;t have all this shit lined up in advance.

Believe that, And I've got oceanfront property in AZ to sell you.

From the Waukegan News Sun

County adopts fair plans Sewer, traffic: Mall developer to be named By Frank Abderholden STAFF WRITER It was a long County Board meeting Tuesday as residents surrounding the Lake County Fairgrounds cautioned officials about approving a sewer and transportation agreement with Grayslake that could lead to a commercial and residential development on the 112-acre site. But the board approved the two measures after nearly four hours of discussion. Members of the Lake County Farm Bureau and the Lake County Fair Association were ecstatic after the vote. "It's a win-win for all those involved," said Gregory Koeppen, manager of the farm bureau. Peter Tekampe, who is on the fair association board and a farmer from Fremont Township, said the County Board vote "allows us to take the first step," he said, which is to hire a planner to design the new fairgrounds that would be located at the old Titus Farm south of Grayslake on Peterson Road. Both he and Koeppen said there will be an announcement and press conference, possibly by Aug. 22, announcing who the developer is for the old fairgrounds. "We'll have a press conference and put a little more light on it," he said. "There have been several hurdles we'd have had to jump over," Tekampe said, "but we couldn't entice a developer until we could offer sewer." What they needed from the County Board was an amendment to the sewer disposal agreement between the county and Grayslake for 62 acres of the property. That was adopted by a vote of 15 to 5 and one abstention. Board member Robert Powers of Round Lake Beach abstained from both votes because he is a member of the fair association. Those voting "no" included Sandy Cole of Grayslake, Larry Leafblad of Highland Lake, Steve Carlson of Grandwood Park, Ann Maine of Lincolnshire and Anne Bassi of Highland Park. The next agenda item was a resolution for a transportation agreement between Grayslake and the county to address various transportation matters concerning the development of the fairgrounds, including a $60,000 traffic study. That vote was 17 to 3 with Cole, Leafblad and Carlson voting "no." The major concern of the County Board revolved around the timing of a traffic study the village of Grayslake has agreed to fund, either through municipal or developer funds. Cole said that considering different people backing the development have said there would be a large mall, 250 townhomes and a "big box" retailer on the property, possibly a Costco, the county should be able to have a traffic study done before approving amending the sewer agreement. "The impact of these three entities isn't a mystery. It's still X number of cars going in and out of the mall. We need to know what is the plan for development," she said. No one will name the developer that is negotiating with the farm bureau and fair association, which owns the property. Those representatives have said they have talked to several developers, but no one is willing to put forth a plan until they know they can get sewer for the 62 acres in the county's sewer jurisdiction. "Maybe we shouldn't give approval until they have a plan," Cole said. "We will have nothing more to say on the matter if its approved today," Carlson said. "Why the rush? Why not have all the information?" Martin Buehler, director of the county's Division of Transportation, addressed the board after the public had a chance to speak before the vote. "To do a traffic impact study you have to know what the development is and we don't know what the plan is," he noted. "I can't do a traffic study right now because there is no information." He said the county would still have some control because there will be a certified letter of credit for the cost of traffic improvements the county will control. "The county will be responsible to make sure (the improvements) happen. (The county) can use the letter of credit money," he said. If the village says they don't want to give a letter of credit than the county wouldn't issue permits for the sewer. He also said the board had an opportunity because roads that the county wanted to improve with the failed transportation tax referendums can be made through the development, like widening routes 45 and 120. "This impacts my constituency," said Cole after the vote. "I want to see protection for these folks." She said she would continue to make an effort to keep people in her district in the unincorporated area around Grayslake, like Gages Lake and Wildwood, informed as the development moves through the village's planning and zoning and Village Board stages. County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt of Lake Villa said many of the board members agree commercial development should be developed on the property, specifically the 62 acres that the county has some control over. The other 50 acres already is in Grayslake and residential can be built on that part of the property. "I honestly believe we have enough stop-gap measures in place," she said. "The only way to get some of these road projects done is to get the developers to do it. I look at this as an avenue to get the roads fixed. "Congestion isn't going to go away," she added. "All we can do is mitigate as much as possible." She noted Grayslake High School officials are in favor of the project because of the commercial aspect and so is the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce and some residents. She said she also has received calls from residents against the project. She also likes the fact the Titus farm will be used as the new fairgrounds site, preserving some of that heritage farm that has been around since before 1900. "Of course, I would like it to stay the way it is, but that's not my decision," said Schmidt. "There are enough stop-gap measures that it will come to a halt" if the village doesn't live up to its end of the bargain. Farm Bureau manager Koeppen said that with the sale of the Grayslake property the fair association will be able to build a state-of-the-art facility that will have more year-round use. "It will be a fairgrounds like you've never seen before," he said.

Maybe if it's actually out of Grayslake coroporate limits they can get the show up and running again.