Chesterton sent email invitation for council meeting, but commissioner says he didn't get it
The Town of Chesterton on its Facebook page posted Darnell's invitation email, sent on behalf of all five council members, as a rebuttal to a statement from Biggs made to the Post-Tribune on Monday that he 'was never formally invited through email, phone call or written letter to attend this meeting.'
But Biggs, R-North, said that he never received the email from Darnell. He said he had the county's IT Department review the email account for July 3 and posted screenshots on his Facebook page, which did not show an email from Darnell.
Among the things the council wanted to discuss with Biggs was his call for the Chesterton/Porter dispatch center to join the Porter County E911 system on June 18, about 75 minutes after Chesterton's police-involved shooting. An officer was wounded and Joseph Gerber, 45, died from a self-inflicted gunshot after being hit several times during a gunfire exchange in front of the Hilton Garden Inn on Gateway Boulevard. The Indiana State Police are investigating.
In addition, the Chesterton Town Council, with the support of Porter's town council, has called for the resignation of Debby Gunn, the director of the county E911 system, for her remarks about the performance of the Chesterton/Porter dispatch center. The county has contended that it took nearly five minutes to call an ambulance to the shooting scene at the Hilton Inn, which Chesterton and Porter denied.
A possible explanation for why Biggs didn't receive the email is Darnell sent it to Biggs at a porterco.org address, which was listed as the contact information on the county website, said Kevin Nevers, Chesterton's spokesman. The county changed its email domain name during the past year. The website now lists the email for Biggs with the correct portercountyin.gov address.
However, Biggs said that even if an email was sent to the old address, he should have received it. Biggs said after he learned that the old email address was on his commissioner page website, he called and had it changed this week.
Darnell's email invitation called upon Biggs to come to the meeting 'to openly discuss the concerns and topics you raised during your July 1 press conference.'
'As you rightly stated, this is not about any one individual or group – it is about our residents and the broader community. With that in mind, we believe that any meaningful discussion regarding public safety, inter-agency communication, and improving collaboration between the town and the county should be held in a transparent and public forum.'
'Your presence would provide an opportunity for both the Council and our community members to engage directly with you, ask questions, and work together toward shared solutions. Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you are available to attend. We hope that you will take the opportunity to join us in fostering open, constructive dialogue on issues that affect us all,' the invitation email states.
When asked if he would have attended the July 14 meeting if he had received and read the email, Biggs replied: 'Had I received it, I would have taken that as an olive branch of sorts.'
Biggs, who lives in Chesterton, said he would have followed up with a phone call to Darnell, whom he has known for years. He said he would want to know exactly what was going to be discussed to determine if he would have come to the July 14 meeting.
At this point, Biggs said he didn't want to get into an 'argument' or an 'inquisition.' He said he would be open to meeting with Darnell.
The Post-Tribune contacted Darnell via email, and she didn't reply. Darnell during the meeting Monday stated her disappointment that Biggs wasn't there.
'I am not a person who likes to meet anywhere but in a public forum,' Darnell said. 'Maybe we'll figure something else out, but that's the only way we're going to figure this whole thing out. We're not going to do it in a closed room.'
Porter County has reached out to Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson, along with new Porter Police Chief Dan Dickey, to discuss ways that the E911 system could improve the working relationship with the Chesterton/Porter Police dispatch, Biggs said.
Biggs said that Chesterton and Porter certainly can keep their dispatch center, and he doesn't fault the performance of the Porter Police dispatcher the morning of June 18. He said that the local dispatch, though, doesn't have the capabilities of the E911 system. He said the problem is when Chesterton or Porter police need an ambulance, they have to call the E911 dispatch and there can be a delay. On the morning of June 18, an E911 dispatcher happened to hear the radio transmission of the officer being shot and immediately dispatched an ambulance.
The financial realities posed by Senate Bill 1, in which town governments are projected to lose revenue, could cause a reconsideration by Chesterton and Porter in the coming years, Biggs said. The E911 system already handles 911 calls, fire and ambulance dispatch for the two communities.
Councilwoman Erin Collins, D-2nd, who with Darnell briefly met with Biggs after his July 1 news conference, said that the intent of inviting Biggs to the Town Council meeting 'was not an ambush.'
'He has concerns, we want to hear them in a public setting,' Collins said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Brother of NFL legend Pat Tillman arrested after fiery car crash into California post office
The brother of NFL player-turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman was arrested on Sunday morning after he was part of a car crash that resulted in a post office catching fire, Police in San Jose, California, are investigating a crash that occurred around 3 am local time, according to NBC Bay Area. Richard Tillman, Pat Tillman's brother, was taken into custody by police investigating the fire. When police arrived at the scene, they found that a vehicle had been driven into the post office and had caught fire. That fire spread to the building. Richard Tillman identified himself to police at the scene and allegedly told officers he was Pat Tillman's brother and that he'd been livestreaming the entire incident. No injuries were reported as result of the crash and subsequent fire. This photo provided by the San Jose Fire Department shows firefighters responding to a fire burning after a car crashed into the Post Office, early Sunday, July 20, 2025, in San Jose, California. Richard Tillman, the brother of NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman, was arrested in connection to the crash Richard was booked into jail on Sunday, but he has not presently been charged with any crimes. No bail has been set for his release as of Sunday, but a court date was set for him on July 23. Pat Tillman, walked away from a promising NFL career and joined the U.S. Army Rangers in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and became critical of the war, calling it at one point "f****** illegal," according to SF GATE. The NLF player-turned soldier was killed in April 2004. The U.S. Army initially claimed that he died when his unit was ambushed by Afghan forces, but a later investigation revealed he was killed by friendly fire. NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman. Tillman's brother, Richard, was arrested in July 2025 in connection with a car crash in San Jose, California, that resulted in a postal office catching fire An Army investigation concluded that Pat Tillman had been shot on accident during a firefight. During Pat Tillman's funeral service in 2004, Richard caused a stir when he pushed back against other speakers who insisted that his brother was "with God" after he was killed fighting a war he'd criticized. 'He's not with God. He's f***** dead. He's not religious,' Richard said at the time. 'So thanks for your thoughts, but he's f****** dead.'
Fox News
9 hours ago
- Fox News
Brother of NFL hero Pat Tillman taken into custody after dramatic fiery crash into California post office
The brother of late NFL legend and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman was involved in an early Sunday morning car crash that caused a post office to catch on fire. San Jose Police are investigating a crash that occurred around 3 a.m. local time at the post office in question, per NBC Bay Area, and Richard Tillman was the main suspect as he was taken into custody in relation to the fire. When police arrived, they found a vehicle drove into the post office and caught on fire, which also caused the building to flame up. Richard Tillman also told officers that he was Pat Tillman's brother at the scene, according to the outlet. He said he was live streaming the situation on social media as well. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office jail records confirm Richard Tillman was booked on Sunday, though no charges have been made publicly known. He also does not have a bail amount with a court appearance scheduled for July 23. San Jose Police is working with San Jose Fire Department arson investigators, as well as the US Postal Inspectors, to determine who will lead the investigation into how the fire occurred in the building. Pat Tillman was an NFL star for the Arizona Cardinals who famously left his career in football to enlist in the United States Army in May 2002. The decision came after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Tillman served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger, making several combat tours before being killed in the Afghanistan mountains. While it was initially reported that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, the Pentagon told his family that he was killed by friendly fire. In 2007, the Pentagon ruled that Tillman's death was accidental. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Chicago Tribune
21 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago-area children get deportation letters: Leave or ‘the federal government will find you'
Thirteen-year-old Xally Morales stared blankly at a letter she received from the Department of Homeland Security last month. She could not read the dozens of lines in English addressed to her. She arrived in the country from Mexico a little over seven months ago, crossing the southern border in search of safety. Xally knows very little English. 'They say I have to leave the country immediately,' the young teen whispered in Spanish, barely meeting anyone's eyes at a Chicago law firm on a recent Friday afternoon. No explanation. No hearing. And no time. The night she received the letter, she said, the family went into hiding after her older sister translated the letter for her. 'Trump wants me to go back to Mexico. But how can I do that alone?' Xally told the Tribune. 'I'm scared ICE will come for me.' Xally is one of at least 12 children in the Waukegan area — all unaccompanied minors from Mexico — who received sudden deportation letters from DHS last month, according to advocates. All of the girls legally entered the country within the past year under humanitarian parole as unaccompanied minors and were later reunited with undocumented parents or other family already living in the U.S. But despite that reunification, the girls are unable to be legally represented by their parents in immigration court due to the way they entered the country. Immigration advocates warn that these cases are becoming more common, with a growing number of children now receiving letters from DHS ending their humanitarian parole. They say this could signal a troubling shift under the Trump administration: a move to strip asylum protections from children, even those with pending claims, and accelerate the deportation of minors without due process. 'Do not attempt to unlawfully remain in the United States — the Federal Government will find you,' the June 20 letter reads. Unless their families can find and afford scarce legal representation, the children could be at risk of getting detained or could be forced to face a judge alone, advocates and attorneys said. But an assistant secretary of DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, in an emailed statement to the Tribune said that 'accusations that ICE is 'targeting' children are FALSE and an attempt to demonize law enforcement.' McLaughlin added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'does not 'target' children nor does it deport children.' The agency also does not separate families, she said in the statement. Instead, 'ICE asks mothers if they want to be removed with their children or if the child should be placed with someone safe whom the parent designates.' But questions regarding why letters are being sent to unaccompanied minors, like Xally, and what the protocol is to deport them, as stated in the letter, were left unanswered. Sitting next to her mother in the law office that afternoon, she held her hand tight. Since receiving the letter, the two had been staying at a Waukegan church because they were afraid that ICE agents would suddenly show up to their home and take Xally. Her mother, Francisca Petra Guzman, 48, arrived in the country in January, also as an asylum-seeker. The two, she said, ran away from domestic abuse and death threats. But churches are no longer a safe refuge. Instead, the pastor of the church, longtime activist Julie Contreras, escorted the mother and daughter to meet with a group of attorneys who could help them understand their options: return to the country they fled, possibly together to avoid detention, or remain in the U.S. for safety. 'As much as I tried, I couldn't provide for Xally in Mexico. I couldn't keep her safe,' Guzman said. 'Then my health started to decline. We had no other option than to come here.' Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, DHS began widely sending these letters. While the agency has always had the discretion to revoke any type of parole, the practice has expanded significantly under his administration, according to the legal and immigration experts. Minors, however, had not been targeted until now. Still, the letter may not mean that ICE will in fact show up to the family's home or their school to deport the children, said immigration attorney John Antia. Many of these children may qualify for other forms of legal protection, Antia said. The first step is meeting with an experienced immigration lawyer. That's something, however, that's often out of reach for families due to financial hardship or lack of understanding about their rights. 'Whether ICE can lawfully detain these children largely depends on each child's immigration status and individual circumstances,' Antia said. When he learned that Xally and other children were taking sanctuary at a Waukegan church after getting the letters, he offered to meet with them, attempting to ease their anxiety and fear. 'The reality is that under this administration, no one is safe anywhere. They (immigration authorities) are unpredictable and desperate to meet a quota even if it means detaining a child,' Antia said. 'This administration doesn't care whether you are in the hospital, whether you are in the courthouse, whether you are in your home, definitely not at church.' While Xally and her mother didn't leave the law office with clear answers about their future, they said they felt a small sense of hope. The attorneys said they would explore legal options to help Xally stay in the country, or at the very least, protect her from detention. They returned to the church, packed their bags and went home. The fear, however, lingers more than ever. Every morning, Xally wakes up wondering if agents will show up at her door the way they have been showing up to other homes in Waukegan and other cities near Chicago. The girl and her mother avoid going out altogether, spending most days watching TV, doing her nails, writing or reading. 'When I begin to feel anxious, I pray,' Xally said as she scrolled though a photo of her late father on her cellphone background. Her nails are painted in bright pink polish and glitter. She painted them while she was staying at the church with other children who received similar letters from DHS. She said she is used to living in fear since she lived in Mexico. Only briefly after arriving did she think her life would take a turn for the best. Xally still remembers the day she first saw Lake Michigan after arriving in the Chicago area. It was Sept. 19 of last year. Before that, she had spent nearly a month in a Texas federal facility run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, surrounded by other children who, like her, had crossed the southern border seeking asylum. 'More than scared, I was nervous and excited,' Xally said. She was eager to leave behind a life marked by pain and instability after her father died from COVID over five years ago. When her mother remarried, they found themselves trapped in an abusive household, her mother recalled. As the threats heightened, her mother desperately searched for a way to protect her youngest daughter. At first, she left Xally with her elderly grandmother in their impoverished Mexican hometown. But soon, Guzman realized her best option was to send Xally to the United States, where her older sisters — both U.S.-born — lived. Guzman herself had lived in the U.S. unauthorized as a teenager. It was where she met Xally's father. The couple decided to return to Mexico when Xally's grandfather was on his deathbed and they wanted to see one last time. Shortly after, Xally was born. With the help of Contreras, founder of United Giving Hope, an organization supporting immigrant families in suburban Illinois, Xally was granted humanitarian parole as an unaccompanied minor and successfully reunited with her older sisters in Waukegan. 'It was a new start for a young girl with big dreams,' Contreras said. 'She arrived at a place of safety every child deserves.' Over the past decade, Contreras has helped hundreds of children and mothers legally cross the southern border seeking asylum, assisting with paperwork and connecting them to attorneys to support their cases. But now, about a dozen of those children, including Xally, have received letters from DHS ordering them to leave the country. 'This is deeply concerning and alarming,' Contreras said. 'These children are not the criminals Trump claimed ICE would target. They are victims of human rights violations and are being terrorized. Even if ICE doesn't come for them immediately, the threat alone causes severe psychological trauma.' While Xally and her mother choose to endure the uncertainty, others cannot bear it and have opted to return to their native towns. Even when it means facing danger, Contreras said. Sixteen-year-old Daneli Mendez, who arrived in the Chicago area last October, decided to go back to her native Veracruz, Mexico. After staying at the church with Contreras for nearly a week, terrified that ICE would arrive and arrest her, Daneli told her family she would rather return voluntarily than risk detention. The girl has heard of others being detained in detention centers in poor conditions for undetermined amounts of time. Most recently, a 15-year-old Mexican boy was reportedly arrested by federal authorities and taken to Alligator Alcatraz, a notorious detention facility in Florida. On July 5, just a day after Independence Day, Contreras escorted Daneli to O'Hare International Airport and watched as the young girl boarded a flight back to the country she once fled. 'It's heartbreaking to see their dreams shattered. But this is about more than dreams, it's about their safety,' Contreras said. Daneli returned with nothing but a small backpack, a few English words she had learned, and a broken heart, leaving her family behind once again. 'She would much rather do that than be detained and deported,' Contreras said. Under U.S. immigration law, unaccompanied minors, children under 18 who arrive at the border without a parent or legal guardian, are supposed to receive special protections. They are typically placed under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and granted humanitarian parole while their cases are processed. But in recent months, immigration advocates and attorneys say the system is being quietly dismantled. 'We're seeing more and more unaccompanied minors having their parole revoked and being thrown into immigration proceedings where they're completely unequipped to defend themselves,' said Davina Casa, pastor and leader of the Monarchy Organization. The group provides legal guidance and other services for immigrants in Illinois. Its main goal is to reunify families. Casas and Contreras have worked closely together to help Xally and other children arrive safely in the United States. What's more concerning, she said, is that in March, the Trump administration cut federal funding for legal representation for unaccompanied minors. Only after 11 immigrant groups sued, saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys, did a court order temporarily restore the funding, but the case is still ongoing. Those groups argued that the government has an obligation under a 2008 anti-trafficking law to provide vulnerable children with legal counsel. That same law requires safe repatriation of the children. But Casas is skeptical of that. Even if the funding has been restored, the demand can't keep up. In April, more than 8,300 children ages 11 and under were ordered deported by immigration courts. That is the highest number for that age group in any month since tracking began over 35 years ago, according to court data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, as first reported by The Independent. Since Trump took office in January, judges have ordered the removal of over 53,000 immigrant children, according to the data collected. Most of those children are elementary school age or younger. Approximately 15,000 were under the age of 4, and another 20,000 were between 4 and 11 years old. Teenagers have also been affected, with 17,000 ordered deported, though that number is still below the peak seen in 2020, during Trump's first term. Some of the children are unaccompanied minors, like Xally and Daneli, but it's unclear how many, since immigration authorities stopped tracking that data years ago. In the Chicago area, it's hard to know how many children are currently being detained or deported, due to gaps in the available data. But according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Tribune, at least 16 minors were deported or left the U.S. after being booked in Chicago-area ICE detention centers during Trump's first 150 days back in office. Another seven cases are still pending. If all seven of those cases result in deportation, that would bring the total to 23 minors — about the same number as were deported in the final 150 days of the Biden administration. But the latest available ICE data doesn't capture any efforts since late June. When Xally learned that Daneli had returned home, she panicked. The two girls had spent a few nights at the church, confiding in each other the fear that few other young girls would understand. 'Would I have to do that too?' she asked herself. 'I don't want to. I like school here, I want to go back after summer break.' Xally is enrolled at Robert Abbott Middle School in Waukegan, where she would enter eighth grade if she stays in the country. Meanwhile, her summer has been shadowed by fear and uncertainty. Just days after receiving the letter, her family quietly marked her 13th birthday — no guests, no music, no gifts. She can't even go anymore to the beach, a place that once felt like the freedom and safety she and her mother had desperately sought after being released from federal custody.
