Latest news with #FreeburgCommunityHighSchool
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois House takes another step toward banning Freeburg mascot
The House passed a bill Tuesday that would ban public schools from using mascots that discriminate against people with disabilities. The bill, if signed into law, currently would affect just one high school in St. Clair County. Freeburg Community High School's mascot, the 'Midgets,' is considered a slur used against people with dwarfism. The school's administration did not reply to a request for comment. Under House Bill 3527, the school could continue using 'uniforms or other materials' it bought before the bill was passed until Sept. 1, 2028, as long as it already picked a new mascot, according to the bill's language. The bill doesn't clarify what repercussions, if any, the school would face if it didn't change its mascot. The bill passed through the House on Tuesday with a vote of 71-38. The Freeburg mascot was chosen during the 1930s when a reporter coined the term because the tallest member of the basketball team was just 5 feet, 10 inches tall, according to the school's website. The bill's main sponsor, Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, said the name was chosen during a time when freak shows, the exhibitions of human 'abnormalities,' were popular. School alumni, members of the Freeburg community, along with activists and organizations, filed more than 1,000 'witness slips' to the General Assembly for and against the bill. Opponents said the school's mascot is a tradition, and there aren't any students with dwarfism in the school who might be affected by the mascot. However, Shelby Holloway, a woman with dwarfism and a national advocate and co-director of Mascots Matter, said students at Freeburg aren't the only ones affected by its mascot. 'This is a statewide issue, and it deserves a statewide solution,' said Holloway during a March 20 committee meeting. 'The Freeburg mascot does not just affect the students who attend that school. Every time a Freeburg sports team travels, its mascot's name is displayed in the schools across Illinois.' Rep. Kevin Schmidt, R-Millstadt, represents Freeburg and argued against the bill Tuesday on the House floor. 'This is a local issue. The local school board should be voting on it, not the state overreaching and saying, 'You're wrong,'' Schmidt said. 'You don't understand the community, you don't understand the history. It's our culture.' Schmidt and other opponents said the school board should be in charge of changing the mascot name, and the General Assembly is infringing on other governing bodies. 'I think this would certainly be obvious that it would be a slam down yes vote for everyone because it is important that we respect people with disabilities,' said Rep. Amy Elik, R-Godfrey, during the committee meeting. 'But the fact that it is geared towards one community in Illinois from advocates outside of Illinois makes this really uncomfortable for all of us, I think.' The bill still has to go through the Senate.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Former band director at Freeburg High School is sentenced to prison in Oklahoma
An Oklahoma judge has ordered a former longtime band director at Freeburg Community High School to spend five years in prison on a conviction of engaging in unlawful communication with a minor by use of technology. Keith Mitchell, 71, of Freeburg, pleaded 'no contest' on Wednesday in Pottawatomie County Court in Shawnee. 'A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, and it can't be used in any civil or other proceeding as an admission of guilt,' his Oklahoma attorney, Bob Wyatt, said Friday. A no-contest plea does result in a conviction, however. In Mitchell's case, the judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison but suspended five years of it. That will essentially become his probationary period. He also must register as a sex offender. Shawnee police arrested Mitchell in May 2024 at a local motel. In an affidavit of probable cause, they alleged that he had committed three felonies, including soliciting sexual conduct with a minor by use of technology, violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act and making lewd or indecent proposals/acts to a child under 16. The Pottawatomie County district attorney's office ultimately charged Mitchell with one felony count of engaging in unlawful communication with a minor by use of technology. At the time of Mitchell's arrest, Greg Frerking, then superintendent of Freeburg Community High School District 77, verified that he had worked as the school's band director for 36 years before retiring in 2012. Police reported that Mitchell drove from Illinois to the Super 8 motel in Shawnee, thinking he was rendezvousing with a teenager he met online. He actually had been exchanging messages with members of Oklahoma Predator Prevention, a group that lures child sexual predators to various locations, confronts them and turns them over to authorities. Police arrived at the Super 8 just before 6 p.m. on May 17, 2024, according to the incident report. They arrested Mitchell and took him to Pottawatomie County's jail facility. Video that members of Oklahoma Predator Prevention posted on social media showed their confrontation with Mitchell in the hotel room. They referred to the fictional victim as a 15-year-old boy named 'Josh' and read portions of his online messaging. In the video, Mitchell acknowledged exchanging messages with 'Josh' but maintained that the boy had told him he was 18. It's not clear why police referred to the fictional victim as a female in their report. Mitchell was released from jail on May 20, 2024, after posting 10% of his $20,000 bond. He later pleaded 'not guilty' to the felony charge but on Wednesday changed his plea to 'no contest.' Sarah Gass, current superintendent of Freeburg District 77, couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
