BREESE, Ill. — After strong community opposition, including a county board meeting where dozens of people spoke against it, the Proud Boys billboard that was put up near a high school in Clinton County was removed Tuesday.
A representative from Lamar Advertising’s Collinsville office said the sign was taken down around noon. The company declined further comment.
Clinton County Board Chairman Brad Knolhoff said the county had no legal authority to regulate the billboard’s content, but he and many others contacted the company, expressing their outrage.
“I would say the fact that so many people were reaching out played a large factor” in the decision, he said. “I’m very pleased that the billboard is down because of the animosity it was causing and the angst in the community. It’s not healthy for the community.”
The billboard, up only a few days, was located at Old U.S. Route 50 and St. Rose Road, about 1,000 feet from the entrance to Central Community High School. It listed a local recruiting phone number, but calls went to a voicemail that was full.
The Proud Boys have been labeled a hate or extremist group by multiple organizations and was tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, though the group has been quieter in recent years. Lamar Advertising declined to say who purchased the billboard.
At Monday night’s board meeting, about 70 people attended and more than 30 spoke during public comment, a turnout far larger than usual.
Former judge and state’s attorney Dennis Middendorff reminded the crowd this was not the first time Clinton County had faced such a test. In the 1980s, he recalled, the KKK received a permit to rally at nearby Carlyle Lake.
“I didn’t want to give” the legal advice at the time, he said, but under the First Amendment, they had the right to assemble. Even so, Middendorff told the board Monday night this moment was still an opportunity: “You don’t have to take action to try and stop it. Maybe you can’t stop it, but you can condemn it, and that’s what I’m really asking you to do.”
One by one — teachers, doctors, lawyers, laborers, parents, students — went to the microphone. Most said the same thing: We don’t want it here.
Gene Hemingway, who is Black, said the billboard only made visible what was already simmering. “I heard some years ago, they’re dropping the robes and they’re putting on suits,” he said. “I’m not scared, but I am very aware. Because I know the primary purpose is to eradicate people of my color, the LGBTQ community, anything other than white.”
Naomi Knapp, a recent graduate of Central Community High School, said she was disappointed but not surprised.
“I don’t think a lot of people in this county actually believe the things that people like the Proud Boys are saying,” she said. “But I did hear it in my high school. I did hear racial slurs. … And I can’t even imagine any person of color having to honestly live here. And that’s devastating, because I know that most of us are amazing people who actually believe in family and faith and community.”
At the conclusion of public comments, board member Greg Riechman said he appreciated the concerns raised and thanked the residents for “speaking from their hearts.” He then introduced a nonbinding resolution condemning “hatred, bigotry, divisiveness or racism of any kind,” which passed unanimously.
Though the billboard did not include much content beyond a phone number, logo and website for the Proud Boys, many objected to it being an obvious recruiting tool that was placed near the high school.
Knolhoff said he hopes the county can move forward, but added, “We will remain vigilant.”