Library Board Candidate Charged With Stealing Hundreds of Campaign Signs: Police

ELGIN, IL - A 65-year-old Elgin man who recently ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Gail Borden Library board of trustees has been charged with theft for stealing campaign signs from yards.

Randolph Hopp, of the 1550 block of Pamela Drive in Elgin, is free on bail after being arrested Wednesday, according to a post on the Elgin Police Department Facebook page. The arrest came following an investigation into a report made to Elgin police by Elgin City Councilman Richard Dunne over the weekend.

Dunne told police his campaign sign located in the 300 block of South Randall Road was stolen for a third time, according to police. During an investigation into the stolen signs, detectives learned additional campaign signs were stolen from the area of Chicago Street and Shales Parkway.

Police identified Hopp as a suspect and went to his home on Wednesday where they found hundreds of campaign signs from several different area politicians, according to authorities.

He was arrested and later released after posting his required bond.

Hopp ran unsuccessfully during this past week's election for a spot on the Gail Borden Library Board of Trustees.He did serve on the board of trustees for one term after being elected in 2009, according to the Elgin Courier-News. He lost a bid for re-election in 2013.

In 2009, Hopp was banned from Gail Borden Library after he reportedly harassed staffers at the library for years, according to the Elgin Courier-News. Library Trustee Sue Maylan in 2013 said, "there are 16 pages, single-spaced, of issues over a significant period of time — 12 years and many, many infractions and unpleasantness."

He was also banned from libraries at Judson University and Elgin Community College, according to the Elgin Courier-News.

Legal woes followed Hopp when in 2000, he was charged with trespassing at the library after he showed up at the old Gail Borden Library despite receiving notice that he was not allowed there, according to the Elgin Courier-News. His library privileges were reinstated in 2013 and library staff told the newspaper he was been behaving better since then.

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