Confederate Demo Leaves Residents Outraged, Trustees Silent

MOKENA, IL — At the Mokena village board meeting on July 8, several residents spoke out about the inclusion of the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, a Confederate reenactment group, in the Fourth of July festivities in Mokena.

Southwest Suburban Activist President Emily Biegel was the first to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"I am here because Mokena residents have asked us to get involved, because they were outraged and the village of Mokena was not responding," she said.

The activist group had first issued a statement on July 2 about the reenactment group.

"We have spent quite a bit of time and energy trying to get the village of Mokena to denounce racist acts — two swastika graffiti incidents and teens wearing blackface in public — but they refuse. We have asked them to support Pride Fest. They refuse. We are now asking the Village of Mokena to not glorify the Confederacy," the activist group said on Facebook.

At the meeting, Biegel also requested that planning commission and zoning board of appeals commissioner Daniel Ray be removed from his position.

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Biegel said that Ray posted in a social media thread, asking if the cannons could be aimed at the Southwest Suburban Activists.

"This is wildly inappropriate," Biegel said. She added that Ray and four others made threats against the group on social media and those threats were taken to the police. A police report was made and the threats were documented.

Mayor Frank Fleischer said the village is reviewing the matter regarding Ray.

"Residents will get an answer on that," he said.

Mokena resident Amanda Herman also spoke at the meeting, and said she had emailed the board multiple times and received no response from the mayor or trustees.

"This group has no place in our Independence Day celebration," she said, calling the display "offensive to people of color" and "historically irrelevant" for a Fourth of July celebration.

Herman shared that 16 Mokena residents died in the Civil War fighting Confederate soldiers. She questioned why the village didn't invite a Revolutionary War group to the celebration.

"I am concerned about the culture of intolerance being displayed in Mokena and in the leadership," she said.

Mark Cerkvenik, a 25-year resident of Mokena, also shared some words at the meeting. The Southwest Suburban Activists shared what he said on their Facebook page.

At the end of the meeting, Fleischer shared a statement he had prepared. He addressed the vandalism incident involving swastikas and said the village immediately responded to that situation by removing the defaced property.

"The village was prepared and takes concerning acts like [the vandalism] seriously," he said.

Fleischer also addressed the "blackface" incident, which involved several teenagers seen wearing "blackface" at a Mokena gas station.

"An incident like this should not be used for an ulterior motive or to define a village, certainly not the village of Mokena," Fleischer said.

Lastly, Fleischer addressed the situation regarding the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry.

"The village of Mokena has never, and will never, condone action that threatens the safety of our residents," Fleischer said. He said the village stands ready to address the concerns of the community in a respectful and meaningful way.

Fleischer said the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry group is a war reenactment group and that they fly the American flag at all times.

"It is not their vocation, it is a hobby," he said about the group. He said the group did not conduct a war reenactment, but they provided a "realistic sound effect" in support of the community band.

Fleischer said the group has been shooting cannons at the festivities for 15 years.

"Our celebration in Mokena is about country," he said. "Our citizens, our soldiers. It is not about politics."

Fleischer said the village will meet with concerned residents to hear their concerns.

"To promote the values of Mokena and to continue to progress as a community, we must work together without malice or attacks which are both unfounded and unnecessary," he said.

No trustees made a comment regarding the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry.