Dupage Policy Journal

The quaint little Village of Glen Ellyn has had some very interesting people call the town home. Gary Sinise, Bill Ayers, Billy Williams, Bobby Hull. But none of them wanted power and notoriety quite like the current tyrannical leader of Elementary School District 41, Robert Bruno. 

Bruno has attached himself to the ultra-liberal powers-that-be in the state of Illinois and the country. His neo-Marxist theoretical views are being played out in real time in the Village of Glen Ellyn. As the president of the local school board, Bruno has found a bully pulpit from which to spout off his ideas on implied racism, mask mandates, the evil of conservative Constitutionalists and the like. The smug manner in which he touts his elitist and condescending opinions is a testimony to the regard he has for himself, the little man who would be king. 

In early August, Covid-19 was very tame and school districts across the state were deciding to make masks optional for children. DuPage County has had zero deaths from Covid for anybody under the age of twenty years old. Infection rates were very low. District 41 held a community meeting on mask policy called The Committee of the Whole to address the issue. It was a cute way to fake interest in the opinions of the community, as their decision was already made. At the meeting a request was made to wear masks. Many chose not to wear them. This clearly irritated the little czar. 

At the next board meeting where a ceremonial vote on the masking issue was to take place, the demand was made for everyone to wear a mask. Before the start of the meeting, Commissar Bruno warned the crowd that the police would be present to arrest those who chose not to follow his unconstitutional edict. Apparently, that Constitution document means nothing to Mr. Bruno. 

Well, a member of the community had the opportunity to ask the police about the threat of arrest that very evening. Apparently, the school board was expecting a very loud and active crowd similar to those at other districts in the county. One community member was at the meeting early, curious to see if the turnout would be large. He was the only community member in the parking lot a half hour before the event. Only board members arrived until about 15 minutes prior to the start. A whopping total of about 12 people showed up for the meeting. The citizen saw another community member and her son walk out of their car to enter the meeting so he went up to the stairs in front of the school to wait for them. While there he looked down and saw a bullet on a step of the stairs. He picked it up and showed the two other people what he found before taking it inside to give to the authorities. The police were called to take the evidence and question the citizen about the finding. Nothing has been heard about the investigation into who placed the bullet on the step as it is likely still ongoing. There was a security camera so the perpetrator should have been seen on camera. It could have been a random criminal, a QAnon member of the community or someone planting it there to entrap others.

During the police interview of the witness, police were asked if they would arrest members of the community for not wearing masks in the meeting. The answer was “No.” The answer was verified with a detective at the police station the next day.

Apparently, his honor, the all-powerful self-anointed king was not satisfied with this eventuality. On the very next day of business, the District 41 lawyer Todd Faulkner reached out, at taxpayer expense on both ends of the meeting, with village lawyer Mathews to discuss the possibility of the Glen Ellyn police arresting non-compliant rogue constitutionalists who run wild in the town and choose to frighten those who wear their religious masks of fear at the school board meetings. On the next day a document was sent by Faulkner on behalf of Lord Bruno to village lawyer Mathews to explain the rationale for having police arrest these dangerous and nefarious roving dissident constitutionalists. Apparently, the village rebuffed the request and lawyer Faulkner quickly drew up a new District 41 document at the request of the king which demanded all people who attend school board meeting must wear masks. The document was to be presented at the next board meeting at the middle school. 

A couple of days before the meeting though, a decision was made to move it entirely out of the district to a neighboring facility in Glendale Heights. The expense of a document of this type, which does nothing except waste taxpayer money, must have been deemed justified to give our ruler more of the authority that he feels he can wield to fend off the horde of plebeian citizens bent on ceding his power. To make matters worse, a band of about a half dozen menacing, mostly women, protestors began demonstrating against masking of children and vaccinations being pushed by the governor of the gulag known as Illinois. They have chosen to stand in front of the District 41 office building which is across the street from the side of Forest Glen Elementary School from 8-9:00 a.m. No children walk on the sidewalk where they are stationed. Apparently, just the site of people with signs with sayings like “Honk For Freedom!” has caused fear and trepidation to be struck into the hearts of the dozen or two children who cross Main Street to get to the school. Fortunately, a line of brave masked citizens shield these marauding protestors from being seen by the blessed children as they wait for the lights to change. It is a safety issue though, as the driver of a car who was yelling insults at the demonstrators allegedly backed into the car behind. Oh the humanity! 

The village received complaints of threats and intimidation and has placed one or two officers on duty to make sure peace is kept. In an ironic twist, the only threats and intimidation have been by people yelling at the demonstrators for having the nerve to protest peacefully. Thank God the police are there to protect those peaceful constitutionalists. Czar Bruno on the other hand is now considering seeking a court injunction to force the demonstrators to cease their activities. Surely the courts will see things his way! To quote a line from a great book and movie that was created as a social commentary, “ Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”.