Clowns!
Wednesday, Oct 5, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* All of the following stories have been posted online since just yesterday. Let’s start with the Naperville Sun…
Residents should call 911 if they see someone dressed as a clown behaving suspiciously, according to a community alert posted on the DuPage County sheriff’s office Facebook page.
“The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the recent ‘clown sightings’ occurring locally in our parks, on the paths and trails, and even on our roadways,” according to the alert, which features a photo of clown shoes and the sheriff’s office seal.
It warns residents not to confront any clowns and, “always maintain a safe distance.”
* Aurora Beacon-News…
School District 308 officials said a clown-related social media threat concerning Oswego Monday was a hoax. […]
The post involved a threat from a clown carrying black balloons.
* Lake County News-Sun…
The creepy clown phenomenon that has recently swept the nation hit Lake County Tuesday as police departments in Round Lake, North Chicago and Waukegan reported clown threats made on social media and in person at one Waukegan school during lunch recess, prompting that school to briefly be put on lockdown.
* Elgin Courier-News…
Carpentersville police and School District 300 officials issued statements Tuesday calling clown-related reports a prank and aiming to assure residents there have been no credible threats or known local sightings of red-nosed creeps.
* Chicagoist…
Closer to home, a “performance artist” was detained by UIC police—but not arrested or charged—after joining the trend, or making a pointedly meta commentary about the trend, or… something.
The pic…
* And this is from the Oak Lawn Patch…
Social media was all a-twitter Monday evening with the reported sighting of a creepy clown in Worth.
The Chicago Ridge Neighborhood Watch Facebook group posted a photo from a member’s daughter, who took a picture of the joker’s backside near 111th Street and Harlem Avenue, across the street from the Worth Police Department. […]
Sightings of people dressed as creepy, menacing clowns have been reported in 26 states, according to the Boston Globe. […]
Earlier Monday, the @IllinoisClown account tweeted that he was in Shorewood, heading for Plainfield.
* From @IllinoisClown’s feed today…
* Related…
* Phil Luciano: Creepy-clown hysteria hurts two local clowns
- walker - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:06 pm:
American Guy Fawkes movement. Fitting, somehow.
- @MisterJayEm - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:06 pm:
– MrJM
- NoGifts - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:09 pm:
As far as I know, it is still legal to dress as a clown.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:12 pm:
Oswego 308 was really nervous about all this Clown business.
For the record… I have been in front of a laptop for 5 days straight…
- sal-says - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:12 pm:
Are these ‘clowns’ trying to bring needed attention to IL’s disfunctional government? If so, good job; if not, just go away-we already have a clown as IL gov.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:13 pm:
Are these party clowns or rodeo clowns?
- steve schnorf - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:15 pm:
I think “rodeo clown” is no longer PC
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:15 pm:
47th, they’re neither.
“Creepy clowns” is the term, I believe. But I’m guessing they’ll eventually come up with a less pejorative reference which we will then all be obliged to adhere to.
/snark
- WhoKnew - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:15 pm:
-School District 308 officials said a clown-related social media threat concerning Oswego Monday was a hoax. […]-
Ah shucks Willy - I was sure you had been mis-behavin’!
#Trending /s
- Wensicia - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:16 pm:
Creeps using social media to intimidate children, the new fad. Quite a few of Waukegan public school students plan to stay home Friday because of a follow-up threat by some “clowns”. Sick.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:18 pm:
“Free Range Uncircused Clowns?” Rich?
Great, now our police will need to carry pies and seltzer bottles to go with their tasers and guns.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:19 pm:
- WhoKnew -
Now, I want to be clear…
Was I questioned? This time? No, not this time.
- Politix - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:21 pm:
OK everyone needs to stop with the clown shenanigans. Between this and the skull hurricane, I am DONE.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:21 pm:
===using social media to intimidate children===
Or possibly it’s kids trying to get out of going to school. Back in the day, kids called in bomb threats or set off fire alarms. Can’t do that any more.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:22 pm:
===“Free Range Uncircused Clowns?”===
We may have a winner.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:22 pm:
Isn’t this something Drudge has been peddling? Along with demonic possession, climate change denial and Trump (I detect a pattern)?
FWIW, when she was a kid, my wife used to work at the Baskin Robbins at Cumberland and Higgins.
Gacy used to come in every day, often in his clown costume, always drunk off his tukkus. He’d hit the liquor store next door, and then stop by and order a triple-scoop something-something with the works.
Everybody knew he was bad news, just not how bad.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:23 pm:
So no fans of Shakes the Clown on Cap Fax eh? That movie is the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:26 pm:
No action from the IL GA. Obviously, outlawing clowns would be like passing term limits.
- Triple fat - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:26 pm:
I hope I didn’t read this on capitolfax….A word of advice - if you find yourself surrounded by a mob of clowns… go for juggler!
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:26 pm:
–Back in the day, kids called in bomb threats or set off fire alarms–
They sure did. That was like a rite of passage.
Your kid pulls a fire alarm now, and you’re both in really big trouble.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:27 pm:
- 47th Ward -
I honestly forgot about it. Robin Williams and Bobcat Goldthwait.
Well played.
- Lester Holt's Mustache - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:28 pm:
A company called KatzSmith Productions is filming a remake of Stephen King’s “It” for release in 2017. This might all be a viral marketing campaign.
- Groucho - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:32 pm:
This is all very funny until someone gets their eye knocked out.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:34 pm:
In one report, a group of 50 clowns was menacing passersby until they heard police sirens, then they all climbed into a Fiat and drove off. /s
- Ggeo - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:34 pm:
Homey don’t play that
- A guy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:34 pm:
Clowns. Providing more inspiration to dislike them. Oy.
Reminds me of the old cannibal joke…
“Does this clown taste funny to you?”
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:35 pm:
===This is all very funny until someone gets their eye knocked out===
Or worse: https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/783324994004717568
- SAP - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:36 pm:
Apparently Kramer’s fear of clowns well-placed:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjcl7P9zsTPAhVFSiYKHc8CCUQQtwIIKjAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUo6QIPOhI7w&usg=AFQjCNFsTIyaMvrXucF-vsDYzzDfX8GeRw
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:37 pm:
And a very young Adam Sandler Willy. It was Bobcat’s magnum opus, a masterpiece of the genre.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:39 pm:
Also, isn’t “creepy clown” redundant? Is there another type of clown I’ve never seen?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:41 pm:
- 47th Ward -
Ah, yes. Sandler.
Agree, difficult to think about another alcoholic clown driven vehicle without beginning and ending with Shakes.
Glad you brought this up, it’s good to remember movies you forgot you knew.
Thank you.
- Dave Dahl - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:41 pm:
All I know is, if someone in clownface kneels, rather than stands, for the national anthem, the world is going to explode.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:43 pm:
Yeah, people, you can’t just go around shooting random clowns. Mimes on the other hand… /s
- Siriusly - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:45 pm:
All clowns are creepy. They were creepy long before there was Twitter. Seriously. I support the police over reaction.
- Huh? - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:47 pm:
So this wouldn’t be a good time to play the Steelers Wheels song “Stuck in the Middle with You” that starts with “Clowns to the left of me …”?
- AC - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:48 pm:
In an attempt to make his earlier comments more inclusive, John Kass referred to them as feral clowns /s
- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:48 pm:
Missed one, Rich.
From The Pantagraph:
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/local-police-investigating-clown-sightings/article_4a2bb357-f9b9-53ab-81fd-686dd8852918.html
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:48 pm:
Mimes!
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:49 pm:
-Agree, difficult to think about another alcoholic clown driven vehicle without beginning and ending with Shakes.-
There was that bank robbing clown movie with Bill Murray.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:50 pm:
I guess Oswego 308 took this very seriously, emails were sent out too by the district..
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:50 pm:
–It warns residents not to confront any clowns and, “always maintain a safe distance.”–
And whatever you do, don’t smell the flower.
- AC - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:55 pm:
As if I needed a warning from the police to avoid clowns…
- Bigtwitch - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:58 pm:
I was in Montana around the first of September and heard a talk show on Canadian radio. They were having a great time going on about the reports in the Carolinas about clowns trying to lure children into the woods by offering money. The children said the clowns lived in a house in the woods. Police found an abandoned house with no signs of habitation. Reports continued including one of clowns getting into a car and driving away. The number of clowns was not reported.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:58 pm:
“Send in the clowns. Don’t bother they’re here.”
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 4:58 pm:
“Quick Change” was the Bill Murray clown movie.
His character “robbed” a bank, pretty good cast including Geena Davis, but…
“Shakes”… “Shakes” defines the genre, not just a film about clowns…
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:00 pm:
@Politix
I thought smiling skull hurricanes and hordes of terrifying clowns were suppose to come AFTER The Beast’s arrival in Revelations…
- SAP - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:01 pm:
Little help??? I’m looking for a fourth for my Mt. Clownmore to go with Ronald McDonald, Bozo, and Krusty.
- Ron Burgundy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:01 pm:
A spokesman for the group of cartoonish individuals seen roaming through Illinois neighborhoods this October has indicated that they find the term “clown” highly offensive. He said they prefer to be called “legislative candidates.”
- Casual observer - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:05 pm:
When you see poodle balloons at the dog park, run.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:07 pm:
All part of Krusty’s last-minute write-in campaign for President.
- And I Approved This Message - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:09 pm:
Clowns have given me a serious case of the willies(sorry OW)since I was a little child. I hope they lock ‘em all up!
- JDuc - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:10 pm:
CCL. It’s a scary world nowadays
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:12 pm:
- And I Approved This Message -
Oh, that’s fine. You were just clowning around.
- FormerParatrooper - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:13 pm:
Beware of clowns outside their natural habitats.
- Annonin' - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:33 pm:
Looks like Big Braintree and Profit are deployin’ foot soldiers
- striketoo - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:37 pm:
How unfair is it that Trump is running for president and clowns are getting a bad reputation.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:40 pm:
On a somewhat serious note, our phones have been blowing up for three days with crazed parents calling to see
If we are doing anything about the creepy clowns.
It is just nuts how susceptible parents are to unmitigated and totally unfounded hysteria. This is why schools are almost forced to overreact these days.
I spent 45 minutes with one hysterical mother yesterday only to find out she won’t have a child in our school until NEXT YEAR!!!!
I am having my third cocktail of the evening.
Tomorrow I am going to track down a clown college and prank them.
- Johnnie F. - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 5:49 pm:
“A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants”
Chuckles the Clown….The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 6:16 pm:
–Also, isn’t “creepy clown” redundant? Is there another type of clown I’ve never seen?–
How dare you call yourself a Chicagoan?
Bob Bell as Bozo? Ray Rayner as Oliver O. Oliver? Roy Brown as Cooky?
Creepy? What’s the matter, did you miss Bucket #1 in the Grand Prize Game?
Now Marshall Brodein (TV Magic Cards) as Wizzo….. he was creepy.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 6:49 pm:
Bozo was OK I guess, but Cooky? No way, totally creepy. And you yourself mentioned Chicago’s most infamous creepy clown, JWG.
Still gives me the creeps just thinking about it.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 7:03 pm:
I love Shakes, but you guys really ought to check out other Goldwaithe films. Sleeping Dogs Lie is a masterpiece.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 7:15 pm:
47th, Cooky the Clown was in no way creepy.
When I was in high school in Tooele, Utah, there was a big local scare that devil worshipers were gathering at the local desert airport for weekly rituals. It even made the local paper.
The rumor persisted for months, even though it was easily proved false.
- XDNR - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 7:21 pm:
Legislature should establish a “State Clown Day” with an honorary “Bozo” parade that Rauner of course would lead. This would hopefully alleviate all this clown mayhem!
- Property of IDOC - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 8:54 pm:
It’s Bruce, er, uh, mmm, I mean Bozo…
- Quizzical - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 10:27 pm:
This State will continue to be terrorized by clowns until we have term limits, workers comp reform and right to work laws.
- Anonsense - Wednesday, Oct 5, 16 @ 10:41 pm:
This (and the wine) inspired me to use the internet to find anagrams for Bruce Rauner. Don’t ask me why. It’s just the way my brain works. A few were mildly amusing. Then I entered Mike Madigan. Some of those results were quite funny.
- @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 8:35 am:
No love for Chicago’s own Ray “Spanky the Clown” Wardingley?
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/spanky-for-mayor-is-ray-wardingley-just-another-clown-running-for-office/Content?oid=886463
– MrJM
- Allen D - Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 8:50 am:
CLOWN LIVES MATTER
- Bleugrass Boy - Thursday, Oct 6, 16 @ 9:00 am:
The Governor likes to dress up in costumes.
I think “Creepy Clown” would be very appropriate.