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Sen. Preston accused of altercation with school official

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Illinois

* Jeremy Gorner at the Tribune…

Chicago police last month were called to a Far Southwest Side high school where a school official reported getting into an altercation with a man he identified as an Illinois state senator over a cellphone that had been confiscated from a student.

The school official accused Democratic state Sen. Willie Preston of slapping his hand, causing a pen to fly out of it, after the lawmaker refused to sign his name in a log at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in order to retrieve a cellphone that belonged to a relative who was a student at the school, according to sources and a police report.

Police filled out a report on the incident, but no charges have been filed.

In two interviews with the Tribune, Preston said he had no knowledge of an altercation at the school. Asked about it again during the late October legislative session in Springfield, Preston said he had no comment.

Go read the rest.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:11 pm

Comments

==Maybe give kids their property back at the end of the school day and these sort of things wouldn’t happen.==

Or, you know, just sign the log like a normal person.

Comment by fs Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:20 pm
It would’ve been a great time to say “don’t you know I’m a State Senator?”

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:25 pm
I’m guessing the phrase, do you know who I am was spoken here

Comment by Someone you should know Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:26 pm
Am I missing something? The story here is someone retrieving family member’s phone from school knocks pen out of school official’s hand?

Does that qualify as assault, really? Elected officials are obviously held to higher standard but this feels like nothing to me.

Comment by scooby Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:26 pm
Yeah.

I’d be remiss if I don’t say I thought “do you know who I am” to this… but just didn’t wanna type it.

I’d be remiss.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:28 pm
Dear Senator.

This is not about being a state senator. It is about being a decent person or being a jerk.

You went into a public school with a security protocol. The guard asked you to sign in. The principal asked you to sign in. You acted like you were above it all.

If you were anyone else, this incident might have proceeded differently, We might be talking about assault. We might be talking about excessive force.

Be a decent human being. Sign the log. Retrieve the phone. Don’t be a jerk.

And for crying out loud, apologize. You make this bed.

Comment by H-W Friday, Oct 27, 23 @ 4:35 pm