During the public comment section of the Kronenwetter Village Board Meeting on May 13th, 2024, Village Clerk Birk-LaBarge threatened Trustee Charneski, stating “You are the trailer park Trustee Charneski and I am going to become your Tornado.”
Birk-LaBarge Threatens Trustee Charneski, 11 seconds
I asked two individuals who are not residents of Kronenwetter their opinion of this comment. Both stated that this language sounded like a death threat to them. I personally believe that this statement was both a poorly chosen slur and a threat.
Anyone who has witnessed or viewed footage of the death and damage caused by a tornado impacting a trailer park will undoubtedly have difficulty dismissing this hurtful statement.
Village President Chris Voll provided no push back to the Village Clerk when she made these statements. Instead, it appears that President Voll disregarded standard Village practice of not allowing speakers to share minutes in order to allow the Village Clerk to make her comments.
In my opinion, the comments of Village Clerk Birk-LaBarge are extreme harassment. I have not personally witnessed, read, or viewed any behavior by Trustee Charneski that I would consider harassment.
As a resident of Kronenwetter, I believe that the Board and the new Administrator need to address this harassment by the Village Clerk.
Note: Remainder of Board Meeting will be uploaded as time permits.
This post is the opinion of David Baker