My friend and I were at the Ned Brown Meadows Forest Preserve in Schaumburg with our power kites in August.

We had gotten permission from the park superintendant to fly our kites there, but it seems the Forest Preserve police have their own laws.
We got 2 tickets for unlawfully flying kites in the park. The police was super agressive and rude, and told us the leave the park and was illegal to fly a kite. The ticket was issued for unlawfully flying kites attached to a board. He used a code that doesn't even refer to kites, but is for parachutes, and air balloons. He told us the sign the ticket or he was going to put us in jail for the weekend.
One of the best criminal attorneys from Chicago, who is also my friend, and likes kiting, represented us in court.
WE WON! My attorney cross examined the police officer and he was lieing the whole time. The judge said to the police that this is a Kite, not a gun and your interpretation is wrong. There is no violation for this since this is Not a parachute or air balloon. When we got to court, the cop tried to change the ticket saying disobedience which was completely a lie and my lawyer told him that was illegal.
In the end it's pretty outragious that we can't be allowed to enjoy a sport in a park that doesn't hurt anyone, is good for the environment, and especially is no danger to anyone since the park was empty. These cops are just there to harrass and make money.

Really glad to hear that you were victorious. I think we have all dealt with employees who didn't care that someone higher up gave the OK?

Any possibility of suing the cop in small claims/civil court to recover your legal expenses? Any possibility of him getting reprimanded by his superiors for making false claims?

Glad to hear that you guys won your case. It is a shame that something as simple as flying a kite can get you a ticket

A co-worker told me he read that someone local had just got a couple of tickets for flying a kite at night with lights attached, wanted to know if it was me? I told him that it wasn't, but could have been, as I have been wanting to night fly for some time. Seems that the officer issued the tickets after receiving reports of a UFO! Must have been disappointed that it was only a kite, so issued tix for "Public endangerment"(the kite was visible from a road)and "causing a public nuisance". I guess I'll have to rethink my night flight idea.

If you are ever out camping out towards Wellsfleet on the Cape there are at least one or two campgrounds that have large open fields. I don't believe they are visible from the road and would probably be great for night flying.

Sadly with exceptions, the folks that are most likely to have ready access to fields for night flying are those attending college where most fields don't have the closed between dusk/dawn restriction.

Night flying locally in to would almost certainly get me cited.

Didn't the CONNECTIKITERS have to sanctioned night flys over the summer?

ATB,
Sam

Sweet!
Personally, I wouldn't have signed and called his bluff ... considering you already had permission!

Some of these so called Micky Mouse Forest Preserve cops in Schaumburg, IL which mostly hang out in their cars napping in the corners at tax payers expense, except when they leave the car for a cigarette break to give tickets to kiters or cyclists. Meanwhile there are druggies hanging out in the park, and these dummies miss that because it would mean a little extra work and possiblly a little danger involved.
So they prefer to justify their job by harrassing people actually doing sports. It's really unbelievable. Since Todd H. Stroger was elected President of Cook County Forest Preserve, there's no freedom in the parks to exercise, low quality unprofessional police who only give out tickets with made up codes that don't even exist. These guys don't know the difference between a parachute and a kite. They say that Kiting is dangerous to the other people in the park. However, they allow Snow mobiling going at high speeds and contaminating the park was gas fumes, and that's not dangerous. Could it be because the Snow Mobilers are Paying????

Quote:

Originally posted by Chicagokitejumping However, they allow Snow mobiling going at high speeds and contaminating the park was gas fumes, and that's not dangerous. Could it be because the Snow Mobilers are Paying????

We dealt with something along the same line, how fast can a beer belly, smoking rentacop run after a snowmobile going 70 mph?
You just need to be able to out run the guys.

Oh how flattering I'm being quoted as a spam

I know this thread is old just wanted say that's great news about Ned Brown Forest Preserve. I've been reading up on the Forest Preserve code and couldn't find anything that explicitly banned snowkiting. Sucks that these cops still try to exercise made up authority.

Creative "field" interpretation of the laws is not limited to Preserves.

Federal Law Is Not Selectively Trumped By Local Assumptions... truly.

I got a citation for passing in a no-passing zone and was told that I had passed in a double-line zone which strectched for miles. I went back in daylight, I ran the stretch of road again and counted 5-6 stretches of passing zones in the area I was in. I was behind a car that was doing 10-20 mph below the speed limit, so I was extremely conscious of where the passing zone started as I had patiently been waiting for it. The only way to fight it would have been to take multiple days off from work to fight the ticket. In the end, it got "bargained" down to driving without seatbelts which didn't carry any insurance points, and meant the munincipality got a "donation" from me (even though the original ticket would have results in a larger "donation".

One court I was in a ticket was thrown out because of a signed affidavit from a mechanic that stated the vehicle in question was physically impossible of the speed asserted on the ticket.

It's amazing how many tickets are paid for one way or another because of the time and money involved in fighting them would leave most of us jobless or in trouble at work.

ATB,
Sam

WAY TO STICK IT TO THE MAN!

Just wanted to post an updated about Ned Brown Forest Preserve.

I went today to try and snowkite (up to 17 knot winds, with 4 inches of snow... finally!). A cop driving his truck around with a snowmobile trailer came up to me and said Kiting is not allowed.

He also said there is an ordinance against it, but when I asked what's the ordinance number and that I checked the ordinance code, he reneged on that statement. Then he said it's an unauthorized sport, its not allowed anywhere on Forest Preserve property. His cop number is 369, and his name is "Mel" I think, but he mumbled his name so I can't be sure.

Anyone else have trouble lately? Anyone get permission from the commissioner or other FP staff to snowkite? Their administration's office is closed today so I can't check.

not in your area, but the cops in some municipalities around here are total knobs..... its sad, but its all about generating revenue--unfortunately, while these jokers are sitting in an alley eating their donuts and flashing their radar guns, the real criminals are literally getting away with murder.......

The problem with the second class police from forest preserve in Schamumburg is lack of education and loser mentality thats why they bother the people that just telling the kiters dont do sports there until they going to the court and start mumbelling

Why those Police dont worry about the Drugs problems that forest preserve has in the restroom there ? Or the cars parking in the forest preserve doing cocaine and heroine ? That everybody know who are they ..And dont bother the kitters ? This is a big joke , these polices and president of forest preserve should be fire or no re elected ....

Now with the snowmobiles all forest preserve is destroy the grass with gas and oil is really bad ...but they paid for destroy forest preserve with the snowmobile .thats what is important .the kiters dont pay.

English is my second lenguaje , misspelling

Our experience here with cops which is totally unrelated to kiting but might help - if they're quoting ordinances and laws at you, ask them to get the exact numbers so your lawyer can check it out. That usually shuts them up for long enough to then suggest they could connect with their supervisor back at police HQ who should be able to help them out.