Illinois’ Stolen Valor law
Illinois passed a stolen valor law according to the Alton Daily News, but I don’t know why they bothered. Phonies caught lying about their military service for profit get hit with a whopping $200 fine.
For example, Robert Kerkorian, the former police chief of Waukegan, IL got his job in the police department and ultimately became police chief largely because he falsely claimed to be a Navy SEAL. That’s worth $200, right? By the way, when Kerkorian was busted for his lies, Waukegan Mayor Motley defended the valor thief.
Vietnam War veteran B.G. Burkett wrote a book about investigating so-called stolen valor. He said the Illinois law should be harsher. “I don’t want to say it’s worthless, but it’s not going to have much effect one way or the other.”
Burkett said he has found egregious examples over the decades of people, including police chiefs and politicians, pretending to be veterans. “I’d like to see them make it a felony, particularly if they’re getting money.”
Retired Navy SEAL Larry Bailey, who works alongside Burkett to expose fraudsters, said there’s something more powerful than a fine. “Actually the greatest punishment can be the public recognition as a fraud,” Bailey said.
So, Illinois’ new law keeps us in the Stolen Valor business.
Category: Politics
Having someone labeled as a convicted valor thief is something, I guess. I’m sure it will be a low-priority item for most prosecutors, though, unless they are already prosecuting a valor thief for something else.
$10,000 or more would be a suitable fine for the cowards. 200.00 ? they can steal that much in an hour!
Low, try none.
It’s not “Stolen Valor” anymore, I suppose. After all, people are just self identifying with having certain military skills, credentials and awards.
/sarc off/
So they’re transheroes, and we’re all transherophobes for seeking to expose them?
;o)
Ha!
Check your privilege, cishero scum. Then die in a fire.
;o)
It took me forever to find the new Illinois law. The governor isn’t proud of it. I know b/c his website doesn’t mention it, let alone feature it as so many other bills he signed are featured. Nor could I find it on a keyword search through the Illinois General Assembly site. I found it by looking at the list of bills signed by the governor last week and entering the bill number from those bills noted “An Act Concerning Criminal Law.” It is SB 2167 and its short title is “CRIM CD-FALSE PERSONATION.” It is not specific to what we know as stolen valor and adds false claims regarding military service to the existing statute. It DOES NOT penalize false claims of medals, awards, and honors received. Thus, the lying police chief who spent 6 months in the Navy and said he was a SEAL could not have been prosecuted under this law had it existed when he told his lie. The reason is that he was in the Navy. Lies about units with which one served are not covered by this law. It’s pretty much bullshit.
The whole state is pretty much bullshit.
For $200, it’s more like rented valor…..
$200 fine, what a joke, these clowns spend more at “medals of America” for the right to wear hardware they hadn’t earned, let alone things like leather vests & uniforms…..a minimum of $5000 fine would be more appropriate as well as shaming them with a public announcement that runs a list in perpetuity of their false claims.
The Supreme Court tells us that the remedy for false speech is the truth.
I dunno about you…but I see getting ‘named and shamed’ as being the best penalty ever. Remember, we humans are social animals. Being cut off from a social network can be devastating, especially if we’ve come to rely on that network for our survival. Imagine, if you will, that J. Random Poser has fooled some Veteran’s group into honoring and supporting him. Now that support is gone, the poser is in some serious hot water. His reputation is trashed; no one wants to have anything to do with him.
I’ve always said that the courts of public opinion give the best penalties. Perhaps that’s the court that should decide Stolen Valor cases. I wonder what the Veterans on the board think of that approach?
As evidenced on this site, some just move and set up shop at their new digs. SV is not something that is easily cured by shame alone. It has also been shown here that SV is quite often just the tip of iceberg.
Or others that pretend that their years of stolen valor never occurred. Say someone were to put on their company website, give speeches and work seminars touting his credentials as a SEAL Team member AND Native American, along with photographs of him wearing rank and decorations that he never earned; then suddenly, all references to his history of being a SEAL vanish without explanation, and when asked, company employees refuse to acknowledge the change. It’s like that season or two when Bobby Dallas died in a car crash, only to reappear in the shower. Maybe we all dreamt that Phil Monress falsely claimed to be a SEAL. But he still works balls.
Don’t forget Law Enforcement Officer and local Mentor to the community.
The False Commander “Phony” Phil Monkress (CEO of All-Points Logistics) style…..
And you must live in Florida….
SI. That’s true but that was written about the first SV law, I believe, not the second version. In any event, it’s still a true statement, but it isn’t (and need not be) an either/or proposition. Both the social and the legal responses to SV are appropriate and are available.