CHICAGO — A suspect has been arrested after a bakery in the village of Lake in the Hills was vandalized, which led to the cancellation of a much-anticipated, family-friendly drag show set to take place at the bakery Saturday, the Lake in the Hills Police Department said in a news release.
Officers responded to UpRising Bakery and Cafe shortly after midnight after being notified of “in progress criminal damage to property,” according to the news release. The suspect fled the scene on foot. Lake in the Hills officers, with the help of an Algonquin police sergeant, took Joseph I. Collins, 24, of Alsip, into custody.
Collins was charged with hate crime and criminal damage to property, according to police. His bail was set at $10,000, and he is still in custody.
The bakery “sustained significant damage early this morning,” police said. Officers found broken windows and hateful messages spray painted on the building.
Police had already closed streets for the drag show, and streets in the surrounding neighborhoods of the bakery remained blocked Saturday morning.
UpRising Bakery and Cafe was hosting a “Starry Night Brunch Drag” show at the store beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Facebook. The event, which was sold out, was advertised as a family-friendly evening filled with food and entertainment.
“For the safety of the performers, staff, and community we have canceled tomorrow’s event and will be closed Saturday 7/23/22,” the latest post on the bakery’s Facebook page said. “At this time we ask everyone: DO NOT COME TO OUR LOCATION AT ALL TODAY. We did not want to back down from bullies but absolutely cannot in good conscience continue with tomorrow’s plans. It breaks our hearts. We will update when we can.”
In the comment section of the post, the business’ response to one person said, “Our cafe was totally smashed and vandalized overnight.”
Hundreds of reactions, comments and shares flooded the post in the few hours after it was published, with many expressing their love and support for the business while reprimanding any hate and negativity the business and Saturday’s event had been getting.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you and your business,” one commenter wrote under the business’ Facebook post. “You deserve so much better! The communities around here make me so sad sometimes with their hate ... is that really how you want to raise your kids as hateful people? I’d much rather have my kids learn to be loving and accepting of all people. If you don’t want to go to something going on in your community just don’t go, don’t ruin it for everyone else.”
Saturday’s event was set to feature performers Jakki Love, Venus and Krystal Ball Diva. Love is performing in Elgin on Sunday.
Next Saturday, the bakery is scheduled to host a Disney Karaoke Night.
The bakery was also preparing for another similar style event on Aug. 7 called a “Drag Brunch” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for which tickets are still available on eventbrite.com. The owner of the bakery, Corinna Sac, has not commented yet on whether or not that event will still take place.
“We’re asking for no one to be at the bakery today,” Sac said in a brief phone interview Saturday morning.
She said she could not comment further on what happened at this time.
Lake in the Hills police were parked outside of the business Saturday morning as well as Algonquin firefighters, who were checking the roof of the building.
Plywood covered a window and door at the front of the bakery. Police kept media off the property and were expected to patrol the scene throughout the day.
George Galanis lives around the corner from the bakery and a Lake in the Hills’ police Mobile Incident Command unit was parked near his house on Quail Run since Friday night.
Galanis heard about the show from his grandson and later from a letter from police distributed to neighbors.
“I was kinda worried about it,” he said, adding he canceled plans for Saturday night to be home.
After learning about the vandalism, he went to see the damage. Galanis said he felt bad for the other businesses in the shopping center because access was limited, he said.
“She didn’t deserve it,” Galanis said of the vandalism to Sac’s business. “But this is how people act today. If they have a certain belief, they act on it.”
On Tuesday, Lake in the Hills police said in a news release the department received “messages from concerned citizens regarding a drag show performance being hosted by UpRising Bakery and Cafe.” Some residents complained about the event, particularly its advertisement that children be allowed to attend.
Police and the Lake in the Hills Community Development Department talked to Sac and after investigating found no violations of the village’s municipal code and confirmed that no nudity or sexually explicit content would be part of the show.
The news release also said Sac had reported receiving threats to the business in-person and online since advertising the event and that the police department was investigating.
There were also protests and counterprotests reportedly planned for Saturday, police said in the news release.
“The safety and constitutional rights of everyone who may choose to participate is the priority of the police department,” the news release said. “We are taking measures to ensure that everyone has the right to engage in peaceful protest. However, we wish to remind everyone that under no circumstances will the police department tolerate a disruption of this event or any activity that disrupts the peace. The department will be taking a zero-tolerance approach for those individuals who choose to attend with plans to engage in acts of violence or criminal activity.”
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