Waukegan Mayor Haig Paravonian acknowledged Tuesday that he helped a young man with a criminal record get out of the city jail last week, but said he did not pressure police to do so.
The mayor said his intervention only ”speeded up” the imminent release of the man. Blue Sexton, 19, was getting a ”tough time” from police because of his record, even though he was only in custody for traffic violations, Paravonian said.
But a City Council member called for a council investigation of the matter Monday night. And the president of the local police union objected to Paravonian`s intervention on behalf of Sexton, described by police and the mayor as a gang member.
At the time of his arrest last Tuesday, Sexton was out on bond and awaiting trial on charges including assault, mob action and disorderly conduct filed a week earlier, according to county jail records.
He recently was released from prison for a separate felony battery conviction, county court records show.
Last Tuesday evening, Sexton was stopped for a traffic check and arrested for driving without his driver`s license, proof of insurance and valid license plates, according to police.
Police did not release Sexton until after Paravonian spoke to the shift commander in the early morning hours Wednesday, Police Chief Phillip Stevenson said.
He was released on his own recognizance shortly after that, Stevenson said.
Paravonian, a longtime Waukegan public school teacher, said he went to the city jail as a private citizen to help a former student. He said he did not pressure police to do anything out of the ordinary but acknowledged his presence had some influence.
”My presence simply speeded up the process,” Paravonian said Tuesday.
”My presence simply said, `Let`s take a look at this situation, and let`s play the game by the rules.` There was no pressure put on anybody.”
Traffic offenders usually are released at the end of the police shift, but the decision is up to the discretion of the shift commander, according to police.
Although police told his mother he would be released at midnight, Sexton was held past that time. His mother then called Paravonian, whom she knew from the school district, the mayor said.
Although the mayor maintained that his intervention only expedited things, the action raised questions among city leaders.
Ald. Donald Weakley called for a formal investigation by the City Council`s Public Safety Committee. He said Tuesday that he is concerned that Paravonian intervened in Police Department affairs.
”There are a lot of good kids in town we should be helping,” Weakley said.”If they`re going to give up their gang, that`s OK. But if they continue to be involved in gangs, they shouldn`t be rewarded.”
Officers in the Waukegan Police Department also are concerned about the situation, said officer Allen Booth, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police.
”I don`t believe that the mayor should be involved in gaining the release of anyone from jail,” Booth said. ”The process should take the same route as it would with any other citizen.”
Booth said he thinks the mayor should have let the police chief run the department. But he stopped short of calling Paravonian`s action improper.
City Council members were not widely critical of Paravonian`s action. Some took Paravonian`s side in the issue, describing him as someone simply concerned about Waukegan teenagers who are involved in gangs.
Paravonian worked with work-study and after school programs for at-risk youth during his 30-year tenure in Waukegan public schools, a school district spokeswoman confirmed.
Paravonian, who is up for re-election in the spring, said Tuesday he thinks mention of the situation at the Monday City Council meeting was an attempt to embarrass him for political gain.
Weakley ran against Paravonian for mayor in 1989.
Weakley denied charges that he was taking pot shots at Paravonian for political reasons, saying he had legitimate concerns about the matter. He brought it up publicly because he did not think it would get a serious hearing if aired in a committee, he said.
Weakley also has objected to Paravonian`s hiring of gang members into the city`s summer work program.
”My friendship with these people has borne some fruits,” Paravonian said. ”It has also brought me criticism.”
Sexton recently was released from prison, where he served a term for charges stemming from an attack on another man two years ago, according to Lake County court records. He also had received court supervision in connection with traffic violations.
He was arrested again the first week of this month and charged with assault, mob action and disorderly conduct, and then released to await trial after posting $1,500 in cash for bond, the records show.
