Billboard for Proud Boys hate group removed in southern Illinois after
public pressure
[August 20, 2025]
By Molly Parker
BREESE, Ill. — After strong community opposition, including a county
board meeting where dozens of people spoke against it, the Proud Boys
billboard that was put up near a high school in Clinton County was
removed Tuesday.
A representative from Lamar Advertising’s Collinsville office said the
sign was taken down around noon. The company declined further comment.
Clinton County Board Chairman Brad Knolhoff said the county had no legal
authority to regulate the billboard’s content, but he and many others
contacted the company, expressing their outrage.
“I would say the fact that so many people were reaching out played a
large factor” in the decision, he said. “I’m very pleased that the
billboard is down because of the animosity it was causing and the angst
in the community. It’s not healthy for the community.”
The billboard, up only a few days, was located at Old U.S. Route 50 and
St. Rose Road, about 1,000 feet from the entrance to Central Community
High School. It listed a local recruiting phone number, but calls went
to a voicemail that was full.
The Proud Boys have been labeled a hate or extremist group by multiple
organizations and was tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S.
Capitol, though the group has been quieter in recent years. Lamar
Advertising declined to say who purchased the billboard.
At Monday night’s board meeting, about 70 people attended and more than
30 spoke during public comment, a turnout far larger than usual.
Former judge and state’s attorney Dennis Middendorff reminded the crowd
this was not the first time Clinton County had faced such a test. In the
1980s, he recalled, the KKK received a permit to rally at nearby Carlyle
Lake.
“I didn’t want to give” the legal advice at the time, he said, but under
the First Amendment, they had the right to assemble. Even so,
Middendorff told the board Monday night this moment was still an
opportunity: “You don’t have to take action to try and stop it. Maybe
you can’t stop it, but you can condemn it, and that’s what I’m really
asking you to do.”
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Nearly 70 people packed a Clinton County Board meeting Monday night
to oppose a Proud Boys ad on a billboard near Central Community High
School. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Molly Parker)
One by one — teachers, doctors, lawyers, laborers, parents, students —
went to the microphone. Most said the same thing: We don’t want it here.
Gene Hemingway, who is Black, said the billboard only made visible what
was already simmering. “I heard some years ago, they’re dropping the
robes and they’re putting on suits,” he said. “I’m not scared, but I am
very aware. Because I know the primary purpose is to eradicate people of
my color, the LGBTQ community, anything other than white.”
Naomi Knapp, a recent graduate of Central Community High School, said
she was disappointed but not surprised.
“I don’t think a lot of people in this county actually believe the
things that people like the Proud Boys are saying,” she said. “But I did
hear it in my high school. I did hear racial slurs. … And I can’t even
imagine any person of color having to honestly live here. And that’s
devastating, because I know that most of us are amazing people who
actually believe in family and faith and community.”
At the conclusion of public comments, board member Greg Riechman said he
appreciated the concerns raised and thanked the residents for “speaking
from their hearts.” He then introduced a nonbinding resolution
condemning “hatred, bigotry, divisiveness or racism of any kind,” which
passed unanimously.
Though the billboard did not include much content beyond a phone number,
logo and website for the Proud Boys, many objected to it being an
obvious recruiting tool that was placed near the high school.
Knolhoff said he hopes the county can move forward, but added, “We will
remain vigilant.”
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