Be careful what you post on Facebook in Chicago, because city officials might be monitoring it for a chance to issue a citation.
Christine Adamski was issued a ticket from the Will County Forest Preserve District last week, which alleged that she was using a local dog park without a proper permit, The Chicago Tribune reported Friday. The evidence: a single Facebook post that was misinterpreted by a forest protection district official.
“I laughed,” Ms. Adamski said Thursday, the Tribune reported. “I was like, this is totally untrue. Obviously, I’m not going to pay this.” The ticket, which has now been rescinded, was for $50.
A letter accompanying the ticket noted that Ms. Adamski willingly took her dog to a park without a permit. Ms. Adamski wrote about the letter on the Whalon Park Dog Park group’s Facebook page, saying that she had not brought her dog to the park since 2013.
The Facebook post that prompted the forest protection district employee to seek the issuance of the ticket was related to concerns about kennel cough at the park.
Ms. Adamski’s post read: “I was feeling bad that I haven’t bought a pass and been bringing Ginger there, but I’m pretty glad I haven’t. … So not going to worry about it until later. I hope all the doggies get better soon.”
Forest Preserve District Executive Director Marcy DeMauro said that the district does not monitor social media to try and catch potential law breakers, the Tribune reported.
“We treat any information like that as a tip and that has to be verified before any action is taken on our part,” she said, the Tribune reported. “We would go to the dog park to see if that individual is actually there and using the dog park without a permit.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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