BOLINGBROOK - Be careful about comments you leave on Facebook and other social media sites. A Bolingbrook woman was ticketed for a comment she left that was misinterpreted by Forest Preserve officers. As the Chicago Tribune reported:
The comment in question was posted in response to concerns some dog owners had about kennel cough among some dogs at Whalon Lake Dog Park in Bolingbrook. The woman posted: “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.”
A forest preserve district employee noticed the comment and forwarded it to a forest preserve protection officer, who took the comment to mean the woman was using the dog park without a permit.
“The employee had good intentions, but it wasn’t a good idea,” Lt. Tracey Phillips said Wednesday.
The woman posted about the citation on the dog park page and noted the citation came with a letter stating she had posted on a social media site that she had “knowingly entered a dog park without a valid 2014 permit.”
“That’s dead wrong,” the woman wrote. “I haven’t gone there since 2013!”
Forest Preserve District Executive Director Marcy DeMauro said she contacted the district’s police chief Tuesday about the citation and learned it was already under review. DeMauro stressed the district does not monitor social media in search of potential law breakers nor does the district issue a citation based on a post made on a social media site.
More at the Chicago Tribune