JOLIET – Four people told police that they heard Joliet City Council member Larry Hug make threats to shoot the local businessman who hit him in a bar on March 31.
Hug repeatedly has denied the allegations and said Tuesday that those who said he made the threats lied for the sake of Mark Koenig, the Joliet real estate broker who pleaded guilty last week to disorderly conduct.
“If anything that any of his friends lied about me were true, he wouldn’t have pleaded out,” Hug said.
Koenig could not be reached for comment.
Police reports released in the weeks after the incident were so heavily redacted that they included almost nothing that was told to police about what happened at the Double J Sports Bar on Essington Road.
After Koenig’s plea, the reports were released again by the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Special Prosecutor’s Office with only personal information redacted.
They include conflicting statements, and no testimony was given in court since Koenig pleaded guilty without a trial.
One person present when the incident happened told police about threats to shoot, and others said they heard similar threats at other times.
In a police report that night, Brian Parker, a county employee, quotes Hug saying, “I carry a gun, too, and can shoot you,” just before the incident occurred.
Parker, however, also gave police an account that does not line up with security video from the bar that night. Parker told police that he grabbed his wife, County Board member Annette Parker, and left the area when Hug and Koenig began pushing each other around. He said he did not see hitting occur.
In the video, there is no pushing before Koenig hits Hug repeatedly. Both Parkers are present, looking at Koenig as he hits Hug, and Brian Parker pulls Koenig away from Hug.
In a subsequent interview with Parker on April 7, according to a police report, “Parker stated that just prior to the fight, Hug stated something about Koenig’s father and then, at that point, the fight ensued.”
It is not clear if Annette Parker stayed at the bar after Hug called police. But there are no reports that night of police interviewing Annette Parker, who also is the marketing director of the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet. Police did interview Annette Parker on April 8, and she said Hug did not threaten Koenig.
“Parker stated she heard a conversation about veterans or Marines but couldn’t recall what was said just prior to the event,” a report from the interview states. “Parker stated Hug didn’t threaten Mark Koenig and didn’t know if Koenig was provoked.”
In his statement, Hug told police that Koenig was complaining about Mexicans in the United States just before the incident occurred.
“Hug stated he questioned Mark’s comments, stating that it appears this guy is your friend why are you talking about him like that?” one report states. “Hug advised it was at that time Mark yelled three times, ‘He’s a Marine, he’s a Marine, he’s a Marine’ and then walked around the table and hit Larry Hug in the nose area with the palm of his hand in an upward motion.”
The "friend" Hug referred to was Carlos Tinoco of Channahon, who had left the enclosed smoking area shortly before the incident.
Tinoco in one report hours after the incident is quoted telling police that Hug at one point said, "I'll put a bullet in your head and kick your ass." Tinoco said he left when the two men began pushing each other.
In another report dated April 8, Tinoco told police that Hug told Koenig, "I'll shoot you in the face and punch you like a 12-year-old."
In that report, Tinoco told police that Hug used an anti-Hispanic slur against him as he left the area. The report states, “Tinoco didn’t witness any pushing or shoving between Hug or Koenig.”
Another witness, Phillip Cundari Jr. of Plainfield, told police that he was in the patio area of the bar when he “overheard Hug say something to the suspect about putting a bullet in the suspect’s head.” Cundari said he left the area before the incident.
In another report taken Aug. 10, Adam J. Kolodziej of Joliet, told police he could hear through the wall of the smoking room as Hug said, “I have a concealed carry license, and I can shoot you and get away with it.” Kolodziej said he left to notify a bartender before the incident happened.
Asked Tuesday if he carries a gun, Hug said, “No, I don’t. I have no concealed carry. I do not carry a gun.”