Drag show opponent rips Yorkville mayor at City Council meeting: ‘I just think you aren’t doing your job’

YORKVILLE – A woman leading the opposition to drag shows in Yorkville accused Mayor John Purcell of withholding a liquor license complaint form and refusing to enforce the city’s ordinances.

Molly Krempski of Yorkville blasted the mayor as she appeared before the Yorkville City Council on Sept. 13. Among other things, Purcell disputed whether the complaint form she wanted exists.

Krempski and her supporters previously protested at the Aug. 23 council meeting, two days after their demonstration in front of the Pinz Entertainment Center, which was hosting a sold-out drag show for patrons age 21 and older.

The group contends that drag shows at Pinz, 1211 N. Bridge St., and Southbank Original Barbecue, 129 E. Hydraulic Ave., constitute adult entertainment and are in violation of city ordinance.

Krempski alleged that Purcell, who serves as the city’s liquor control commissioner, denied her a liquor license complaint form.

“Mayor Purcell then started a rumor ... by telling everyone that I abused community resources by calling 911 to initiate my police report. That’s just untrue. You could have walked three steps to the police department to confirm that before you slandered me, but you chose not to,” Krempski said.

Krempski remains focused on two brief video clips of Yorkville drag shows held months ago.

A video from a show at Pinz appears to show a female patron casually touching the breast of a drag performer walking past her table, while a video purportedly from Southbank appears to show a performer’s buttocks.

Krempski distributed to the council a graphic of human buttocks along with the dictionary definition: “either of the two round fleshy parts that form the lower rear area of a human trunk.”

Krempski said the activities depicted in both the videos constitute a city code violation.

“I do not hate drag queens. I don’t even hate you, John. I just think you aren’t doing your job,” Krempski told the mayor.

“I have compassion for people with gender and sexual confusion. I understand the pain and trauma that led them to their current lifestyles. I think exploiting their pain for our entertainment is wrong,” Krempski said.

Several others rose to speak, including Darrin Peterson, a Republican committeeman from Bristol Township Precinct 2.

Peterson told the council he has been receiving calls from citizens concerned about the drag shows.

“Adult entertainment should not be in Yorkville,” Peterson said. “It’s just troublesome to me.”

Throughout the speeches from the protesters, Purcell maintained a cheery demeanor as he welcomed each speaker to the lectern and thanked them at the conclusion of their remarks.

At one point, Krempski attempted to engage the mayor in a discussion, but Purcell declined.

“We’ve had this discussion,” Purcell said.

Afterward, Purcell suggested the entire matter was a waste of municipal time and resources.

“The Constitution protects people’s rights, even if their opinions are crazy and even if their arguments are crazy,” Purcell said.

“[Krempski] requested a form we’ve never heard of before,” Purcell said. “We had no form, and it quite honestly was not a priority. We sent her one today. We had to create one.”

The mayor said that he had contacted both Pinz and Southbank about the shows and compared it to telling a homeowner to cut an overgrown lawn.

“We don’t give them a ticket. We politely say can you please cut the weeds? This isn’t the first business I’ve had to talk to in three-and-a-half years as mayor,” Purcell said.

The show at Pinz on Aug. 21 featured drag queens who were covered virtually from their necks to their ankles in colorful, expensive dresses. There was no stripping, twerking or gyrating, although some of the speakers at the council meeting seemed to assert that this was the case.

“I don’t know what she wants,” Purcell said of Krempski. “Does she want us to shut the businesses down?”

In her remarks to the council, Krempski made clear her reasons for opposing the drag shows and issued something of a warning.

“I care about the truth, I care about law and order and I care about the future of the community,” Krempski said. “I am motivated by service to God alone and God wants his justice and righteousness to flow in this city.”

She continued: “Anyone working against this goal will soon be removed from power on a national and local level. It’s a new day in America.”