Already sparse attendance only further decreased as the finals week progressed.

From August 2, 2006, here is a post-rodeo headline: “Rodeo pulled in spectators and money.”

Really? Read on and you actually learn that the rodeo’s attendance decreased by more than ten percent from when the finals were in Springfield in 2001. In 2001 the rodeo supposedly had 56,000 people in attendance. In 2006 the bad guys are claiming just 50,000.

I say “claiming” because I was there for every performance this year, and there wasn’t more than a couple performances that had good turnouts. I was there in 2001 also, and I know the downturn in attendance was more than ten percent. Additionally, in between shooting animal abuse, SHARK investigators also shot pictures of the grandstand and lawn areas. We made it a point to shoot the pictures when there were contestants in the arena, so the Rodeo Mafia couldn’t claim we took the shots before or after the rodeo.

Most of the time the turnout was pitiful. It appeared the majority of the attendees were family members or friends of the contestants. Illinois residents avoided the rodeo in droves.

As for the money the Journal-Register article claims was taken in, there were $307,266.70 in cash receipts. Sounds like a lot, until you read that the Ag. Department now owes the NHSRA $203,174.33. Let us not forget the $55,000 check (reported in a prior update) that was hand delivered to the NHSRA at a rodeo in Wyoming by Ag. Department director and Chief Rodeo Brown-Noser Chuck Hartke, who was accompanied by an entourage of fellow bureaucratic bunglers who traveled in style on the public dole.

Add to that the extensive time and resources spent by the Department of Agriculture to plan for and oversee the event and even create a web site for the rodeo. Then there is the expense for the dozens of state police officers who were pervasive around the rodeo all week (except when we needed them), plus the use of a state-owned helicopter merely to take pictures of the event from above, and who knows how many other ways Illinois bureaucrats found to waste tax dollars. Not to mention, any "profit" from the 2006 Finals has to go to pay for the 2007 Finals.

The NHSRF was promoted as an economic boon for the state. The numbers don't show it. There is no question that Illinois taxpayers shelled out plenty so that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich could have his rodeo, and in all likelihood execute some kind of payback for political favors for his friends and cronies.

But the Journal-Register doesn’t feel any apparent need to deal with those harsh realities. In fact, it absolutely refuses to do so. It has a rodeo to promote. Sadly, the Journal- Register is, at least for now, the dominant newspaper in Springfield, the capital of Illinois. In fact, at one time the Journal-Register was a respectable publication, but no more. Another paper in Illinois, the Beacon News, had the integrity to publish the scathing truth about the governor's underhanded games as well as the lack of intelligence within the rodeo-promoting circles. Read the column:Journalist Blasts Illinois Officials

"Tail-twisting, pulling and raking over fences when an animals is in a chute or just as the chute is being opened will not be permitted."

-David R. Bromwell, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Animal Welfare, 2002

Moving on to the next conspirator in the animal cruelty and fiscal mismanagement of the high school rodeo finals, we have the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the very agency that is supposed to enforce the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act. We’re not saying that the Ag. Department was worthless in this matter. We are saying that the Department, as a conspirator with the Rodeo Mafia, was far worse than worthless.

When SHARK advised the Department that there would be humane violations if the rodeo returned, our advise was ignored. When we laid out common sense rules for the rodeo to protect the animal victims, Ag. Dept. legal counsel Margaret van Dijik responded with a letter that, while admitting that rodeo animals were covered under Illinois humane laws (a no-brainer), blew off all of our concerns, all of which were based on our personal experience with rodeos in general and the former NHSRA Finals in particular.

When we watched and documented as Illinois laws were violated and wrote E-mail to the Department to alert them, Department of Ag. veterinarian Colleen O’Keefe told us that they were on site and that everything was fine.

As you can see from some of the pictures on IllinoisCorruption.com (and many still to come), everything was not fine. Animals were shocked, stuck, dragged, hit, injured and subjected to many other cruel traumas.

I was particularly incensed by the Journal-Register’s hyping of the rodeo with a comment by rodeo veterinarian John O’Keefe (no known relation to Dr. Colleen O’Keefe), who claimed, “You won’t find a (shock) prod on the rodeo floor.” The good doctor was either lying or lied to, because we filmed plenty of shocking from the first day to the last.

Dr. O’Keefe also claimed that when the rodeo was in Springfield in 2000 and 2001 that it never had to use its animal ambulance. Another lie. We have video of many animal injuries, including a case where an injured calf was carried off the field by three rodeo thugs. One held the calf’s head, one the tail, and one the three tied legs, one of which was injured. But then, being a rodeo veterinarian is synonymous with being a habitual liar.

The Illinois State Police have thus far exhibited nothing resembling upholding state laws and protecting the public's safety. Instead, the police have behaved as if following orders to protect the Rodeo Mafia. In addition to stopping me for extensive questioning about our "plans" to release animals, and then failing to respond to our first harassment incident, the state police's conduct when another SHARK investigator was harassed clarifies whose interests they are protecting--and it's not the people of Illinois.

Read below an excerpt from the letter of complaint sent to the Director of State Police detailing the incident:

"On July 29, during the morning rodeo performance, SHARK camera person Janet Enoch was harassed by another woman at the rodeo. This harassment included verbal abuse, and the other woman intentionally poured water down an embankment where she sat directly behind Ms. Enoch, who was sitting on the ground, to get her wet.

"I again called the state police and to my surprise an officer (C. C. Frick, Badge # 3694) actually showed up. After listening to Ms. Enoch and then speaking to the other woman, Officer Frick did nothing. When Ms. Enoch requested a police report be written up, Officer Frick refused. He stated that he felt this was simply a "difference of opinion," and he would not write a report for that. Officer Frick stated that it was a free country, and people had a right to say what they want. I find this position to be interesting given the special protest area that limited where potential protesters could exercise free speech at the rodeo. He also suggested that Ms. Enoch "move somewhere else" an outrageously inappropriate suggestion.

"Ms. Enoch did not initiate any conversation with the woman. The woman was the aggressor. She harassed Ms. Enoch both verbally and with her water trick. Ms. Enoch paid to be at the rodeo. She had as much right to be there as anyone else, and was in fact on the site prior to the aggressor. We absolutely expect a police report to be filed by Officer Frick, and are requesting that charges be filed against the woman."

Read the letters sent to the Director of the Illinois State Police in their entirety here.

Let’s not forget our friends in the Rodeo Mafia. At every performance I listened to the rodeo announcers croon on about the great lengths of care they give to their "animal athletes." They took every opportunity to glowingly talk about "animal welfare" and how these animals were "treated better than their own children." (I sure wouldn't want to be one of their kids.) The rodeo queens gushed about how much they loved animals and how proud they were of the care the rodeo gave to them. The good news is that they were clearly on the defense. They have enough sense to fear SHARK investigators and the public's opinion. The bad news is that this did not stop contractors, organizers, and contestants from abusing the animals and violating humane laws. It only made them try to hide it more.

I have to say – what a bunch of sissies. It was a hot week, I’ll admit that. To get a lot of our footage we had to be right in the hot sun. We did it without complaint to get the job done. The rodeo people, on the other hand, were huddled and squeezed together under every bit of shade they could find. These “tough cowboy” types couldn’t take the sun! On one day it rained, and by golly they couldn’t take that either! Every change in the weather had these characters running for cover. Frankly, I was embarrassed just watching them! Perhaps we should have just accepted it as comic relief, but frankly I was just further repulsed. What lightweights!

Our efforts to bring down the NHSRF in Illinois will include further exposing the FBI, which I now firmly believe should stand for “Federal Bureau of Idiots.” The FBI first set SHARK up in 2002, when it falsely claimed we were making bomb threats against the Olympics, among other outrageous lies. When we demanded an explanation for its actions and a public apology, the FBI refused. But common sense says that if we had done what the FBI claimed, that we would have been arrested, tried and convicted.

This time the conduct of these morons was perhaps even more egregious. They claimed to have unearthed a plan that we were going to release rodeo animals. First of all, what in the world does the FBI have to do with a supposed threat having to do with rodeo animals? Would this constitute a national security threat? Second, we challenged the FBI to come forward with the name of its informant(s), who were obviously going to be rodeo people. The Bureau (of Idiots) wouldn’t. Perhaps they should be renamed the FBC (Federal Bureau of Cowards). Is it any wonder that these clowns can’t find Osama Bin Laden? If these guys are the people protecting our nation from deadly threats, we are in a mighty big heap of trouble because they apparently couldn’t find their butts with both hands! In any case, the fable of the “Great Rodeo Animal Release” only made us more hungry for the documentation effort, which was immensely successful.

And the winner of the Cowardice and Cruelty Contest is..."

Then we have the man himself, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Just what kind of man is the governor? He is the kind of man who doesn’t have the guts or decency to even respond to the legitimate humane concerns of people like you, many of whom are Illinois taxpayers.

Please write to Governor Blagojevich and demand a response from his office. Let’s see what the governor has to say, as I suspect he is just going to dig a deeper hole for himself and his cronies.

The Honorable Rod Blagojevich
Governor of Illinois
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone 217-782-0244
Fax 217-524-4049

EMAIL the Governor

We will keep you informed as we get through our mountain of video and still pictures, and as we get more and more of it up on our IllinoisCorruption.com web site. I hope you will continue to take the time to check out IllinoisCorruption.com, as our campaign against the high school rodeo finals in Illinois is just beginning. I am still in the early stages of reviewing video footage and still pictures, and already found many, many disturbing pieces of evidence. We will be exposing the key government bureaucrats and corporate sponsors to a mega-dose of very unflattering publicity. Exposing this cesspool and the slimeballs who dwell in it is something we will be working on for months to come.

In addition to the extensive work we have underway to expose cruelty and corruption in Illinois, the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, which has been very hard hit by SHARK since our documentation of abuse there in 2005, is being ripped apart at the seams. Watch for another SHARK update very soon with all the details about this crucial development to bring the world's largest rodeo to its knees.

Investigations such as the one currently underway at the National High School Rodeo Finals, require significant resources. Your donations are always needed and appreciated to continue our work in defence of animals. Click Here to Donate
Thank You for all your support!

Kindest Regards,
Steve Hindi and your SHARK Team

email: shark.central@hotmail.com

phone: 630-557-0176

web: http://www.sharkonline.org/