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Illinois Senator arrested on property damage, trespassing charges

Story Created: Jun 14, 2012 at 8:26 AM CDT

Story Updated: Jun 14, 2012 at 8:26 AM CDT

 
SPRINGFIELD — Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday arrested state Sen. Suzi Schmidt on misdemeanor charges of criminal damage to property and criminal trespassing.

The charges stem from damage the Lake Villa Republican allegedly did to a neighbor’s animal’s feed bag, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Schmidt also was served with an emergency stalking, no contact order involving the same neighbor. The no contact order is set to expire July 3, according to the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Office.
 
Schmidt, 60, announced earlier this year that she was not running for re-election.
 
Messages left by Illinois Statehouse News with Schmidt’s office seeking comment were not returned.
 
This isn’t Schmidt’s first run-in with the police involving the same neighbor, who was not identified by the sheriff's office.
 
There was a 2010 incident in which Schmidt told a 911 dispatcher to ignore her husband’s emergency calls. Schmidt locked her husband, Robert Schmidt, out of the house after she claimed to catch him cheating on her with the neighbor.
 
“I’m having a little problem with my husband right now, but it’s fine. So if he calls you, Bob Schmidt, you can ignore him,” Schmidt said on the 2010 911 tape. "I just caught him with another one that's why I'm a little upset."
 
Schmidt was not arrested after that incident, or after a later domestic dispute in which she allegedly rammed her husband’s car with her own. Schmidt said she would not resign her office after the 911 tapes and news of her seemingly volatile marriage surfaced.
 
Ronald Holmes, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, said the Senate has no plans to initiate a process against Schmidt that is similar to the one in the Illinois House regarding state Rep. Derrick Smith. The Chicago Democrat was arrested this spring after he allegedly accepted a $7,000 bribe and is now facing discipline from the House.

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