Roby, Illinois, or "Roby Ridge?" Are You Next? by Jefferson Adams On September 22, 1997, sheriff’s deputies from Christian County, Illinois, acting on a court order obtained by her relatives, attempted to serve commitment papers on Shirley Allen, 51, a widow who lives along the Sangamon River outside the village of Roby, 15 miles east of Springfield. The deputies were met at the door by Allen, who was carrying a shotgun and who refused to go with them. Thus began the siege at "Roby Ridge," as some have called it, which at the time of this writing is now into its fifth week. When Allen refused to go with them, deputies kicked her door off its hinges and then fired tear gas canisters into the home to force her out. She eventually emerged, dressed in camouflaged hunting pants with a soaked towel around her head and Vaseline applied to her face, to protect her from the burning effects of the CS tear gas. When numerous attempts to coax her out of the house failed, the deputies retreated and called in state police, who set up a command post a short distance from the woman’s house and dispatched a tactical unit to surround the residence, apparently equipped with automatic weapons. Shotgun blast to the chest On September 26, Allen walked out the back door of her home and began yelling at two state police negotiators who had been attempting to coax her out of her farm house. Two hidden state police officers then fired metal "non-lethal beanbag rounds" from a 12-gauge shotgun at her, hitting her at least 3 times in the chest. But Allen wasn’t knocked down, as she’d had the forethought to be wearing several layers of bulky clothing. Head cop gives press conference During a Saturday, October 27th news conference in Springfield, Illinois, State Police Director Terry Gainer, in an attempt to justify his assault squad’s aggressive behavior, made several disjointed statements including: "We’re here to help," "We are looking out for her best interests" and "It’s our hope that she (Allen) will grow to understand that we ... are looking out for her..." (All three quotes taken from the September 27 edition of the State Journal-Register, the dominant newspaper of record in Springfield, Illinois). Staying consistent with his continually contradictory statements, Gainer claimed it was widow Allen who first fired at police. Puzzled journalists questioned how that could be since all official prior statements from Gainer and the Illinois State Police attested to the fact that Allen had never fired on any of the police prior to Friday. In response to numerous phone calls to his office from all over the country and the comments of concerned citizens who have voiced their disapproval of the Illinois State Police’s overbearing tactics during the Allen siege, Gainer stated publicly, "We ought to put them in a box and let them live in their merry little world." Allen lives on a 47-acre farm, with two producing oil wells. She apparently has quite a bit of money in the bank, including $120,000 left to her by her deceased husband, plus the interest accrued in the several years since his death. One can’t help but wonder if the out-of-state relatives who asked an Illinois judge for the "psychiatric evaluation" court order might have something in mind besides Allen’s well being. Barry Manilow music? For several days after the tear gas and "bean bag bullets" failed to cause Allen to surrender, the Illinois State Police kept up a round-the-clock mental assault on Allen’s farm house, including loud Barry Manilow music blared at high volume at all hours and floodlights beaming bright light through her windows at night. Her electricity, telephone and water were shut off, and are still off, a month later, at the time of this writing. Thomas R. Wayne, a media monitor with Americans for Responsible Media (ARM) of Arlington Heights, Illinois arrived in Springfield October 1 to evaluate whether or not 1st Amendment rights are being thwarted by government officials at the scene of the siege. In explaining the purpose of the visit to Roby, Wayne stated, "We’re going to ask a simple question: Where in the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights or any other lawful document does it give the government the authority to hold back all news media and public citizens a half mile away from the home of a woman? It is our understanding that this whole thing precipitated last Labor Day when Shirley Allen exercised her right not to allow certain family members in her home for a visit. All I can say is if a simple family squabble can lead to a court order to have a forced psychiatric evaluation then probably over half this country is in trouble." Alternative media alerts America Wayne stated in his ARM news release dispatched to local and national news media, "Government officials claim that this 51-year-old woman Shirley Allen may be a danger to the community or to herself and that she needs to be protected. "We ask protected from whom? It’s obvious this remarkable widow has a strong will to live. Police have already filled her home with tear gas, shot her in the chest with bagged metal projectiles, and tormented her with loud music and bullhorns night and day. How much more will it take for them to figure out that this widow is not a danger to herself and that the real danger is from state agencies that have already decided that not taking Prozac for a year makes a person unstable." Wayne’s statement in the news release continued: "This could set a precedent that can be used against anybody--the crime of wanting to be left alone. Her neighbors who know her best say Mrs. Allen is neither crazy nor a danger to anyone. She has no criminal record or assaults or any other anti-social behavior other than she wants to be left alone on her property as guaranteed by the Constitution. There also is the question of the formidable assets owned by Mrs. Allen, including the mortgage free 47 acres of land and an oil well on her property." Citizens rally to support Allen On October 14, a rally was held in nearby Taylorville to show support for Shirley Allen. Approximately 300 people attended the rally, not counting police snipers that were seen on some of the town’s rooftops. The following is a note from a woman who attended the rally: "As I was saying before, I took advantage of socializing with gathered citizens. I spoke with one group of about eight women you were residents of that area. A couple of them told me that Shirley Ann’s brother and mother live in Scottville, Illinois. They said that about a week before the court order was issued for Shirley Ann’s mental evaluation this "so called" brother had beaten Shirley Ann up at her home. He was later arrested for this act of violence upon his sister. He has since been fired from his position as a bus driver. They also told me that Shirley Ann did have power of attorney for her mother’s affairs (Doesn’t it seem odd that the family would have entrusted this so called mental case to be in charge of their mother’s affairs?) And, that Shirley Ann had financed a new home for her mother in Scottville. "Another woman from that area also came over to me later to tell me about the assault on Shirley Ann by her brother in Scottville, and of his subsequent arrest. She thought he might have been arrested just within the past week or so. All of the women said this information should be easy enough to verify, the last woman told me she had read of his arrest in a local paper." What was that I was saying about relatives and possible financial motives for a commitment? Add some personal motives to the mix and things start to get a lot clearer, don’t they? Neighbors come through A couple who live near Allen and do not want to be identified paid the second installment on Allen’s property taxes recently, which added up to $524.67 plus a late fee for $7.87. "I saw it printed in the little Edinburg paper last week," the woman said. "I don’t want her to lose her home"at least in this manner. She can’t get...out to do anything." The woman said she and her husband don’t directly know Allen, but that her husband and son both had worked on her house in the past. Bill Babich of Taylorville said he and Dave Hoover of Springfield opened an account October 11 at First Trust and Savings Bank in Taylorville, designed to help Allen hire a lawyer and pay other fees. "I think Shirley deserves and really needs someone that’s going to fight for her, especially with her property involved and the conflicting stories about whether or not her family is after it," Babich said. Woman arrested for helping Another woman was arrested and jailed when she ran the roadblock on the road leading to Allen’s home in an attempt to take her a bag of groceries. John Riley, who lives about a quarter-mile from Allen and has visited with her in recent months, described Allen as intelligent, knowledgeable about the outdoors, and suspicious of the motives of her family. So far, at the time of this writing, the siege on an innocent and obviously quite sane and able to care for herself widow has cost the state of Illinois over $500,000.00. Let’s hope that by the time it’s over it won’t also cost Shirley Allen her life. Note: Shirley Ann Allen was apprehended when she stepped out onto her porch on October 30, 1997. Police officers fired several large rubber bullets at her from a grenade launcher, striking her several times. Apparently not seriously injured, Allen was taken to St. Johns Hospital in Springfield, Illinois for her "evaluation." © 1997 The Idaho Observer