The First ABATE of IL Corporation

This section will be revised and updated periodically as I look back through
my archives and remember different events in District 3.

HISTORY OF ABATE OF ILLINOIS, DISTRICT 3, COVERING WEST OF I-55, SOUTH OF I-80, AND DOWN TO A LINE FROM SPRINGFIELD TO QUINCY.

This is how I remember the events of my involvement with the first ABATE of Illinois and District 3, of which I was Director for four years, May 1980 - April 1984. Jim "Pure Pork" Dean

LAST UPDATE TO THIS PAGE: June 11, 2003
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The original ABATE of Illinois, was founded in 1975(?), by Bill Orce, Jerry Timm, and others in the Chicagoland area, (they called themselves the Archer Avenue Gang). Easyriders magazine, who coined the name A.B.A.T.E. (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments) allowed the individual states to have their own separate organizations due to all the unrest. Many of the state representatives involved were untrusting of the people that wanted to run ABATE from California. After many months of arguments and accusations, Easyriders released it's claim on the name ABATE for the individual states to use in starting their own state organizations using the ABATE name.
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I was a reader of Easyriders Magazine since issue number two and read the articles surrounding the formation of ABATE. But in 1976 and 1977, there was talk of outlawing extended front ends as being unsafe and I had a 12 over springer that I really liked and saw the ad in Easyriders for ABATE of Illinois with the Prospect Heights, IL, address and sent my money in. I received my membership card in September of 1977.
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Welcome to A.B.A.T.E. Letter- 1977 Officers
A National Motorcycle Riders Organization, and the only organization
Dedicated to:
It's members in protecting their Freedom of the Road.
It's members in promoting motorcycle safety.
It's members in keeping them and their Legislators informed.
It's members by promoting social events throughout the year.
It's members by providing neutral ground for all types of motor cyclists to meet and talk, without hassles.

Many people ask "What can I do?" "How can I help?", if you want to help, our first task is to acquire members, so, sign up friends and neighbors. Next, send in any suggestions you might have on, the newsletter, parties, or any thing that pertains to motorcycles. Third, you might consider getting in on helping at the parties.
The following is a list of Officers. Send your suggestions to the officer in charge of a section to which it pertains.
State Coordinator Bill Orce
Assistant Coordinator Jerry Timm
Assistant Coordinator (downstate) Sam Gorden
Business Administrator Al Trowbridge
Funding Administrator George Norkus
Advertising (newsletter) Mike Casey
Newsletter Bill Regan & Teri Smith
Membership Jerry Timm
Run Coordinator Don Gannon
Run Section Heads
Food Jerry Timm
Security George Norkus
Medical Steve Bonk
Supply Chief Dave Born
Gate Control Turtle & Jimmy

These people put in a lot of time and energy to provide what is here, now- if you can or will help, things can only get better- it's your organization, so get involved!!

A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois, P.O. Box 152, Prospect Hgts., Il, 60070
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1977-first Flyer received- ABATE of Illinois 2nd Annual Octoberfest, Oct 1 & 2; Putnam County Fairgrounds; Featuring the drawing for the 1977 Superglide; Come support your rights on the road; Cost: $5 Person/$8 Couple; Everyone Welcome; Camping; Live Music; Contests; Raffle; Questions: call 312-639-4982; Food on sale; Tattoo Booth; Beer on sale; Vendors must have advance permission; Raffle tickets- $1; Special Benefits for ABATE Members; Place: Marshall-Putnam County Fair Grounds, Approx 1/4 Mile North of Henry on 29- follow signs!
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1977-First newletter-November-it told of the 2nd Annual Octoberfest held at the Fairgrounds in Henry, IL in October. ABATE had to pay for rebuilding some wood fence that some had used for firewood to keep warm.
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1978-ABATE of IL 2nd Annual Swap Meet, Rosemont Convention Center, Rosemont, IL, February, which was closed early in the afternoon due to some "Club" fighting, or so the police told everyone. At this Swap Meet, we had the chance to meet Ed Armstrong, who had written articles for Easyriders Magazine and was involved in ABATE of Illinois.
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Between 1978 and 1980, I had made several complaints about not receiving regular newsletters, to Bill Orce, the State Director. We traded letters back and forth and eventually had a phone conversation, where Bill explained that this was a volunteer organization and ABATE was only an idea and that to make the idea possible, people had to volunteer to make changes to how things are working. He asked me if I was willing to help ABATE of Illinois grow in my section of the state, since I was evidently the one complaining the most in West Central Illinois. I was appointed District 3 Director by Bill in May of 1980, and other ABATE members in the area at that time were Gary "Swede" Johnson, Tom "Bird" Cecil, Bruce "Boomer" Needham, Gene "Newt" Newland, Larry "Frenchie" Brooks, and Bernie "Bruno" Damm.
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May,1980- Letter of introduction from Bill Orce for new District Reps: This is the Introduction of what you are expected to do (Enclosure).
First, let me say that you have taken on a big job and that if you feel you can't handle it for any reason, okay, we can appreciate that position. If at any time you want to quit, please feel free to do so; however, we would like to have a little time to replace you, no questions asked.
Second, please understand that ABATE of Illinois is not a great financial institution and that your position is a volunteer position. No one in ABATE of Illinois is paid; this is not to say that in the future it won't change or that people aren't reimbursed for some expenditures. We will be glad to reimburse you for some of the "required business expenditures"; this would be done only by a prior "ok" from the main office. At this time ABATE of Illinois is totally self sufficient - however, from time to time (mainly during winter months)our funds are depleted. We would ask of you any time you can absorb your expenses to do so.
Again, we are just beginning to grow. As we become able to pay our way you will receive expense monies. Hopefully, with your cooperation and drive we will at some point in time be able to afford to pay modest salaries to all workers in the organization. (Salaries- could more appropiately be described as an expense account and a few bucks for the trouble). With these things in plain sight, should you want to help, we say thanks and welcome aboard. Be prepared for little help or gratitude from anyone outside the officers of the organization. Be ready to hear hundreds of snivels about nothing important - but be reassured there is self satisfaction in what you are endeavoring to do here. Thank you for your concern, Bill Orce, State Director, ABATE of Illinois

GUIDELINES FOR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES-
1. First objective is to get an area (County) representative.
a. Get someone that you can get in touch with easily - this is important - we don't usually get a lot of lead time when legislation is introduced.
b. Get someone who will donate his or her services and is willing to spend some dough - not a lot - but we can't afford to pay every phone bill and buy every stamp. When it is necessary, and funds are available, money will be given to area people. P.S.-I've spent dough myself and wouldn't ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't.
c. Ask them to do the same- find helpers with similar qualifications. Accomplish this and the rest is yours.
2. Meetings
a. Start out simple- once every other month is good.
b. Try to hold meetings before the 3rd Wednesday of the month - the Directors meet on the 3rd Wednesday. We would like to hear from you on a regular basis. (By Mail)
c. Try local churches and town halls first as they seldom charge for rooms to meet in. Again, we cannot afford to put out any dough yet. Explain that ABATE is a safety oriented as well as legislative group!. Most "straight" people think it's just a club (or gang)and this is the farthest thing from the truth. Try to get a free meeting place.
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ABATE OF ILLINOIS NEWSLETTER- December 1979

PARTY-FUN-BOOZE-SEX

Now that I have your attention, I think. This is the first newsletter in 1 1/2 years; the reason is being NO ONE is helping! At least 100 people came to me at the Swap Meet is April and offered to help with parties, runs and legislative and office problems-- only 1 actually came through!! So the reasons are (or should be) obvious-- without YOUR help, nothing can get done.

ILLINOIS IS UNDER SIEGE!!

For those people that care: The D.O.T. (dept of transportation) has mounted a multi-million taxpayers dollar attack on all free states. Joan Claybrook (alias GOD)has decided that YOU will wear helmets, like it or not!!! Joan is the head of the NHSTA, and is definitely ANTI-motorcycle.
This campaign is taking form in newspaper articles, radio announcements, and even anti-motorcycle television programs (ie: 30/minutes, CBS, Sept 22, 1979). REMEMBER all public sources of information in this country are "governed" by some bureaucratic agency; so they either comply or get harrassed to death.
Illinois has long been a sore spot for the DOT because of our court ruling the old helmet law UNconstitutional. We get more attention than other states (oh boy) from the DOT. They fight every piece of legislation we introduce as if their mangey lives depended on their winning.
POINT: The Headlite On Repeal Bill introduced for ABATE of Illinois by Rep. Cal Skinner. The DOT went so far as to get State Police, doctors and even some CHUMP Dealer to testify against us; even though the DOT had campaigned against us for months before we even had a chance to speak. Ed Armstrong and I left Chicago at 4 AM to get to Springfield on time. We had been promised thirty minutes for testimony but when we started, the chairman of the motor vehicle committee cut us to 5 minutes each. The DOT had the floor for twenty five minutes and presented falsified information, which we were not allowed to rebutt. The outcome being a vote of 6 to 5 against us.
NOW for the clincher-- after the vote, Armstrong and I (being slightly hostile) asked several of the Reps that voted NO why they did so. Most of them felt that "the majority of motorcyclists WANT the headlite law" and some added "the helmet law too".
The reason for this is that you people are not writing, calling, or seeing your Reps! Of the five that voted for us only 2 said they had seen letters, very few letters regarding motorcycle legislation!!!

MEMBERSHIP As to membership and dues, etc. well we aren't gonna promise anything; if ya want to send some money, fine; if not, don't expect much. If someone wants to be membership chairman, good, the job is open. The newsletter will be mailed to members when we feel like doing a newsletter, unless of course someone wants to do the job!!
It is more important to get legislation taken care of than print newsletters; and it is more important to mail newsletters than to plan parties, and so on. So if you want to help ABATE, and yourself, WRITE to : ABATE, PO Box 152, Prospect Hts. 60070.

P.S.-
In that lawsuit of 2 years ago when SWAP MEET, Inc. (the "BIKERS" that hold swapmeets in the Amphitheatre) sued ABATE because we had a swapmeet- they LOST- TWICE- yep the State Appellate Court turned 'em down- IT still cost YOU (ABATE) $2600.00 in legal fees- nice guys, huh?
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July 4, 1980- We had our first get-together as District 3 at Lake Argyle near Macomb on July 4th Weekend with a potluck. In the fall of 1980, Bill allowed me to have presigned membership cards and patches to hand to members as we signed them up. There was some distrust of the local guys claiming to represent ABATE of Illinois. Membership at that time was $10 for new and $6 for renewals. One of the other problems was the National ABATE advertised in Easyriders that people had sent money in to and not received anything back from. This did not make winning new members any easier.
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Bill had a State Party in Tovey, IL,and a campout at Sanchris Lake, in July, 1981, and we had a good time, even though Boomer's Panhead motor locked up and Newt got a flat tire on the rear of his Sporty. That was a sight we wouldn't soon forget- two Harleys in the back of a Datsun pickup.
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There was a big membership growth in Southern Illinois, District 6, where Terry "Toes" Tomazoli was the Director. He claimed a membership of around 600 although I don't know if that is true. We were running in the 80 to 90 range in District 3 in 1981 -1982, with the majority in Knox and Warren Counties, but we had County Reps also in Peoria, Fulton, McDonough, Henderson, and Mercer. We had a meeting with Bill Orce, in November, 1982, at the Hilton, in Springfield, on the future of ABATE of IL, as the common member had no voice in the direction of the organization and with the District 3 and District 6 membership up around 700, some thought they should have the ability to help define the direction ABATE took. The outcome of that meeting was that we finally got a copy of the bylaws and found that we were listed as non-voting members and all decisions were made by the Board of Directors who were self-appointed and vacancies were filled by the remaining Board Members, and all were from the Chicago area.
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The last State event held was the The Great Illinois Hawg Rally dragraces at the Havana, IL, dragstrip, on July 23, 1983. After that, no statewide functions were held. Newsletters were sporadic, as Bill put it, "If I have the money, I'll send one out". We had put out our own newsletter, starting in 1982, "The Poop Sheet" to the members we had signed up to fill the gap left by the lack of a State newsletter.
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We had poker runs, parties, and rides to develop interest in belonging to ABATE. There were at that time, no groups having activities for bikers to participate in, outside of the "Clubs".
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I served as District 3 Director until April of 1984, when we held an election, and Gary "Swede" Johnson was elected to take my place. However, Bill refused to recognize Swede because he hadn't appointed him to be District Director. We had a set of bylaws that we ran by and held monthly membership meetings and continued on, just sending in dues money to Bill. Swede continued in that capacity until we decided to form our own ABATE organization in the spring of 1985, because we had not been able to contact Bill. ABATE of Illinois was involuntarily dissolved by the Secretary of State in March of 1985 for non-filing of the annual corporate report.
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Central IL ABATE, Inc., chartered as a not for profit corporation by the State of Illinois on July 29, 1985, is what used to be District 3 of ABATE of IL.
"Look twice - save a life"