Homer Township residents praise, bash Supervisor Steve Balich for flying flag upside down

Homer Township Supervisor Steve Balich reiterated his support Monday for flying the U.S. flag upside down at the township offices in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict.

“I have no regrets about the flag, and I did not break any laws,” Balich said in the first public meeting since he ordered the U.S. flag flown upside down on May 31 to signal that the nation was in distress. “I just wanted to make a point and have a lot of people talking about it, and a lot of people have been talking about it.”

Half of the 16 public speakers at Homer Township’s meeting Monday agreed with Balich and voiced their support for his freedom of expression.

“He has a right as an American to say this was a dark day in America,” said Jan Nahorski, a Joliet resident and Army veteran. Nahorski was among a handful of veterans who defended Balich’s right to freedom of speech.

Fewer than half of the speakers Monday said Balich’s actions were not appropriate for a leader who is supposed to represent all people in the community, while a few residents asked to end the partisan divide and stop the infighting.

“Bringing up the negative constantly and rehashing it and failing to move forward isn’t going to help the community grow,” Heidi Pacella said.

Teresa Kocanda said getting along needs to start with leadership. She said she is tired of shenanigans, disrespect and the community cast in a negative light, and that it is time for Balich to step down.

“This flag is not a Republican flag. It’s not a Democrat flag. It’s an American flag,” Kocanda said. “It represents every man and woman who put on a uniform, fought and died for this flag, and I thank every one of the veterans for that.”

About 45 people attended the township board meeting, which was filled with cheers and boos as people stood and made their statements.

At several times, township Clerk Vicki Bozen asked for quiet and respect while people were speaking and once asked for the Will County sheriff deputy on duty to intervene when an audience member questioned if a pro-Trump speaker was electioneering.

Resident Jessica Barnes said nearly 950 people signed an online petition asking Balich to step down in the wake of the flag controversy. She said she presumed about 600 of those signatures are from township residents.

Barnes said the township board is often one-sided, citing when it voted to become a sanctuary for life, or anti-abortion community or when it approved a resolution to protect the Second Amendment.

“This is just another example of you and your board shoving your opinions down the throats of all of us residents,” she said. “You don’t represent me and you don’t represent a lot of people here, and it’s getting embarrassing.”

Other residents, however, said they could come up with a petition in support of Balich’s actions.

Homer Glen Trustee Dan Fialko said Balich turning the flag upside down for the day was important to those residents who felt similarly.

“It takes a leader to do things out of the ordinary,” Fialko said. “For the people you represented, you shouldn’t step down. You should step up. You did the right thing for the people of this community.”

Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said she is not mad that Balich thinks the country is in distress and agrees that the country is in trouble, but the flag should not fly upside down on a municipal building. She noted that as a community leader, she can only fly a flag at half-staff.

“I am a Republican. I did not like and still don’t like what happened to Mr. Donald Trump, but I don’t have that right to speak for everybody in the village,” Neitzke-Troike said.

The village of Homer Glen released a statement June 4, saying the township’s actions were not supported by the village.

“Although the Village of Homer Glen and Homer Township are two very separate government entities, this is not always understood,” a portion of the statement said. “Both entities do represent the citizens, and the actions have angered and disrespected not only those who have proudly served our country but also those critical of the use of a government property to push their own political agenda.”

The Rev. Thomas J. Loya, pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glen, said the U.S. flag can have different meanings from flying it in victory to being at mourning when it is at half-staff. He said Trump’s trial could have happened to anybody, and other institutions should fly their flags upside down.

“It was about expressing that our country is in distress,” Loya said. “It was about once again a glaring, glaring example of how our cherished institutions — education, government, justice system — all of them have been commandeered as venues to push ideologies, and their integrities about which this country founded has been eroded.”

Board member Mike Clausen said he supports Balich’s right to fly the flag upside down.

“I’ll always stand behind anyone sticking up for the rights of this country and to express yourself when it needs to be done,” Clausen said.

Homer Township Highway Commissioner Brent Porfilio said the First Amendment guarantees the right to protest and speak freely.

“Democracy and freedom is what everybody fights for,” Porfilio said. “It doesn’t matter how they protest or express themselves, but we have to accept it.”

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown