Boy Scout Leaders to Vote on Anti-Gay Policy; Rainbow Council Focuses on Mission

The decision whether to allow gays in the scouts may soon be a local one depending on the National Board's vote.

One year after reaffirming its stance against gay membership, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will vote this week on whether to lift the ban, the Chicago Tribune reports. The BSA board is convening at the organization’s headquarters in Texas to discuss the controversial decision, reports say. The board has said it will consider lifting the national restriction against gay membership, instead leaving the call up to local troop leaders. An upcoming vote will determine how the group proceeds, but there’s already plenty of influence on both sides of the fence. On Sunday, President Barack Obama strongly voiced his support for equal access to the organization, regardless of sexual orientation. However, other notable figures such as Texas …

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Inside the 'Perversion Files' of the Illinois Boy Scouts

Scouts were stripped naked and rubbed with ice cubes, forced to have oral sex with their troop leaders and molested on camping trips. These and other sex crimes are detailed in files the Boy Scouts of America kept secret for decades.

What do an elementary schoolteacher, a voodoo cultist, a shipping clerk and a prison guard have in common? Each has a "perversion file" kept by the Boy Scouts of America in secret records that detail decades of sex abuse allegations. Almost 300 cases involving men and Boy Scout troops throughout Illinois are among the 1,200 secret Boy Scout files released last week by order of the Oregon Supreme Court. In Illinois, the files date to the 1960s and extend through the ensuing five decades. The Boy Scouts of America used these records to prevent blackballed Scout leaders from returning to the organization with other troops. The files are filled with correspondence between the leadership of the Scouts and troop leaders, interviews with Scouts …

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Look Up Boy Scout Leaders Expelled in Illinois

Almost 300 Illinois records are included in the Boy Scouts of America's once-secret "perversion files." Search for your town or troop number.

Patch's searchable database allows you to search by cities in Illinois. Information gathered by the Los Angeles Times shows the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America who were expelled between 1947 and 2005 on suspicions or confirmation of sexual abuse. If a troop is listed, a case file exists. At this time, not all case files are available online. As new documents become available, Patch will update this database.

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Editor's Notebook

Return of the Century: 100-Year-Old Man Recalls Coast-to-Coast Tour of Lincoln Highway

In 1928, Bernard Queneau visited the area at 16 as part of a national safety tour of Lincoln Highway. In 2012, Queneau, now 100, returns to see the mural commemorating that trip.

The first time Bernard Queneau rolled through Frankfort along the Lincoln Highway, he did it as a passenger, sitting on a wood bench in an old REO Speed Wagon, accompanied by three other fellow Eagle Scouts. On his most recent trip to the area, he drove the local stretch of U.S. Route 30 in a Buick sedan outfitted with cushioned seats, air-conditioning and an OnStar navigation system. This time his second wife, Esther, joined him, splitting the driving duties. That last visit was this past week, Thursday, Sept. 6. The first visit, however, was in June of 1928. Bernie, as his wife calls him, was a month away from his 16th birthday. For those who did the quick math in your heads, yes, that does indeed make Queneau 100 years old, which he'll …

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Mokena Resident Earns Eagle Scout Honor

George Karnezis is recognized as a caring, compassionate and selfless scout.

George Karnezis took his time to find the right word to describe how if felt to be an Eagle Scout. He tipped his bespectacled face slightly toward the ground, and, after a comfortable pause, found his answer.  "Rewarding," he said, resolutely, his gaze steady and his arms at his sides.  After some more thought, he added "It's knowing that I'm prepared. Any struggle I have from now on can be managed." Karnezis, a Mokena resident and Lincoln-Way East senior, has been scouting since 1999, when he joined Cub Scout Pack 39. Since then, he has served as senior patrol leader in Mokena Troop 40, participated in numerous camping trips, and earned 30 badges, only 12 of which are required to become an Eagle Scout.  "Thirty's too little," he said, …

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