Julie Bass' raised-bed garden in Oak Park

the taxes? No. Then what business is it of
theirs?"
Another wrote: "Keep the faith and
stand strong. Reading about this makes
me quite disturbed. As a fellow gardener, I
admire you:'
Bass has been cheered by urban farm-
ing supporters across the globe as well
as those who believe local governments
should keep out of people's yards in the
first place. But, Oak Park City Council
member Paul Levine is not impressed.
"She chose to create a website that
defames the city," he said. "We've always
encouraged gardening; we're not 'anti-
vegetable' — that's ludicrous! This situa-
tion has created a torrent of hate emails,
a lot of them are threatening and cyber-
bullying. Our technical and planning
director, Kevin Rulkowski, has been a
victim of lashon harah (evil language in
Hebrew). The phone calls coming in are
jamming the city and it's ugly — shame
on her!"
The mounting pressure, however, does
appear to have contributed to the city's
decision to drop the case for now Bass's
attorney, Solomon Radner, also an Oak
Park resident, is quick to point out the
charges could be reinstated at any time.
"I'm glad Julie is not currently facing a
criminal charge for growing vegetables':
Radner said. "But, as it stands now, it's
possible that the charges will be refiled
any minute, which is no way for my cli-
ent to live."
Jason Brown, principal of PublicCity
PR in Beverly Hills, says this case
illustrates what a powerful force social
media has become.
"It's truly a different day and age now':
Brown said. "With Facebook, Twitter and
other social media networks you can
shine a light around the world about a
community issue. Instead of standing
outside city hall with picket signs, if
someone believes they're being wronged,
he or she can turn to social media net-
works. Sometimes, no one listens. But,
in this case, it became a worldwide PR
disaster for Oak Park. While I do believe
this can be a dangerous practice, no one
can deny its effectiveness given the right
cause."

Charges Still Pending
Years ago, Bass considered going to law
school. Back when she was in college,
she studied constitutional law and even
did an internship with the American
Civil Liberties Union, a national organi-
zation advocating individual rights. But,
she never became a lawyer, and she's
never had to defend herself against any
kind of criminal citation.
Two charges are still pending. In
addition to the dismissed garden
charge, Bass also was cited because her
two dogs were not licensed. She says
she cleared that up right away by pay-
ing fees and getting valid dog licenses.
But she's still being hauled into court to
address the issue July 26. Her attorney
believes it's Oak Park's way of punishing
her for fighting the veggie garden case.
"We're discussing what actions must
be taken to make Julie Bass and her
family whole again after this baseless
and malicious prosecution by the city of
Oak Park:' Radner said. He plans to file
a motion to dismiss. "A lawsuit is one
of the things being discussed. It may
depend on whether or not the harass-
ment from the city stops now or if it
continues. As of now, it has continued
— in recent days Oak Park Police were
in front of her house, out of their car,
looking at the gardens. They scattered
when she walked out of her house."
Bass and her family have lived in
their house for 10 years. She says a
steady stream of cars now drive by with
people stopping to stare, wave or, at
times, shout out the window. Despite
the controversy, the family plans to
remain in Oak Park.
"We've planted roots; I think we're
here to stay': Bass said. "But, I also think
governments large or small should not
be allowed to run roughshod over citi-
zens. I think power should never trump
truth. I believe we're right. I'm not caus-
ing or encouraging law breaking. This
is really about the government bullying
the little people."

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