Yorkville anti-drag show crusader confronts mayor again; city council meeting ends in acrimony

Drag show opponent Molly Krempski blasts Yorkville Mayor John Purcell at the Sept. 13, 2022 Yorkville City Council meeting.

YORKVILLE – The Yorkville City Council meeting came to an abrupt and acrimonious end on Sept. 27 as the woman crusading against drag shows at local businesses again confronted Mayor John Purcell.

For the third city council meeting in a row, Molly Krempski of Yorkville and her supporters told aldermen and the mayor that the drag shows constitute adult entertainment and are in violation of city ordinance.

Pinz Entertainment Center, 1211 N. Bridge St., and Southbank Original Barbecue, 129 E. Hydraulic Ave, have hosted drag queens performing for audiences age 21 and older.

Krempski ramped up her rhetoric, warning both of dire social consequences and divine intervention.

“Deviants will come from all around the county to go to these shows because they aren’t allowed in other cities,” Krempski told the council.

“America happens to be coming into a period of judgment right now,” Krempski said. “God warns and warns, so this may be one of your warnings. We will see judgment fall on church leadership and government officials, among others, in the last quarter of 2022,” Krempski predicted.

“People will come because they will be able to immerse themselves in an adult entertainment environment without the stigma of going to a night club or a gay bar,” Krempski said.

“I know Mayor Purcell is on board with bringing business to Yorkville and allowing anything that people seem to enjoy, but it is the city council’s job to balance financial benefit for bars with quality of life for everyone else in the community,” she continued.

After Krempski and other speakers had finished, Purcell said he thought it disgusting that Krempski would oppose a gay bar being located in Yorkville.

Krempski shouted an objection, at which point the mayor called on the council for a motion to adjourn the meeting. This he promptly received, along with a unanimous vote in favor of ending the proceedings.