Editor’s note: This is part of an investigation by Shaw Local News Network looking into steer-tailing-style rodeo events in northern Illinois and the controversy that often accompanies them. Read more about the investigation at shawlocal.com.

Steer-tailing, or coleadero, is where a horseback rider chases a running steer, grabs onto its tail, and wraps the tail around the rider’s leg to slam the animal to the ground. It’s banned in Columbia, Nebraska, and parts of California and Colorado.

In the past few years, these widely criticized events have popped up in several other northern Illinois counties, including DeKalb, Will, Boone, Ogle and McHenry.

Chicago-based advocacy group Showing Animals Respect and Kindness provided authorities in each county with footage of the events that appear to show horses and steers being hit in the face, tripped, prodded and run after injuries such as severed tails and broken legs.

In all cases, county officials said they’ve struggled to regulate the events for a myriad of reasons. Many have blamed Illinois’ broad animal protection laws. Steer-tailing is not illegal under Illinois law, but animal abuse is.

According to the Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act, it’s illegal to “beat, cruelly treat, torment, starve, overwork or otherwise abuse any animal.”

The law also says that anybody with animals in their care must provide each animal with a sufficient amount of “good quality, wholesome food and water” and “veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering.”

Legal hurdles to prosecuting abuse

Prosecutors in two northern Illinois counties charged those involved in similar rodeo events with animal cruelty after seeing footage from SHARK.

In Will County, prosecutors charged Christofer Dorado of Batavia on Oct. 3, 2023, court records show.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Toni Renken told Shaw Local that the charges stemmed from SHARK footage showing Dorado beating a horse.

Dorado pleaded guilty Aug. 27, 2024, records show. He was given 18 months of probation, ordered to complete anger management classes and required to pay a $1,000 fine.

In Boone County, prosecutors charged Jose L. Robles on April 12 with four counts of animal cruelty. His next court date is at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 18, court records show.

However, steer-tailing is not named as an illegal act under current law. That makes these cases difficult for prosecutors because they must prove that the event qualifies as animal cruelty, Renken said.

It’s also difficult for county boards because, in Illinois, local governments can’t outlaw an activity that’s not already illegal under state law, Renken said.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Riley Oncken agreed, saying, “It’s a legislative problem.”

A bill that would ban steer-tailing in Illinois was introduced Jan. 13 by state Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, but it has not yet been voted on, Ventura told Shaw Local.

The Senate did pass a resolution by Ventura on Oct. 15 that condemns steer-tailing, declaring it cruel to animals and establishing April 23, 2026, as Animal Welfare Day, according to ilga.gov.

Unlike a bill, passing a resolution expresses the Senate’s opinion and does not become law.

DeKalb County Board member Ellingsworth Webb, a Democrat, said he would review Ventura’s bill and see if it’s something local officials should support.

“[It] would certainly go a long way with all the counties,” Hiland said.

But, Ventura said, “there’s plenty [under] our current law that could stop these practices if those in those positions just took the avenues to do so.”

Ventura said she wrote the bill because groups such as SHARK asked her to after local officials continuously failed to prosecute these cases.

Throughout 2023 and 2024, Will County officials worked to shut down several similar rodeo events operating in the area and have largely eradicated the problem, Renken said.

Will County prosecutors also are putting together a statute to ban steer-tailing, Renken said.

“I’ve always advocated that we need legislation because we didn’t want this to be a problem that we push off to others,” Renken said.