Alsip, Illinois resident Joseph I. Collins, 25, pled guilty on Aug. 16 to committing a hate crime last summer at UpRising Bakery and Cafe, a Lake in the Hills business that was preparing to host a family-friendly drag show, The Daily Herald reported.
Collins was immediately remanded to the McHenry County jail to serve the required 50% of an 180-day jail sentence. He also is required to serve 24 months of felony probation, perform 200 hours of public service, pay about $3,700 in fines and fees, and pay $2,300 in restitution. The hate-crime charge carries a possible prison sentence of one to three years, but probation also is an option.
He also must abstain from consuming any non-prescribed drugs and illicit substances as well as submit to screenings and have no contact with Corinna Bendel-Sac, the bakery's now-former owner.
Bendel-Sac called Collins' actions "heinous" and said during the sentencing hearing they caused "irreversible damages to my business."
The bakery closed in June 2023. Windy City Times noted that, in late March, Bendel-Sac said she will begin looking for a new McHenry County location for her business.
—Andrew Davis
