Freeburg mayor accepts plea deal on St. Clair County hunting violations
Freeburg Mayor Seth Speiser and two others have reached plea agreements on a series of hunting violations that resulted from a monthlong state investigation three years ago.
Speiser, 61, pleaded guilty in St. Clair County Circuit Court last week to one count of placement of bait (corn) for deer. Associate Judge L. Dominic Kujawa fined him $400 and placed him on court supervision for 12 months.
Kujawa dismissed three other charges against Speiser, including two counts of unlawful taking of a white-tailed deer with the aid of bait and one count of firearm deer hunting with the aid of bait.
“There was a dismissal of three counts in exchange for a plea to one,” said Chris Allen, spokesman for State’s Attorney James Gomric.
Speiser declined to comment this week, saying he didn’t want to interfere with the case of another defendant, Danny Cox, 66, his friend and neighbor, who formerly pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and managed the Gateway Grizzlies. Cox’s next hearing is set for Feb. 17.
All four charges against Speiser were Class B misdemeanors. Under Illinois law, each carried a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,500.
If Speiser completes supervision and isn’t cited for additional hunting violations in the next year, the first count also will be dismissed, Allen said. However, that won’t eliminate his penalties — neither the $400 fine nor points against his state hunting privileges.
Brandon Damm, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which regulates hunting, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the Speiser case.
One conviction on a Class B misdemeanor results in nine points, according to an online synopsis of IDNR’s system. Accumulating 13 or more points in three years can lead to a hunting license being revoked for a corresponding number of months.
Illinois Conservation Police conducted the investigation in rural Freeburg in the fall of 2022. Incident reports show that officers, formerly known as game wardens, did site reconnaissance by day and night and used an Illinois State Police plane for aerial surveillance.
Officers issued a total of 29 citations and 22 warnings for hunting violations to eight people in the Speiser and Cox parties. Cox owns about 300 acres bordering the mayor’s property.
Seth Speiser’s hunting party included his son, Mitchell Speiser, 28, of Freeburg, and a guest, Brian Forrester, 38, of New Athens. All pleaded not guilty to their violations. All were represented by Belleville attorney Greg Skinner.
Skinner didn’t respond to requests for comment this week.
Like his father, Mitchell Speiser had a court hearing on Jan. 13. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful taking of a white-tailed deer. Kujawa fined him $400, placed him on supervision for 12 months and dismissed his other count of failure to wear a blaze-orange hat and vest.
Forrester pleaded guilty to one count of firearm deer hunting with the aid of bait. Kujawa fined him $300, placed him on supervision for 12 months and dismissed his other count of failure to wear a blaze-orange hat and vest.
Cox’s hunting party included his sons – Kamdan, 30, of Clarksville, Tennessee, and Kyle, 35, of Belleville – and two others, Steve Pate, 65, of Marietta, Georgia, and Barry Northener, 66, of Roswell, Georgia. They’ve all been represented by John Baracevic, a former state’s attorney and judge.
Early on, Northener pleaded guilty to his only charge of failure to wear a blaze-orange hat and vest and paid a fine.
The seven men in the Speiser and Cox parties who initially pleaded not guilty collectively faced up to $45,000 in fines, in addition to the possibility of jail time and loss of hunting privileges.
Illinois Conservation Police issued 21 citations and 12 written warnings to the Cox party. Alleged violations ranged from deer hunting without proper permits to illegal placement of bait for deer and taking a 10-point buck and an 8-point buck with the aid of bait.
Officers alleged in reports that:
- Danny Cox used a firearm permit issued to his wife, Nancy, who doesn’t hunt, to harvest a doe.
- Kamdan Cox used Nancy’s archery permit to harvest a 5-point buck.
- Kyle Cox harvested deer using free landowner permits, despite not living on the property.
- Others in the party used permits obtained in the name of Danny and Nancy Cox’s daughter, Kayleigh, who doesn’t hunt.
- Officers observed trail cameras on nine deer stands or blinds baited with corn, molasses and mineral salt.
- Danny Cox told them that he’s a “conservationist” who feeds deer year-round to ensure they have enough to eat.
Deer baiting is illegal in Illinois due to ethical or “fair-chase” standards and the risk of disease spread from congregated feeding, according to IDNR, although more than 20 states allow it.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that conviction on a Class B misdemeanor results in nine points against someone’s hunting license under the Illinois Department of Natural Resources point system.
This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 8:46 AM.
