Umm … exactly how did Peoria’s ‘Don’t Shoot’ PR campaign have anything as all to do with federal indictments of Bomb Squad members?

So, 12 members of a rather ordinary street gang that most Peorians have never heard of get indicted. It’s a federal indictment. That means the indictment has been months, if not years, in the making.

And who do they have lining up behind the federal prosecutors? The Republican mayor of the City of Peoria, the Republican sheriff of the County of Peoria and the nominally Democratic state’s attorney of the County of Peoria.

Just in time for elections.

Now, this is what I want. I want that prosecutor to look directly as the cameras and tell voters exactly what role any of these three individuals played in these FEDERAL indictments. Then I want him to tell voters what role the “Don’t Shoot” PR campaign had to do with these indictments.

This is what Peoria really needs: More cops in squad cars. More cops walking a beat. More cops in neighborhoods. More arrests and prosecutions. THAT is the solution to Peoria’s crime problems. But it’s too late to hire more cops in time for municipal elections. Embedding them in neighborhoods is a good idea, but three cops are too little and it’s too late to any good before the election and probably too late for municipal elections in February.

So we have lame-ass press conferences lauding “Don’t Shoot” for these arrests, when in fact “Don’t Shoot” had nothing to do with these prosecutions. Nothing.

Well, they didn’t name their gang the ‘Kittens and Cotton Candy Club’

Instead, they called their gang “Bomb Squad,” which was certain to attract some attention from the law enforcement community. And there are now 12 federal indictments for various drug distribution schemes. So, there are not likely to be any plea bargains. And no, I do not recognize the names of ANY of the 12 people indicted. So, we must run in different circles.

This is probably the lamest, most dumb ass thing ever said about street crime in Peoria

Here’s Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady holding forth on his theory about why people take guns and wave them around to force people to give them money:

The message is right out of the “Don’t Shoot” program that city leaders, police and prosecutors have embraced in the past few months as a way to stifle increasing gunplay on city streets. This week’s indictment is the first phase, where members of the Bomb Squad, a notorious Peoria street gang linked to shootings, robberies and homicides, is held up as an example of what not to do.

Later this year, State’s Attorney Jerry Brady said there will be a call-in where leaders of various gangs and factions will be told to put down their guns. At this call-in, Brady said, the gang leaders will get the message continuing violence by anyone from within their group will have vast repercussions.

“It’s a simple message of parenting. You tell the child that this behavior will not be accepted, and if you continue, you will be punished,” he said. “At the call-in, the message is somewhat two-fold. If you do not put the gun down, you will be treated just like the Bomb Squad. The other part is the part that allows social service agencies to provide services.”

So. They are going to call gang leaders. And tell them to put down their guns. And they will do it because SUDDENLY they’ve just now started to indict people. And their moms will be after them now. Wow. Because that approach sure worked with Al Capone. No wait. THEY THREW HIS ASS IN PRISON. And then he caught syphilis and died. My bad.

Our intrepid city leaders, who have no problem telling would be voters exactly what is wrong with the city, will spend $50,000 paying someone to tell them what city policy should be

Hey, it’s only money, right?

The City Council voted Tuesday to ask that $50,000 be included in next year’s budget to pay for an assessment of what is needed to improve the look and character of the Southern Gateway to the city.

By a 7-3 vote, with council members Chuck Weaver, Bill Spears and Gary Sandberg voting no and At-Large Councilwoman Beth Akeson absent, the council asked City Manager Patrick Urich to look at a way to put the request into the 2013 budget. The motion didn’t authorize spending the money, but did indicate the votes would likely be there when the budget is finally approved.

Well, there we have it, folks. A list of seven people who admit they are too fucking stupid to fix up a part of town. (Hint: It’s called ZONING ENFORCEMENT)

Here’s the problem as I see it. People who get off the plane in Bartonville have to travel through Peoria and actually might *horrors* see the slum conditions in the South Side as they travel to Caterpillar corporate HQ in downtown Peoria. They might actually see an honest-to-God NEGRO crossing the street carrying a 40.

Well, the city could fix up every single property along Route 24 into town. Or, the city could erect a huge fence, but there might be an occasional person of color who peeks his dark face around the fence, frightening the lily-ass white visitors to Cat.

So, I’d consider moving all the slums out to North Peoria. Or start using the airport in Bloomington.

Or Caterpillar could move its corporate HQ to west of the airport, so they could entertain visitors without having to expose them to distastefully hued Peorians. Real residents of Peoria would love it, because then we would be free of The Great Yellow God mucking in our city politics. But the city council wouldn’t like it because they would be absolutely clueless if their heads weren’t buried that far up Caterpillar’s rather large posterior.

I feel SOOOOOO secure on West Main Street

Driving to Starbucks one morning at about 9:15 a.m., I passed THREE POLICE CARS between North and Sheridan streets. Two of the cars were moving. One was parked on West Main, no doubt to catch any car that dared to move faster than 25 mph. And I kept seeing police cars on West Main on subsequent mornings.

Here’s an idea. With all the home break-ins and violent drug crime that happens in West Columbia Terrace (I won’t even mention car break-ins) maybe the police powers that be MIGHT just MIGHT want to, you know, have a police car park on Columbia Terrace – to act as a deterrent. They might even catch an occasional speeder. Woo Hoo! Speeding ticket revenue!