Cleve Heidelberg Trial

Your retelling of the 1970 trial of Cleve Heidelberg for the murder of police officer Ray Espinoza was full of surprises—surprises about the poor police work and improper, perhaps illegal, practices of the prosecution.

I was called to be among the pool of potential jurors for that case. When I was questioned by the judge and prosecuting attorneys as to my fitness to serve, I was asked whether I had any mental reservations against capital punishment since the prosecution was asking for the death penalty. I answered that I would have no problem in voting for a guilty verdict if the facts led to that conclusion. I then said I had no religious scruples against capital punishment but felt it was morally wrong. The prosecutor asked the judge to dismiss me from the pool of jurors because of my reluctance to vote for the death penalty. The judge agreed and excused me, and so my jury duty was over.

As I look back to that case I am appalled that this apparently innocent man was convicted and jailed for the past 45 years because of the lack of a fair trial – and that had I been a juror I would likely have joined the others in finding him guilty. Worst of all, I might have been pressured into voting for a death sentence for an innocent man.

Larry Matthews

Washington, IL

Sen. Koehler & “Merchants of Doubt”

Sen. Dave Koehler made opening remarks at the free public screening of “Merchants of Doubt” co-sponsored by Community Word newspaper last month. This remarkable documentary shows how corporations and industry lobbyists use marketing and outright deception to manipulate the truth.

They successfully protected the tobacco industry for 50 years. The science was clear for 50 years that cigarettes are addictive and smoking leads to cancer, yet the industry was brilliantly, diabolically successful in using doubt and manipulation to fend off federal regulation.

The same strategy is being followed with climate change, but we don’t have 50 years to finally act on the truth. Damage is occurring at an ever-accelerating pace. This film is the first step to understanding the deception money can buy.

Sen. Koehler is a co-sponsor of the Clean Jobs Bill, SB 1485 on renewable resource procurement. Throw your support behind this legislation.

Koehler is trying to make a difference for us at home, but he needs you to make it happen. Start writing letters and making phone calls.

If you missed the screening, find a copy of this documentary. It will be one of the scariest movies you’ve ever seen.

Rabecka Williamson

Eureka College

The writer is a sophomore majoring in environmental studies and communication. She is an officer of SAGE (Student Alliance for a Greener Environment) and organizer of the Walnut Grove Festival, the group’s third annual environmental day from 1 to 5 p.m. April 23 at the school.

Illinois’ Clean Power Plan Needs to Proceed

This February, NASA reported the Earth had the highest global average surface temperatures in recorded history. Also in February, the U.S. Supreme Court just happened to put a stay on the federal Clean Power Plan which addresses climate change/climate  warming by reducing national carbon dioxide pollution levels.

In the meantime, states can move forward with their own state-specific Clean Power Plan. Illinois has planning underway. It needs to proceed. What are the benefits? How about cleaner air with less particulate matter irritants, which means fewer asthma cases, ER trips, heart attacks and sick days lost from school and work? How about new jobs via incentives for energy efficiency and building retrofits? How about new jobs in reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants, worker retraining and transition and expanding wind and solar energy? How about community solar incentives, including for schools, public buildings and low income programs? We just need to convince the governor (phone Springfield 217-782-0244) to move forward with the Illinois Clean Power Plan Stakeholder Listening Sessions. Peoria is one of the communities listed for this, and it will give us the opportunity to talk about our air quality concerns and what solutions could be.

Joyce Blumenshine

Peoria

local environmental advocate

Roger Monroe & Squeaky Melchiorre

I was reading Roger Monroe’s Community Word column from March the other day, and in it he mentioned that Gene “Squeaky” Melchiorre should have his jersey retired by Bradley University.

Maybe I am old-fashioned (my children and grandchildren tell me that I am older than dirt), but a person who is involved in a “cheating” “scandal” should not be honored or rewarded with a jersey retirement or elected to Halls of Fame.

And comparing the retirement of a player’s jersey also involved in the same “scandal” from Kentucky is NO comparison or incentive to have Bradley do the same. Bradley is NOT Kentucky, thank goodness.

I know players in all sports, or people in all walks of life, have been honored even when they have cheated, but let us just stick to this, Bradley and Kentucky.

Steve Cenek

Peoria

Bernie Supporter

I’m a Bernie Sanders supporter, I voted on Tuesday, March 15th.

It was very underwhelming. Politics just doesn’t do it for me anymore. I think it’s the people. Political lay people are very cliquey. You might even say divisive, and nothing can be more divisive then the 2016 Presidential Campaign season.  It’s frankly appalling. I’m thankful that locally I haven’t seen much divisive partisanship, but that may be in direct correlation to my deviation from party politics. I’ll admit I jumped head first into the local Bernie Sanders campaign. I threw the Peoria Campaign kickoff party at Pizza Works way back in July 2014. Quickly many folks who are less than radical emerged, and soon took the reins of the growing group, or consortium if you will, from me. That isn’t to say that I could have accomplished much on my own. But walking the party line has never been my thing. I believed that Bernie Sanders was going to make that cool again.

I love his policies. I stand for and align myself with the Judeo-Christian ethic of loving one another and caring for our neighbor, being our brother’s keeper, which his polices exhibit. I have to admit that these policies are solutions to the problems we face as a nation; and to his credit, Bernie Sanders the man, has been the most honest politician in the history of the United States. I’m afraid that his presidency will cause only more gridlock in Congress. This isn’t to say I don’t want him elected, I voted for him and I’m hoping he defeats Hillary, then Trump. I, however, remain a cautious idealist. We have very real problems and Bernie offers very real solutions — solutions that have been options in some form, using varied terminologies and associated with both bad and good (depending on whom you ask) since the dawn of industrialism, and before.

Social Democracy is nothing new, in fact we already have many forms of Social Democracy in this great nation and have since our founding. Our struggle against anti-democratic forces has manifested many great victories throughout history. Humanity has fought against exploitation and slavery for millennium. The fight continues. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness has not fully won the war. Through history, the people have won many battles. The fight isn’t over. We have struck a great balance between oppression and those who wield it. Consumer goods, appear like shadows on the cave wall, masquerading as liberty. Many buy what they’re selling. The radical sees the charade.

It isn’t often that radicals have someone to vote for. This year on both sides, left and right, radicals have someone to vote for. We’re not teetering on Anarcho-libertarianism, or radical Christian Socialism, or even intentional communities. We are however in a much scarier place, somewhere in the gray and dirty center of the political spectrum. It’s going to have to get worse before it gets better. We are approaching fascism on the right and state capitalism on the left, both of which are establishment approved, though the establishment isn’t falling head over heels for either. We as a nation are entering places that Europe has seen thrice over. We are entering a political discourse that is only new to us.

We the infant states of the globalized world.

“We the People, in order to form a more perfect union. Establish Justice and Insure Domestic Tranquility, Provide for the Common Defense and Insure the General Welfare, and Promote the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our prosperity. We do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.” – The Preamble 

For more information please Visit: http://www.criticalprovocation.com

Recommended reading:

The Submerged State 

The S Word: A Short History of an American Tradition – Socialism

Zack Teague

Peoria