Very informative concepts set in place was good to see that the city of Peoria is and tried to push for a reform for the way that city functions are but in place. Also, having members of Peoria state that it's not Peoria alone in this fight but the surrounding areas as well that all need to work together to fix poverty issues. Must of all though one of the biggest points that was addressed during this process is sacrifice people who make the sacrifice will see a change in the city as they put their own time and needs they will understand the impact of what these people face during their everyday lives. One of the city council members made a very strong point as well there are 24,000 people that are in the south side of Peoria the entire city won’t have the time to address every individual problem a person may have, but the city can let someone know if a problem exists in the city, and they should try to fix it. This is, also great in the sense that the city is seeing the need for community policing not just locking people up, but having a positive face and influence, and presence inside of the community. Eagle001
I was going to raise my hand up for a raise in a awareness for persons with disabilities who live on the south side or even in other areas of Peoria who are struggling. I could not say what I wanted to say to State Representative, Jehan Gordon because it was close to the end and everyone at that time was raising their hands. I do have a point though persons with disabilities have a harder time in poverty than anyone else. People who cannot work because of disability especially or even find jobs as well are struggling because its tough to live off 750 dollars here and there or even worse crime rates heighten and this is what I was going to ask Jehan was that crime rates heighten when people pretty much live off of what a person may make in Africa, a few coins maybe, or $30 I am talking once monthly, I mean if you need to pay for a human being pay for your cable bill. That is so strange to me, that long term health care residents who are not elders with disabilities earn only that much. There are so many people who have diabetes who need to get their legs and arms amputated and that is really sad when those things happen. Even Nick Vijucic is a great motivational speaker many still suffer because they cannot work a job. Many face discrimination as well and they are even trying to work even with that too. Persons with disabilities have a worse chance of keeping jobs because of discrimination. I think that its bad as well to live in Peoria and have a disability as well. Lots of people do not think squat about those who are disabled and its very sad because they have so much to contribute to this world.
This is very moving we spend so much time on what we may view as entertainment such as cable but it really is sad when people are suffering from medical illness, and need the money but suffer because they lack the resources to obtain that wealth. Eagle001
The South End needs alot of work. It is one of the poorest areas in this city that more often than not gets neglected. No one wants to go down there because of the rise in violence. I grew up down there and I got out of there once I was out of high school many years ago and haven't been back since. My parents still live in the house I grew up in and they have seen it all down there. Something needs to be done that is for sure. Ciaccio002
The south end of Peoria is facing a lot of problems. It is one of the poorest areas in the city, has a high crime rate, and a poor education system. The residents of the south side are facing an almost impossible wall of turning the area around if the city of Peoria does not step in and help. The south end of Peoria can not just change over night, it will take time. However, if everyone comes together, it can be done. Steve002
Well said! So many times the conversation needs to embrace more. Inclusiveness is often for only the included. What you mentioned here is extremely pertinent and should always be included!!!!! FeelingYou345
This experience hit close to home for me in alot of ways. One is I grew up in the area known as the South End of Peoria right down the street from Manual High School so I have seen all the problems that the community was addressing to the panel. Secondly, Alot of what the panel was saying especially what State Rep Jehan Gordon-Booth said about the changes in the community must start in and with the community spoke volumn on alot of levels. She was challenging them to stand up and help be the change the south end is looking for. I also agree with if there are problems that need to be addresses about potholes or the countless over grown lots or anything in general that the community needs to call and report it so that the city can address and fix the problems. If nothing is being reported then nothing can be changed or fixed. I also think that they need to focus not only on a reform but also the education system known as District 150. I am a product of district 150 as are my kids right now that are both in the peoria public school system and it is failing the community. I would like to see the change starting with our children so that they can get the education they need to get those careers and the opprotunity to go to the best universities that are offered. One thing I will say is that I don't agree that Peoria is the worst place for only African Americans to live, truthfully it isn't a good place for anyone of all races. Things need to change on a massive level and it needs to start with the most violent area of this city. I watched the south end go from a community that watches out for eachother to a community that is afraid of one another and the violence that is always happening down there. Ciaccio002
I found it very moving when State Rep Booth challenged the community to get up and make a change because it really put into the minds of the crowd that we hold the power to make a difference we hold the power to vote instead of us being so reliant on the officials to be doing all the work we are really the ones who hold the change making power. Bike001
This gathering of citizens and leaders from the city of Peoria was a great opportunity for people to address the issues of inequality throughout the city. A lot of good topics were brought up that need to be taken into action. It was also a great opportunity for me to learn about the daily struggles that people go through in Peoria that I otherwise would not know about. I had not heard of the phrase "Driving while black" before and it was eye opening to hear about a mothers story of her son being pulled over 15 times and not being ticketed in a rather short time frame with no explanation. Also a lot of south side neighborhoods are ignored and neglected with empty lots and dirty streets which correlates with the "Broken windows effect" because neighborhoods that are in ruins like that people make the assumption that crime is tolerated around there and that makes matters worse. Even hearing about an older woman's story of her street not being plowed and she could not get to work and the negative impact that it had on her life. Just little things like running a street sweeper through these neighborhoods or a snow plow could really make a difference. Another topic that was brought up towards the end of the night by one woman is the presence of some toxic businesses in poor neighborhoods like liquor and smoke stores really came to strike me as interesting because it is true that those businesses do target poor neighborhoods and that could definitely cause some issues. At the end of the day it is us the community living here in Peoria that needs to stand up and make the change because us as citizens have the power to make change. Bike001
Toxic business, are destructive to any area when a depressant is near by this makes it easy for people to continue to go and spend their wealth on chemicals that will not prompt these people to change their own life's. Eagle001
The fact that the city of Peoria is so obvious with their bias towards the north side, that they plow the roads of the south side last, is shameful. The city needs to reexamine its policies on care of the streets, lots, and schools, and make sure that the care of the city is equal for all, and not just the more affluent.-OKC002
I thought the "driving while black" was interesting too. Listening to that story the mom told about her son being pulled over fifteen times was interesting to hear. It was also interesting to hear that he was not ticketed on any of the times that he was pulled over. hawkshockey001
Also', seeing how the citizens feel when their faced with issues in their community if someone is not able to have the means to get to work because the rode's are not clean then these people lose their jobs for the amount of time these people are late. this feeds in the cycle of poverty. The city also has to be able to get more revue coming into the city then losing the wealth to the surrounding areas. The people in the South side also need more resources where they don't have to work up to two jobs. So they can spend more time with their families then in a job sight so that their kids can have cloths, a roof, also be able to eat on a daily bases. Eagle001
I agree with you on this because the citizens of 61605 are not getting the same attention as the other parts of Peoria are. I also agree with you on that the south side of Peoria need more resources to go to like north Peoria. Golfer001
The south side of Peoria is just not getting the same attention as the other side of Peoria its just crazy. The panel and the crowd made some great points Thursday night on what they want to do to the city of Peoria. 61605 just needs the same attention like getting plowed when we have a snow storm. When that lady said that her son has been pulled over 15 times and not getting one single ticket is just unbelievable, he at least should of gotten a ticket at least a few of those times. Everyone was making sense on what we should do. When that one lady said that her friend couldn't get a liquor license because the friend got a felony was a good topic of discussion to talk about because everyone should be given a fair chance at some point in their life but I would have to agree with the panel because getting a liquor license is just not going to happen. Golfer001
I think the event was very interesting. The panel did a great job answering the questions posed by the moderator. When the moderator opened up questions to the audience, it became less about issues in policing and more about issues the public had in general. I think that the panel did a great job of answering all of the questions and responding to all of the comments made by the audience, but a lot of it shifted from matters of policing to other matters that would have been better for a city meeting rather than a race and inequality in policing town hall event. EKT001
It could have been because the plows are kept closer to the north side or because the north side has more business areas. It is bad that it can make people on the south end late for work though, maybe Peoria should invest in more plows. I don't know what to say about the kid who got pulled over all the time though, maybe he has a lot of car issues like broken head or tail lights and gets a lot of courtesy stops, or he could have been making minor traffic violations and was just let off with warnings. Coolguy001/003
This assembly citizens and leaders from the city of Peoria was a great opportunity for people to address issues of inequality throughout the city. The moderator posed many good questions to the panel and I think there was a good discussion throughout the event, though when the moderator opened up questions to the audience members, it seemed that many of the questions or comments that were posed to the panel did not have much or anything to do with policing. I thought the issue of "Driving while black" being brought up was important. A mother told the story of her son being pulled over 15 times and not being ticketed in a rather short time frame with no explanation. Another issue raised was that many of the south side neighborhoods are ignored and neglected and are filled with empty lots and dirty streets which leads to the "broken windows effect." Because neighborhoods are in ruins, people make the assumption that crime is prevalent and tolerated by residents in these areas and that makes matters worse. I found the story of the chief of police in the Peoria public schools interesting and inspiring. He grew up on the south side, son of an incarcerated drug dealing father and a drug addicted mother, but he did not let that hold him back. He worked hard in school and went to college and really worked to improve himself and move past the life that he was born into. He still owns the house he grew up on in the south side and is working to help change kids lives by working in the schools in Peoria. I found that really inspiring and I hope to be able to help people like this officer has been. EKT001
The community meeting was really, to me, an embodiment of the anger spread all across the United States. Inequality in America is real, even if people like to deny it. One of the core ideals America was founded on is equality for all, but that is the thing about ideals, they are only ideas of a perfect world. The reality of America is that everywhere you look you will find inequality. Whether it be in economics, school, or even the law. I like to think that the Peoria police department is always completely fair when dealing with the people it serves and protects, but this community meeting showed that in some cases, it is not. How can we get rid of all of this inequality though? A politician can’t just wave a magical wand and make the problems of the south side disappear, no matter how many times they promise it. I truly think it will be decades at least before we as a society see an end to racial inequality on such large scales like this, if not longer. We as a society just need to learn that all men are created equal, no matter what our skin color is. This does not fix the problem at hand however. The south side of Peoria is in desperate need of economic help. The fact that Manual high school doesn’t have enough money to pay for only the essentials that students need, deeply saddens me. Other schools in the Peoria are looking for what they can spend money on this year, and Manuel is just trying to stay afloat. All American students deserve the best education this country’s public school system has to offer, and Manuel gets nothing close to that. The state of Illinois should be ashamed at the state of decay and decline the school of Manuel is in, and they need to step up and do something.-OKC002
I agree OKC002, inequality is very much real and attending the panel dropped us right in the middle of it. We got to witness the inequalities that the citizens were experiencing firsthand and it was very eye opening. I think it was a good experience and I do not regret attending it. zmw002
I have been to a number of community meetings on the issue of race and policing what I found very strange is that the Peoria police were not represented in any fashion on the panel. Now not to take away from Dr. Whites knowledge or Professor Grath's experience in policing but I would assume if you have a community event where it discusses policing you might want to represent your departments opinion on the matter. dadoftwo001
Being there at the panel was very informative and eye opening. It was interesting seeing the citizens of Peoria voicing their problems to the board and how they responded to the complaints. Since I grew up in a small town, I'm not used to the diversity and poverty that the people of Peoria are seeing in their communities. Being dropped in the middle of it all and seeing the reactions of the distraught people was a very interesting experience. However, I was a little upset that there was not very much talk about the police force, but after I thought about it that might not be so bad. There weren't very many complaints about the police, just a few very there. That means that the police unfairness is not as big of an issue as it appears to be. There was maybe one or two complaints out of so many, so I would actually think that's a good thing. However, there seems to be a lot of mistrust between the people and the people who run the city. It appears that the Peoria city government have been giving better treatment to the north side of Peoria, which is wealthier and better off, and not paying very much attention to the south side, which is poor and needs a lot of care. I think that this is a little bit of the citizens faults also. From what the panel was saying, it does not seem like the citizens were really asking them to help with any of the small things. They just kind of expected the council members to know it was happening and take care of it. It is pretty clear that the council members are just people too and that they do not just automatically know when these things happen, and they need help from the citizens. I believe that if the citizens and the government work together, these complaints could quickly be resolved.
I think the event seemed to be more focused on the problems with local government than on the relationship between law enforcement and the people of the south end, and the people on the panel reflected that. Of all the seats on the panel only one was given to a police officer who is currently serving in the Peoria area and he was a school resource officer and not a patrol officer. There was also a noticeable lack of people on the panel who's area of expertise would have been current police hiring practices. The only person on the panel who was able to answer a question about such practices was professor Graff, and he was police chief of Morton, which as an over 90% white town would not need to recruit minorities to have a police force representative of the people it serves. Some one more familiar with hiring practices for the city of Peoria should have been on the panel. I'm not dissing professor Graff, I think he's an excellent professor and is very good at what he does, but he should not have been the one on the panel that the question was directed to. Another salient thing I noticed was how reluctant some of the people on the panel were in giving dissenting arguments or answers that went against the opinion of the questioner. For example, one of the people attending had mentioned that the streets on the north end always seemed to be plowed before the streets on the south end. One of the reasons could have been that the roads on the north end are traveled more and connect more commercial areas that bring more revenue to the city than the more residential south end. Another reason could have been the actual location of the depot where the plows are kept. I live in the southern part of Morton, and it's an upper middle class area, but the more traveled streets and streets closer to the plow depot are always plowed before mine. Another thing I noticed was how a lot of attention was paid to the statistic on the income gap between white and black people living in the city. I don't think anyone was surprised that some of the nicest and most expensive homes in the county are in the nicer areas of Peoria and some of the older and more unkempt homes are on the majority black south end, but nobody mentioned how most of the poor white people lived on the other side of the river. I grew up in Sunnyland, it was majority white and it was also lower income. I also know that Pekin is very close to Peoria, is majority white, and houses a lot of poor people who work in Peoria. Even my home town of Morton has a trailer park right next to it. I think the study that caused the meeting only took into account the city or county itself and neglected to look at the surrounding area to determine the income inequality between the races. One thing I did appreciate however was the chance to hear the experiences and opinions of the people who I would like to serve one day as a police officer, and that made it worth hearing the government officials who were likely only there because they were up for reelection. CoolGuy003/001
I too thought there should have been a stronger presence of current law enforcement officers on the panel. Being able to hear from Dr. White and Professor Graff was great, but the people’s questions were directed at Peoria P.D and there wasn't a representative there to answer for them. There is poverty throughout this region for blacks and whites, but I believed the conversation was steered solely in the direction of the south end because that’s where this meeting was held. The south side of town is also the reason for the Wall Street 24/7 reports. If they had included other areas in the region Peoria would not be No. 1. RustyPete003
Going to this event and sitting there listening to what they panelists had to say and also listening to what the audience had to say, I learned about some issues that I did't even know were issues in Peoria. I found the report from Wall Street 24/7 to be surprising. I did not think that Peoria would be number one on that list. It was also interesting listening to all of the questions the moderator had for the panelists. I think that they city counsel members who were there had some good advice for the people of the community members who were there. I was surprised though at the number of people who were there. I thought that more people from the community would be there. I believe that everyone who attended this was able to learn a little from what they heard. The community members were able to learn how they could possibly have some changes made in their community. They learned that they need to reach out to their city council member and suggest things to be put on the agenda for they city council meetings. It was interesting to hear about the mother's son who had been pulled over 15 times. But I do believe everyone could have learned something by being at this. hawkshockey001
I am glad I attended the town hall meeting. It was an eye opening experience. Growing up in Pekin in a nicer neighborhood, I never really thought about the challenges and struggles people in the south end of Peoria were, and still are, facing. One thing that stuck to me that I thought was not right, was when the older lady discussed how snow would not be removed from the streets in the south end. She talked about how she would be late to work at times. That is not right. There has to be a double standard when it comes to city maintenance or anything in the north and south end of Peoria. Even though I thought this town hall discussion was interesting and informative, I did have some things I thought should have been discussed and certain guest should have attended. I was disappointed in not seeing any police chiefs from any local cities there. The topic that was discussed is very important to policing and I feel as if local police chiefs should have attended. Another thing I was disappointed in was not hearing anything about community accountability. It always seemed that the discussion came to the conclusion that the police were at fault and needed change. But where does criminal and community accountability come in? The police are not always at fault. The Peoria police in particular do a great job in dealing with community policing and diversity with race in the department. The residents in the south end need to address the crime rate in the neighborhood if they really want positive change. The south end of Peoria is a rough area. There is frequent crime, drug dealing, and shootings. The residents in the area that are good law abiding people need to work with the police and trust them if they want to see positive change in their neighborhood. Overall, it all comes down to everyone working together if there is going to be actual change. It can't just be all talk. There must actually be actions taken to fix the many problems Peoria is facing. Steve002
I'm really glad that I got a chance to attend this town hall meeting at Manual High School. It was a really great informative discussion on race, inequality, and policing. Usually i watch this on the news or hear about it. But it's really something different to be there in person. You really get to feel and hear each voice of the community. It was really eye opening for me. To know all these problems are right here at home. Usually you hear about these problems in bigger inner cities but we are having the same exact problems. Hearing each community member speak about the racial inequality they face really opened my eyes. I'll never know what it feels like to be african american but hearing their voices really made me feel their pain. Just because I am not African American does not mean we don't face the same economical problems. I know what it's like to live in poverty. To live in a single parent home with my mom jumping from job to job just to make ends meet to take care of my siblings and I. Many members of the south end are living in poverty. They don't have the basic means to live everyday. I was grateful to have a conversation with Mrs.Young. She started this school program where they give basic essentials to kids. Food, clothes, basic hygiene products, ext. You can donate money or these essentials to her so she can give them to the kids. She also allows the parents of the kids to come to the school and "shop". It was really amazing to have a conversation with her and ask her what she needs. It was sad to me that the blame was one sided. You always hear about what the police are doing wrong. But what about actually the people in the community who are doing the wrong. I know not all police officers are perfect but neither are the people in the community. Everyone has done their fair share of wrong-doing. The one thing that needs to be worked on is the trust the community has in the police. Which the peoria police officers are doing a great job of so far. Having police officers reside in the community and live and thrive with the members of the community, that's an amazing way to build some trust back. Overall the experience was amazing and I would love to have another chance to attend another town hall community conversation. -dicaprio001
I feel gifted as well to be able to attend this. I agree that African Americans are in "pain" but there are a lot worse things going on in society. It is hard for me, as a middle-class white female to imagine myself being oppressed. oasis_002
It was wonderful to see the community come together to voice their opinions regarding hot topics within the communities that we reside in. When going to this event, I was expecting to hear a lot about policing and law enforcement in these communities, instead it was focused on the economics and demographics of Peoria. Although I did not learn what I expected to get out of this, I did learn a great amount about Peoria. I learned that Peoria is supposedly the worst place for African Americans to live. However, this statistic was deemed faulty by the representatives of the city. It is more likely for African Americans to be in poverty in the city of Peoria. An average African American family income of four is 26,000, while the mean family income for a white family of four for whites is 54,000. In the city of Peoria, the poverty rate is 22.3%. There could be many factors contributing to these averages. The unemployment rate can drastically effect these incomes. In Peoria African Americans make up 15.6% of the unemployment, while whites make up 8.3% of Peoria’s unemployment rate. Opposed from the economics of Peoria, the incarceration rate in Peoria is decently high. The main statistic given about the incarceration rate is that African Americans are more than nine times likely to be arrested than whites. The city of Peoria is trying to combat these high incarceration rates by making the lower income areas of Peoria less like a broken-windows society. City representatives stated that they will be doing a large-scale project and making empty lots usable for the community surrounding it. This will diminish the amounts of crimes taking place in these areas. Overall, I enjoyed the presentation.
I enjoyed this meeting at Manual High School. It was interesting to see how members of the community feel about the problems going on and how they want the help for them to be solved. When some of the people talked you could tell how much they struggle and the pain of living in the south side of Peoria. When I was growing up, my mom always told me not to go to the south side. When I got my license, she really stressed that she didn't want me to go to that part of town. So my entire life I've always thought that the south side of Peoria is the worst place and that people steal and shoot others constantly. Going to this meeting changed my opinion a little bit. Yes bad things happen over there, but now I don't believe everyone is bad. The community is just trying to take care of their families, but are treated unfairly and want help. I never realized how bad other people so close by have it. I grew up in North Pekin. Where my streets are always plowed, and things get taken care of right away. I honestly never thought that some people don't even get those things. I honestly hope that the south side of Peoria gets better living conditions and that it'll become a better place. Hearing the pain in some of their voices was so upsetting. stlblues002
Going to the town hall discussion at manual was so far one of the highlights of my class. It was a way for someone who doesn't know some of the social issues facing our very own community to get a sense of what is really going on in our community. It is way to get out of the textbook and really learn about things that are really happening in our community. I didn't like some of the lines of questioning I thought it could have been better organized so that we could of heard from more of the panel. I also wish that the questions would have been more directed at certain individuals on the panel such as the city manager. I felt as if he was deflecting every question thrown at him. When he answered the question of trying to create jobs for the African American community by saying that the police and fire commission were trying to hire African Americans to reflect the actual community. although a very good thing to do it wont fix the entire African American poverty rates by having the city try and hire their way out of it, that's impossible. The city needs to become business friendly and bring business back to the south end to make it a more vibrant place and if you have low economic standards in the south end then their will be no jobs and it will make it a incredibly tough place to live. Dadoftwo001
When everyone gave there statement or question they had. I have notice that the lady sitting next to our teacher kept saying the same thing back to them in a way. And It was that to meet with her and discuss what they want done about things in the community and to keep on her about it to get it done. I feel like people wanted her to do it without them telling her to do it or what needs to be fixed. It makes me think that they dont want to put effort in to talking to other people about the community. Seems like it is a 'broken window' theory community. Everything could change for the better if they just talk about what needs to be fixed where they live. So they can be happy living there. It was shocking to here how some of the people in the community dose not like to drive because they dont want to be pulled over by cops. That is also something that needs to be fixed is that they need to not be so worried about police. The reason why that is the case because the police is trying to make it a better place for them by using SARA as a tactic in the community. Or they should use it in the community for it a 'broken window' community. I was confused when one of the people that spoke asked to why dont you send police cops to live in the community to see what they have to deal with when living there. When up on the stage there was a cop staying in the community I think and policing there because he grew up there and knew what it was like to live there. Dose she want more cops there or cops from a different race liveing there to see there pain. Also I find it amazed that how peoria is a bad place for african americans to live at. But where eles can they go. Where they cant afford to live somewhere else. To be in a better place than what they were. Adelle002
It was nice to see some city employees at this event and be able to put some faces with names. With that said, I felt there could have been more people on the panel that were relevant to the specific topic of policing. It was nice to hear from the District 150 police chief. He seemed like a very bright young man. To be honest I didn’t realize they had their own actual department. I’m just curious why Peoria P.D wasn’t at the event. Many of the audience’s questions were directed towards their local police, and there was no one there that could accurately answer their questions. I was also very impressed by Rep. Booth. She seemed more than willing to answer difficult questions and appeared to be up on all the issues that were being discussed. I was a little disappointed in the direction the last half of the event took. I felt like I was at a town hall meeting and not an event to intelligently discuss issues of gender inequality and policing in Peoria. I understand that people have questions that they want answers to and there are issues pertaining to the south side of Peoria, but was this really the place to voice their frustrations? I don’t feel like this particular panel would have the answers they were looking for. I feel like there was too much attention placed on this Wall Street 24/7 report, when we basically talked about how inaccurate it was at the beginning of the meeting. There could have been more conversations about the community policing efforts of local law enforcement or about what others in the community are doing to improve racial inequality. As a white person who isn’t racist in the slightest, it was hard at times to not feel like I was being accused of something that I’m not a part of. However, I understand that I have not experienced the poverty and inequality that some members of the audience have, and having never walked in their shoes I cannot say how they might feel. I do hope that some good came out of this event and I hope people get the answers they’re looking for. It’s 2016 and racial inequality is not something that should still be this prevelant. RustyPete003
I'm glad we got to attend this panel, and I think it was very informative and also a good stepping stone in the communities eyes to trying to make changes involving the topics. When the speakers began, a man started with clearing the air with the truth about statistical analysis when it came to the 24/7 report. To me it almost seemed like he was trying to take some negativity away from the percentages by saying that the report didn't even take into account some 260,000 people that were around the surrounding areas and that it only accounted for those within Peoria. As if that would adjust the numbers positively. But I could have just misunderstood his intent. Something I needed to write down in my notes was that after we started this "Race, Inequality and Policing" panel that promoted the steps to finding a solution, it took approximately 1 hour and 3 min before a solution was actually stated by anyone. A woman on the panel even stop another part way through to explain that we shouldn't be focusing on what is wrong, but what we should be doing instead. I agree, the group spent a lot of time telling the audience that there is a problem. Well, we know there's a problem, hence the existence of this event. Only after that did members of the group bring ideas. Three main topics: community relations and how policing training falls into that, economical fixes to include job creation and programs, and physical improvements to the city, particularly district one-type areas. The city managers kept using the words "priority" and "percent" and "years", like "we are putting priority on improving the water system, which will show an x% increase in y, and this will be a 13 year process." Nothing put forth that will take less that 7 years! Something someone brought up that I really liked (and I'm not particularly religious): doing something fast that will have a lasting effect starting today is not showing fear in getting involved with the communities there that want to change, improve relations with the citizens, particularly from the police force and we can use the church to do this. The church holds the keyhole that unlocks the door for peace and the community potential, government issues aside. We can always vote for someone who has the idea to put a plan into action that will take 13 years to accomplish. You want to desegregate race, reduce inequality and improve policing? Then you start with the community, not the government. JY160
I thought the main idea of getting everyone toghter was a good idea becasue we do need to talk and try to find ways to get over this race war in the U.S right now but it was all pointed to the south side and how bad they have it and i do feel for them because its not fair to have to live in a crappy neighbor hood that nobody cares about but when as a community we have to take some of them blame because we are the ones not voting not taking care of are yards not going to the meeting and talking about are issues but we cant keep solely blaming the city of Peoria and the council they need to step up on every level to help the south side but there not the ones breaking into each other houses and shooting guns or making it were people dont want to move there or business don't want to move there .But i felt very uncomfortable there because many people pointed out that there was no black students with us i thought that was unfair to say because we have black students but they didn't show up. I think it we need to put more money into are school across the state in less in other areas. As in not getting accepted to a school that could be for hundred reason and I don't it was because you were bi race you cant always look for something or someone to blame when you don't make it because I have been kicked from school turned down for so many things and its because of my chooses nobody else. You just have to keep working you butt off.cowboys003
This discussion from the panel and the comments of the audience of race and ethnicity hit home for me because I'm from and grew up in the south end of Peoria all my life. As a minority in this community, I saw poverty and stereotypes from individuals from other towns who would put labels on us, kids who came from Peoria. I've always knew what was going on around me when I went to Manual Academy, but it wasn't until hearing from the officials and the citizens who are from the same community as me made me think about how we need to take action and make this community a better environment for people who love this town. I went to Limestone my freshman year, but I didn't like it because Peoria was where I felt most at home and all of my friends were going to Manual. Peoria is the most accepting town that I have ever been in because we all can relate to each other. My teachers at Manual were willing to help the students with anything in order for them to graduate and become successful that way we had an opportunity to go to college and achieve their dreams. I want to give back to my community and serve as a police officer for Peoria because I want to see a change in this town and let the community know that there are decent police officers still out there who are serving for the community rather than being the problem of it. Professor Dr. White is just a great mentor for us, Criminal Justice students because he tells us that we need to block our implicit bias and learn how to talk to different races and accept people with different religious views other than our own since we are going to interact with these individuals on a daily-basis during our career as the future law enforcement. I went to Manual with the young man who said he wasn't able to get the same opportunities to get further in the interview as an other individual did based on his race. You can't let it define who you are as a person because you will run into people who will knock you down, but the only way you can do is prove them wrong by getting back up and fight for what you believe that you can do as a person and do it for yourself. -RW003
Race in our community is a major issue. It can prevent us from moving forward with ourselves and work together to fix future issues. The other night, I noticed a few positives and a few negatives while at Manual. A positive I noticed was that the community was engaged in the conversation. Another was that everyone (on the panel) had an opportunity to speak about the racial divide we have in our community. An issue that I had was that no white person said anything. Everyone (black, white, green, purple) can see that there is an issue at hand: race. Yet no one wanted to say anything from the white man’s perspective. I also felt like some people there wanted to blame everyone but themselves for the issues we’re having today. One woman tried to blame Arab’s for some of the poverty in the city by saying: “Why can an Arab person come in here and open up a convenience store and take that money back to their own communities, but my friend who has a felony can’t even open up his own store and keep the money right here in our community?” I, to an extent, understand what she meant with what she was saying. But I don’t understand why she was trying to use another group of people to bring down. Isn’t that what we’re trying to fix here? Trying to learn that we can’t keep bringing different groups down just to get a little bit ahead? I felt as if this conversation was pretty one-sided. Just by getting a glimpse of me, you can see that I’m most certainly not black. But just because I’m white, does not mean that I don’t see where these people are coming from. We’re all human; we all go through hardships in life, no matter what your race may so happen to be. You have to take responsibility for your actions and try to better yourself. Denise Moore said that when she was running for her position, she had a man continuously ask, “What are you going to do for me when you get in?” Her response was, “Nothing. I’m not going to do anything for you. Try asking ‘what am I going to do for myself.’” I loved her answer because it’s true; you have to make yourself known. You have to tell them what you need; they’re not mind readers. You can’t expect handouts without giving first. Gators003
Very informative concepts set in place was good to see that the city of Peoria is and tried to push for a reform for the way that city functions are but in place. Also, having members of Peoria state that it's not Peoria alone in this fight but the surrounding areas as well that all need to work together to fix poverty issues. Must of all though one of the biggest points that was addressed during this process is sacrifice people who make the sacrifice will see a change in the city as they put their own time and needs they will understand the impact of what these people face during their everyday lives. One of the city council members made a very strong point as well there are 24,000 people that are in the south side of Peoria the entire city won’t have the time to address every individual problem a person may have, but the city can let someone know if a problem exists in the city, and they should try to fix it. This is, also great in the sense that the city is seeing the need for community policing not just locking people up, but having a positive face and influence, and presence inside of the community. Eagle001
ReplyDeleteI was going to raise my hand up for a raise in a awareness for persons with disabilities who live on the south side or even in other areas of Peoria who are struggling. I could not say what I wanted to say to State Representative, Jehan Gordon because it was close to the end and everyone at that time was raising their hands. I do have a point though persons with disabilities have a harder time in poverty than anyone else. People who cannot work because of disability especially or even find jobs as well are struggling because its tough to live off 750 dollars here and there or even worse crime rates heighten and this is what I was going to ask Jehan was that crime rates heighten when people pretty much live off of what a person may make in Africa, a few coins maybe, or $30 I am talking once monthly, I mean if you need to pay for a human being pay for your cable bill. That is so strange to me, that long term health care residents who are not elders with disabilities earn only that much. There are so many people who have diabetes who need to get their legs and arms amputated and that is really sad when those things happen. Even Nick Vijucic is a great motivational speaker many still suffer because they cannot work a job. Many face discrimination as well and they are even trying to work even with that too. Persons with disabilities have a worse chance of keeping jobs because of discrimination. I think that its bad as well to live in Peoria and have a disability as well. Lots of people do not think squat about those who are disabled and its very sad because they have so much to contribute to this world.
DeleteThis is very moving we spend so much time on what we may view as entertainment such as cable but it really is sad when people are suffering from medical illness, and need the money but suffer because they lack the resources to obtain that wealth. Eagle001
DeleteThe South End needs alot of work. It is one of the poorest areas in this city that more often than not gets neglected. No one wants to go down there because of the rise in violence. I grew up down there and I got out of there once I was out of high school many years ago and haven't been back since. My parents still live in the house I grew up in and they have seen it all down there. Something needs to be done that is for sure. Ciaccio002
DeleteThe south end of Peoria is facing a lot of problems. It is one of the poorest areas in the city, has a high crime rate, and a poor education system. The residents of the south side are facing an almost impossible wall of turning the area around if the city of Peoria does not step in and help. The south end of Peoria can not just change over night, it will take time. However, if everyone comes together, it can be done. Steve002
DeleteWell said! So many times the conversation needs to embrace more. Inclusiveness is often for only the included. What you mentioned here is extremely pertinent and should always be included!!!!! FeelingYou345
ReplyDeleteThis experience hit close to home for me in alot of ways. One is I grew up in the area known as the South End of Peoria right down the street from Manual High School so I have seen all the problems that the community was addressing to the panel. Secondly, Alot of what the panel was saying especially what State Rep Jehan Gordon-Booth said about the changes in the community must start in and with the community spoke volumn on alot of levels. She was challenging them to stand up and help be the change the south end is looking for. I also agree with if there are problems that need to be addresses about potholes or the countless over grown lots or anything in general that the community needs to call and report it so that the city can address and fix the problems. If nothing is being reported then nothing can be changed or fixed. I also think that they need to focus not only on a reform but also the education system known as District 150. I am a product of district 150 as are my kids right now that are both in the peoria public school system and it is failing the community. I would like to see the change starting with our children so that they can get the education they need to get those careers and the opprotunity to go to the best universities that are offered. One thing I will say is that I don't agree that Peoria is the worst place for only African Americans to live, truthfully it isn't a good place for anyone of all races. Things need to change on a massive level and it needs to start with the most violent area of this city. I watched the south end go from a community that watches out for eachother to a community that is afraid of one another and the violence that is always happening down there. Ciaccio002
ReplyDeleteI found it very moving when State Rep Booth challenged the community to get up and make a change because it really put into the minds of the crowd that we hold the power to make a difference we hold the power to vote instead of us being so reliant on the officials to be doing all the work we are really the ones who hold the change making power. Bike001
DeleteThis gathering of citizens and leaders from the city of Peoria was a great opportunity for people to address the issues of inequality throughout the city. A lot of good topics were brought up that need to be taken into action. It was also a great opportunity for me to learn about the daily struggles that people go through in Peoria that I otherwise would not know about. I had not heard of the phrase "Driving while black" before and it was eye opening to hear about a mothers story of her son being pulled over 15 times and not being ticketed in a rather short time frame with no explanation. Also a lot of south side neighborhoods are ignored and neglected with empty lots and dirty streets which correlates with the "Broken windows effect" because neighborhoods that are in ruins like that people make the assumption that crime is tolerated around there and that makes matters worse. Even hearing about an older woman's story of her street not being plowed and she could not get to work and the negative impact that it had on her life. Just little things like running a street sweeper through these neighborhoods or a snow plow could really make a difference. Another topic that was brought up towards the end of the night by one woman is the presence of some toxic businesses in poor neighborhoods like liquor and smoke stores really came to strike me as interesting because it is true that those businesses do target poor neighborhoods and that could definitely cause some issues. At the end of the day it is us the community living here in Peoria that needs to stand up and make the change because us as citizens have the power to make change. Bike001
ReplyDeleteToxic business, are destructive to any area when a depressant is near by this makes it easy for people to continue to go and spend their wealth on chemicals that will not prompt these people to change their own life's. Eagle001
DeleteThe fact that the city of Peoria is so obvious with their bias towards the north side, that they plow the roads of the south side last, is shameful. The city needs to reexamine its policies on care of the streets, lots, and schools, and make sure that the care of the city is equal for all, and not just the more affluent.-OKC002
DeleteI thought the "driving while black" was interesting too. Listening to that story the mom told about her son being pulled over fifteen times was interesting to hear. It was also interesting to hear that he was not ticketed on any of the times that he was pulled over. hawkshockey001
DeleteAlso', seeing how the citizens feel when their faced with issues in their community if someone is not able to have the means to get to work because the rode's are not clean then these people lose their jobs for the amount of time these people are late. this feeds in the cycle of poverty. The city also has to be able to get more revue coming into the city then losing the wealth to the surrounding areas. The people in the South side also need more resources where they don't have to work up to two jobs. So they can spend more time with their families then in a job sight so that their kids can have cloths, a roof, also be able to eat on a daily bases. Eagle001
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this because the citizens of 61605 are not getting the same attention as the other parts of Peoria are. I also agree with you on that the south side of Peoria need more resources to go to like north Peoria. Golfer001
DeleteThe south side of Peoria is just not getting the same attention as the other side of Peoria its just crazy. The panel and the crowd made some great points Thursday night on what they want to do to the city of Peoria. 61605 just needs the same attention like getting plowed when we have a snow storm. When that lady said that her son has been pulled over 15 times and not getting one single ticket is just unbelievable, he at least should of gotten a ticket at least a few of those times. Everyone was making sense on what we should do. When that one lady said that her friend couldn't get a liquor license because the friend got a felony was a good topic of discussion to talk about because everyone should be given a fair chance at some point in their life but I would have to agree with the panel because getting a liquor license is just not going to happen. Golfer001
ReplyDeleteI think the event was very interesting. The panel did a great job answering the questions posed by the moderator. When the moderator opened up questions to the audience, it became less about issues in policing and more about issues the public had in general. I think that the panel did a great job of answering all of the questions and responding to all of the comments made by the audience, but a lot of it shifted from matters of policing to other matters that would have been better for a city meeting rather than a race and inequality in policing town hall event. EKT001
DeleteIt could have been because the plows are kept closer to the north side or because the north side has more business areas. It is bad that it can make people on the south end late for work though, maybe Peoria should invest in more plows. I don't know what to say about the kid who got pulled over all the time though, maybe he has a lot of car issues like broken head or tail lights and gets a lot of courtesy stops, or he could have been making minor traffic violations and was just let off with warnings. Coolguy001/003
DeleteThis assembly citizens and leaders from the city of Peoria was a great opportunity for people to address issues of inequality throughout the city. The moderator posed many good questions to the panel and I think there was a good discussion throughout the event, though when the moderator opened up questions to the audience members, it seemed that many of the questions or comments that were posed to the panel did not have much or anything to do with policing. I thought the issue of "Driving while black" being brought up was important. A mother told the story of her son being pulled over 15 times and not being ticketed in a rather short time frame with no explanation. Another issue raised was that many of the south side neighborhoods are ignored and neglected and are filled with empty lots and dirty streets which leads to the "broken windows effect." Because neighborhoods are in ruins, people make the assumption that crime is prevalent and tolerated by residents in these areas and that makes matters worse. I found the story of the chief of police in the Peoria public schools interesting and inspiring. He grew up on the south side, son of an incarcerated drug dealing father and a drug addicted mother, but he did not let that hold him back. He worked hard in school and went to college and really worked to improve himself and move past the life that he was born into. He still owns the house he grew up on in the south side and is working to help change kids lives by working in the schools in Peoria. I found that really inspiring and I hope to be able to help people like this officer has been. EKT001
ReplyDeleteIf more stories were like his.....FeelingU345
DeleteThe community meeting was really, to me, an embodiment of the anger spread all across the United States. Inequality in America is real, even if people like to deny it. One of the core ideals America was founded on is equality for all, but that is the thing about ideals, they are only ideas of a perfect world. The reality of America is that everywhere you look you will find inequality. Whether it be in economics, school, or even the law. I like to think that the Peoria police department is always completely fair when dealing with the people it serves and protects, but this community meeting showed that in some cases, it is not. How can we get rid of all of this inequality though? A politician can’t just wave a magical wand and make the problems of the south side disappear, no matter how many times they promise it. I truly think it will be decades at least before we as a society see an end to racial inequality on such large scales like this, if not longer. We as a society just need to learn that all men are created equal, no matter what our skin color is. This does not fix the problem at hand however. The south side of Peoria is in desperate need of economic help. The fact that Manual high school doesn’t have enough money to pay for only the essentials that students need, deeply saddens me. Other schools in the Peoria are looking for what they can spend money on this year, and Manuel is just trying to stay afloat. All American students deserve the best education this country’s public school system has to offer, and Manuel gets nothing close to that. The state of Illinois should be ashamed at the state of decay and decline the school of Manuel is in, and they need to step up and do something.-OKC002
ReplyDeleteThe host site said it all.....FeelingU345
DeleteI agree OKC002, inequality is very much real and attending the panel dropped us right in the middle of it. We got to witness the inequalities that the citizens were experiencing firsthand and it was very eye opening. I think it was a good experience and I do not regret attending it. zmw002
DeleteI have been to a number of community meetings on the issue of race and policing what I found very strange is that the Peoria police were not represented in any fashion on the panel. Now not to take away from Dr. Whites knowledge or Professor Grath's experience in policing but I would assume if you have a community event where it discusses policing you might want to represent your departments opinion on the matter. dadoftwo001
DeleteBeing there at the panel was very informative and eye opening. It was interesting seeing the citizens of Peoria voicing their problems to the board and how they responded to the complaints. Since I grew up in a small town, I'm not used to the diversity and poverty that the people of Peoria are seeing in their communities. Being dropped in the middle of it all and seeing the reactions of the distraught people was a very interesting experience. However, I was a little upset that there was not very much talk about the police force, but after I thought about it that might not be so bad. There weren't very many complaints about the police, just a few very there. That means that the police unfairness is not as big of an issue as it appears to be. There was maybe one or two complaints out of so many, so I would actually think that's a good thing. However, there seems to be a lot of mistrust between the people and the people who run the city. It appears that the Peoria city government have been giving better treatment to the north side of Peoria, which is wealthier and better off, and not paying very much attention to the south side, which is poor and needs a lot of care. I think that this is a little bit of the citizens faults also. From what the panel was saying, it does not seem like the citizens were really asking them to help with any of the small things. They just kind of expected the council members to know it was happening and take care of it. It is pretty clear that the council members are just people too and that they do not just automatically know when these things happen, and they need help from the citizens. I believe that if the citizens and the government work together, these complaints could quickly be resolved.
ReplyDeletezmw002
DeleteI think the event seemed to be more focused on the problems with local government than on the relationship between law enforcement and the people of the south end, and the people on the panel reflected that. Of all the seats on the panel only one was given to a police officer who is currently serving in the Peoria area and he was a school resource officer and not a patrol officer. There was also a noticeable lack of people on the panel who's area of expertise would have been current police hiring practices. The only person on the panel who was able to answer a question about such practices was professor Graff, and he was police chief of Morton, which as an over 90% white town would not need to recruit minorities to have a police force representative of the people it serves. Some one more familiar with hiring practices for the city of Peoria should have been on the panel. I'm not dissing professor Graff, I think he's an excellent professor and is very good at what he does, but he should not have been the one on the panel that the question was directed to. Another salient thing I noticed was how reluctant some of the people on the panel were in giving dissenting arguments or answers that went against the opinion of the questioner. For example, one of the people attending had mentioned that the streets on the north end always seemed to be plowed before the streets on the south end. One of the reasons could have been that the roads on the north end are traveled more and connect more commercial areas that bring more revenue to the city than the more residential south end. Another reason could have been the actual location of the depot where the plows are kept. I live in the southern part of Morton, and it's an upper middle class area, but the more traveled streets and streets closer to the plow depot are always plowed before mine. Another thing I noticed was how a lot of attention was paid to the statistic on the income gap between white and black people living in the city. I don't think anyone was surprised that some of the nicest and most expensive homes in the county are in the nicer areas of Peoria and some of the older and more unkempt homes are on the majority black south end, but nobody mentioned how most of the poor white people lived on the other side of the river. I grew up in Sunnyland, it was majority white and it was also lower income. I also know that Pekin is very close to Peoria, is majority white, and houses a lot of poor people who work in Peoria. Even my home town of Morton has a trailer park right next to it. I think the study that caused the meeting only took into account the city or county itself and neglected to look at the surrounding area to determine the income inequality between the races. One thing I did appreciate however was the chance to hear the experiences and opinions of the people who I would like to serve one day as a police officer, and that made it worth hearing the government officials who were likely only there because they were up for reelection. CoolGuy003/001
ReplyDeleteI too thought there should have been a stronger presence of current law enforcement officers on the panel. Being able to hear from Dr. White and Professor Graff was great, but the people’s questions were directed at Peoria P.D and there wasn't a representative there to answer for them. There is poverty throughout this region for blacks and whites, but I believed the conversation was steered solely in the direction of the south end because that’s where this meeting was held. The south side of town is also the reason for the Wall Street 24/7 reports. If they had included other areas in the region Peoria would not be No. 1. RustyPete003
DeleteGoing to this event and sitting there listening to what they panelists had to say and also listening to what the audience had to say, I learned about some issues that I did't even know were issues in Peoria. I found the report from Wall Street 24/7 to be surprising. I did not think that Peoria would be number one on that list. It was also interesting listening to all of the questions the moderator had for the panelists. I think that they city counsel members who were there had some good advice for the people of the community members who were there. I was surprised though at the number of people who were there. I thought that more people from the community would be there. I believe that everyone who attended this was able to learn a little from what they heard. The community members were able to learn how they could possibly have some changes made in their community. They learned that they need to reach out to their city council member and suggest things to be put on the agenda for they city council meetings. It was interesting to hear about the mother's son who had been pulled over 15 times. But I do believe everyone could have learned something by being at this. hawkshockey001
ReplyDeleteI am glad I attended the town hall meeting. It was an eye opening experience. Growing up in Pekin in a nicer neighborhood, I never really thought about the challenges and struggles people in the south end of Peoria were, and still are, facing. One thing that stuck to me that I thought was not right, was when the older lady discussed how snow would not be removed from the streets in the south end. She talked about how she would be late to work at times. That is not right. There has to be a double standard when it comes to city maintenance or anything in the north and south end of Peoria. Even though I thought this town hall discussion was interesting and informative, I did have some things I thought should have been discussed and certain guest should have attended. I was disappointed in not seeing any police chiefs from any local cities there. The topic that was discussed is very important to policing and I feel as if local police chiefs should have attended. Another thing I was disappointed in was not hearing anything about community accountability. It always seemed that the discussion came to the conclusion that the police were at fault and needed change. But where does criminal and community accountability come in? The police are not always at fault. The Peoria police in particular do a great job in dealing with community policing and diversity with race in the department. The residents in the south end need to address the crime rate in the neighborhood if they really want positive change. The south end of Peoria is a rough area. There is frequent crime, drug dealing, and shootings. The residents in the area that are good law abiding people need to work with the police and trust them if they want to see positive change in their neighborhood. Overall, it all comes down to everyone working together if there is going to be actual change. It can't just be all talk. There must actually be actions taken to fix the many problems Peoria is facing. Steve002
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that I got a chance to attend this town hall meeting at Manual High School. It was a really great informative discussion on race, inequality, and policing. Usually i watch this on the news or hear about it. But it's really something different to be there in person. You really get to feel and hear each voice of the community. It was really eye opening for me. To know all these problems are right here at home. Usually you hear about these problems in bigger inner cities but we are having the same exact problems. Hearing each community member speak about the racial inequality they face really opened my eyes. I'll never know what it feels like to be african american but hearing their voices really made me feel their pain. Just because I am not African American does not mean we don't face the same economical problems. I know what it's like to live in poverty. To live in a single parent home with my mom jumping from job to job just to make ends meet to take care of my siblings and I. Many members of the south end are living in poverty. They don't have the basic means to live everyday. I was grateful to have a conversation with Mrs.Young. She started this school program where they give basic essentials to kids. Food, clothes, basic hygiene products, ext. You can donate money or these essentials to her so she can give them to the kids. She also allows the parents of the kids to come to the school and "shop". It was really amazing to have a conversation with her and ask her what she needs. It was sad to me that the blame was one sided. You always hear about what the police are doing wrong. But what about actually the people in the community who are doing the wrong. I know not all police officers are perfect but neither are the people in the community. Everyone has done their fair share of wrong-doing. The one thing that needs to be worked on is the trust the community has in the police. Which the peoria police officers are doing a great job of so far. Having police officers reside in the community and live and thrive with the members of the community, that's an amazing way to build some trust back. Overall the experience was amazing and I would love to have another chance to attend another town hall community conversation. -dicaprio001
ReplyDeleteI feel gifted as well to be able to attend this. I agree that African Americans are in "pain" but there are a lot worse things going on in society. It is hard for me, as a middle-class white female to imagine myself being oppressed. oasis_002
DeleteIt was wonderful to see the community come together to voice their opinions regarding hot topics within the communities that we reside in. When going to this event, I was expecting to hear a lot about policing and law enforcement in these communities, instead it was focused on the economics and demographics of Peoria. Although I did not learn what I expected to get out of this, I did learn a great amount about Peoria. I learned that Peoria is supposedly the worst place for African Americans to live. However, this statistic was deemed faulty by the representatives of the city. It is more likely for African Americans to be in poverty in the city of Peoria. An average African American family income of four is 26,000, while the mean family income for a white family of four for whites is 54,000. In the city of Peoria, the poverty rate is 22.3%. There could be many factors contributing to these averages. The unemployment rate can drastically effect these incomes. In Peoria African Americans make up 15.6% of the unemployment, while whites make up 8.3% of Peoria’s unemployment rate. Opposed from the economics of Peoria, the incarceration rate in Peoria is decently high. The main statistic given about the incarceration rate is that African Americans are more than nine times likely to be arrested than whites. The city of Peoria is trying to combat these high incarceration rates by making the lower income areas of Peoria less like a broken-windows society. City representatives stated that they will be doing a large-scale project and making empty lots usable for the community surrounding it. This will diminish the amounts of crimes taking place in these areas. Overall, I enjoyed the presentation.
ReplyDeleteoasis_002
DeleteI enjoyed this meeting at Manual High School. It was interesting to see how members of the community feel about the problems going on and how they want the help for them to be solved. When some of the people talked you could tell how much they struggle and the pain of living in the south side of Peoria. When I was growing up, my mom always told me not to go to the south side. When I got my license, she really stressed that she didn't want me to go to that part of town. So my entire life I've always thought that the south side of Peoria is the worst place and that people steal and shoot others constantly. Going to this meeting changed my opinion a little bit. Yes bad things happen over there, but now I don't believe everyone is bad. The community is just trying to take care of their families, but are treated unfairly and want help.
ReplyDeleteI never realized how bad other people so close by have it. I grew up in North Pekin. Where my streets are always plowed, and things get taken care of right away. I honestly never thought that some people don't even get those things.
I honestly hope that the south side of Peoria gets better living conditions and that it'll become a better place. Hearing the pain in some of their voices was so upsetting.
stlblues002
Going to the town hall discussion at manual was so far one of the highlights of my class. It was a way for someone who doesn't know some of the social issues facing our very own community to get a sense of what is really going on in our community. It is way to get out of the textbook and really learn about things that are really happening in our community. I didn't like some of the lines of questioning I thought it could have been better organized so that we could of heard from more of the panel. I also wish that the questions would have been more directed at certain individuals on the panel such as the city manager. I felt as if he was deflecting every question thrown at him. When he answered the question of trying to create jobs for the African American community by saying that the police and fire commission were trying to hire African Americans to reflect the actual community. although a very good thing to do it wont fix the entire African American poverty rates by having the city try and hire their way out of it, that's impossible. The city needs to become business friendly and bring business back to the south end to make it a more vibrant place and if you have low economic standards in the south end then their will be no jobs and it will make it a incredibly tough place to live. Dadoftwo001
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone gave there statement or question they had. I have notice that the lady sitting next to our teacher kept saying the same thing back to them in a way. And It was that to meet with her and discuss what they want done about things in the community and to keep on her about it to get it done. I feel like people wanted her to do it without them telling her to do it or what needs to be fixed. It makes me think that they dont want to put effort in to talking to other people about the community. Seems like it is a 'broken window' theory community. Everything could change for the better if they just talk about what needs to be fixed where they live. So they can be happy living there. It was shocking to here how some of the people in the community dose not like to drive because they dont want to be pulled over by cops. That is also something that needs to be fixed is that they need to not be so worried about police. The reason why that is the case because the police is trying to make it a better place for them by using SARA as a tactic in the community. Or they should use it in the community for it a 'broken window' community. I was confused when one of the people that spoke asked to why dont you send police cops to live in the community to see what they have to deal with when living there. When up on the stage there was a cop staying in the community I think and policing there because he grew up there and knew what it was like to live there. Dose she want more cops there or cops from a different race liveing there to see there pain. Also I find it amazed that how peoria is a bad place for african americans to live at. But where eles can they go. Where they cant afford to live somewhere else. To be in a better place than what they were. Adelle002
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see some city employees at this event and be able to put some faces with names. With that said, I felt there could have been more people on the panel that were relevant to the specific topic of policing. It was nice to hear from the District 150 police chief. He seemed like a very bright young man. To be honest I didn’t realize they had their own actual department. I’m just curious why Peoria P.D wasn’t at the event. Many of the audience’s questions were directed towards their local police, and there was no one there that could accurately answer their questions. I was also very impressed by Rep. Booth. She seemed more than willing to answer difficult questions and appeared to be up on all the issues that were being discussed. I was a little disappointed in the direction the last half of the event took. I felt like I was at a town hall meeting and not an event to intelligently discuss issues of gender inequality and policing in Peoria. I understand that people have questions that they want answers to and there are issues pertaining to the south side of Peoria, but was this really the place to voice their frustrations? I don’t feel like this particular panel would have the answers they were looking for. I feel like there was too much attention placed on this Wall Street 24/7 report, when we basically talked about how inaccurate it was at the beginning of the meeting. There could have been more conversations about the community policing efforts of local law enforcement or about what others in the community are doing to improve racial inequality. As a white person who isn’t racist in the slightest, it was hard at times to not feel like I was being accused of something that I’m not a part of. However, I understand that I have not experienced the poverty and inequality that some members of the audience have, and having never walked in their shoes I cannot say how they might feel. I do hope that some good came out of this event and I hope people get the answers they’re looking for. It’s 2016 and racial inequality is not something that should still be this prevelant. RustyPete003
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we got to attend this panel, and I think it was very informative and also a good stepping stone in the communities eyes to trying to make changes involving the topics. When the speakers began, a man started with clearing the air with the truth about statistical analysis when it came to the 24/7 report. To me it almost seemed like he was trying to take some negativity away from the percentages by saying that the report didn't even take into account some 260,000 people that were around the surrounding areas and that it only accounted for those within Peoria. As if that would adjust the numbers positively. But I could have just misunderstood his intent. Something I needed to write down in my notes was that after we started this "Race, Inequality and Policing" panel that promoted the steps to finding a solution, it took approximately 1 hour and 3 min before a solution was actually stated by anyone. A woman on the panel even stop another part way through to explain that we shouldn't be focusing on what is wrong, but what we should be doing instead. I agree, the group spent a lot of time telling the audience that there is a problem. Well, we know there's a problem, hence the existence of this event. Only after that did members of the group bring ideas. Three main topics: community relations and how policing training falls into that, economical fixes to include job creation and programs, and physical improvements to the city, particularly district one-type areas. The city managers kept using the words "priority" and "percent" and "years", like "we are putting priority on improving the water system, which will show an x% increase in y, and this will be a 13 year process." Nothing put forth that will take less that 7 years! Something someone brought up that I really liked (and I'm not particularly religious): doing something fast that will have a lasting effect starting today is not showing fear in getting involved with the communities there that want to change, improve relations with the citizens, particularly from the police force and we can use the church to do this. The church holds the keyhole that unlocks the door for peace and the community potential, government issues aside. We can always vote for someone who has the idea to put a plan into action that will take 13 years to accomplish. You want to desegregate race, reduce inequality and improve policing? Then you start with the community, not the government. JY160
ReplyDeleteI thought the main idea of getting everyone toghter was a good idea becasue we do need to talk and try to find ways to get over this race war in the U.S right now but it was all pointed to the south side and how bad they have it and i do feel for them because its not fair to have to live in a crappy neighbor hood that nobody cares about but when as a community we have to take some of them blame because we are the ones not voting not taking care of are yards not going to the meeting and talking about are issues but we cant keep solely blaming the city of Peoria and the council they need to step up on every level to help the south side but there not the ones breaking into each other houses and shooting guns or making it were people dont want to move there or business don't want to move there .But i felt very uncomfortable there because many people pointed out that there was no black students with us i thought that was unfair to say because we have black students but they didn't show up. I think it we need to put more money into are school across the state in less in other areas. As in not getting accepted to a school that could be for hundred reason and I don't it was because you were bi race you cant always look for something or someone to blame when you don't make it because I have been kicked from school turned down for so many things and its because of my chooses nobody else. You just have to keep working you butt off.cowboys003
ReplyDeleteThis discussion from the panel and the comments of the audience of race and ethnicity hit home for me because I'm from and grew up in the south end of Peoria all my life. As a minority in this community, I saw poverty and stereotypes from individuals from other towns who would put labels on us, kids who came from Peoria. I've always knew what was going on around me when I went to Manual Academy, but it wasn't until hearing from the officials and the citizens who are from the same community as me made me think about how we need to take action and make this community a better environment for people who love this town. I went to Limestone my freshman year, but I didn't like it because Peoria was where I felt most at home and all of my friends were going to Manual. Peoria is the most accepting town that I have ever been in because we all can relate to each other. My teachers at Manual were willing to help the students with anything in order for them to graduate and become successful that way we had an opportunity to go to college and achieve their dreams. I want to give back to my community and serve as a police officer for Peoria because I want to see a change in this town and let the community know that there are decent police officers still out there who are serving for the community rather than being the problem of it. Professor Dr. White is just a great mentor for us, Criminal Justice students because he tells us that we need to block our implicit bias and learn how to talk to different races and accept people with different religious views other than our own since we are going to interact with these individuals on a daily-basis during our career as the future law enforcement. I went to Manual with the young man who said he wasn't able to get the same opportunities to get further in the interview as an other individual did based on his race. You can't let it define who you are as a person because you will run into people who will knock you down, but the only way you can do is prove them wrong by getting back up and fight for what you believe that you can do as a person and do it for yourself. -RW003
ReplyDeleteRace in our community is a major issue. It can prevent us from moving forward with ourselves and work together to fix future issues. The other night, I noticed a few positives and a few negatives while at Manual. A positive I noticed was that the community was engaged in the conversation. Another was that everyone (on the panel) had an opportunity to speak about the racial divide we have in our community. An issue that I had was that no white person said anything. Everyone (black, white, green, purple) can see that there is an issue at hand: race. Yet no one wanted to say anything from the white man’s perspective. I also felt like some people there wanted to blame everyone but themselves for the issues we’re having today. One woman tried to blame Arab’s for some of the poverty in the city by saying: “Why can an Arab person come in here and open up a convenience store and take that money back to their own communities, but my friend who has a felony can’t even open up his own store and keep the money right here in our community?” I, to an extent, understand what she meant with what she was saying. But I don’t understand why she was trying to use another group of people to bring down. Isn’t that what we’re trying to fix here? Trying to learn that we can’t keep bringing different groups down just to get a little bit ahead? I felt as if this conversation was pretty one-sided. Just by getting a glimpse of me, you can see that I’m most certainly not black. But just because I’m white, does not mean that I don’t see where these people are coming from. We’re all human; we all go through hardships in life, no matter what your race may so happen to be. You have to take responsibility for your actions and try to better yourself. Denise Moore said that when she was running for her position, she had a man continuously ask, “What are you going to do for me when you get in?” Her response was, “Nothing. I’m not going to do anything for you. Try asking ‘what am I going to do for myself.’” I loved her answer because it’s true; you have to make yourself known. You have to tell them what you need; they’re not mind readers. You can’t expect handouts without giving first. Gators003
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