Parker sent me a an email questioning why I wasn’t writing about his legal victory. Rather than send him a reply explaining that I am not a daily newspaper, and that I have a full-time day job and sometimes like to sleep and sometimes like to order Chinese food and watch college basketball, rather than blog ever second of free time I have, I decided to do an email interview. I dashed off some questions, and these are his replies. The all caps is Parker’s doing.

Peoria Pundit: Judge Joe Vespa ruled in your favor in the Open Meetings act case. Were you surprised by the ruling?

General Parker: NO I AM NOT SURPRISED BY THE RULING. THE LAW WAS ON MY SIDE. I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT JUDGE VESPA TRIED TO MINIMIZE THE THE COUNCILS ACTIONS BY CALLING IT A TECHNICALITY. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THE JUDGE WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH SEVERAL OF THE DEFENDANTS THAT WERE NAMED SO ALL IN ALL, I DID PRETTY GOOD. I AM SURPRISED THAT YOU AND THE JOURNAL STAR, WHO MADE SUCH A BIG DEAL ABOUT ME FILING THE ACTION, WERE HUSH HUSH WHEN I PREVAILED.

Peoria Pundit: What do you expect to happen, and what do you hope will happen?

General Parker: THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE ACTION WAS THAT OUR GOVERNMENT, WHO IS HANDLING OUR BUSINESS, WAS DOING IT BEHIND OUR BACKS. WASN’T THIS THE SAME PERSON WHO CLAIMED RANSBURG WAS MAKING BACK DOOR DEALS AND HE WOULDN’T DO THAT IF HE WAS MAYOR. THEN OOPS, THEY WENT AND DID IT AGAIN WITH THIS NEW HOTEL MARRIOTT DEAL. AND TO KEEP THIS QUIET FOR OVER A WHOLE WEEK. DOESN’T SEEM TO ME THAT THEY ARE GETTING ANYMORE OPEN OR TRANSPARENT. THIS INFORMATION WOULD HAVE MADE FOR BETTER CONVERSATION AT A COUPLE OF FORUMS LAST WEEK. I KNOW IT DIDN’T BOTHER YOU BECAUSE INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THE DEED, YU WERE LOOKING AT IT WAS ONLY MINORITY AND WOMEN CONTRACTORS BEING SCREWED AND THAT WAS NOT ON YOUR LIST OF PRIORITIES.

ALSO, WHAT YOU FAIL TO REALIZE IS THAT THE STATES ATTORNEY, KEVIN LYONS, WAS GIVEN THIS CASE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PROSECUTE. HE REFUSED. HE CHOOSES WHICH CASES AND PEOPLE HE WANTS TO PROSECUTE AND THAT IS DANGEROUS. NOW, NOT ONLY I AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SAID THAT THE CITY BROKE THE LAW, BUT A SITTING JUDGE FROM HIS OWN COUNTY COURTHOUSE HAS ALSO. WHEN THE COUNCIL IN MONEE AND PEOTONE, VIOLATED THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, THE STATES ATTORNEY THERE CHARGED THEM WITH A FELONY BACK IN THE EARLY NINETIES.

Peoria Pundit: Do you still think there is time for the city have this company hired to teach prospective subcontractors?

General Parker: NO BECAUSE HE WOULD NOT COME NOW ANYWAY.

Peoria Pundit: Overall, how would you rate the city government’s concern with increasing minority hiring?

General Parker: THIS ACTION REVOLVED AROUND AWARDING CONTRACTS TO WOMEN AND MINORITY OWNED FIRMS. WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM HIRING WORKERS. TOO OFTEN ON PROJECTS LIKE THESE, PRIME CONTRACTORS TRY TO GET AWAY WITH NOT MEETING THERE SUB-CONTRACTING GOALS ESTABLISHED FOR PUBLIC CONTRACTS TO HIRE WOMEN AND MINORITY CONTRACTORS, BY USING THE EXCUSE THAT “WE WOULD HAVE USED SOME BUT WE COULDN’T FIND ANY THAT WERE QUALIFIED”. THIS COMPANY WAS TO TAKE WOMEN AND MINORITY OWNED FIRMS AND BUILD THEM TO CAPACITY IN THAT 18 MONTH+ PERIOD SO THAT THEY COULD PARTICIPATE ON THIS 100+MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT. BONDING, INSURANCE, EQUIPMENT, EMPLOYEES, CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSING WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM, AS IT SO OFTEN IS, IF HE HAD BEEN ALLOWED TO DO THIS IN THAT TIME PERIOD. MIND YOU, ALL THIS FOR ONLY $20,000.

AS FOR MINORITY HIRING, THE CITY HALL IS BEING REVAMPED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM AND THERE ARE NO MINORITY CONTRACTORS AND ONLY ONE AFRICAN AMERICAN WORKER AND NO FEMALES.

Peoria Pundit: In other news, the Journal Star is reporting that Gov. Pat Quinn will not be issuing a pardon to you before the election. Are you upset or saddened by this news?

General Parker: WHEN HAVE YOU EVER BELIEVED WHAT THE JOURNAL STAR WAS REPORTING BILLY. I HEARD NOWHERE (OTHER THAN THE PJS) THAT QUINN SAID HE IS NOT ISSUING A PARDON. PLEASE READ AND I HOPE YOU POST MY LETTER I ATTACHED THAT I SENT TO THE JOURNAL STAR. IF PEORIA WANTS TO MOVE FORWARD AND REALLY WANTS IT TO BE “BETTER HERE”, THEN WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON THE ISSUES THAT AFFECT US. ALL OF US. NO MORE SMOKE AND SCREENS, NO MORE MISQUOTES, NO MORE GUERRILLA TACTICS IN MEDIA BUT TO ACTUALLY AND DILIGENTLY SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH AND REPORT IT THAT WAY.

I AM A NON-TRADITIONAL CANDIDATE RUNNING A NON-TRADITIONAL CAMPAIGN. NO MATTER WHAT THE JOURNAL STAR OMITS FROM MY INTERVIEWS WITH THEM OR HOW THEY TRY AND TWIST WHAT WAS SAID, THE PEOPLE CAN SEE THROUGH THAT. REST ASSURE, JUST AS THEY ARE TIRED OF POLITICS AS USUAL AND POLITICIANS OF OLD, THEY ARE TIRED OF THAT STYLE OF JOURNALISM AND THIS IS WHY PEOPLE ARE TURNING TO THE BLOGS NOW AND PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THEM AND TRUST THEM AS BEING MORE CREDIBLE.

WHAT I REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IS, YOU GUYS KEEP SAYING I DON’T HAVE A SNOWBALLS CHANCE IN HELL OF WINNING. SO THEN IT WOULD BE A MOOT POINT RIGHT? MAYBE YOU DO BELIEVE I CAN WIN. THAT’S OKAY BECAUSE I DO ALSO. I SPOKE WITH CHICAGO ATTORNEY MIKE LAVELL, WHO WAS THE FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE STATE ELECTION BOARD,AFTER THE KEVIN LYONS FIASCO, HE SAID I CAN BE ON THE BALLOT. THEY CAN’T TAKE MY NAME OFF. I CAN RUN. I CAN WIN. I CAN BE SWORN IN. I CAN EVEN SERVE IF NOBODY OBJECTS AFTER I’M SWORN IN.

HE ALSO SAID, THE TIME FOR OBJECTING ABOUT ME BEING ON THE BALLOT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RAISED IN THE ONE WEEK PERIOD AFTER THE PETITION DEADLINE. IT WASN’T. I DIDN’T HIDE IT, HECK I BROUGHT IT OUT. KEVIN LYONS WAS MY ATTORNEY ON THE CASE AND PLEAD ME OUT, SO IT’S NOT AS IF HE DIDN’T KNOW. ALSO, WHY WASN’T ALL THIS FANFARE MADE ABOUT DAN FISCHEL, THE MAYOR OF BRIMFIELD WHO SERVED FOR NINE YEARS AND HAD A FELONY CONVICTION WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER? SO I GUESS A PERSON CONVICTED OF A FELONY CAN BE ELECTED AND CAN SERVE AS MAYOR AND DO A GOOD JOB, RIGHT.

ALSO, THANK YOU FOR YOUR BLOG A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. THE KIWANIS CLUB AS I DO, BELIEVE THAT YOU GET THE BEST OUT OF A CANDIDATE WHEN THEY ARE CONTESTED.

Peoria Pundit: State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons sent you a letter telling you that you cannot legally run. What do you think he will do if you do NOT quit the race?

General Parker: THIS IS OLD NEWS BILLY. HIS ONE WEEK THREAT HAS LONG PASSED. HE KNEW BEFORE HE MADE THAT STATEMENT THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO. HE MAY HAVE EXCITED SOME PEOPLE BUT HE DOESN’T PHASE ME. LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT A STATES ATTORNEY WHO DOESN’T PROSECUTE A CASE LIKE THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT VIOLATION WHEN ASKED TO DO SO BY THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL, WHICH WAS HIS JOB TO DO, BUT TAKES THE TAXPAYERS DOLLARS BY WATING TIME GOING ON TV AND THREATENING AN OFFICIAL MAYORAL CANDIDATE AND ATTEMPTING TO INTIMIDATE HIM AND HARRASS HIM INTO WITHDRAW FROM A POLITICAL RACE, WHICH IS NOT HIS JOB AND A CIVIL MATTER. THIS COULD ALSO BE AN ETHICS VIOLATION AND IS MOST ASSUREDLY A VIOLATION OF THE RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT PROVIDED BY THE ILLINOIS STATE BAR REGARDING SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PROSECUTOR. DID YOU ELECT HIM FOR SUCH MATTERS OR TO GO AFTER AND PROSECUTE CRIMINALS?

From 1470WMBD:

A bond hearing has been delayed until Wednesday for two Peoria Police officers charged with the beating of Peoria man while on duty almost a year ago.  Officers Jerry Suelter and Andrew Smith were arrested Monday night on charges of official misconduct, aggravated battery, battery and mob action …  Three attorneys were present in Peoria County Court Tuesday afternoon when Judge Paul Gillfilan told them the officers’ bonding wasn’t until Wednesday.  No reason was given.

Why delay the bond hearing? And why not TELL people the reason for the delay?  And it’s not like “Catch and Release Kevin Lyons normally is overly concerned about keeping the accused behind bars.

Consider the case of Justin Rodgers who was arrested at an East Bluff home back in late October, but was released a few days later on a notice to appear — issued by Lyon’s office. After all, he  had only been booked on charges of possession of weapons by a felon, possession of a controlled substance and possession and delivery of marijuana.  Neighbors on East Elmhurst — who were being terrorized by this guy — were furious and afraid Rodgers would retaliate against them for the complaints that had made to police. The cops found two pounds of marijuana, 45 grams of cocaine, eight rocks of crack cocaine, body armor and five guns — but Lyon’s office gave him a notice to appear.

But two police officers — who won’t be in uniform patrolling anyway  because they are on paid leave — can’t get out on bond.

UPDATE: Now we know why Kevin Lyons wanted to delay the release fo these two Peoria Police officers: Kevin Lyons wanted an opportunity to appear in court in person and hear himself talk:

Two Peoria police officers arrested after a brutality claim will appear in court Wednesday, when Peoria County State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons said he plans to read a copy of the complaint and factual basis for their arrest.

I mean, what’s the use of charging police officers with a crime if you, a prosecutor who rarely appears in court, can’t score some media face time by showing up for a procedural hearing.

So it wasn’t just that Kevin Lyons is a bad public servant. By any standard that exists he is. He’s arrogant. He’s dismissive of of people he NEEDS to work with in order to do his job properly. He failed constantly in his responsibility to fight to keep criminals on the street. When word got out that he issued a notice to appear to a convicted criminal arrested on drug and weapons charges, I thought to myself: “This is it. If there’s anyone on the fence about Kevin Lyons, this will send their votes to Darin LaHood.”

Yet there I was at the Darin LaHood victory party watching the final results. Lyons won, 54-46 percent.

LaHood was gracious. He congratulated Lyons — who didn’t appear in public on election night and was unavailable for comment. How very typical.

So we’re stuck with Lyons for another four years. Roger Monroe speculated in this month’s Community Word that Lyons will be appointed to a federal judgeship by President-elect Obama. That would be good news for Peoria County, although whoever would be appointed to replace him would have LaHood’s qualifications or ability to work closely with police.

And Jehan Gordon beat Joan Krupa for the 92nd Illinois House seat now held by Aaron Schock,  future Congressman. The results were 53.5 to 46.5, virtually identical to the Lyons/LaHood race. Why? probably because of the massive turnout for Obama, which no doubt put votes into Lyons and Gordon’s pockets. In any other year, Krupa would, I believe, mop up the floor with Gordon, considering her record of lying about having a degree and for not paying her fines for shoplifting.

But I’m more miffed at the Lyons’ turnout that anything else. Gordon struck me as a smart person who was concerned about the people she was trying to get elected to serve. I hope she can grow in office and turn into an effective and independent legislator. She’s going to have to show some backbone and some independence, though.

I have no hope whatsoever that Lyons learned anything.  But he’s proven time and again that he refuses to consider the possibility he can be wrong about anything. He’s too set in his ways and refuses to admit he can be mistaken, or that he can learn anything from others. We’re going to have another four years of criminals walking around free as a bird, even though they are felons with criminal records and were caught with illegal guns.

Voters knew all the negatives about both Lyons and Krupa. Well, I’m hoping they did. It’s entirely possible that all these Obama voters simply voted yes for any politician with a “D” by their name.

The people of Peoria County are going to spend the next four years getting the kind of justice we deserve … because we voted for it.

My two cents: Let that sink in for a moment folks. The elected official who’s job it is to put those he believes are criminals in jail let these people charged with a crime to walk out without posting bond. This includes 22-year-old Justin Rodgers. He faces six felony drug and weapons, according to HOINews.

Rodgers is convicted felon.

Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis and City Councilman Bob Manning held a press conference Sunday to ask publicly why these people were released.

And then Lyons held his own conference:

In response to Ardis’ questions, Lyons said Rodgers was released from jail because he planned to use Rodgers’ arrest this week against him at his Dec. 4 hearing to revoke his probation for previous Tazewell County drug charges. Lyons said his decision is Rodgers’ “quickest and most direct way to the prison door.”

And exactly what is wrong with letting this knucklehead stew in a jail cell waiting for Dec. 4 hearing that Lyons is oh-so-sure will send him away? That way, the good people of the East Bluff would have an extra month without having to suffer his presence.

Lyons also said that he wasn’t quite ready to decide by Friday exactly what to charge the people who were arrested on Wednesday, and because he can’t hold people without charges for longer than 48 hours, he cut ‘em loose. And it was Friday.

Seems to me that solution would have been to — hold onto your hats folks — actually charge them with something. Police has this joint up for two weeks. If we had a state’s attorney actually capable of working well with police, Lyons might have been in a better position to know exactly what to charge these them.

Lyons is right about one thing. He says politics was the motivation for the press conference.

Absolutely. GOOD politics. The kind of politics that’s all about trying to put the needs of the public above the needs of hack career bureaucrats like Catch-And-Release Kevin Lyons.

Kudos to Ardis and Manning.

Lyons also complained that all the attention on this cases puts the prosecution at risk. Lyons said this at his own press conference.

I came to the conclusion years ago that Peoria would never fully get a handle on the crime problems driving families away from the city and out of our schools. I don’t think that the election of Darin LaHood will be the cure for crime. But it’s a start to making things better.

At the time, I considered this a case of making a virtue out of necessity, because I doubted there were many active police officers who think very highly of Lyons. Before this election started, almost every police officer working the streets with whom I discussed Lyons thought the guy was too quick to decide to not prosecute the people they arrested.

Then ads started popping up with retired police officers stating their love for Lyons. One of them was officer Ann Ruggles, who served as public information officer and hadn’t worked the streets for years. Nothing against her, I remember when she patrolled the East Bluff back in the day before Lyons was in charge.

But the other was retired Peoria Police Chief John Stenson. Yeah, THAT John Stenson, the one whose many documented ethical lapses were vigorously ignored by the Peoria City Council and the Peoria Journal Star.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Done? Good.

For those who didn’t look, I’ll recap. It was taken at a candidates forum. Darin LaHood, a candidate for Peoria County State’s attorney, says that if he is elected, he would diversity the office. He noted that while 70 percent of people prosecuted by the state’s attorney’s office are African American, but none of the office’s 31 attorneys are black.

When LaHood is finished, current State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons grabbed the microphone and angrily demanded the right to defend himself. The reason there’s no black attorneys on staff is because the former chief of felonies is now a judge. And he brags that the first face people see when they want into the state’s attorney’s office is a black face. And he said the person who manages the entire office is also black. I’m assuming that this refers to two people, because I doubt the office manager also is the receptionist.

All the while, he is angrily stabbing the air with his finger, coming very close to poking LaHood in the back on several occasions.

And then he half-tossed, half-dropped the microphone onto the table. And LaHood is sitting there, looking  amused.

There’s nothing shocking about this. It is entirely within Lyons’ character. The man simply cannot abide being challenged, and it was inevitable during this campaign.

Years ago, I started calling Kevin Lyons “Catch and Release Kevin.” This was because of the complaints expressed by more than one member of the Peoria Police department that Lyons has a tendency to agree to release without charges many of the knuckleheads and neighborhood thugs that officers take into custody. It’s a cliche, but quite often officers would finish their paperwork and hit the streets to find that the person they arrested were back in the neighborhoods. This drove police officers AND members of Peoria’s neighborhood organizations crazy with frustration.

But Lyons has another nickname: “King Kevin.” It refers to his autocratic attitude. I attended a neighborhood meeting several years ago in which Lyons deigned to explain to members of Peoria’s neighborhood groups how his office works. He ended up telling them that he is best suited to decide what’s a crime, not cops and certainly not neighborhood activists. He excused away his refusal to participate in Mayor Jim Ardis’s crime task force as a waste of time. He came off as petulant and condescending.

People who deal with him on a regular basis say the man is arrogant and not a little belligerent with anyone who disagrees with him. Others who work with him compliment his legal skills and his fairness, and I have no reason to doubt them.

I’m not the first person to come to the conclusion Lyons suffers from short man’s syndrome. The guy is simply over compensating. Now, that’s not a bad thing if it leads to more convictions of bad guys. But Lyons directs much of this belligerency toward those who want to help improve Peoria’s crime problem.

He reminds me of that one person at your work who resists any and all change. He or she is a master of the process as it stands now. Anything different is wrong, because that’s not the way it’s always been done.

Lyons may be a good attorney. He certainly has his defenders. But I don’t think he’s a very good public servant, which requires a different set of skills than Lyons has demonstrated in the past, and in this video as well.

Setting side whether or not Schock should* be charged with a crime, let’s look at the potential winners and losers here.

If Lyons charges Schock with a crime (probably a misdemeanor). it’s possible Lyons picks up a few votes for the effort. I know more Democrats who are crossing over to LaHood than the other way around. It’s possible there are  Schock-hating Democrats who might swing back to Lyons is he slaps Schock with a misdemeanor. My gut feeling is that there aren’t all that many.

If Lyons doesn’t charge Schock with anything, it might cement Lyons’ rep as someone with a tendency to turn the other cheek for officials charged with breaking the rules. It’s possible some Schock supporters will thank him with votes. I don’t see many doing that, however. Most ardent Schock supporters are ardent Republicans.

And in either case, how is Darin LaHood supposed to react? If Lyons does charge Schock, is he going to criticize Lyons for soing so? After all, Schock is a fellow Republican. LaHood would come off as a putting party above the law.

If Lyons doesn’t charge Schock, does LaHood criticize THAT decision? Oh, HELL no. There’s no risk in Schock supporters giving their votes to Lyons in this case, and it might score some votes from those Democrats who really dislike Schock, but were on the fence in the state’s attorney race. But if LaHood is were to demand prosecution of Schock, he better make sure Schock is going to lose, because one doesn’t want to make an enemy of a sitting U.S. Congressman.

So, I’m guessing LaHood keeps him mouth shut if Lyons does nothing.

Are there any independents or undecideds out there who haven’t made up their minds about Schock/LaHood? I’m thinking that’s probably the case in the Peoria area, but maybe not so much out in the hinterlands of the 18th District. Schock has never represented voters outside Peoria County. A newspaper article or a broadcast report that Schock has been charged with official misconduct might sway some folks to give their votes instead to that nice farm lady who is good friends with Congressman Ray.

Months ago, the polls showed Schock with a commanding lead. I haven’t seen a recent poll. I’m not sure that at this late date, whether there’s enough time to ship away enough of that lead. But it’s exactly this sort of thing that can cause an upset. Which is exactly why Schock’s Democratic rival Colleen Callahan held press conferences all over the district today to demand an investigation.

* Yeah, I know it’s a cynical way to look at it. But I guarantee the campaigns are mulling over the same questions right now. Besides, Im no lawyer and I have no idea if a crime was committed or even is there’s a statute of limitations.

I’m not even going to pretend that I understand the reasons why all the cases aren’t being handled in on one big bunch. I know nothing about the evidence and willingness of the victims to talk, so I’m not going to criticize Lyons for making a deal.

The final sentence is up to the judge, anyway.

So I’ll take a pass on the opportunity to comment on what this all means to the race for Peoria County State’s Attorney. Hopefully, both of the candidates will too.

And frankly, I’m a little disturbed that someonewas conducting a poll that alluded to this case.

In today’s column, Adams looks over minutes from the September meeting of the Peoria Race Relations Commission. She excerpts sentences and paragraphs and “translates” them. Well, she calls them “translations,” but if any United Nations translator were to take the agenda-based liberties Adams does, they would be shipped back to their home countries:

For example:

“Mayor Ardis had hoped more commissioners would have attended today so he could have addressed the entire group but trusted his comments would be conveyed to all commissioners.”

(I didn’t come to listen to your dialogue, I came to make my own.)

Adams doesn’t like Ardis, so a simple statement that he wishes more people were there gets “translated” into Ardis being an autocratic ogre. I’ve sat in on council meetings ranging back to when Dick Carver was mayor. Ardis might be the least autocratic, although he does like meetings to move along.

From what I can tell, there’s a bit a coup attempt in program on this commission. Some folks don’t like that it’s being chaired by Amir Al-Khafaji. At the time he was appointed, the grumbling I heard was that some black people thought a black person should be in charge. Adams doesn’t mention the reason behind the discontent, which is too bad because it would be good if the Peoria Journal Star’s lone black columnist, and the only columnist who almost exclusively covers race issues, would in fact cover an issue involving prejudice against a person of color.

Last week, Adams brought Willie Horton into the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s race. She implied Republican candidate Darin LaHood was a racist. Why? Because he wanted to speak to the father of a white rape victim, when the other victims of the black man accused of the crime were black. Therefore, Adams somehow concludes, LaHood was planning Willie Horton-style ads against Kevin Lyons.

There are several problems with this conclusion, the most obvious of which is that Adams doesn’t possess the powers of precognition any more than she she posses the powers of telepathy in regards to what Mayor Ardis was thinking.

The other is that LaHood didn’t exactly pull the name of Monterius Hinkle from a hat. The vast majority of Americans had Peorians who pay attention to crime already knew about the guy and what he is accused of doing. I think that most Peorians assumed that because of the location of the crimes, ALL the victims were black. That’s what I assumed until I read Adams article. Not that it mattered to me as much as it does to Adams.

And here’s a point that Adams doesn’t mention. The basic facts of the Willie Horton ads were true. He was a convicted murderer given a furlough. He did flee to another state and commit rape and murder. Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, didn’t create the furlough program, but he did support it vigorously.

But then the facts don’t matter. Horton was black, therefore the ads were racist. It’s always that was with Adams.

And what are the facts of the Monterius Hinkle case, as they relate to State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons? He declined to prosecute the first time Hinkle was under arrest, saying he didn’t have enough evidence and willing testimony from victims. This last crime happened after Hinkle was released. Would LaHood have mentioned these facts if Lyons had not staged his disastrous press conference accusing LaHood of interfering with the case? Clairvoyant Pam says yes.

And since Adams is concerned about how Peoria’s power structure ignores the concerns of black people, including police brutality, I am wondering when she will mention that association of black ministers have endorsed a candidate for Peoria County State’s Attorney, saying they are convinced this candidate would listen to their concerns, and would actually diversify the office.

They endorsed Darin LaHood, the man Adams says implies is racist because cops like him.

Also, Jim Ardis has endorsed LaHood, which no doubt is further evidence of racism, as far as Adams is concerned.

Adams has always implied that candidates who run on anti-crime platforms are really just trying to scare white voters, never mind that most crime victims are black and that most of the people who are forced by economics to live among crack houses and gang violence are black.

Four years ago, then mayoral candidate Ardis and Eric Turner held a press conference in front of two crack house on Peoria’s South Side. She complained that Ardis was using black people.

There are two types of people who insist that in all discussion of crime, black people are somehow involved: White supremacists, who litter my Website and the Journal Star comments; and folks like Pam Adams, who cannot conceive that anyone who makes crime an issue is not, somehow, complaining about how black people commit crimes.

Perhaps one day, we will have a columnist at the Journal Star who is willing to engage in honest discussion of race from all perspectives, and not just be the organ for those who with one view on the matter.