Peoria's Facade - shattered by continued crime and gun violence

Going to the Santa Claus Parade is a tradition that started when I was a child. My parents took me and now I take my children. We were in our usual spot, sipping hot chocolate, when one of the youngsters pointed down the street to a red brick building, that was sitting at a wierd angle and said "Auntie, what's that!". I looked to my right and there it was, a tall red structure, blocking the view to river. I told my niece, "It's the facade for the new Peoria Museum."

The facade of City Hall and the Civic Center was recently shattered by bullets. Another item that happened recently of note, is that the exterior panels of the Downtown Museum have been installed. In the meantime, the streets of the inner city continues to be controlled by those who have no regard for a life, let alone a building.

Teens face charges after weapon found at Limestone High School

November 29, 2011

The gun - a .25 caliber semiautomatic pistol - was recovered from a boys' bathroom about noon Nov. 22. The gun, along with cash, a video game console and games, was stolen between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sept. 30 from a residence in the 1100 block of North University Street in Peoria. One of the boys arrested for possessing the gun is suspected to have committed the burglary.

Peoria man shot during robbery dies weeks later

November 29, 2011

A man who was shot in the chest during a robbery earlier in the month has died from injuries sustained during the shooting.

Bullets Strike Several Peoria Homes
November 28, 2011
Several residents on Morton Street realized their homes had been shot at Sunday evening, according to a police report. Authorities were dispatched to the 600 block of Morton Street around 8:18 pm after receiving several calls about shots fired and houses possibly hit. Police found several .40 caliber handgun casings in the area, suggesting the shots were fired from a moving vehicle. One witness said he believed he saw a black car fleeing the scene. At least four houses were struck in the incident, with one home having a bullet pass through a couple walls. There is no suspect information at this time and no injuries were reported.

North Valley man says he was shot at
November 27, 2011
A 39-year-old North Valley man told police he was shot at by an acquaintance Friday night in the 500 block of Laveille Street.

Man says men tried to rob him on Miramar Drive
November 27, 2011
A man was checking a tire on his car in the 7100 block of North Miramar Drive in North Peoria about 8 p.m. Saturday when a car pulled up and three men attempted to rob him.

Peoria man struck with gun during break-in
Posted Nov 26, 2011 @ 11:20 PM
A 27-year-old Peoria man was struck with a handgun twice last week after two men broke into his home and demanded money.

20 Shots Fired at Taft Homes

November 26, 2011

Authorities are looking for two suspects after shots were fired near a Peoria housing complex Friday night. Police were called to Taft Homes just before 8 pm on a report of more than 20 shots being fired. They found a victim with a gunshot wound to his arm in an apartment at 250 Eaton. The victim was transported to OSF St. Francis Medical Center for treatment. A second victim showed up later at the hospital. Neither of the injuries is considered life-threatening. Authorities believe the incident was in retaliation for the murder of 21-year-old Monterrius Dillard earlier this week.

Window shattered in report of shots fired
Posted Nov 24, 2011 @ 10:47 PM
Police were called to 517 Vine St. about 4:30 a.m. Thursday after multiple shots were reported fired into a residence at that address.

Peoria man dies from gunshot wounds
Updated Nov 25, 2011 @ 12:42 AM
A Peoria man was pronounced dead at 11:38 p.m. Wednesday after he sustained multiple gunshot wounds less than an hour earlier in the vicinity of the 1400 block of West Martin Street.

Peoria teen indicted in shooting at City Hall parking lot
Posted Nov 23, 2011 @ 05:14 PM
A 17-year-old youth was indicted by a Peoria County grand jury recently in connection with an Oct. 9 shooting in the City Hall parking lot.

Robber takes Peoria man's cash and shoes
Posted Nov 21, 2011 @ 10:18 PM
A 22-year-old Peoria man was robbed Sunday night of his cash and shoes while walking in Central Peoria.

Police: Home invasion not likely related to others
Posted Nov 21, 2011 @ 08:37 PM
Police don't believe a home invasion in Central Peoria early Sunday is related to a recent string of similar crimes against elderly residents.

One person injured in home invasion
Posted Nov 20, 2011 @ 10:54 PM
A home invasion early Sunday in Central Peoria left one person injured. Two men entered a home in the 1000 block of West Crestwood Avenue shortly before 2 a.m. One of the intruders hit one of the residents with a gun and stole his cell phone, according to police.

Two men shot late Saturday in South Peoria
Updated Nov 20, 2011 @ 10:50 PM
Two men suffered gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening Saturday night, according to police.

Firefighters put out two South Peoria garage fires
Posted Nov 19, 2011 @ 09:17 PM
Firefighters were called to extinguish two separate garage fires early Saturday in South Peoria.

Peoria woman donates organs of her beaten teen son
Updated Nov 20, 2011 @ 12:00 AM
A Peoria mother's wish that her 16-year-old son's organs be donated to give others a second chance at life appears to have come true. Jaquille Tidwell Johns was pronounced dead at 4:30 a.m. Saturday at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center after remaining on life support a week while organ donation preparations were being made. The Manual Academy sophomore was beaten Nov. 11 after he and a friend were discovered inside a vacant house at 1710 W. Kettelle St.

Man says he was robbed on Jefferson Avenue
Posted Nov 17, 2011 @ 09:35 PM
A man was pushed to the ground by three males who kicked him and took his watch and pocket knife Wednesday night.

Peoria man hears gunshots, later finds bullet in bathtub
Updated Nov 15, 2011 @ 06:40 PM
A man who heard gunshots near his home Monday night later found a bullet in his bathtub.

Arson suspected in Millman Street fire
Posted Nov 14, 2011 @ 10:38 PM
Arson is suspected in a fire that caused $15,000 damage Monday at a vacant home in South Peoria, Peoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Tom Carr said.

Peorian arrested on attempted murder charge for Nov. 4 shooting
Posted Nov 14, 2011 @ 09:39 AM
A Peoria teen was arrested Sunday on an attempted murder charge for a shooting that occurred on Martin Luther King Drive on Nov. 4.

Four gunshots riddle side of South Peoria home
Posted Nov 12, 2011 @ 11:11 PM
A South Peoria man returned to his home in the 900 block of West Howett Street to find four bullet holes in the home's siding.

Report of shots fired at apartment Thursday
Updated Nov 12, 2011 @ 05:49 AM
Three shots were reportedly fired at 7:25 p.m. Thursday at Glenbrook Apartments on Knoxville Avenue.

Arson suspected in fire to vacant home
Updated Nov 12, 2011 @ 05:48 AM
A fire at a vacant home in South Peoria caused an estimated $25,000 in damage and is suspected of being arson, according to Peoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Tom Carr.

Desegregation in Peoria Schools

In 1966 when initial planning for desegregation began, minority students were concentrated in 9 of Peoria's 39 schools. Twenty of the city's schools had white enrollments of more than 98 percent, indicating the most minimal percentage of minority students in more than half the city's schools. Four schools were totally white.

The Board fully realized that the Peoria Public Schools must be integrated promptly to insure quality education and equality of educational opportunities for all children.

The plan was quickly put into effect to coincide with the fall 1968 opening of Peoria’s schools. A few incidents of limited physical violence occurred but the Peoria Journal Star, in its account of the desegregation process noted, "There were no major incidents. Busing, at least on a limited basis and as long as it did not involve advantaged whites, seemed to work well in Peoria.

In some respects, the Peoria schools during the 1970s began to look more segregated than even prior to the initiation of desegregation. In 1966 Peoria's minority students were concentrated in nine schools; eight of these schools failed to meet State guidelines because they had an overpopulation of minority students. By the 1975-76 school year, the district had a total of nine schools which had an overpopulation of minority students by State standards.

A central aspect of the "Quality/Equality" plan was the initiation of the middle-school concept and a new building program to improve physical facilities. The building program was tied, in many ways, to local school referenda. However, the "Quality/Equality" plan stated that "the plan...will be implemented regardless of whether new buildings are built and regardless of the outcome of any bond referendum". Nevertheless, school bond referenda have failed on a number of occasions and the middle-school concept has not gone forward.

On January 8, 1976, the Illinois Office of Education announced that Peoria District 150 was not in compliance with State desegregation guidelines. The State found 20 Peoria schools not in compliance and ordered the district to submit detailed desegregation plans. The order noted that failure to do so could result in a loss of funding and further legal action by the State. A new plan from the district has now been received by the State and is currently under review.

Superintendent Harry Whitaker agreed that Peoria's schools should be within the State guidelines, but has also argued that the district should not be made to bus white students to predominantly black schools to achieve this end:

"We believe in integration. There's no question about that," Mr. Whitaker stated, "but we don't believe in integration to the point that we have to move youngsters back and forth. We think that that is going to be detrimental....My goal is not to re-segregate District 150, but, hopefully, to maintain the community as it is now."

Over the years, the city's public housing population has grown increasingly black. Thus, for instance, school desegregation on Peoria’s far south side must now be entirely reprogrammed in light of the high concentration of black families who have moved into the once predominantly white, blue-collar Harrison Homes project, which is located in the area. The middle-school concept (which has not been implemented in Peoria) still offers the potential, through careful planning, for serving as a means of drawing city residents into multiracial living situations as an outgrowth of the involvement and interest of parents in the middle schools. The city's central urban renewal area offers one possible site for new middle-school construction and residential development.

Following its 1976 review of the desegregation status of Peoria's schools, the Illinois Office of Education assigned a consultant to review the school district's desegregation plan. The consultant recommended the closing of the five remaining predominantly black inner-city schools and the busing of students from these schools to largely white schools.

These recommendations were forwarded to the Peoria school district for its consideration and response. The district held public meetings on the proposed closing and found that the community response was overwhelming negative. On January 3, 1977, the school board unanimously rejected the State's recommendations. The State's consultant observed that school closings were but one of many suggested approaches to the problems of desegregating Peoria's schools. On April 14, 1977, the State board of education voted to waive partially its desegregation guidelines for Peoria, and granted the school district an additional 1 year to bring the remaining schools into compliance.

Read the entire report here.