From a press release:
DARIN LAHOOD FORMALLY ANOUNCES RUN FOR PEORIA COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY
Unveils five-point plan to revamp State’s Attorney’s office and reduce crime in Peoria County(Peoria, IL)—Darin LaHood, a Peoria attorney and former Federal prosecutor, formally announced today that he will seek the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s office in the November 2008 general election.
LaHood was joined at a Peoria City Hall news conference by his family, friends, and supporters. LaHood said that he would bring his years as a U.S. Justice Department prosecutor, his extensive courtroom experience, and his background in public service to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s office to make it more effective in fighting crime.
At today’s news conference, LaHood also unveiled a five-point crime-fighting plan that he plans to implement when elected State’s Attorney. The plan calls for evaluating and improving programs in the State’s Attorney’s office, implementing crime-fighting programs in neighborhoods, and fostering a spirit of cooperation with officials and citizens who are interested in reducing the crime rate in Peoria County.
LaHood mentioned that over the past five years, Peoria County has had the highest crime rate of any county in the State of Illinois. He believes that the community needs a renewed emphasis on fighting crime, and that it must start in the State’s Attorney’s office.
Along with the press release was a crime statistic map. The counties highlighted in yellow have the most crime in the state. Click on the image below for a high-resolution PDF of this map:
Mr. LaHood makes a lot of sense. I hope he wins.
LaHood says that stopping crime starts with the S.A. I say nonsense; it starts in the home, the church, the schools, the police and finally when all else fails with the SA. This is just more campaign rhetoric for the mentally challenged. You can lock up all the bad guys in the county and more will be exported by Chicago to fill the void. Peoria definitely needs more police to patrol bad areas which means higher taxes or saving money by getting rid of things that the city should not own or operate – Gateway Bldg -Kellar Branch. Can anyone think of other ways the city can save money so it can afford more police?
Mister Ed: Add the Civic Center to the getting rid of list …. Stop bonding for non-essentials . . .
Good choice Karrie, maybe they could also beef-up fire protection too.
That picture is awesome. Bring that to the neighborhood meeting and let us see what the police and BVA have to say regarding it. I have said and I will say it again.
We need more police officers and second tier enforcement personnel like Code Enforcement. We need to control rental density like we control liquor stores.
I’m guessing BVA will say that it clearly demonstrates that more street level lighting is needed in the 2nd district.
LOL @ kohlrabi – of course it’s the lighting; what else could it be?
Unfortunatately, I don’t by into her view that new lights will be the renaissance of the neighborhood. I guess I’d have to agree with Groucho Marx who said:
“In the beginning, there was nothing. Then God said, “Let there be light”. And there was still nothing but you could see it.”
According to that graphic, Peoria has significantly more crime per capita than Cook County or St. Clair County (home of East St. Louis). That’s frightening. East St. Louis is like a third-world country! Some parts of St. Clair County are very nice (Lebanon, Shiloh, O’Fallon), and perhaps that dilutes some of the ESL influence. Still, it’s scary to think that Peoria is worse.
Are these statistics based on all crime or violent crime?
It comes from Illinois Atlas and is based on this data from the state. According to the latter link [emphasis mine]:
It never ceases to amaze me how people will take a suggestion that might help improve neighborhoods by making them safe and then condemn and ridicule them because they aren’t a magic cure, which is a claim that was never made. Do you NOT think that lighting deters SOME crime?
NOBODY on the council — my drinking buddy or not — is seriously suggesting that there are not multiple things that need to be done to make people safer, nor is anyone suggesting that it’s going to be easy, or instantaneous. Do i think the council is moving in the right direrction, generally? Yes. Is any ONE thing going to be the cure. Nope. Of course not.
And that Bill, is where it stops. Lots of talk. Talk is cheap. Peoria is like Iraq, there seem to be numerous parties claiming we are makin progress… when I open the paper in the morning I see something quite different. Sure the police are making incremental improvements here n there, just as our soldiers are over there. Saturation patrols are nice but they need to saturate the entirety of the Heart of Peoria and not just for a week or two. It is all just whacking the mole. There are not enough men on the ground to make the progress that I think the public wants to see. I am also not really seeing the policy changes that need to happen.
Crime should be front and center at EVERY city council meeting until this city has it under control.
I am not surprised to see Winnebago County on that map, the same color as Peoria. What is different about the two cities? Peoria still only has a small stream of people fleeing the city along with just enough interest in the Heart of Peoria to keep hope alive. Rockford has been experiencing a full fledge stampede. They are even racing to get out of the near suburbs of Rockford. Rockford is going to look like East St. Louis in another 10 to 20 years. If Peoria doesn’t get it’s act together soon, the exodus will turn to a stampede here too.
I agree that street level lights would make a neighborhood more pleasant, inviting and gentrified – and as a plus, it might keep Ameren from disfiguring the trees if the lines for the lights were run underground. Not sure why decorative low street level lights are being presented as a way to deter crime. If you are genuinely interested with detering crime slap up some high power sodium vapors lights. Would it be pleasant nieghborhood to live in? As someone who lives next door to an owner installed sodeium vapor light I would say no – think prison yard – but it might deter crime.
Hate Lyons all you want but his office can’t stop crime. Hate the police, they don’t stop crime. They only regulate it and punish it. If you are so worried, report for jury duty.