If you read the Peoria Journal Star, then today you might have caught THIS story from Pam Adams. It’s about jay walking and jay walking tickets mainly around and for Peoria High School students.
It seems these 4 young men were walking from school to a sandwich shop and they jaywalked across Knoxville in front of a cop who then ticketed them for jaywalking. It’s a law, like texting while driving is a law but I don’t see enough enforcement of that law although all one has to do is look around at any traffic light while you’re waiting for the green. Chances are you will see someone playing or texting with their cell phone.
Anyway, one of the boy’s father is pissed his son got the ticket and wanted to fight it. I can understand that as the kid is supposedly a good kid who doesn’t get involved in the usual mantra at PHS which is gangs and fights. Dad finds out that fighting city hall and tickets for ordinance fines is almost impossible and as such, that didn’t take Pam Adams long to insert that it was blacks being picked on as the whole courtroom was full of poor blacks who couldn’t afford to pay the fines. And people say I paint with a wide brush. Well, at any rate, out comes the race card.
I say you get the ticket for jaywalking in front of a cop, you pay no matter what color you are and the only reason the police weren’t out catching the bad guys carrying out your flat screen while you were at work is because of public complaints. So jaywalking duty. Glad we got the extra resources for that. In fact, Peoria doesn’t.
Look at Main Street in Peoria. The city, at request of Bradley University lowered the speed limit to 25 MPH along the whole length of Main. They even put up speed limit signs almost every 100 ft with an orange flag hanging on them. I’m here to tell you, it isn’t working as if you go 25, you’ll get tail gated or passed like you’re standing still. And since when did Main Street become a Bradley campus private drive? Bradley claims the lower limit will protect students, many of whom cross wherever they want anytime they want. How many jay walking tickets are issued there? The courtroom, according to Adams was filled with poor blacks, not rich white or foreign Bradley students. So, do we lower the speed limit on Knoxville to 25 MPH?
Here’s how I see it. True, PHS kids, like the Manual kids, when getting out of school, do block and walk in the streets. If you honk or heaven forbid say anything, you risk your car and your self with injury. That is a problem and a fact. I don’t think those boys in the story were a problem though. I think they just got caught is all.
Now Bradley kids walking across Main anywhere is also a big problem. Main runs east and west and if it’s early morning, the sun can block your view of a backpack carrying kid standing in the middle of the street. Same with late afternoon going west. So what to do? Instead of the Bradley Police doing something other than reducing the donut count at Jumer’s AMOCO, maybe they could park along Main and issue some tickets for the exact same thing these boys were cited for on Knoxville. Jaywalking!
Nope, here is what’s going to happen. Because Bradley has pull in this town, like OSF is pulling the pants down and using the East Bluff as a red headed step child, police will soon start doing radar along Main Street. Cars will be ticketed for going to fast. If you ever driven Main from Farmington to University then you know very well it’s a fight for lane usage and people will blow by you at 50 mph or better just to sit at the red turn arrow ahead of you. That of course is an unsafe practice and a risk to pedestrians, especially ones standing in the street talking on their cell ignoring all the cross walks provided. So, it’s the cars fault for paying road use taxes, insurance, license plate fees, and whatever for being on the damn street. Go figure. You make a street and a damn car is on it.
So again, maybe there is a disparity here. Students from an inner city high school ticketed for jaywalking from their school, and Bradley students much safer as they lowered the speed limit and will ticket speeding cars for getting in their way as they blunder across Main to their classes.
Remember, jaywalking is a law because if as a person you get hit by a 2 ton car, you lose. Bradley and OSF are big job creators in this area so we must kneel to their every whim. Our Council pretty much does this so much I’ll bet they wear out knee pads every 6 months. Bradley is Bradley. OSF, on the other hand has so many identities, no one knows exactly what they are. Business that pays taxes? Non-profit? Charitable Nuns doing good things? Biggest minimum wage employer in the city? Well, if you owe them money, you’ll find out their wrath.
Poor East Bluff. Poor jaywalking kids. Poor Bradley Students. Stupid drivers.
12 comments:
Not that I disagree with you, but I think you answered your own question. These kids did this in front of a cop; the cop didn't have to go out looking for them. And it just isn't Bradley/OSF...it is dodge the pedestrian game on Adams by Taft Homes crossing 4 lanes of traffic on a constant basis, too. I'm sure the police know all this exists and I'm hoping that the police are REALLY concentrating on bigger crimes rather than jaywalking stakeouts. I'm not against jaywalking when it is not going to affect anyone. It is the self entitled ass hole who thinks because they are a pedestrian that they can walk anytime, anyplace, anywhere with a "hit me and I'll sue" attitude which causes drivers to slam on brakes and/or swerve to miss them that need the tickets no matter where they are in the city.
Appreciate the observations and opinions of PAP as well as Chef Kevin. My drive home from work on Adams, passing Taft Homes, was a hazardous risk as hoards of arrogant, defiant mobs blocked the road and dared you to drive on this public street! A good place to station police presence to avoid wrecks and personal and/or vehicle damage. Jaywalk is mild compared to high traffic being disrupted by disturbances on the road.
It doesn't matter if this kid was the ONLY person who got the ticket. He violated a law. The all the other kids were doing it and "nuh uhhhhh, that's not fair defense" goes out with the 3rd grade. If there were poor blacks in the court room they weren't picked at random via lottery, nor were they hearded up like cattle. They were arrested/ticketed for violating the law. If you truly want insight into the type of people in Peoria, go to misdemeanor court on a Monday Morning and just watch. Most of these people know each other, most know the attorneys, because it is the same people doing the same crap being arrested over and over again.
This kid doesn't get a pass because he's on the football team, or hasn't been in much trouble. What kind of cop will that make him if that the belief. Would his father be proud of him for letting criminals go, being a slacker at his job?
The nonsense at Central has been a huge problem. Fights daily, mobs of kids taking over the street and not just crossing because school is letting out, but malicious behavior. I know personally of one man whose car was surrounded and the little darling tried to open the doors to get into the car. But for his rather large dog in the back street which caused them to jump back and allow his escape, I am not sure what would have happended.
If you wish to distinguish yourself from that crowd and be a good kid, then you set yourself apart by not behaving like them.
This dad is just following what is being taught in 150 schools. There are rules, but no one has to follow them. If, for some crazy reason, a child is actually punished for breaking a rule such as cursing, throwing, stabbing, running the halls, etc. the parents can just run to Wisconsin Avenue and all is forgiven. Why wouldn't they believe the ticket would just disappear like the suspensions do in the schools?
Wisconsin Avenue needs to think about what exactly they are teaching the students and parents in Peoria.
The city of Peoria and the NAACP did students a diservice by dropping the tickets last time. The children were warned, they disregarded the warning and the NAACP essentially they said the children needed a pass because of skin color. How degrading to the community as a whole that one cannot expect high school youth to know how to act better, but then look at their shining examples of adults/parents.
"OSF is pulling the pants down and using the East Bluff as a red headed step child"
Thanks for this line. It is sooo true...
I recall tickets being dropped when a certain reporter of note was involved in a jaywalking sting operation at Peoria County Courthouse and the chief of police eventually weighed in about why they dropped those tickets.
We're forgetting the phenom of young black males crossing streets with little regard for traffic as an exercise of their machismo.
Weess takes our time! Passive aggressive
I'm curious, what is everybody else who is "crossing streets with little regard for traffic trying to exercise?"
How do you know so much about the phenom of young black males?
Should have seen Main Street this morning by Bradley. Lots of students jay walking and right in front of cars and daring them to not stop in this slippery snow. If one had been hit, then of course the driver would be sued. Where were Bradley police? They should have been stationed on Main.
The BU kids do it 'cause they're stupid - the kids I'm talking about do it on purpose. You can see it in their eyes.
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