BlogPeoria site beats Journal Star on Delta story by ONE MONTH

David Jordan reported this on Peoria Station on June 30:

PEORIA - Atlantic Southeast Airlines dba Delta Connection will drop its nonstop service between Peoria and Atlanta on September 1. The airline’s online schedules show two daily roundtrips through July, then one through August. Delta Connection had reduced Peoria service to just one daily roundtrip last fall, leading to speculation that service would soon end altogether, but then restored a second daily flight in March.

The Peoria Journal Star placed this article on it's website today, Aug. 3, more than one month after it was broken on a BlogPeoria.com site:

Delta Airlines will cut its local service to Atlanta, Ga., at the end of this month.

"Effective in September, we will be suspending service between Atlanta and Peoria as part of our continuing effort to match capacity and demand," company spokeswoman Susan Elliott confirmed Monday.

Since Atlanta is a major hub for air travelers, the direct flights will be missed, particularly by those who promote the central Illinois economy.

So what took so long? Notice that Mr. Jordan -- a citizen journalist with some expertise in transportation issues -- looked at the evidence in front of his eyes and wrote what he knew. The Journal Star waited until they had comments from an offocial spokesperson. In other words, Peoria's one and only newspaper of record didn't define the news as news until someone official went on the record.

That's called "objective" journalism and that's why newspapers are dying.

If you want to know what's happening at the Peoria airport as soon as possible, I suggest you read Peoria Station regularly. Wait for the Journal Star, and you might find yourself scrambling to make a connection.


This story was cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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Cutbacks up, morale down at Peoria Journal Star

Ugh. Morale is down, really down, at the Peoria Journal Star. And it's all tied to the loss of newsroom jobs.



Jerry Klein is out at the Peoria Journal Star. Klein retired several years ago, but the respected columnist and arts writer continued to write a column for Sunday paper (although frequency had dropped recently). He was told today that this column was being dropped. How much money GateHouse is saving by dropping a less-than-weekly column, I don’t know.

Also, Don Baker — former teacher who wrote sports on a part-time basic for decades — was let go as well. As my source says: “Baker covered almost everything kind of sport, an uncomplaining and competent guy in an industry run by weak whiners.”

Another source sells me today what I am hearing from almost everyone still working there: Morale is low because of the staff reductions, but a core of reporters continue to plug away out of a commitment to their profession.

GateHouse Media decided to not replace two reporters who have left: Erinn Deshinsky (night cops) and Frank Radosevich II (East Peoria and medical beat). This source used the phrase “downright depressing and scary.” Everyone is certain there are more reductions on the way. Right now, some beats are being handed out to full-timers who already have their own beats to cover, or they are going to interns.

Also — special sections like the Family and KJS pages — are being reduced or eliminated, my source says.

The newsroom is protected by a union contract, so if there are involuntary layoffs, senior staffers won’t be affected. But how many more reductions in staff can the PJS endure before it becomes impossible to perform acts of journalism at an even adequate level? When staffing is so low it’s a struggle to fill the newshole with any kind of copy whatsoever, how can readers expect reporters to be real watchdogs and make that extra phone call or two?

I am told a visitor to the newsroom would be greeted by a vista of empty desks. It’s a depressing scene.

Crossposted to Peoria Pundit, part of the Blog Peoria Project.

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An open letter to the people of Edelstein

Stop exporting your dangerous, violent gangs to Peoria. 'Kay?

Crossposted to Peoria Pundit.

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Politics: LaHood a 'Cellini guy?'

Chicago Tribune political curmudgeon John Kass Kass doesn't think too highly of Congressman Ray, our soon-to-be-new Transportation Secretary:

Mr. Kass, re: Gov. Big Hairovich, this may be premature, but do you think it would be useful to begin pondering publicly who can be trusted as governor? Maybe someone outside of Chicago? Or is that a fantasy? Joe M., Belleville

Dear Joe—It's not premature, not with all the sleaze in this state. If the candidate is a Democrat from Illinois, they'll be on bended knee to Mayor Shortshanks at Chicago's City Hall or House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Lisa's Daddy) or State Sen. James DeLeo (D-How You Doin?). And if they're Republican, they'll bow to the indicted party boss Big Bill Cellini or his enabler, Big Jim Thompson, or the Republican establishment that dares criticize President-elect Barack Obama for his connections to sleazy politics, yet applauds Obama's appointment of a Cellini guy, U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Combine) as secretary of transportation. [emphasis mine] That's change we can believe in. How about we ban all current Illinois politicians from the list of prospective governors? There must be someone other than U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald who has served the public interest without picking the public pocket. We need Fitzgerald where he is, in Chicago. But are there any others who've fought Illinois political corruption and the Chicago Outfit and who'd be interested in running for office? There might be one out there.

Cellini's name has popped up on occasion in the pages of Peoria Pundit. One of the complaints I've had about the local media is how it perpetrated the folksy "Congressman Ray" image, while pretty ignoring his connections to some of the corrupt politicians that big city newspapers were hammering away at on an almost daily basis. Kass goes overboard sometimes, but he has a point.

So if you're shocked to see "Congressman Ray" described as a "Cellini guy," blame the local news media.

For an education, read the Sun-Times article on Cellini.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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Wanted: Cat bloggers

No, no, no. Not this kind of cat blogging.

I'm talking about Caterpillar. Considering how Peoria is a hotbed of blogging, I'm surprised there aren't one or two or seven people out there blogging away about the inside workings of this Fortune 500 company that, from what I see, likes to push its corporate weight around.

Of course, any insiders who want to blog what goes on the shop floor or behind closed doors at Caterpillar World Headquarters would have to be anonymous. And I would be happy to help, perhaps with a group blog focusing on Big Yellow.

Just send me a message, and we can arrange for Cat-blogging on the Blog Peoria Network.

Crossposted to Peoria Pundit

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Fitzgerald Plays Peoria

by Cal Skinner

Here's what might be an interesting development.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald spoke at the mid-year graduation ceremony at Peoria's Bradly University this weekend.

That's what this Chicago Tribune media story reports.

Peoria is not in the court district in which Fitzgerald serves.

If one were thinking about running for statewide public office, someone like Fitzgerald would be trying to make himself known through Illinois.

Could this be an leading indicator that Patrick Fitzgerald might be willing to run for office?

If he wanted to take that leap, following in the footsteps of Jim Thompson, who seemed to lust for the office of governor long before he left the U.S. Attorney's Office, this might be Fitzgerald's first step.

Would he run as a Republican or a Democrat?

Or, as independent?

No one I know has a clue where he stands on any issue but public corruption.

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Schock will miss Peoria World Affairs Council debate

State Rep. Aaron Schock will not attend the Peoria Area World Affairs Council debate, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 10, at the Peoria City Council chambers. There's no word yet on whether the debate would proceed with other 18th District Congressional candidates Colleen Callahan (Democrat) and Sheldon Schafer (Green). It's guessing it will, and will post when I find out.

Callahan's campaign manager, Terry Towery, says they were notified by the PAWAC by phone earlier today. No explanation was given. He speculated that Schock may be trying to avoid being videotaped by the television news media during a debate with Callahan.

Towery reiterated the campaign's position that Schock is ducking the debates by either not committing to actual debates or by committing and then not showing up. And Towery said that Schock's campaign manager, Steve Shearer is "playing word games" by citing forums and joint appearances when refuting the accusations.

I've sent an email to Shearer and I am awaiting his reply.

Both campaigns have been trading snippy press releases over the debate debate issue this week.

UPDATE: Elaine Hopkins reports that the debate will go forward with or without Rep. Schock. The debate will be carried on WCBU-FM and streamed over the Internet as well.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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PJS spreads the blame for District 150 woes

From the Peoria Journal Star's editorial page:

With classrooms now filled in Peoria and other central Illinois schools, our fondest wish for the 2008-09 school year is that everyone involved - students, their parents, teachers, taxpayers, school boards - stop lying, most of all to themselves.

And what follows is a lecture to parents, taxpayers, politicians and school officials to put their agenda's aside and start working to improve the schools.

Mostly, I agree with the points raised. But I must quibble over one: The editorial writer says it's a mistake to blame the lack of the three R's, when lack of parental involvement is the blame. They urge more counseling to combat the issue, and demand that parents get more involved.

Well, that ought to do it. I am sure that all over Peoria, those parents who gave birth to their children and turned them loose to be raised by the village have read this editorial and changed their ways and are now reading the Dr. Seuss to their little darlings after they tuck them into bed at 8:30 p.m. Folks, the parents who are the problem aren't going to be swayed by this.

I encountered this theory a lot when I was school reporter. I think there's a class somewhere that teaches school superintendents to reflexively blame lack or parental involvement and poverty. At least the editorial offers what it thinks are solutions.

What would be accomplished by hiring more counselors? We have to decide as community to what extent we want our schools to be distribution centers for various programs designed to take the place of parents rather than places to send children to get an education. Resources are limited. The more resources we devote to one means less resources we can devote to the other.

It's exactly the same issue teachers face in the classroom: The more time they spend with disruptive kids who've never been taught self-discipline, the less time they have for the other kids, and those students who need and want help suffer the most.

So, while the edit writer complains that throwing money at the problem won't make it go away, it also suggests solutions that cost more money that we have.

It's easier to throw the blame around. It's harder to offer solutions that work in the real world.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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Peorians may get a say in how it elects its own city council

About a month ago, I wrote about a change in Illinois law that would lessen the likelihood that municipalities would have to hold primary elections. I was critical, because it also increased the possibility that someone could get elected to the Peoria City Council without a majority of the votes.

As it turns out, because the City of Peoria has home rule powers, it's possible to retain the previous system by referendum. The Peoria City Council is likely to vote on whether or not to do just that at next week's meeting.

There is a concern among some on the council about the possibility someone can get elected with a plurality, rather than a majority, of the vote.

My theory is that incumbents benefit from having multiple challengers because it splits the "throw the bums out" vote. We could also see people getting into races specifically to do just that.

From the council packet:

PRIMARY ELECTION LAW.

Last year the Legislature amended several statutes which address the question of when a primary is to be held in a nonpartisan municipal election. The change provides that offices are uncontested when not more than four persons to be nominated for each office have filed nominating papers. In other words, if two, three or four candidates file for mayor, there would be no primary. Only if a fifth person filed a petition or filed as a write-in candidate would a primary election take place. In the case of at-large councilpersons, only if twenty-one candidates filed would there be a primary election to reduce the field to twenty. As you are aware, prior to this change, which was effective November 9, 2007, there would have been primaries had more than two candidates filed for mayor and more than ten candidates filed for at-large council positions.

Article 7, Section 6(f) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 provides in part as follows:

A home rule municipality shall have the power to provide for its officers, their manner of selection and terms of office only as approved by referendum or as otherwise provided by law.

This section of the Constitution means that the City could only change the aforementioned state statute by referendum. Should the Council desire, it could pass a resolution putting this “change” (back to the way it was last election) to a referendum. The Council must act at least sixty-five days before an election to put a question on the ballot. The last regular council meeting to place a question on the November 4th ballot is the August 26th council meeting.

The purpose of the change to the state statute was to save money. The Election Commission estimates that the cost of a city-wide primary is approximately $75,000.00.

I'm conducting an informal survey of council members. I suspect there's support for a referendum. I also suspect they would be swayed by what they hear from constituents.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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More unbiased, objective journalism from the mainstream media

One of the constant gripes from the practitioners of the mainstream media's brand of commercial journalism is that bloggers and citizen journalists are biased and don't practice objective journalism.

Kudos to Rich Miler for pointing out two instances in which a members of the MSM demonstrate failed to live up to these lofty goals.

In the first case, the Chicago Tribune was so eager to make a case for a so-called "pardon backlog," they trumped up the case of a man jailed for a rape he didn't commit and buried details about his conviction for a different rape, one based on a witness identification.

Also, Miller points out that all it takes to get favorable treatment from the Chicago Sun-Times is hire a public relations company that wines and dines^* the newspaper's bosses.

Feh.

The only difference between bloggers/citizen journalists and the MSM is that we proudly announce our biases and our conflicts of interest. We have to, because the Blogosphere won't let is hide them.

If you work for a newspaper or a broadcaster, you've probably attended journalism school, where they teach you how to trick yourself and your audience into thinking you don't have biases and practice "objectivity." This class is called "Journalism Ethics 101." They have another class that teaches the media how to say things they suspect might not be true, but still avoid libel. This is is called "Communication Law 101."

Throughout my former career as a journalist is that newspapers small and medium-sized, daily and weekly are filled with editors and reporters who had friends they propped up, enemies they attacked with glee, and causes they promoted. They selected stories based on their biases regarding race, religion and politics. They added and removed information based on these biases.

In other words, they practiced a form of journalism that looked like it followed the unbiased, objective model. Hell, they even won awards doing so. But it was advocacy journalism. In stealth mode.

Publishers? They didn't give a rat's ass, as long as money came in and their pals down at the country club didn't bitch too much.

Blogging doesn't pay much. But at least it's honest.

^* In the interest of full disclosure: Peoria City Council member Gary Sandberg let me have a slice of his pizza a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps if he hadn't, my criticism of the Library Board's plan would have been somewhat less severe than it has been. I leave it up to my readers to decide if I've been compromised.

Cross posted to The Blog Peoria Network.

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Peoria School District combines ignorance and arrogance by banning citizen journalist from press conference

Sometimes I wonder if Peoria School District 150 is capable of avoiding bad publicity. It seems that no matter what the board or the administration does, they come off looking like a bunch of ignorant buffoons.

There's the whole move-Glen-Oak-School to the park debacle, of course. It started with secret meetings with the park board, included buying a bunch of homes on Prospect and ended with the park board backing away at the last minute, leaving a petulant Superintendent Ken Hinton threatening to punish the entire East Bluff for daring to oppose his will.

There was the board member leaving what he thought was an anonymous comment on the Journal Star Web site about a Catholic cabal on the Peoria City Council. There was the other board member who said she didn't need to meet with constituents to discuss the plan to cut 45 minutes out of the school day because all she needs to know the administration will tell her. And then there's the time they voted to change a student's grade from a "C" to a "B." And there are more examples of this sort of butt-headedness, but they are too numerous to mention. I'll leave it up to my commenters to provide additional recent examples.

But now the most recent example happened yesterday.
Hinton held a press conference Friday to announce a concession of sorts on the reduction in the length of the school day. He will recommend to the Board of Education that it restore 45 minutes to the schedule, except on Wednesday, when class would dismiss 90 minutes early.

No it doesn't make any sense to me either.

Diane Vespa, a businesswoman and mom, has been leading the opposition to the reduction. When she showed up to the press conference, she was denied entry on the grounds that she's not a reporter. In fact, she is. She's a citizen journalist, and has been since February 2007, long before she became an activist on this issue.

Full disclosure: Vespa is a friend. She and her husband, John Vespa, advertise on this site.

First, we have to understand that a press conference is not an open meeting. There is no state law stating that the public has to be allowed to attend press conferences. It was Ken Hinton's party and he could invite -- or not invite -- whoever he wanted.

But that doesn't mean the public's right to know didn't take a hit.

With Vespa kept out of the press conference, Hinton was spared having to answer questions from someone actively in opposition to the district's policies while the press was there, filming the answers. This no doubt spared Hinton some embarrassment in the short run. In the long run, it just helped cement the district's reputation for locking the public out of the process.

Normally, I'd give the people who make decisions at District 150 a lecture about citizen journalism and how the people who practice it are members of the media, even if they are opinionated. And I'd point out that trying to control the message by controlling the messenger really doesn't work out the way the controllers usually hope.

I'm not going to bother lecturing, because there's this funny thing about people who combine arrogance with an attitude that they are always right: It just never occurs to them that they might, just might, be wrong.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit (please note NEW address).

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Big trouble at Peoria polling places (UPDATED)

Eyebrows McGee is reporting that she encountered a huge problem when she went to vote: She was given a ballot with only national races. She contacted the Peoria Election Commission and was given this explanation:

The Peoria Election Commission, when I called, informed me that this is a special case for people who've moved precincts within the last 30 days and that it was poll worker error that I was given the incorrect ballot. They also told me this was a SYSTEM-WIDE PROBLEM that they've had many calls about today, and have workers out trying to "fix" the poll worker error on the fly.

This, in my opinion, could taint the result of any local election in which the results are close. How many people are affected by this? How many of those people who were affected able to realize that something was amiss? Even if the numbers affected don't rise to the level that would affect the results of a race, there's still a perception.

I respect Tom Bride, executive director for the City of Peoria Election Commission. He's gotta be having a really bad day because of this.

UPDATED: It may not be as bad as all that. Rich Miller says in a subscriber-only post that the problem is NOT system-wide and affects only a "handful" of voters. Bride also told Miller that turnout is heavy.

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Being up-front with readers ‘no long applicable’ at the Journal Star

From today's Journal Star:

A statement released Tuesday by the Dahlquist* family did not run in full in Wednesday editions. Sports Editor Bill Liesse felt it appropriate it run now. We have deleted a third paragraph regarding Danny's wake and funeral that is no longer applicable.

Well, thank you PJS from saving readers from having to read a whole paragraph that's no longer applicable. I'm sure readers will appreciate you for not wasting a whole 30 seconds of their day. But for those of us who are curious, what WAS that paragraph? Thanks to blogger Peoria Illinoisan, we can read it:

“Based on the intrusive behavior we have experienced the past two days, we will be very disappointed to see television cameras and reporters at the visitation and funeral for our son, Danny.”

Of course, the Journal Star sent reporters to attend both services (here) and had photographers outside both (here and here), making sure the grieving faces of friends and family members are recorded for posterity.

This is probably going to mark me as a heretic at the Church of the Public's Holy Right to Know, but I've never really agreed there's a need for the media to attend these things. The news media's job, in my humble opinion, is to increase the public's knowledge and understanding of the world so that they can better function in and promote a free society. I'm not sure how looking at photos of people's faces as they are crying over their dead relatives makes America a better place.

Someone is sure to say that media coverage is these events is a way for all Peorians to cope with the grief over this tragedy. I'm thinking that gawking isn't about helping people grieve. All the people who do need to grieve are already there.

The sad truth is that the media often hides behind claims of the public's right to know when all the media is doing is satisfying consumers urge for voyeurism.

These were services for one young man. The family's request for privacy should have been honored. Just because it was possible for reporters to attend and physical possible for photographers to stand across the street and snap pictures, that doesn't mean it SHOULD have happened.

But people can respectfully disagree on this issue. So let's put aside the issue of the morality and ethics of photographing a funeral against the family's wishes. There also the issue of the Journal Star's deliberate decision to keep its readers from knowing that they've been doing this against the stated wishes of the family. How ironic that the public's right to know doesn't include facts that make the PJS look bad. It's somewhat short of a lie, but not by much.

It would have been one thing to not report on the family's statement. It's quite another to report on it, but leave out that stuff that makes your news organization look bad.

Twenty years ago, they would have gotten away with it, because the good-old-boy media industry frowns on one news organization criticizing another. Sure, it might have ended up in some media review that the public never reads. But this is the age of the Internet. There's no way that bloggers weren't going to catch this and report on it. Did the journalistic brain trust at 1 News Plaza really think for one moment that bloggers wouldn't find out and call them on this?

The Peoria Journal Star: Unethical AND stupid. What a sad combination. And, how sad that this is what is becoming of Peoria's one and only daily newspaper. We need something new in Peoria.

* Background: Four Bradley University students face aggravated arson charges stemming from the death of their friend and roommate Danny Dahlquist. They have told police that the fire started as the result of a prank that went bad.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundits.

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History shows Peoria library expansion needs strict oversight

Kudos to Peoria blogger C.J. Summers for his post about the shenanigans at the Peoria Library Board. For those who didn't read the post, Monday's Word on the Street kudos-worthy-column in the Journal Star stated:

…At-large Councilman Gary Sandberg, the library’s new council liaison, discovered that the library board’s building committee voted May 15 to recommend that the full board hire PSA Dewberry to program what will go in the new and expanded facilities. That vote was a full two weeks before local architects were asked to submit their programming proposals. Further, they were only given a one-day turnaround.

The previous council liaison was John Morris, and Sandberg was appointed in his place when Morris retired. While I like John Morris personally (a more affable man never lived), he was way too much of a cheerleader and not enough of a fiscal hawk. Sandberg, however, wants every expenditure explained, and sometimes he drives city staff to fits. And that's exactly what the taxpayers need now, considering the amount of money being spent, as well as because of the severe problems that plague the last library expansion project ran by the man in charge of this one.

In April, voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of a non-binding resolution in favor of spending $35 million to expand the libraries. One week later, the Peoria City Council directed city staff -- at the city manager's request -- to develop a proposal to make that happen, which almost certainly means a plan to levy bonds that would be paid by an increase in property taxes.

Leading the charge for passage of the advisory referendum was Peoria Public Library Director Edward Szynaka, who was appointed to fill the post in August 2006. He had been fired from his previous job.

Voters might have liked to have known about Ed Szynaka's record from Indiana, where he was in charge (in the beginning, at least) of a similar expansion project for the Marion Count Library in Indianapolis. One of the first things he started work on here in Peoria was getting the money to expand the library facilities, considered by many -- especially the Peoria Journal Star -- to be inadequate.

When asked, Peoria library board members said that they were aware of Szynaka's history, but considered it just a case of politics being played the Republicans on the library board (Szynaka apparently is a Democrat). It seems to be a bit mroe complicated than that, and it doesn't explain other questions.

On it's Website, the Indianapolis Star still runs a multi-part series detailing how a modest renovation and parking project mushroomed into a $100 million project that's still being plagued with cost overruns and questionable spending, including more than $60,000 on Szynaka's credit card that were never explained. Most of that library's building snafus are generally being blamed on contractors and other personnel hired by the board while Szynaka was still director.

From the Website of the Indiana Attorney General's office:

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Nearly $60,000 has been returned to the Indianapolis/Marion County Public Library’s operating budget since a state audit revealed misappropriated public funds. A final check of $22,446.00 has been received to cover the audit charges against former Chief Executive Officer Ed Szynaka for questionable purchases and charges on the Library credit card.

“We have worked with all parties involved to recover the thousands of dollars inappropriately depleted from the public library’s operating budget without the added expenditure of litigation for taxpayers,” Attorney General Steve Carter said.

A State Board of Accounts (SBOA) audit revealed $21,372 in unallowable credit card charges by staff and officers paid for from the library’s operating budget. Former CEO Ed Szynaka was charged individually with making inappropriate charges of $23,776. The SBOA also charged the library for audit costs and referred the case to the attorney general’s office for collection.

“Collection efforts have included settlement negotiations and fund transfers to make the operating budget whole again,” Carter added. “The final check completes this civil matter.”

And I remain unconvinced the expansion is needed. And I'm concerned that there hasn't been subtle manipulation of circumstances to make the public believe conditions are worse than they really are.

I recently took a walk through the Main Branch at the corner of Monroe and Main streets. In addition to banks of computers, the biggest change I noticed is on the second floor. Apparently, they've decided to combine the circulation/reference desks from the Arts and Music section and the nearby Business, Science and Technology section. The new, single desk is located in the hallway that joins the two sections, which means unless there isn't a library workers actually in either section, there's no one keeping an eye on what patrons are doing. Someone could be tearing pages out of books, or wandering around unable to find what they are seeking.

One of the complaints that drove the expansion furor is that there's not enough room to put things. That's not true at the Lakeview Branch, where top and bottom shelves are empty, supposedly because they aren't handicapped accessible. The downtown library has no problems at all putting books on the top and bottom shelves, as there isn't a single room I saw the other day in which all shelves are not used. Even the children's section uses the top shelves.

If there are library employees here in Peoria who are upset at these changes, or with Szynaka's management style, they are well-advised to keep their opinions to themselves. Back in Indiana, he was able to talk his board into firing a long-time library employee because she was critical of the changes he made there (similar to the changes he wants to make here in Peoria). Minutes of that library board meeting are available in PDF format.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundits.

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Police to citizens: Shut up, smile, and be good little serfs

Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard held a press conference to address the story broken by C.J. Summers about police arresting a local business owner after he annoyed a police officer by not hading back a confiscated fake ID quick enough to suit the officer's tastes. I'm seeing the WEEK coverage, but I didn't see it on the PJS Website.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Settingsaard decided to back the officer so completely. I've usually found Settingsgaard to more sensitive to the public when dealing with officers who behave badly. But Settingsgaard this time decided that Terry Beachler -- businessman and taxpayer -- was rude and thus deserved to get handcuffed like a common criminal. After all, he made a police officer show his badge for more than a slit second, thereby making the officer wait a whole whopping 20 seconds as he wrote the badge number down. Good heavens.

Apparently, Mr. Beachler didn't get the memo that says whenever a member of a law enforcement agency sends someone in disguise into your store to deliberately try to trick you into breaking a law, you are supposed to smile like a fool and thank them for stopping by for coffee. In the real world, people resent police officers looking at them like nothing more than potential criminals. It happens so much these days that law-abiding citizens begin to feel like sheep being herded by the very wolves who want to feed on them. So if they are going to conduct these stings, the last thing officers need to do act thugs for no reason at all.

I've heard the tape. Was the officer a tad agitated? You bet. If any private citizen exploded like that, the clerk would have been justified in calling a cop and having the guy removed. Did the officer have the right to feel agitated. Perhaps. But is his job to deal with citizens in a polite and courteous manner regardless of whether or not he's agitated at them. Absolutely, positively yes. In the private sector, employees are required to deal with rude and cantankerous customers without losing their cool. I once worked in a small town that fired an officer because he thought he was too good to shake the hand of a citizen in a bar. But this Peoria officer did more than lose his cool. He abused the power of his badge and placed the source of his agitation under arrest. Why? Because he had the power to do so (the theft charge was bogus and wasn't prosecuted), and apparently no one in a position of authority to tell him he was wrong thinks what he did was wrong. That frightens the Hell out of me. I'm wondering how many other people in Peoria have been placed under arrest not because they committed a real crime, but because a Peoria Police officer was sick of dealing with him.

And I'm concerned that if this problem of angry cops exploding at citizens isn't addressed, how long before some police officer feels justified in beating the crap out of someone for making a sarcastic comment, or heaven forbid, making the officer wait for a few seconds. Were I a member of the Peoria City Council, I'd be worried enough to instruct the city manager to take steps to ensure it is addressed, regardless of the police chief's opinion.

If Settingsgaard addressed the issue of whether or not Beachler had the right to confiscate the ID, it isn't mentioned in the article. Do shopkeepers have the right to hold onto fake IDs or not? Does the police department want shopkeepers to hand back these fake IDs or not. If Beachler committed theft by holding onto ID used in the sting, then he must also be committing theft when he holds onto fake IDs used by other teenagers. If so, that means every other shopkeeper is doing the same thing. But then, every other shop keeper didn't commit the ultimate sin of making an officer wait for 20 seconds.

Well, which is it, Chief? All or nothing. Do you want shop keepers to help stop illegal cigarette and alcohol sales or do you want them handing back the fake IDs to try again somewhere else? Pick one. It can't be both.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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