Layoffs to gut East St. Louis police force

[The Northerner]

EAST ST. LOUIS • The Rev. Joseph Tracy said he’s tired of going to funerals. And now, he suspects he’ll be going to more of them.

"It’s open field day now," said Tracy, the pastor of Straightway Baptist Church here. "The criminals are going to run wild."

Gang activity. Drug dealing. Cold-blooded killing. Tracy worries that a decision to shrink the police force by almost 30 percent will bring more of everything.

The pastor voiced his concern on Friday at a raucous special City Council meeting at which East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks announced that the city will layoff 37 employees, including 19 of its 62 police officers, 11 firefighters, four public works employees, and three administrators. The layoffs take effect on Sunday.

Parks said the weak economy has robbed the city of badly need money. For example, revenue from the Casino Queen was $900,000 below budget expectations last year. There are no signs of improvement, Parks said.

"I want our citizens to know we have some of the bravest police officers and firefighters in the country," Parks said. "But we don’t have the money to pay them. We have to have fiscal responsibility."

City officials wanted police and fire unions to accept a furlough program that would have required employees to take two unpaid days in each twice monthly pay period. If accepted, emergency responders would have seen a pay cut of about 20 percent for the rest of the year.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/article_dfb230c2-9bf3-11df-9731-0017a4a78c22.html

[alp227]

1. Same thing happened in Oakland recently

That crime-ridden city shrunk its police force by 10% due to budget cuts. And crime continued as usual. This just proves the recession/crime theory.

[provis99]

2. I didn't know East St Louis still had a police force.

I'm not sure if they still have a garbage collection system.

[spin]

3. When Ashtabula County in Ohio cut back on sheriffs ...

a judge recommended citizens arm themselves.

Ashtabula County: Judge tells residents to "Arm themselves"

Jeff Maynor Updated: 4/9/2010 5:36:18 PM Posted: 4/8/2010 6:24:43 PM

JEFFERSON -- In the ongoing financial crisis in Ashtabula County, the Sheriff's Department has been cut from 112 to 49 deputies. With deputies assigned to transport prisoners, serve warrants and other duties, only one patrol car is assigned to patrol the entire county of 720 square miles.

***snip***

The Ashtabula County Jail has confined as many as 140 prisoners. It now houses only 30 because of reductions in the staff of corrections officers.

All told, 700 accused criminals are on a waiting list to serve time in the jail.

Are there dangerous people free among the 700 who cannot be locked up?

"There probably are," Sheriff Johnson said, "but I'm telling you, any known violent criminal, we're housing them. We've got murderers in there."

Ashtabula County is the largest county in Ohio by land area.

Ashtabula County Common Pleas Judge Alfred Mackey was asked what residents should do to protect themselves and their families with the severe cutback in law enforcement.

"Arm themselves," the judge said. "Be very careful, be vigilant, get in touch with your neighbors, because we're going to have to look after each other."

Ashtabula County gun dealers and firearms instructors tell WKYC their business has really picked up since the Sheriff's Department cutbacks began some months ago.

"That's exactly why they are coming, so that they can protect themselves," says Tracy Williams, a certified firearms instructor in Jefferson. "They don't feel that they are protected. They want to be able to protect themselves."

Williams says interest in his classes has doubled recently, and many of those coming are people who he would not normally expect to have interest in obtaining a concealed carry permit.

"And as far as him (Judge Mackey) telling you to arm yourselves and protect yourselves, you don't have any other option," Williams told WKYC. "We don't have the law enforcement out here to handle it right now." emphasis added

Ashtabula County, where unemployment is higher than the state average, is asking voters to approve a one half per cent sales tax increase in May.

The tax hike would raise the tax in the county to seven percent.
http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=133951&catid=3

Unfortunately Illinois has some of the most restrictive gun laws in our nation. Ohio does allow open carry and concealed carry with a license, Illinois doesn't.

Gun ruling gives momentum to concealed-carry advocates
Posted on Monday, June 28, 2010

With 15 killings in six months, East St. Louis is on track to once again earn the label of one of the deadliest cities in the country.

But residents there, like all Illinois citizens, cannot legally walk around with a concealed pistol for protection.

Steve King, who operates the Belleville Indoor Shooting Range, says law-abiding residents of East St. Louis and throughout Illinois should be able to legally carry concealed handguns to defend their lives.

"Much of the crime in our area is in East St. Louis," said King, "This is not meant to be derogatory toward East St. Louis. There are many law-abiding people there who have their backs against the wall who must risk breaking the law to protect themselves. They should be allowed to protect themselves."

And some top metro-east lawmen agree. They urge that a law be adopted in Illinois to make it legal for qualified persons to pack a handgun. Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states to entirely ban concealed firearms.emphasis added

St. Clair County Sheriff Mearl Justus, Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz and Belleville Police Chief Bill Clay all said they would support a concealed-carry law for trained persons who could pass an extensive background check.

The issue of pushing the state legislature to adopt a concealed-carry law for qualified persons is gaining momentum in Southern Illinois and the metro-east, King said. On June 18, more than 250 people jammed the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Fairview Heights to hear speakers, including Justus, talk in favor of such a law.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/28/96702/gun-ruling-gives-momentum-to-concealed.html#ixzz0vOYLK6Mi

Now I am not suggesting that making it easier for honest citizens to own and with a license to carry firearms will dramatically decrease the crime rate. People with firearms in their homes for self defense or those who have a license to carry concealed are NOT police.

Still it's obvious that with fewer police on the street, criminal activity will increase. An individual who has access to firearms inside his home has a better chance of surviving a home invasion as long as he/she has the necessary training and proficiency with their weapon. A person who has a concealed weapons permit and carries also has a far better chance of surviving a lethal attack on the street. There are no guarantees.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. a waiting list to go to jail?

Bet there will be no line cutters.

[spin]

5. Scary. I'll bet the possibility of a jail sentence is no deterrent in ...

Ashtabula county.

The sad part is that all too often, minor crime leads to serious crime.