Loading ...Crime & Punishment
Believe it or not, I actually do enjoy news conferences. I was at Alberto Gonzales’ on the west side of Indianapolis Tuesday afternoon. As you know he announced $2.5 million in crime fighting grants for Indianapolis. During the event, Gonzales said the city’s rising crime rate last year was one of the reasons it got the grant. It’s funny. I talked about this last year and was accused of being a rabble rouser and trying to scare the public because the crime wasn’t that bad. It looks like I was right, again. Imagine that.
We are good on jail beds. Kevin Murray, counsel for Sheriff Frank Anderson says there is enough space in both the public and private jails. Last time this year we were laying the ground work for disaster. Murray says the Criminal Justice Planning Council is working diligently to make sure there no repeat of last year.
The Mayor’s Office is pointing its finger at Republican State Senator Jim Merritt as the cause of no fire consolidation and costing the city $15 million. They say Merritt could have signed a conference committee report that would have consolidated the city and township fire departments and saved the issue of trustees and assessors for a later date. I think they should have spent more time at the General Assembly, because I don’t remember it happening exactly that way during the 12-15 hour days I spent there at the end of session.
Speaking of Mayor, Bart Peterson admitted Tuesday that this current violent crime spree is more worrisome than last year, particularly of the randomness of several of the more notorious public crimes. I completely agree with the Mayor on this point.
Also Public Safety Director Earl Morgan says the city will look if an ordinance to give ex-offenders a second chance by tying some city contracts to the hiring of ex-offenders fits the requirements of one of the grants given to the city by the U.S. Attorney General. The proposal has been sitting on the shelf since last year. If anyone in this town was serious about hiring ex-offenders, someone would have done something by now. But now that there is free money involved, something might actually happen.
Oh, this isn’t a crime but one African-American elected official recently got some racially inflamatory material sent to them at their home and office. Nice to know in 2007 some things never change.
May 1st, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Hello my friend,
Of the 2007 homicides how many are carried out by ex-offenders?
Hopefully the federal grant will be used to keep folks out of the criminal justice system in the first place.
E.
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:41 am
Imagine that, Abdul was right again!
The mayor has no one to blame for the consolidation going through but his own party. Bill ‘flip-flop’ Crawford could have given up one township trustee office, but NOOOO-O-O-O-O-O. In fact Abdul, your piece on how Bart had to sit outside Pat Bauer’s office like sitting outside the principals office was ‘priceless’!
As my mother used to say, if you point a finger at someone else there are four fingers pointing back at you. Maybe it is some advice for Bart.
May 2nd, 2007 at 7:37 am
Speaker Pat Bauer was the leader for the legislature, especially after Your Man Mitch was hiding under his desk. Bauer was a very, very busy man what with 100 elected Representives to tend to and a $26 billion budget being crafted. As much as I like Mayor Bart Peterson, on the last day of the General Assembly, he simply was “out-ranked”. He’s the topdog on East Market Street but on West Market, he’s just another lobbyist with no special privileges … at least, he was there working hard for his city!
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:51 am
“Your Man Mitch was hiding under his desk”
Nice to see you received some new talking points from your handlers Wilson. This time his master is none other than Jen Wagner.
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 am
Jen simply coined a politically appropriate phrase, well worth using.
Sadly, you Republicans are nowadays so accustomed to blindly following your Respected and Beloved Leader, George Bush, that you cannot conceive of free and proud Americans being able to think on their own. Only the sheeplike GOP sycophants imagine talking points have to be followed. Very sad!
Ignore Limbaugh, Rove and Hannity! Shake off your shackles - think for yourselves!
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:33 pm
If you consider Democrats as “proud Americans” you definately have a warped and subjective view of things.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:06 pm
“Shake off your shackles - think for yourselves!”
Speak for yourself, lefty loony! Al Franken, 60 Minutes, CNN, George Soros, Algore, and Jon Carry all provide the thought you leftists need. Too bad it’s all the WRONG thought.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Bauer was busy tending to 99 other representatives genius.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:29 pm
You make some interesting points about the Mayor Wilson. I tend to vote as a Democrat so this is what I “percieve” as to how the Mayor was handled by his own party. They ignored him. He and his people were at the State House ALL month and his agenda was placed on the back burner by his own Party members. Yes, there were Republicans involved but that was not the make it or break it for the Mayor.
Mayor Bart Peterson may mean different things to different people but let’s look at this from the perspective of his his elected status.
1) The Mayor is the Mayor of Indianapolis which is largest city in the State. (votes)
2) The Mayor is also a Demoratic Mayor of the largest city in the State.(votes)
3) The Democratic Mayor of Indianapolis is also in control of the largest Democratic Party organization in the State outside Lake County.
4) The State Democratic Party needs the Mayor’s local party organization’s support in State elections, not just governor but other offices.
5) The Mayor has a “bully pulpit” when it comes to being heard at the State House by fellow Democrats like Bauer.
6) The Mayor of Indianapolis does have the ability help the party faithful around the State more so than one Speaker of the House.(votes)
7) The first Democrat Mayor elected in Indianapolis in over 30 years DESERVES RESPECT amoungst his Democrat peers. Last time I looked South Bend wasn’t turning GOP in Bauer’s district. Bauer didn’t win his job he just had it passed down to him.
I could go on and on but the point I’m making is that the Mayor was flat out ignored AND shown COMPLETE disrespect. It was NOT a GOP conspiracy against the Mayor it was an interparty personal affair. The Mayor had all the guns and all the heavy artillery and ammo but he was killed by his own in a knife fight. More specifically with that knife finding it’s way directly into the Mayor’s back.
Make no mistake, this thing is a Democratic Party problem and one which will be worth watching to see how it all shakes out.
I’m not a full supporter of the Mayor but the guy had the power and deserved better given his importance to the Indiana Democratic Party. He won’t take this lightly. He may publicly blame the GOP but he knows what happened, why and by whom.
Payback’s a bitch. We’ll see what happens.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Precisely because “payback’s a bitch” that wise political leaders work for unity and strength, not intraparty knife-fights and vendettas. Smart Democrats leave that kind of squabbling to Marion County Republicans!
Republican Senator Jim Merritt put the kibosh on the deal that had already been worked out by some more of his last minute finagling and weaseling. The structure collapsed.
Nevertheless, IndyU-types will always try to find a way to blame Black Democrats for all ills …
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Perception to many is reality, especially in politics.
I and other Dems DO percieve an intraparty fight.
Bauer could have insured that the Mayor’s agenda went thru. He did not act.
Sometimes truth is illusive but time will tell I suppose.
Bottom line is, the Mayor did not need this to happen.
May 2nd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
We are good on jail beds. Kevin Murray, counsel for Sheriff Frank Anderson says there is enough space in both the public and private jails. Last time this year we were laying the ground work for disaster. Murray says the Criminal Justice Planning Council is working diligently to make sure there no repeat of last year.
That’s my whole platform! Oh Snap! Wait, we don’t arrest prostitutes and other non-violent offenders. Property crime offenders don’t actually stay in jail; they’re processed through it. So of course we have beds!
OK, I’ll go back to door-to-door campaigning.
May 2nd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Speaking of Mayor, Bart Peterson admitted Tuesday that this current violent crime spree is more worrisome than last year, particularly of the randomness of several of the more notorious public crimes. I completely agree with the Mayor on this point.
Although cynical and morbid someone suggested the following to me: Much of the violent crime occurs among portions of the population that are repeat offenders and/or are involved in drugs. Could it be that there is some thought process of “let those bad guys kill themselves off?” That could explain some of the action/inaction surrounding crime.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:18 am
Mayor Peterson v The Ghetto Mafia. Mike O’Connor sucks! Do you understand the problem in the Democrat Party now? The Mafia has shown the Mayor who is boss in the Party. This was one of their power plays.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:29 am
“Smart Democrats” is an oxymoron.
“[The mayor's] people were at the State House ALL month and his agenda was placed on the back burner by his own Party members.”
A very true statement. The Dems control the House agenda. The Dems control the Speaker’s chair. THE DEMS ARE IN CHARGE OF THE HOUSE! Ghetto Mafia member Bill Crawford is in charge of Ways and Means. And the House - did nothing.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:38 am
You mean Bill “flip-flop” Crawford
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:38 am
…and which way did the MCBRs vote? What’s a Marion County Black Republican in the Indiana Legislature? Very good question! The GOP in the Legislature is lily-white — there are NO Black Republicans in power to vote one way or another. Literal nonentities. Oh well …
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I see DC is no different than IN politics. Dems didn’t have enough votes to overide the veto on the war bill. Do you sense a trend happening????
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Wilson, I’ve yet to meet a black man like yourself with blonde hair. Oh wait you aren’t black, are you? Oh wait I know you’re that Monroe Gray kind of black. Black when it’s convenient and passes for white anywhere else.
May 4th, 2007 at 7:31 am
The first head of the NAACP, Walter White, was very “light-complected” — he too perplexed and puzzled racists who were so intent in uncovering “one drop of colored blood” in people.
Under old, discredited Southern racial laws, I’m actually not “white” — that’s because I had a gret-great-great-grandmother who was Native American. Aside from that, I’m about as racially Caucasian as you can get!
May 5th, 2007 at 8:30 am
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May 7th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
If BART were SMART, he’d get with some of the “non-entity” blacks, and kick the Ghetto Mafia’s ass…