PeoriaStory

Schock car crash never reported in media

PEORIA -- What really happened on that cold, snowy night six months ago when state Rep. Aaron Schock crashed his SUV into a guard rail at Bartonville?

Details in the police report raise questions, but Schock has responded that it was only an accident, nothing more. It has never been reported by any news media.

Bartonville police chief Brian Fengel said there’s no backstory beyond what the official police report tells. “We wouldn’t cover anything up,” said Fengel, a Democrat.

Schock, who lists his address as 1040 E. Melbourne, Peoria, is the Republican candidate for Congress from the 18th Congressional District. His opponents are Democrat Colleen Callahan and Green party candidate Sheldon Schafer.

The police officer who responded to the accident, Joe Spear, talked recently about the accident. He said that when he came to the scene, Schock was on his cell phone. But Schock had not called the police.

Schock was alone in the vehicle, and had turned on the hazard lights, according to the report.

Schock in a telephone interview said he didn’t have time to call the police. “It happened and the police officer pulled over.”

According to recordings of the 9-1-1 call and the police scanner as well as the official report, the accident occurred shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, 2008 on Illinois Route 24 near Trotter Road. Schock had skidded into a guard rail on icy pavement.

The speed limit there was 55 miles per hour, and driving too fast for conditions was listed as a contributing cause for the accident. But Schock was not ticketed.

The 9-1-1 recording shows an anonymous female called the police to report hearing a loud bang nearby, apparently an accident, and Spear investigated. The guard rail was not damaged, and the airbag in Schock’s car did not deploy, according to the police report.

The scanner recording shows police quickly linked the license plate to Schock, and identified him as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Schock’s 92nd District includes Bartonville, giving him power over funds destined for that community.

The police report indicates that Schock was not injured in the accident but his car was so badly damaged that it could not be driven away.

Schock was not offered a test for driving under the influence, the report indicates. Spear said he didn’t believe Schock had been drinking. “There was no sign of his drinking at all,” Spear said.

Fengel said the officer can use his discretion. “We don’t write tickets on every accident. We rely on the officer’s discretion. That leaves it wide open.”

Schock said he had been at the Lincoln Day dinner in Pike County where he was a speaker. He had dropped off an aide at Banner, then proceeded on alone. He had not been drinking alcohol, he said. “Only water and ice tea.”

Bartonville police use a rotation among tow companies, so Chuck’s Towing was summoned to tow the SUV, the report and other documents show. But oddly, Chuck’s has no record of that work on its huge, handwritten ledger. The SUV was never logged into its lot. An employee found an invoice showing it might have been taken to Green’s Chevrolet in Peoria, but Green’s has never worked on that vehicle, an employee there said after checking computerized records.

The tow company may not keep accurate records, Fengel said.

Schock said he did not recall who towed the vehicle. “I had to pay cash because it was a snowstorm,” he said. The vehicle was towed to a Morton repair shop where it was repaired, he said.

According to the scanner recording, Schock was picked up by someone in Bartonville, but the documentation does not list who picked him up.

That person had nothing to do with the accident, Fengel said, so would not be listed on the report.

Schock said his campaign manager picked him up.

-- Elaine Hopkins

(Full disclosure: I am a volunteer in Callahan’s campaign. I learned about this accident from someone who heard it on the scanner.)

Schock skips debate. His proposal called "reckless."

PEORIA -- Aaron Schock skipped the 18th Congressional District candidate debate sponsored by the Peoria Area World Affairs Council and other groups on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

But almost 90 minutes into a sometimes sleepy evening, Schock' infamous nuclear proposal came up, only to be called "risky, reckless, not the right approach," and "more extreme" than even Bush administration policies.

Almost a year ago Schock, a Republican state legislator from the 92nd Illinois district, in announcing his candidacy for Congress, proposed selling Pershing nuclear missiles to Taiwan to intimidate China.

The proposal made national headlines, but did not keep Schock, now 27, from winning the Republican primary. 

His Democratic opponent, agricultural journalist Colleen Callahan, saw her chance Wednesday in response to a question, and pounced, to enliven an otherwise long evening. She termed the nuclear idea risky, reckless and extreme.

Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer didn't mention Schock's proposal, but declined to question Callahan when given the  opportunity. "The only question I have I can't ask," he said.

Afterward Schafer said he would have questioned Schock had Schock appeared at the debate.

In her concluding remarks, Callahan took another jab at Schock when she stated "appropriate judgment is the key to accomplishing the change we seek. It's not about building a resume. It's about evaluating a resume. It's about being tough and smart and not selling arms to Taiwan."

The World Affairs Council debate was the second on Wednesday for the Congressional candidates. Schock attended an 8 a.m. debate before the Peoria Chamber of Commerce, where nuclear arms to Taiwan was not mentioned.

There, the candidates were asked to name a "tough issue you would champion in Congress."

Schock replied he would take a new look at "Medicare" but gave no details, and no one asked a follow up question.

Would he cut back Medicare, rein in the Bush proposal that forbids bidding on drugs, or just kill some or all of the whole program?

Callahan's surprise response was to "reinstitute the draft" to rebuild the military and take pressure off the National Guard, then she implied a "national service" component could be part of that. There was no follow up question.

Schafer made the bold proposal of "single payer health care," and added "life issues," by which he apparently meant anti-choice legislation. Would he criminalize abortion and put women and doctors in jail? Then he mentioned "guns" a/k/a  gun control without elaborating. Again no one followed up on these statements.

The lack of follow up questions showed weakness in the debate format before the Chamber of Commerce.
An hour was the right length, and the candidates were limited to short answers, which made this debate more entertaining but less enlightening.

The World Affairs debate, which Schock ditched, was more leisurely with time for follow up questions, but the issues were not as clear cut, and the candidates often rambled on. Or they acknowledged they didn't know enough. For example Callahan and Schafer both confessed they didn't know how to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian question.

We wonder what Schock would have said about that intractable mess.  Bomb them all?

In the Chamber of Commerce debate, Callahan commented "we have candidates less than 10 years out of high school" a dig at Schock who would be the youngest member of Congress if elected.

Schock responded, "I will not run negative ads," but his campaign has already sent out negative news releases and interviews. His spokesman has called Callahan "shrill" after she criticized Schock for dropping out of some debates and forums.

Callahan is soft spoken and never shrill, though her spokesman did call Schock a "chicken" for his refusal to participate in some debates.

He has pledged to participate in 10 debates, but Callahan challenged him to debate in all 20 counties of the 18th District.

Perhaps fearing hostile questions, Schock has tended to shun debates where the public has free and open access to the audience.

Green candidate Schafer said he would be the first of his party in Congress if he is elected. Would he then vote with the Republicans or Democrats to organize Congress?  No one asked him.

The three candidates are supposed to hold one televised debate in October, but no date has been set yet.

 

-- Elaine Hopkins

Global warming in Peoria hot topic

PEORIA HEIGHTS -- Will Peoria heat up in the near future? It is it already too hot?

A free public forum on climate change a/k/a global warming takes place from 7:30 - 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at Forest Park Nature Center, 5809 Forest Park Drive, part of a statewide series of town hall meetings on the subject.

The event is sponsored by the nature center, Heart of Illinois Sierra Club and the Central Illinois Global Warning Solutions Group. It will feature Aur J. Beck, an alternative energy and global warming expert who runs Advanced Energy Solutions in Carbondale.

He is a founder and board member of the Illinois Renewable Energy Association and the Southern Illinois Center for a Sustainable Future and a speaker trained by The Climate Project, the nonprofit, nonpartisan project founded by former Vice President Al Gore.

Local speakers include John Mullen of Forest Park Nature Center, Bob Jorgenson, chair of the HOI Sierra Club and Kiersten Sheets, a member of the Central Illinois Global Warming Solutions Group.

The meeting will also include a talk by Sheldon Schafer of Lakeview Museum. He also is running for the 18th District Congressional seat from the Green Party. His opponents are Democrat Colleen Callahan and Republican Aaron Schock.

The Illinois Environmental Council has organized these meetings throughout the state, with Environmental Illinois.

Legislative options in Springfield and energy efficiency will be discussed. Electricity generation, the greatest contributor to global warming, the advocates say, is increasing by around 2 percent annually.

This should be a good meeting on a hot topic.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Bush Legacy Bus in Peoria Sept. 6

PEORIA -- Here's a fun event that has had no local publicity:  a traveling exhibit called the Bush Legacy Tour will be in Peoria from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. on Sat. Sept. 6 at the parking lot on Water Street near River Station in downtown Peoria.

This is a traveling museum "dedicated to President Bush's failed conservative policies," the backers say. 

If the exaggerations, misrepresentations and lies at the Republican National Convention don't have you thoroughly angry, this museum might do the trick. 

See the website for the details on what this museum covers and the groups sponsoring it.