PeoriaStory

Diocese pays $1.35 million, but opponents say it's not done yet

PEORIA -- The Journal Star on Aug. 13 ran a fascinating story from the Associated Press about how the Cathholic Diocese of Peoria will pay $1.35 million to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit.

SNAP, the group helping to expose this abuse, says there should be more to come.  Here is the news release issued Aug. 13.

For immediate release: August 13, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])

Archbishop John Myers answers under oath are pathetic. He wants us to believe everyone and everything else is at fault, while he allegedly did nothing wrong.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/depo/2010_05_12_Myers_Deposition/

He blames allegedly bad files, therapists, underlings, canon law (p. 188) and even buildings (page 34 & 145).

His memory of how others didn't act properly seems very clear. But his memory about his own wrongdoing suddenly gets very murky. (On page 35, for example, he can’t recall whether he ordered his staff to report suspected child sex crimes to authorities. Later, he can’t even recall whether he was on a bishops’ sex abuse committee in the 1990s.)

Over and over again he keeps claiming he does not recall reports of abuse, suspicions of abuse, what he did, what he did not do, or what year anything happened. (But corrected an attorney on what year Cardinal Ratzinger took over the CDF.)

In several letters Myers thanks Msgr. Maloney (a credibly accused child molester), thanking Maloney for gifts including "your much-loved camera," a silver object so big "it could be tied around one's neck like the proverbial 'millstone,’" gold coins and a monetary gift, which Myers says he will use to gamble on the dog races in Florida. 

These gifts seem inappropriate and troubling. We hope Myers will explain why he took them.

We can’t help but wonder if Myers is still accepting expensive gifts from priests in New Jersey, including those who are admitted, proven or credibly accused child molesters. We hope Myers will explain whether he is indeed still taking expensive gifts. 

There's a lesson in all of this: Bishops still cannot be trusted to 'come clean' about clergy sex crimes and cover ups, even now, and even under oath.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 15,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])

 

Here's an Aug. 14 follow up story by the Journal Star.

Did PSD150 violate its own policies and state law when it redecorated?

PEORIA -- Peoria School District 150 recently acquired some expensive new chairs, tables and carpeting for the Wisconsin Avenue administration building.

When activist Sharon Crews filed a Freedom of Information request to find out more details, she learned that these items had not been bid, as district policy and likely state law require, and that the money to pay for the items was taken from the education fund, instead of the more appropriate operations and maintenance fund.

At the School Board meeting on August 12 Crews raised these issues during the public comments. Her written report is below.

In her response, Supt. Grenita Lathan she ducked the issues.  She said only that the board approved of the purchases, and that they were needed. "No policies were violated," she said. 

Huh?  Crews had asked for the board vote through the Freedom of Information request, and got no response.Does that mean the board is violating the Open Meetings Act by approving these items in secret? Or what?

"We took nothing away from the schools to make these changes," Lathan said. So what is the education fund for, anyway?

How's that for shifting the frame, from possible violations of policies and laws to "we want a presentable place." Nobody would deny the disstrict a few upgrades, but they should be done right, not in violation of laws and policies.

And why not bid these items?

Here is a recording of the public comments. 

Dist 150 Aug 12

 

Peoria Federation of Teachers president Jeff Adkins-Dutro told the board that three changes are needed for the board to achieve transparency.  1.  Air the public comments on the web streaming of the meeting. It used to be censored. (In her response, Lathan said the comments are now aired.  Are they?)

2. Allow principals to speak to the press, instead of having their comments filtered through an administrator. 3.  Welcome the union's voice at the back-to-school gala for District 150 staff. The union was banned this year.

Activist Terry Knapp told the board that a group of citizens is seeking to raise money for the stadium site, and encourage the city, park district and school district to cooperate to keep the space green.

The city could use $1 million of its riverboard gambling money over 10 years to pay off the district and give the site to the park district, and the group would raise money to removate the site to attract national tournaments, he said.  Good ideas all.

I spoke to the board about my efforts to get the complete board packet before the meeting.  I filed a Freedom of Information request last Monday for it, asking to receive it on Friday when it is compiled. I was promptly turned down on the grounds that it was not ready.  I filed another request on Friday, Aug. 9, and have had no response so far. So I didn't get the board packet in time for the meeting.

The District 150 board is the only major public body that does not give out packets at the meetings to the press and interested citizens.  Why?

The Peoria Housing Authority, City Council and County Board give them out freely.  If the board wants public support, it should be much more transparent. One reason is that the brief agenda may be in error, as it was at the most recent meeting when it had the wrong name for a vendor. How can citizens monitor their elected officials if they are kept in the dark about what's really going on?

Lathan didn't respond to my request.

A parent whose story was featured in the Aug. 12 Journal Star, Arnisha Johnson, told the board that her daughter was accepted to the 7th grade at Manual last spring, only to be told a few days ago that the class has been cancelled.  She could either send her to Trewyn or take her out of school, someone told her. 

She asked for a boundary waiver.  Lathan asked her to meet with an administrator at the meeting.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 Sharon Crews' report:

I would appreciate some clarification about board policy for purchase orders. 

 During the last school year the District spent about $55,000 sprucing up Wisconsin Avenue.  I asked for the date of the meeting when the board approved the purchase of over $14,000 worth of furniture for the Superintendent’s Conference Room, including chairs and a mahogany conference table for $3,841 and, also, the $6100 purchase of new chairs for board members.  The FOIA response was that the furniture was purchased with a District purchasing card and, therefore, didn’t require a board vote. 

Board policy states that cards shall be used only for expenses that are for the District’s benefit and serve a valid and proper public purpose.  I fail to understand how this furniture fits the stated use for a credit card. Even so, the policy doesn’t state that board approval is not required just because a credit card is used.  Also, the money for the furniture came from the Education Fund.  Please explain why this is an Education Fund expense.

Also, why didn’t the $10,000 carpeting and the $16,000 glass for the entry ways require bids?  Board policy states that except in cases of urgent necessity, all purchases of $25,000 or less but more than $5,000 shall be made by securing sealed bids from at least three available competitors.   When the policy states “all purchases,” doesn’t all mean all?  Was board policy violated?  A quick look online suggested to me that there might be a state law governing purchases by school districts.  Could someone clarify when bids are required?

 When District 150 withholds information requested through FOIAs, I wonder what you are trying to hide and why. 

 In response to my June FOIA about textbook fees, only two of eight items of data were provided.  I understand personnel and student privacy issues, but a public body should freely provide all other data, especially about how taxpayer money is spent.

 One of your favorite excuses for not providing data is “The District does not possess records responsive to your request.”

I was surprised to learn that the District has no records as to how many students’ fees are paid by a government grant, has no records as to how much the District is reimbursed by the government grant, has no records of how many students do not qualify for free texts, has no records of how many students at each school have not paid their fees, and has no records of the total amount of unpaid textbook fees. Does anyone believe that no such records exist?  The FOIA response did state that some of the data was being held at the school level and would be available in the fall.

 Amazingly enough, the District did possess records of the good news, so I received data as to how much was paid in textbook fees at each school for the last two years.  By using data from the Illinois Report Card website, I was able to come up with some fairly decent estimates for the “missing” data for the last board meeting.  Of course, Dr. Lathan’s response to my comments made light of my estimated data.

In fact, I wasn’t happy with the estimated data, so I wrote to the Attorney General’s office to find out if I might be entitled to the data for which there are no records.  Turns out that I received a phone call from the Attorney General’s office, and, within a very short time after our conversation, I received the information for which the District had had no records—I guess the District had to estimate.  LOL.  In fact, information supposedly housed at the school level was evidently available on the central office’s computer because within minutes the concise one-page of data was e-mailed to me.  All I had to do was multiple some numbers by fees of $55 or $65 to come up with new spreadsheets.  Over $200,000 in fees weren’t paid for the last two years.  The bottom line of course is that no one at District 150 is paying any attention to this bottom line.  That money could help cover the cost of last year’s very expensive book orders.

 Please can we expect more integrity and transparency in the future?

Emailed comment 8/21/13:
Ron Panek wrote:

Hello,
I stumbled across your name while on the internet. I will apologize in advance if you are offended by the issue with the district that has me upset. The recent peanut and tree nut ban at Hines school that was implemented this year does not sit well with me. Teachers searching and conficating lunch items from kids, I think there are others ways to deal with this.
I am sympathetic to the parents of children with these conditions, however i don't agree with the schools policy. I am wanting to get very vocal about this. I have already spoke with the principle and sent e-mails to Cloyd and and one other board member. If my stance has not offended you hopefully i will get a response and i can elaborate further on my efforts and contacts thus far.

Lessons from Detroit: on pensions

PEORIA -- Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz writing in the New York Times says it all, in the best piece so far on the problems of Detroit.  His words on pensions apply to Illinois, as well:

Banks and bondholders will argue that pension payments for city workers are an undue burden, and should be limited or canceled to reduce the banks’ losses. But the high priority that workers are typically given in municipal bankruptcies is entirely justified. After all, they have performed their services on the understanding that they would be paid, and pensions are nothing but “deferred compensation.” Workers are not engaged in the complicated business of risk assessment, as investors are. And unlike investors, they can’t really diversify their portfolios to manage their risk. So it should be unconscionable to tell workers that, sorry, we aren’t paying you what we promised for work you’ve already done. Especially because their pensions, unlike those of corporate chieftains, are far from generous. Most of the retired city employees receiving checks get about $1,600 a month.

This means that much of the burden of bankruptcy will have to fall on those who lent Detroit money, and those who insured those lenders. This is as it should be. They got a return, reflecting their subjective estimate of the risk that they faced. Of course, they would like to get high returns, and somehow not bear the risk. But this is not the way markets work, or should work.

Impoverishing the pensioners won't solve any problems, and will in fact create more problems, for Detroit and Illinois.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Update Aug. 14, 2013:  Here's an excellent article from Salon on pension theft.

ALEC protest blackout

PEORIA -- There was a huge protest on Aug. 8 in Chicago against the ALEC convention there.  ALEC is the CEO-financed group that has fostered extreme right wing policies in Congress and the state legislatures, including pension theft, war on women, no gun control, anti-environment and anti-union laws, etc. 

But there was no news coverage in the mainstream media about the protest.  Here is Fred Kronsky's post about it.  It's worth reading.

What a shame.

Now we have Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post at a bargain price, a couple of days after Obama went to Amazon's plant.  Bezos is anti-union, runs sweatshops, and has a huge contract to supply computing technology to the CIA. The only place to hear about this is Democracy Now.

Here's the headline: How The Washington Post’s New Owner Aided the CIA, Blocked WikiLeaks & Decimated the Book Industry.

Say goodbye to real mainstream reporting in the digital age. 

And now for the latest on Honey Boo Boo and Kim Kardashian...

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Edwards power plant polluting the Illinois River

PEORIA -- Ameren's Edwards coal fired power plant at Bartonville, south of Peoria, is not only polluting the air in central Illinois. (See stories below.)  It's polluting the Illinois River, as well.

That was the focus of an August 7 news conference held by a coalition of environmental groups.  The groups urged people to attend a public hearing at 6 p.m. on August 7 at the Pekin Public Library, 301 S. 4th St., to tell the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to require the plant to modernize its discharge systems into the Illinois River.

"We call on the Illinois IEPA to protect us," said one of the many speakers at the news conference. About a dozen activists attended, most young adults.

The Edwards plant dumps 5.2 million gallons daily into the river. Its 89-acre coal ash landfill sits near the river and likely drains toxins and heavy metals into the river, they said.

It also discharges 320 million gallons daily of warm water into the river, with a negative impact on aquatic life. Could that warm water be encouraging zebra mussels and Asian carp?  No one knows.

Here's the news release the groups issued after the news conference:

Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance Urges Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to Protect the Illinois River

Public Hearing Held on Water Pollution Discharged by Ameren’s E.D. Edwards Coal Plant into the Illinois River

PEORIA, Ill. – Today, Peoria metro area residents gathered on the waterfront in Peoria to call on Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to protect public health and local waterways from toxic water pollution discharged from the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant in Bartonville, Ill. The group came together prior to an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) hearing on a reissued water discharge permit for the plant held at the Pekin Public Library.

Throughout its 52 years of operations, the E.D. Edwards plant has dumped large amounts of coal ash dangerously close to the Illinois River. The accumulated toxic coal ash currently sits in an 89-acre, 32-foot high pond near the plant and has left groundwater contamination problems on the site. Each day, more than 5 million gallons of water is polluted with toxic metals like arsenic, lead and mercury by coal and coal ash processing. To date, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has failed to place limits in its water discharge permit for the E.D. Edwards plant on the amount of dangerous heavy metal pollution that the plant can send from the plant’s ash ponds into the river.

 “The water discharge permit written by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency does not limit toxic metals that Ameren can discharge from the Edwards coal plant,” said Traci Barkley, Water Resources Scientist with the Prairie Rivers Network. “In order to adequately protect our health and the quality of our drinking water, IEPA must strengthen its permit for the Edwards plant to prevent water contamination issues near Peoria.”

The E.D. Edwards coal plant’s current water permit is expired, and the draft permit sets no limits on toxic metals discharged from the plant’s coal ash pond. The draft permit only requires twice yearly monitoring for pollutants including arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium.  

“From polluting our air to polluting our water, coal hurts our community’s health in so many ways, said Alyssa McMillian from ICC Students Advocating For the Environment (SAFE). “It’s time to work together as a community to revitalize our city by transitioning away from burning fossil fuels. As a young person, I’m determined to bring together many different voices here in Peoria to create a new legacy in our region.”

The E.D. Edwards coal plant reports that it can discharge more than 4 million gallons per day of ash pond wastewater, containing a mixture of fly-ash and bottom ash contaminated waste. Ameren, the current operators of the Edwards coal plant, was required to monitor for mercury only on a monthly basis, and Ameren only had to do that 12 times before stopping indefinitely.

“When pollutants like arsenic, boron and mercury come into contact with water, it can be disastrous for public health,” said Tessie Bucklar with Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste. “Doctors and scientists know that exposure to these dangerous metals can lead to birth defects, cancer, and even death. Think of how many are out on that water every summer? Their health is on the line, and it is more important than ever that the IEPA do its job and protect our water and our health from toxic metals in our waterways.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than half of all toxic water pollution in the country comes from coal-fired power plants, making coal plants the number one source of toxic water pollution in the country. Toxic metals from the coal ash waste pond at the E.D. Edwards coal plant discharge into the Illinois River, which serves as a water supply for many river towns and is popular for fishing and swimming. The Illinois River is already designated as an impaired waterway because of mercury contamination and active coal-fired power plants are among the largest sources of these toxic pollutants.
 
“It is disheartening to know that polluters are given a free pass to discharge toxic metals into our waterways,” said Jacob Leibel, Peoria Resident and member of the Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance. “The Illinois River, Pekin Lake and our other local fishing spots define summertime here in Peoria. We boat, we fish and we recreate in that water. Right now, the fish that comes from the Illinois River is too dangerous to eat. Our families and our rivers deserve better than toxic pollution.”

###

The Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance (CIHCA) is a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to creating a sustainable and healthy community for Central Illinois. CIHCA is concerned about the decades of air and water pollution created by the E.D. Edwards coal plant south of Bartonville. CIHCA is working to retire the E.D. Edwards plant and transition Central Illinois to a cleaner energy economy by reducing energy use, moving to renewables such as wind and solar and requiring a just transition for workers.

Here's a story on national regulation of coal ash pollution.

Here's a story on the problems with coal ash sites elsewhere in Illinois.

Illinois seniors discuss pension, other issues

PEORIA -- The Illinois chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans met on August 6 to discuss issues important to seniors.

At the top of the list: the push for a graduated income tax in Ilinois. That's because a fairer tax system is the only way to get adequate funding for pensions and other programs needed by Illinois citizens, said chapter president Barbara Franklin.

The group has 240,000 members, she said, and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

The push for a graduated state income tax is being led by A Better Illinois, a group gathering signatures on an advisory petition to present to the Illinois General Assembly.  It's up to that body to place the initiative on the ballot for Nov. 2014, so voters can change the Illinois Constitution to get rid of the flat tax.

The website and facebook page will have a way to sign an internet petition, said executive director Emily Stewart.

There are other ways to raise taxes so Illinois can meet its financial obligations, people at the meeting said.  The state could raise the flat tax then grant tax credits to lower income people.  Or it could tax financial transactions.  A $1 tax on all financial transactions would generate enough money to enable Illinois to balance its budget.

It could also close numerous tax loopholes that benefit large corporations, which pay substantially less tax that ordinary citizens, and it could tax pensions, which it does not now do. 

Opponents of these ideas argued that the wealthy would move out of state, but Franklin discounted that. "There's no place to go," she said. Illinois has low taxes overall.  Jimmy John's restaurants threatened to move to Florida when the flat income tax was increased two years ago, but didn't move, she said.

A graduated income tax would lower taxes for most residents, Stewart said.

Steward discussed threats to Medicare, which include raising the age to 67, a terrible idea, and making the wealthy pay more for these benefits. The Alliance opposes both of these schemes. Medicare will be solvent until 2026, because reforms under the Affordable Care Act are working, she said.

"We need smart solutions, not pushing costs onto seniors," she said.  One is the Medicare Drug Savings Act, HB1588.  Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin is a co-sponsor. Cong. Cheri Bustos, D-17, will be contacted to see if she will co-sign the bill in the US House.

She warned against the coming debt ceiling negotiations, which threaten Medicare and Social Security.  Obama has indicated he might support chained CPI and means testing for Medicare, she said.  The GOP plans would end Medicare as we know it by instituting vouchers which would not provide enough funding, and raise the retirement age.

Those knowledgable about Illinois pension issues said the state is taking bids for medical coverage for retirees, but nothing has been decided.  Another open enrollment program is said to begin in October.There was one in May, and lawsuits are pending over retiree benefit issues.

The group discusssed whether Illinois Democrats have been protective enough of senior benefits.  Some have but others have become DINOs, Democrat in name only, and signed on to Republican austerity ideas. Why vote for them? I asked.

Some said seniors have no choice but to vote for Democrats, as Republicans would be much worse.  But I argued that DINO Democrats need primary opponents. "Take a lesson from the Tea Party," I said. Democrats that don't support their base need opponents in the primary who will. 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

The real story behind the Illinois pension situation: it's a corporate plot!

PEORIA -- Here's a fine investigative piece that explains what's really going on in the bi-partisan effort to steal Illinois pensions:  it's a corporate plot!

Here's a post from Fred Klonsky that includes the video.

Read it and weep -- no, get even madder about what's going on! 

Any Democrat buying into this -- Quinn, Madigan and the rest, as well as our local Demo friends and the editorial boards of the PJS and other newspapers --  are fools not to see the truth and don't deserve our support. 

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

Watch out for poisons in school supplies

PEORIA -- Here's a terrific story in the current issue of the Community Word, by Peoria free lance writer Clare Howard.

It involves phthlates, an endocrine disrupting chemical used to soften plastics.  This chemical has been banned from food, but can be found in many school supplies such as backpacks.  Kids handle the backpacks, then likely injest the chemical. 

It's beautifully written, and should be in a national publication, but thanks goodness the Word is using it.

 -- Elaine Hopkins