I’m going to have to agree at least partically with Councilman Eric Turner on this one. There is a poblem with the bars in downtown Peoria turning black people away. They say they are only enforcing a dress code. That’s fine, but there are people being turned away at the door who dress like it’s casual Friday at their work place.
And some blame has to be laid at the feet of the black communit as well. Thug culture is out of control. There are too many folks emulating gangsters in more ways that one. This scares the hell of of people, including the affluent tourists who these bars want to attract in the first place.
So, when some folks ask that the city’s 4 a.m. liquor license zone be expanded a bit to include establishments along the riverfront, Turner and others are agreeable to the idea, if for no other reason that it will tick off these bars that have been being stingy with the admittance for people with too much melanin.
And even MORE naturally, this is bringing out told ya so from Matt Hale’s ideological comptratiots.
There’s this little comment to the JS article from one “John Smith”:
“Awww it beez rasisâ€
Come the #### on. How come every other race in the world can handle dressing themselves and doing it right but the ['N' word deleted] can’t? “It beez yts falt ah cant dres riteâ€
Stupid #########.
And there was this comment from “Krag:”
Dress codes are for civilized people, our way of keeping the apes in their places.
Niiiiiiice. I imagine these comments will be deleted soon.
My two cents: If there are valid reasons to expand the zone, do it. The downtown IS the downtown, and it’s supposed to be an entertainment hub, not a residential haven. Folks who want quiet nights ought to move to condos north of War Memorial Drive. They have no right to expect them in the middle of flippin’ downtown Peoria. We WANT the downtown to be filled with party-goers. At least that’s supposed to be the plan.
But expanding a 4 a.m. liquor license zone out of spite or to combat racism won’t work.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
“Casual Friday” at some places has become “Dress Like A Ho Friday”. Girl, this be a workplace, not da club….
Bill:
If a country club has a dress code, etc. is that racism against those that don’t belong or don’t dress as required? I say no. It’s a standard issue by private business.
“If a country club has a dress code, etc. is that racism against those that don’t belong or don’t dress as required?”
It is if it’s only being enforced against patrons of a particular race who are otherwise dressed identically to everyone else.
From the little I have read on the subject, only those that were turned away were not dressed as required, and they happed to be black. Dress was the reason, not race. I would be interested in knowing if this has happened to non-blacks not properly dressed.
I’ve have a white friend whose been turned away because of the dress code. The reason they gave was his pants were too baggy. They were a little baggy but for a guy his size it wasn’t that much. So either they are also prejudice against fat people or it really is just because of the dress code.
I have been turned away from the club, and I am white. I do believe that Mr. Turner is right about the racism, and it does exist everywhere. However, I don’t think that more bars being open until 4:00 am is going to help. Really, no bar should be open until 4:00am, Who the hell wants to go to a bar at 4:00am besides troublemakers. I know, I know..people would say 3rd shift workers, well..I can attest that no 3rd shift worker is going to go to a dance club…that I know of…really, go dancing after work, yeah right. That is almost the funniest solution I have ever heard of in my life. Stay open later and segregate…cheers!
A 3rd shift worker would be at work at 4am. Also people are not going out at 4am they are staying out until 4am. Thats when the bars close. I think you confused the expanding the 4am zone to mean staying up later but they are talking about the area that can have 4am bars. And what makes you think everyone who stays out until 4 is a troublemakers?
I’m with Bob here. What makes you think that people out at 4 am, especially on a weekend, are troublemakers?
mostly they’re college students.
Maybe we should try prohibition again, and go back to the segregated society.
Why does it seem that there is no video footage of drunk and obnoxious white guy getting kicked out and arrested outside of Big Al’s at 3 am?
Bob, plenty of people work a shift that ends around 4 – 6 a.m.
Do me a favor and walk down Main Street at 4:00 a.m. and tell me what kind of crowd you see, after you mugged and drunk people threaten to kick your ass.
(Experience makes me think 4 a.m. bars are trouble)
I understand that the area already has bars that stay open until 4:00 a.m. – All I’m saying is that if you think keeping a few bars open later is a good solution to combat racism in the bars your F’n crazy.
Because no one was there to film you, duh.
Peoria apparently has a censorship problem
As I understand it, the notorious video outside of Club Reign was filmed by people denied admittance because of capacity issues, not dress code. There was some rap artist or some such thing in the club, and the club was full.
Now, what kind of ruckus would’ve been raised if they let everyone in and God forbid, someone got trampled, or a fire broke out and a whole bunch of people died?? Then it would be the whites trying to make the blacks look bad by packing them in over the club’s capacity, and there would be outrage in the black community because the white people allowed their sweet babies to get trampled.
Oh, and I’ve been turned away from Reign several times, and as you all know, I’m about as white as they come. I think I mentioned that in the original post about the video.
Cory: It’s ALWAYS whitey’s fault…
Nothing to do with race. All to do with culture and a violent mentality. Anyone can get drunk and become disorderly downtown, however, “thugs” and/or “gangsta’s” have a greater tendency to do so. They also have a higher tendency to fight, refuse to leave , and draw a gun before anyone else. The clothing they wear and how they wear it makes them stand out. Does it mean everyone who wears that particular clothing does these things? No. But it does reduce the trouble, fights and such in the bars that do enforce the dress code. Sadly, most of the people that wear the clothing that is banned from many of these establishments are black. Hence, they say its about race. It’s not. It’s about money and these businesses want your money regardless of race. But people with money want to go to a bar for fun and relaxation. They will not go to a bar known for fights, gunfire, or a chance of getting robbed. So, to keep good clientel coming in, bars have to make them feel safe in their establishment. Dress code offends some, but it does keep a lot of ruffians out. Simple as that.
[...] enjoying the current discussion on racism and dress codes at Peoria bars, and after reading the attempted explanation from [...]
Exactly right A.C. Too many play the race card to keep from conforming to civilized actions. And most liberal political correct people are always ready to give them a free pass.
As long as we are profiling here, should dirty, long haired, scruffy bearded, tatooed guys be considered meth-dealing outlaw bikers? And how about those mullet wearing, tooth missing, camo hat, big rebel belt buckle dudes? You know that can’t wait to teach a foreigner where his place is.
Maybe we need guys in business suits to monitor downtown; they’re already uptight, wealthy, and conservative, and would have no qualms telling people that aren’t dressed as such how low on the pecking order they really are….
BTW, isn’t Club Reign a male stripper revue? If so, why is Cory trying to get in?
If so, then why are all the black guys trying to get in? [shiver]
Today, I laugh heartily with Vonster.
Miracles happen.
So I’m guessing Rob. B is saying only blacks get drunk and do stupid stuff? How about the 4, UNDERAGE white boys that burnt down a house and KILLED their friend. Or was that a black person with a hell of a lota make up on.
Stupid people with idiotic remarks like yours really should learn to think before they post something in a public forum.