FeedMedia: PJS offers mayor backhanded, minimal praise for lower crime rates
May 14, 2008 in Watchdog Tags: Ardis, Crime, Journal Star, JSEB
It took a more than a couple days, but the anonymous gnomes who pen official opinions on the Journal Star’s award-winning (snicker) editorial page have finally editorialized about the stunning drop in violent crime from te same time last years.
As readers may recall, recently I chastised the Journal Star for failing to quote Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis even once in four articles on the issues, even though this news paper’s award-winning (snickering again) editorial page lambasted the mayor on multiple occasions for having made crime an issue when he ran for office, yet beins sensitive to what he felt was over sensationalized coverage of crime.
On Wednesday, the JSEB wrote that the drop in violent crime and murder was a good thing (how brave of them), but tucked this little comment into their piece:
In Peoria it’s too soon to draw that conclusion, even though these numbers are undeniably good news, eager as some pundits are to declare violent crime in the city a thing of the past.
Yeah … that would be me, I guess. Although I never declared violent crime a thing of the past.
Indeed, we’ve seen how quickly things can change, for better and worse. Last year’s murders came in bunches, with some months seeing as many as four killings, others none at all. The police chief and other city officials urged citizens not to panic, with assurances that if you weren’t looking for trouble in River City, you weren’t likely to find it.
Just as that was good advice then, so is a victory celebration premature now. Indeed, no sooner was Sunday’s Journal Star coming off the press with this story than a 55-year-old man was found shot in the head while sitting in his car near Club Apollo on the city’s South Side.
They are hedging their bets.
Mayor Jim Ardis also has made crime something of a bully-pulpit priority. There seems to be more neighborhood buy-in, and we hear anecdotally of some segments of the community being more cooperative with law enforcement efforts than they have been in the past.
To repeat:
When crime is up, the mayor deserved criticism because he made a bid deal about the issue when he was running for office.
When crime is down, the mayor deserves only a tiny bit of the credit, because crime “is well beyond the capacity of any one person to influence it significantly.”
In other words, ‘let’s not heap too much praise on politicians we don’t endorse, but let’s mock and ridicule politicians we don’t like if there’s an opportunity to do so.’ That’s standard operating procedure at 1 Propaganda Plaza.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
It’s kinda weird… almost seems like they are hoping for a few homicides to prove their point. Ha ha
May 15th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I don’t that that’s what they (he/she/it) were trying to say. I think some people will read it and come to that conclusion, though.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
“anonymous gnomes”
How anonymous can they be, Billy? There are only two of them.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
You aren’t telling me that ALL editorial are the opinions of the two members of the edit board are you?
May 15th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
You said “anonymous gnomes who pen official opinions.”
Actually, I have very little idea how those opinions are formed, at the Journal Star or elsewhere, under GateHouse, Copley, the ESOP or Henry P. Slane. And I know both editorial page editors personally.
And I don’t much care, either. Remember Chuck Dancey? His right-wing tirades about the Trilateral Commission and last-ditch defense of Richard Nixon (before my time but infamous) had no effect in the newsroom, where I worked. They’re just opinions. The more the merrier.
Tom’s Pugh’s falling out with top management and subsequent departure had no effect on the newsroom, either.
Anyone can write a letter or post at PJStar and disagree. The paper has always devoted a lot of space to letters from readers and, I think you’ll agree, is pretty tolerant of comments at PJStar.
I’ve never really understood why it bothers you so much that editorials are unsigned. They are the opinions of the people who decide what goes on the editorial page — and far less important than the news and how it is covered. Sorry, Christine and Mike.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Re. Diane Vespa:
“It’s kinda weird… almost seems like they are hoping for a few homicides to prove their point. Ha ha”
Are you berserk, Diane? How could you — someone who purports to care about the community — make a callous statement like that?
I think anyone who asserts that a central Illinois resident — editorial writer or otherwise — would wish for the death of another human being simply to fortify a point is “kinda weird,” indeed. Think before you post, Diane.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
To anonymous - the “ha ha” would indicate that is was intended to be humorous. Try it some time. It’s very liberating.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Incidentally, if you have such a strong opinion about this, why wouldn’t you sign your name? It’s not like I would beat you up.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:47 am
It appears that flower power is shooting the messenger.