Unless noted, all links are via the Journal Star:

The 18-year-old who was found murdered behind Sterling School apparently had an “unconventional relationship” with the man prosecutors say killed her. No kidding. There was an eyewitness to the murder, they say. And she snitched. Apparently she never got the memo saying that Peorians never talk to [...]

My, how time flies.
About this time last year, Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis had the audacity to stand up for Peoria and complain about how Peoria’s one and only daily newspaper was portraying his city. He complained that the newspaper over-emphasized bad news the city, including an unusually high murder murder rate.
The response from the editorial [...]

More links from the Journal Star:

State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons is talking about seeking the death penalty against the parents of the baby who died after not having been fed for eight days. I have no other comment to make abut this horrific case, other than we have seen him make similar statements prior to plea [...]

Kudos to Journal Star crime reporter Leslie Fark for answering some of the questions I had about the woman who was found dead in the woods in Creve Coeur. Teresa M. Reeves had been missing for weeks, and no family member or friend had reported her missing. It turns out her live was filled with [...]

Today’s links are via the Journal Star:

Clare Jellick’s article on the Manual restructuring is up. It includes the list of “recommendations” that the various subcommittees working on the plan asked the board to approve. The meat of the story is that they want the new Manual to operate under a longer school day, a longer [...]

Phil Luciano takes a look at Peoria’s most recent murder and the discovers what what fine upstanding citizens these people are. I especially enjoyed these paragraphs about one of the accused, Demarco Spencer a 25-year-old member of Chicago’s Black P. Stone Nation gang:
In 2005 Spencer and two others were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and binding [...]

UPDATED: The murdered girl’s father is saying he’s been told a suspect was arrested in Thailand. If this is the guy — and the parents are innocent — then some folks are going to look really bad. But still, the parents did themselves no favors by how they acted. And it’s still creepy to dress [...]

Three people were shot overnight in Peoria. Tell you what folks, from now on, I’ll make a post on those days when someone isn’t shot in Peoria. Shootings are so common, they aren’t even newsworthy anymore.
crime,guns,shooting,gangs,murder

You remember the guy who was killed inside the drug house on Madison this week? Police arrested the guy who did it, but the Peoria County State Attorney says it was self defense:
Kevin Lyons tells WEEK News 25 given the facts of the case, the use of deadly force against Jer-rell Hall is “allowable.” [...]

Kudos to the Journal Star’sLeslie Williams for this eye-opening report on the first murder of 2006 and the crack house in which it happened:
The property is owned by Raymond and Linda Huff of Peoria. A woman answered the phone at the Huff home late Tuesday and said the couple owned the house but she didn’t [...]

It at 2915 N.E. Madison, almost two months into 2006. Not many details yet on the Journal Star. WMBD has a brief article.
murder,peoria,Averyville

For those who Brian Alexander is an East Bluff resident who was shot and murdered outside him home on Dec. 19, 2004. The man’s family has been very frustrated at the seeming lack of progress in this case.
Don’t give up! It’s harder to solve murders this long after they happen, but the more awareness there [...]

I’ve always advised people upset over unsolved murders to be patient, even if they are contacting the police and agitating for attention. Most murders are solved the old fashioned way: Legwork and luck. Reading between the lines, that seems to be the case here:
Peoria police say new information has lead them to arrest James E. [...]

The Journal Star takes a look a Peoria’s 2005 crime statistics:
Eleven of Peoria’s homicide victims last year died from gunshot wounds. Two were stabbed, another was bludgeoned with a hammer and drowned.
While each death saddens the loved ones affected, the homicide that seemed to outrage the community most, because of its senselessness, was that of [...]

Certainly someone with some resources will step up and help this grandmother find a home large enough so that she qualifies to be given custody of her five grandchldren after their mother was killed by their father.
Gloria Street,Andre Crosswhite,Sharise Wallace,murder,custody