Pot times July 17, 2005
North Valley Residents Fed Up With Prostitution
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n000/a273.htmlNewshawk: Beth
Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jul 2005 NORTH VALLEY RESIDENTS FED UP WITH PROSTITUTION
Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
Copyright: 2005sPeoria Journal Star
Contact:
forum@pjstar.com
Website: http://pjstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338
Author: Leslie Williams
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm
(Women)
Drugs, Crime Have Plagued Morton Square Park Area For Decades
PEORIA - Tim Herold and Lila Manion try to make it a point to know all their
neighbors in the North Valley.
They know several prostitutes by name, can point out their pimps and can provide
a list of license plate numbers from vehicles driven by "johns." They
also know which neighbors sell drugs.
"It doesn't take long, when someone moves in, to see the behavior they'll
have," said Manion, who lives on Jefferson Avenue near Morton Square Park,
where prostitution runs rampant.
Peoria police say street prostitution has plagued the North Valley for more than
20 years. Historically, the city's main red-light district was located
south of Downtown in an area known as the "Merry-Go-Round."
Police don't know what caused the nine blocks of Morton Square Park to become a
site for prostitution activity. Maybe it was that many of the women who
participated in the trade lived in the area. Or perhaps the location of
it, being near Downtown and easily accessible off major streets, made it
appealing.
Whatever the reason, it's been a long-term problem for the neighborhood and
police, who throughout the years have conducted dozens of prostitution stings
there.
Neighborhood Annoyance
Though the 1600 block of Jefferson, where Manion has lived for more than 30
years, does not have the same reputation for prostitution that Madison Avenue
and Monroe Street do, the effects of the sex trade still trickle down.
The prostitutes arrange to meet their "company" in front of her house
for a "date." They loiter there, disrupting the neighborhood with
noise and dirtying it with litter.
"I've followed them, talked to them," said Manion of the prostitutes.
"I've told them, 'I know what you're doing,' and asked them to leave.
"They need to move on and stop whoring in my neighborhood."
Seeing the women walk back and forth in front of his house in the 1500 block of
Madison Avenue has become a common sight for Herold.
He's called the police several times. "The police can't arrest anyone
for just standing on the street, but their presence helped make a
difference," he said.
Once, more than a year ago, a friend staying with Herold took matters into his
own hands.
"There's a john, a self-employed contractor, who drives by with his
business name and phone number on the side of his van," Herold said.
"We always saw him cruising the neighborhood looking for company."
The friend saw the van drive by and dialed the phone number to alert the
business of the driver's actions.
"A woman answered and ( the friend ) said, 'One of your employees just
picked up three known prostitutes in the company van,'" Herold said.
The woman replied, "'That's not an employee, that's my husband,'"
Herold said.
After a few choice words, the woman thanked the caller and hung up.
"We didn't see that van for another six months to a year after that,"
Herold said. Recently, he spied the van back in the area.
Taking Action
The threat of getting arrested seems to have little effect on johns and
prostitutes; they just keep returning to the area, Herold and Manion said.
Last month Herold contacted Peoria police for the second time to try and
convince them to start a Web site like one used by police in St. Paul,
Minn., that publicly "shames" men and women involved in prostitution
activity by posting their mug shots online after they are arrested.
Newly hired Peoria Police Chief Steven Settingsgaard applauded the idea.
He later decided to post only the photos of the johns, so as not to benefit the
prostitutes by alerting potential customers as to who they are.
On Tuesday, the department unveiled the prostitution link on their Web site, www.peoriapd.com.
On it were the faces of five men arrested last Friday in a sting using a decoy
female officer. Five more had been added by Friday morning.
The site had logged more than 16,000 hits as of Friday night.
"If you get rid of the johns, you take away half the trade," said
Manion. "If they're afraid to be out there, to get caught and get
their picture online, that's taking action, that's doing something.
"If you wait for prosecution, it may never happen. It's no
deterrent."
Ongoing Problems
Watching his neighborhood deteriorate in front of his eyes spurred Herold to
become involved in the Detweiller Marina Neighborhood Association. That's
where he met Manion.
"We have a lot invested in here and property values go down with increased
crime," said Herold, who moved to the North Valley about seven years ago to
refurbish a historic home. "I just want to be able to live in a safe,
clean and quiet neighborhood. I shouldn't have to move to get that quality
of life."
Manion agreed. "If the northwest areas of the city can have quality
of life, then we can have it here."
Manion said she's contemplated moving out of the area several times because
"the number of bad people far outweigh the good."
"Most of the neighbors don't care about anything unless it's directly
affecting them," she said. "It's mentally, physically and
emotionally exhausting to deal with if you're one that cares."
Manion also listens to a police scanner. "It's been quieter in our
area, especially this summer," she admits.
She has no sympathy for the prostitutes. "( The women ) put
themselves there," she said. "I lack caring for them because of
their destructiveness.
"When you're an adult you have different responsibilities. I don't
believe it's all because of something they've gone through in their life.
It's a choice. I don't think they could work an eight-hour day. This
is an easy job."
Manion does admit the root of prostitution comes from the women being hooked on
drugs.
She and Herold want to see the faces of drug dealers next to the
"johns" arrested on the police department Web site. That way the
public could call police when they see these people breaking the law.
"Ninety-nine percent, if not all ( of the prostitutes ), have a drug
problem," Herold said. "All their money goes to drugs."
But until more can be done to solve the city's drug problem, the pair say there
are always going to be other problems associated with it, like prostitution.
"You have to put your foot down and say this is enough," Manion said.
"( The problem ) is beyond what I can do. The only ammo we have is
the police and the State's Attorney."