PEORIA, Ill. — Violence in Peoria has been a main topic of conversation, especially after the 17th homicide of the year occurred Monday.
Council member Denise Jackson, of the 1st District, addressed the recent violence at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Jackson is a substitute teacher for Peoria Public Schools and shared an experience she had with a 14-year-old student.
“I was trying to assign a writing assignment to some students asking them what they wanted to do when they grew up,” said Jackson. “One young lady in particular said it didn’t matter — 14-years-old — I went on to press her about why.”
Jackson talked to the student in the hallway when the student told her she “wouldn’t live very long.”
“At some point, she began to talk about the shooting [Monday night.] She was talking to her brother when she heard something like firecrackers. Her brother was shot while she was on the telephone having a conversation with him,” said Jackson.
Terry Burnside, who is a member of the Advisory Committee on Police-Community Relations, was asked to address the council by Jackson.
“It’s been a vicious pattern here in Peoria, but we haven’t put a lot of emphasis on addressing it,” said Burnside.
Burnside said his own family has been impacted by gun violence as his brother died due to a gunshot. Burnside said his own son and daughter have been shot as well.
He continued on to say he has reached out to various communities throughout the country to see what works to curtail gun violence in their communities.
“The real driving force is the community,” said Burnside. “We have to be the change agents who will be the change that we desire to see. We must be proactive as opposed to reactive.
“A huge part will come from who I identify as credible messengers. Credible messengers are individuals with integrity who are on the front line addressing conflict on the front end before it escalates. We can’t police ourselves out of the situation. If you think about it, police are called after a situation erupts.”
Burnside said a lot of the violence recently can be attributed to interpersonal conflicts and disagreements, rather than group incidents.
“Like the pandemic, gun violence can be put under control,” said Burnside. “The pandemic has been put in check with vaccinations and education. Gun violence can be put in check with evidence-based strategies and trainings.”
During the city council meeting, Interim Police Chief Doug Theobald said 17 out of the 22 stolen guns from last week’s gun store burglary have been recovered.
