"Why Apologize if You Did Nothing Wrong?"
That's a question Alderman Moore couldn't answer when asked three different times.
Nor could Vernandez Jones of CeaseFire. All Vernandez Jones could do was try to intimidate me, telling me what I can and can't print. A common theme with CeaseFire on this night was, "Don't believe the police, believe us."
Or John Fitzgerald from the North of Howard Area Community Center. Heck, this guy Fitzgerald couldn't even return a phone call.
They all stood quiet as a church mouse, hoping and praying the question to go away.
It won't.
A simple question. So why couldn't any of these community leaders answer such a simple question?
Why say "I'm Sorry" if you didn't do anything wrong?
Ex-Aldermatic candidate Harrington and the other guy running for Alderman stood next to John Fitzgerald and Alderman Moore, all hand in hand. They didn't have a answers either.
Yet, they were there ready to pose for the cameras next to the Alderman Moore and John Fitzgerald from Howard Area Community Center. Talk about a public relations stunt.
Where were they when all this beating was going down? Where were they when the community heard about this beating at the CAPS meeting Monday night?
To spin the situation in a positive light last night, CeaseFire paraded out over 30 kids from the north of Howard area neighborhood to "say no" to the beating death of Wayne Jones. Holding propaganda "Stop Killing People" signs for the cameras.
Mr.Wayne Jones lived at the Morse Senior Home at 1528 West Morse Avenue. Wayne Jones was beaten at his door step. He was at his home. That's where the trouble began. At home. A building owned by the Aldermatic pal Jay Johnson and the Rogers Park Comunity Development Council. A building with a history of poor security.
CeaseFire needed public relations help so they recruited Alderman Moore to speak on their behalf.
Along with Alderman Moore, two of the older Howard Area Community Center youths spoke from a piece of paper they had in their hands, offering the now famous "I'm sorry" line to the family of Mr. Jones.
They were sorry for the death of Wayne Jones, a white, 50 year old man but didn't say why they were sorry. In all my years in Rogers Park, this is the first time I ever witnessed a large number of black and latino kids gather around Morse Avenue on a rainy cold night to have a prayer for a dead white guy who was beaten up on the street for no reason.
Mr. Fitzgerald couldn't return my calls but Mr. Fitzgerald was able to come down to Morse Avenue from Howard street with his troop of kids from the Howard Area and say "I'm sorry" for the beating death of Wayne Jones.
Why is Mr. Fitzgerald at Howard Area Community Center sorry for Mr. Wayne Jones beating death?
When I asked Mrs. Jones if she was going to attend the CeaseFire circle prayer vigil, she told me, "No, why should I? They didn't know my husband!"
Why was CeaseFire asked to be "Chaperones" (as Alderman Moore called it) for the Howard Area Community Center Youth Zone Party on Friday night, February 10, 2006? Were they expecting trouble to show up and cause a death?
And the most burning question of all. Why come out and publicly apologize to the victims family if you did nothing wrong and she wasn't even in attendance?
12 comments:
In regards to the comment made that the potential aldermanic candidates to challenge Moore in 2007 did not have the answers, the proper response is that they don't need to have the answers. All they have to do is use the Col. Klink approach (from the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes).
For those who are too young to have seen the episode in question, an unexploded bomb has landed in the POW camp, and Col. Klink has asked Col. Hogan (the senior POW officer there) to disarm it, lest they all get blown up. Hogan starts diarming the bomb, but when he gets to the final two wires (one black and the other red), he says he is not sure which to cut to disarm the bomb (cutting the other wire would detonate it). He asks Klink for his opinion, and when Klink picks one to cut. Hogan quickly cuts the other wire, which disarms the bomb.
When asked how he knew which wire to cut, Hogan replied, "I didn't. But I knew (pointing to Klink) he would pick the wrong one."
Thus all these would-be challengers need do is to use the Klink approach and let Lying Joe Moore make his choice... and then support the opposite course of action.
Randall Sherman said....>"Thus all these would-be challengers need do is to use the Klink approach and let Lying Joe Moore make his choice... and then support the opposite course of action."
You see in the above photo where "The Other guy" chooses to stand.
On the Aldermans side of the circle. Enough said.
Shame on O.N.E and shame on Ceasefire.
The Organization of the NorthEast and it's leader is Sarah Jane Knoy, Executive Director / Lead Organizer.
A Uptown not-for-profit now sticking their nose in Rogers Park safety issues.
When I had a business next to O.N.E.'s offices on Wilson Avenue, I never saw Sarah at the CAPS 2311 beat meetings.
All of a sudden, Sarah is a crime and safety expert.
Having lived in CAPS Beat 2311 for five years and attending every beat meeting, I can attest to the abscence of Sarah Jane Knoy, or anyone else from ONE, for that matter.
The only time I saw her take part in any event related to crime and safety was a march held after the murder of a former gangbanger.
Come to think of it, it was the only time I saw CeaseFire in Uptown.
Thanks for your new found concern about crime and safety.
After 12 hours we got alot of chatter, but no answers.
This must be a too tough a question?
Why say "I'm sorry", if you did nothing wrong?
Was it because someone(s) north of Howard beat the hell out of Wayne Jones from Morse Avenue and he died?
spraguelt, e-mail me at: craiggernhardt@comcast.net
Excuse me Craig. I'm sorry you're such a jerk. My apologies go out to your family and friends.
There. Does that make you feel better?
As usual you're making a bunch of assumptions about people with no basis in fact.
Thanks for that post colonel and also thanks Tom for fixing the links...
I was especially interested in the "Sorry Day" of reconciliation created by the Australians...
Also helped me catch up on the flap about the "prophet cartoons" - I've been working so hard lately I haven't had time to keep up on news outside the lakeside bubble. BTW, do you guys all know that Denmark is the number one foreign aid contributer among the world's most developed economies, indexed to GNI? (The U.S. is last...)
The sidewalks of Rogers Park are very dangerous places to be if you are old.
Mugging victim died near home
Friends mourn Rogers Park man
By Patrick Rucker and Alex P. Kellogg, Chicago Tribune staff reporters, November 12, 2004
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