Twice Told Tales
A few days ago Jose Galvez-Macias, 30 Marengo, and Gerardo Zarate-Leyva Rockford were arrested for selling more than 112 grams of cocaine to undercover agents over the course of several weeks. This is rather shocking and points to a problem that our town has with drugs. These problems are numerous and extensive. I am claiming that they have also been allowed to get out of hand.
Last week, on March second, the Marengo Middle School had a drug talk for anyone interested in the problem. Sadly, only 50 or so people showed up. The main part of the talk explained the various drugs that police believe to be around in the community, the most serious part of the problem being that of heroin use. During the course of last year, there were two deaths from drug overdoses in Marengo. It was also mentioned in the drug talk that there are currently no known meth labs in Marengo, though there were two found in Huntley and Crystal Lake.
Now, I think it is nice that the Marengo Police decided to address the subject of drugs in the community. It is also very nice that two drug dealers were arrested. But, has everything been done that could have been to deal with this problem.
Well, let's start with the drug talk. First of all, the turnout was very small. One of the parents there asked if teenagers and kids were invited to this drug talk, as it would be of relevance for them to hear this information about drugs and what they can do to people, as well as about the fact that two people actually died in their own town from using heroin. The officer in charge assured the parent that yes, teens were invited and encouraged to attend. However, there were none there. And when an another parent called the police department earlier in the week to ask if it would be wise to bring teenagers to the talk, she was told that, no, the talk was only for the adults. There was also no mention at all of teenagers in the flier. So, the population of people that the drug situation most effects were not even welcome or encouraged to attend, so they didn't. Someone else also asked when there would be an another talk, as the discussion and video were most helpful. Well, there was one a year ago, a police officer mentioned, but he was unsure if there would ever be an another such talk or when. It goes without saying, that for this approach to be effective, more involvement is necessary. If the Marengo police wanted to effectively deal with this situation and get the support from the community, which this token gesture seems to suggest, then they would attempt to hold a monthly talk and meeting to discuss drugs and offer updates to those concerned.
Now, after thinking about the recent arrests and drug talk, I decided to explore the subject further and do a little research on my own. I wanted to know how many arrests the Marengo police had made of other drug dealers in the last year. Other than the couple with a baby who sold drugs to undercover police officers, there were none. Really. Here is the list of people in Marengo arrested for drug related offenses. I have left the few marijuana possession arrests out and have listed only the ones involving more serious drugs. There are no drug dealers who were arrested at all on the list. All the arrests are for possession. That means, very simply, that people who have a problem with drug usage, are addicted, and need help are the ones being arrested. But that no one has found the drug dealers who are selling to them. I have to wonder why? I currently know people who have contacted the police over and over again and pointed out known drug dealers only to have the police do nothing. I also know that Officer DiGiovanni has repeatedly gone into a known drug dealers house, stayed there for a long while, and came back out. He has done this more than once. But as you see, there are no arrests. This person is not even so much as on the list. Again, the only answer that comes to mind is that there are payoffs for the police. They take a cut of what the drug dealers make in order to let them stay in business. It seems like the only explanation. Meanwhile, the problems with drugs, specifically heroin, just keep getting worse and worse.
Wendy J. Tyler, 45, 615 Constitution S.W., Poplar Grove, was charged Thursday, April 29, with unlawful acquisition of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a prescription form, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and theft.
Michael P. Barry, 21, 516 Sixth Ave., Marengo, was cited Monday, May 17, with allegedly having alcohol at Lippold Park without a permit, and was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Melanie S. Schroeder, 38, 709 N. State St., Marengo, was arrested Saturday, June 5, on a Chicago warrant for attempted possession of a controlled substance.
Paul R. Peterson, 33, 716 North Hale St., Marengo, was charged Monday, July 19, with obstructing justice, possession of drug paraphernalia and no lights on bicycle after dark. He was arrested on outstanding warrants for driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Thomas G. Tripp, 19, 621 James Court, Marengo, and Jason L. Krause, 19, 5916 Meyer Road, Marengo, were charged Monday, April 18, with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia
Timothy M. Peters, of 23, 3605 Standish Road, Marengo, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, theft, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
David F. Macintyre, 43, 5320 Burma Road, Marengo, was charged Wednesday, Aug. 10, with domestic battery, obstructing a police officer, resisting a police officer, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Shelley Muska, 42, 5808 Meyer Road, Marengo, was charged Wednesday, Aug. 31, with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Donald Rexilius, 475 Park Drive, Apt. A, Marengo, was charged Tuesday, Oct. 11, with unlawful transportation of alcohol, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving under the influence.
While looking through the arrest records of drug users I have come upon something even more interesting. I don't know if anyone remembers when, last year, I put together a list of nine or ten people arrested for charges of resisting police in various ways, and concluded that this lead me to believe that Marengo police were engaging in police misconduct. But, I couldn't help but notice that the numbers of suspicious types of arrests did not go down at all this year. In fact, in total, for over a year and a half of arrests, there were a total of TWENTY SEVEN very suspicious arrests, with maybe ten that I did not list which were for disorderly conduct and "eluding police". But the twenty seven arrests, many of them current, point to a very serious, ongoing problem in the Marengo police department. One that did not seem to have disappeared entirely with Crawford leaving the department. All these arrests are for resisting police officers in various ways. Arrests such as these indicate to any reputable police department that police officers are engaged in misconduct and may be throwing in those charges in order to cover up their own actions. I personally have heard of people getting beat up by police officers and seriously injured and these police reports seem to bear out that these things are still going on. One person on this list, William A. Charles, has claimed, to give an example of what I'm referring to, that Officer Riley and an another officer have seriously hurt him after he pushed his wife down the stairs in his home. There are others whom I cannot list due to confidentiality. But the list itself is intimidating, simply because of the TWENTY SEVEN arrests, the ones of the people who are part of the lawsuit and others I know personally are not included. So, the numbers are even higher than they seem just from looking at the list.
For those who doubt what I am saying, I want to add that I have carefully combed through both Huntley and Crystal Lake police reports and have found nowhere near the numbers of people resisting the police in those suburbs. It would be ridiculous to suggest that people in Marengo are routinely going around resisting police officers in one capacity or another, covering all age ranges, while they don't seem to do so in other suburbs.
I also find it interesting to look at some of the police reports which I did not list because they did not fit this topic. There are report after report of people fleeing from the police as well! I am not sure why this is so. Are people so afraid of being arrested in Marengo that they flee each time? Or is it that the Marengo Police perhaps falsely arrest people by saying that they were fleeing for them. Also, there are so many reports of disorderly conduct, that, again, I could not see gathering them all together. It seems unlikely that so many people in Marengo are acting in such a disorderly way that they require arrest. Maybe since the police in our department are not able to arrest drug dealers who are clearly causing a lot of harm and ruining the safety of our town, they charge people with anything they can think of! This might not be the case, but it is certainly a very suspicious list of police reports that points to officers in our department not being reviewed for the types of arrests they make in order to question them and find out why they are arresting so many people who are attacking them. Even people from other towns, once they get into Marengo, appear to become combative and resist arrest, assault officers, and act disorderly. Maybe its something in the water....but don't get me started on that subject!
Gerald Lee, 44, 312 E. Forest St., Marengo, was charged Thursday, Jan. 5, with domestic battery and interference with the reporting of domestic battery.
Karla San-Miguel, 27, 701 Lura Lane, Marengo, was charged Monday, Dec. 19, with retail theft under $150 and resisting a peace officer.
Raymond S. Liss, 30, 620 E. Grant Highway, Marengo, was charged Thursday, Sept. 1, with disorderly conduct and assault. Andrew O. Odegaard, 41, 1100 Briden Drive, Marengo, was charged Wednesday, Sept. 7, with disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a weapon.
David F. Macintyre, 43, 5320 Burma Road, Marengo, was charged Wednesday, Aug. 10, with domestic battery, obstructing a police officer, resisting a police officer, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
George Dion, 42 3O8 Tioga Trail, Marengo. was charged Friday, Aug. 12 with driving under the influence. Illegal transportation of alcohol, and disobeying an officer.
William A. Charles, 46, of 703 Ridge Drive, Marengo, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery, attempting to disarm a police officer, resisting a police officer, and unlawful use of a weapon.
Craig Pease, 26, 1100 Briden Drive, Apt. 7, Marengo, was charged Saturday, March 12, with driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol content of more than 0.08 percent, resisting arrest, illegal transportation of alcohol, making an improper left turn, and driving without a front license plate.
Cory C. Reynolds, 18, of 9512 S. Route 23, Marengo, was charged with obstructing justice and obstructing a police officer.
Christopher R. Trent, 19, 620 E. Route 20, Apt. 6B, Marengo, was charged Wednesday, Oct. 27, with trespassing, criminal damage to property, and aggravated assault.
Jeremy S. Field, 25, 5151/2 Park Drive, Marengo, was charged Sunday, Oct. 31, with obstructing justice, driving with a suspended license, driving without insurance, and speeding.
Steven C. Lemans, 35, 6207 Route 23, Marengo, was charged Saturday, Sept. 4, with aggravated assault.
Louis Castillo, 19, 1022 North Ave., Belvidere, was charged Wednesday, Aug. 4, with resisting arrest and assault. Sunlee Castillo, 20, 1022 North Ave., Belvidere, was charged Wednesday, Aug. 4, with assault. Castillo also was arrested on a Boone County warrant for driving with a suspended license.
Louis Perez, 17, 122 E. Railroad St., Marengo, was charged Wednesday, Aug. 4, with assault.
Paul R. Peterson, 33, 716 North Hale St., Marengo, was charged Monday, July 19, with obstructing justice, possession of drug paraphernalia and no lights on bicycle after dark. He was arrested on outstanding warrants for driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Matthew J. Beaudoin, 18, 700 James Court, Marengo, was charged Sunday, July 4, with resisting a peace officer.
Jose Alfredo Herera-Soto, 29, 520 Eastwood Court, Woodstock, was charged Wednesday, June 30, with obstructing justice and driving without a valid license.
Alfonso Lopez, 18, 611 W. Grant Highway, Marengo, was charged Monday, May 31, with resisting a police officer. Lopez also was arrested on a McHenry County warrant for failure to appear in court.
Orest Gregory Hedio, 43, 403 Chappel St., Marengo, was charged Monday, May 24, with domestic battery and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence.
Luis Garcia, 29, 120 Mora St., Carpentersville, was charged Saturday, May 22, with driving under the influence, driving without a valid license, and resisting arrest.
Roque Jimenez, 21, 620 E. Grant Highway, Marengo, was charged Saturday, May 22, with obstructing a police officer and disorderly conduct.
Joshua D. Thomas, 17, 510 Sunset Drive, Marengo, was charged Wednesday, May 5, with operating an off-road motorcycle on the street and obstructing a police officer.
Brian K. Sargent, 34, 250 Telegraph St., Marengo, was charged Saturday, May 1, with driving under the influence, fleeing and eluding, resisting a police officer, driving with a revoked license, and permitting an unauthorized person to drive.
Jose Antonio Duran, 24, 611 E. Grant Highway, was charged Sunday, April 11, with possession of a fake ID, obstruction of a police officer, driving under the influence, driving without a valid license, and driving without insurance.
Adolfo Lorenzo, 18, 620 E. Grant Highway, Apt. 5C, Marengo, was charged Saturday, April 17, with driving under the influence, illegal transportation of alcohol, underage drinking, and obstructing a police officer.
Julio Cesar Guttierrez, 25, 2083 Stone Lake Road, Apt. 114, Woodstock, was charged Fri-day, April 2, with driving without a valid license, driving without insurance, driving a vehicle with a defective exhaust, and obstructing a police officer.
Perverted Justice
Here is an interesting website, run by people who don?t just talk about problems we share as a society, but actually try to solve them:
http://www.perverted-justice.com
The reason it is so interesting is because the people using this website and its forum try to catch pedophiles and child molesters. How? They sign on the forum, where the admins of the site then pick out a certain set of people who they think they want to help out in this project. The volunteers who were picked out then go on to chat rooms and sites for children and teenagers, and pretend to be an underage boy or girl. They do not contact anyone first, but wait for someone to solicit them. Often they get responses almost immediately, according to the introduction from the site admins. After they are contacted by a potential child molester, they chat with him and try to get him to solicit them, try to meet them, or anything else which can get the molester to commit himself to an illegal act with someone he thinks is 12 or 13 years old. After this, the people on this site follow up with phone calls and work closely with the police to apprehend the offenders. The offenders are then also listed on the site, which has hundreds of listings from across the country. There are also follow up actions that people can take by researching the offenders that are listed and contacting their family members, employers, and/or neighbors to let them know who they are dealing with and further insuring that the offender no longer goes on with his actions of soliciting minors online or elsewhere. In fact, this site is so big and popular, with literally hundreds of members, many who are on the forum all at once, that they are a deterrent for pedophiles using chat rooms to try to find young boys and girls. Those people just can never be sure who they are talking to!
Bad Decsions?
During the last year, I have watched the news and noticed that there was mine disaster after mine disaster. Most have involved some sort of explosion, where afterward people are trapped underneath in a mine without sufficient oxygen and with carbon monoxide rapidly building to dangerous levels while rescuers attempt to desperately conduct rescue efforts. The first such disaster ended well, with every miner getting out alive. The last couple were disastrous. Almost everyone died, and the person who did survive retained extensive brain damage. I am sure, everyone, like me, has wondered why this has been allowed to happen and what could have been done to prevent it.
Here is some interesting information on why mine disasters have become more common the last couple of years in the united states:
Bush had an interest in fostering a relationship with mining companies. Therefore he decreased fines for major violations. Of course. Companies are much more important that individual workers, their safety and their lives, their families.
The cases that involved safety violations were not handed over to the Treasury Department, so that they could be collected and evaluated, and this was allowed to happen without any fines or consequences.
A relationship was formed between the mining industry and the people who regulate it, also facilitated by the Bush administration. When the people who should be watching out for safety in the mining industry are working with the industry itself, it goes without saying that they will not be too careful in watching for errors that the mining industry makes and, again, will not correct those which have led to the latest disasters.
Gangs in Town?
Our town is a safe place. Or so it seems. Gangs, drugs, and murders are supposedly something that occurs in ghettos in a big city. However, a lot has changed and some of these problems have found their way home to Marengo.
Consider the problem of gangs. I have been asked the question over and over again: are there actual gangs in Marengo? I have always assumed there were not, as there are no drive- by shootings in Marengo or people in gang clothes hanging on street corners. However, recently, I have decided to reconsider the question. It has been reported to me that many of the kids in the high school and junior high dress in gang colors in order to try to impersonate a gang which is called the 13's. This is a very violent gang that is becoming better known. They use girls to recruit male members, who are then also expected to sleep with every member of the gang.
Now are the 13's, as people claim, really in our town? Or are kids trying to impersonate the 13's and pretend that they are part of a gang? I don't know for sure, but I think it is the latter. I have not heard of great violence in town, so I am assuming that kids think that they would like to be a member of this gang, and so dress and act accordingly.
Why is this a problem? Well, once kids start pretending that they are part of a gang and wanting to be in that particular gang several things might happen. One, they might start doing what their idols in the real gang are doing - mainly using drugs, advertising on walls by the use of graffiti, hurting others, having girls sleep with every member of the gang,etc. The other problem is that some members of the real 13's might come and recruit them. Or someone from a rival gang might hurt or kill someone from Marengo, because they are not aware that they are gang wannabee's, and instead mistake them for real 13's. Because of all these problems and issues, I think it is a very serious problem that our town and our school districts need to take more seriously.
What can parents do?
Well, first of all they can ask their children everyday:1. What happened today?2. Who were you with today?3. Whose house did you go to?4. If anyone got into a fight.5. Anything out of the ordinary happen?By communicating with a children everyday for 5 min a parent can see if they met new people and if those people that they met may be involved in a gang.
The other thing a parent can do is to go into their child's room in order to look for symbols or what the child is wearing, whether or not they are trying to wear the same color every day. Another indication is jewelry that is worn on the same side of the body every day or the way a hat is worn, forwards or backwards. Looking through their school books and notebooks for drawings and other type of graffiti drawings are other ways to see if your child is associated with a gang. Of course, my problem with this technique is that you are betraying the child's trust and right to privacy, and that it can only lead to problems later. So, I would not take actions such as looking through a child's personal effects unless it was absolutely necessary. I would also warn the child first that I was going to do this, and not do it secretly, as once that trust is broken, it would be very hard to get it back. The clothes that the 13 usually wear is pittsburg yellow and black. the number 13 or numbers that can be added together to make 13 like 58, 85, 31 for example are other indications, as well as symbols like the tear drop on the face or the three dots on one hand and one dot on another hand. Tattoos and the way children shake hands with others can also be an indication of gang affiliation, real or wannabe.
Police?
You all might be thinking, how do the police handle these gang issues? There are obviously drug problems in Marengo, but is there gang violence. Well, there are no murders, or it would be all over the papers. Gang killings in Chicago and the suburbs are generally not put in the papers to begin with, because it gives the murderers greater publicity and encourages yet more killings. However, we can safely assume that if someone was murdered in Marengo, it would be on the front page of the NW Herald. The Marengo Police would work hard to apprehend either the right or wrong suspect too, that I am also sure of. So, some of the more serious problems have not yet arrived in our town.
What did arrive is the graffiti. And here is what the police in town did to take care of this situation:
Last year, a crown along with some other graffiti was painted on the wall outside the Marengo Library. The library staff saw the graffiti when they got into work and immediately called the police. The police, including Sgt. Riley, did indeed show up. They took a report. As you all know, it was never discovered who did the graffiti, so the report must not have done a great deal of good. Then the library staff was told to immediately wash the graffiti off and to not talk to anyone about the incident or they would lose their jobs. This ensured that no one in town would be made aware of the graffiti or the gang problem and therefore get unduly alarmed by it.
So, this is how the Marengo police deal with the gang problem in general. They try to hide it instead of informing those in the community about its possible existence.
Ignorance is Bliss
Here is some more news from Fieldstone Place and the surrounding subdivisions. The County Board has passed the Henning Petition, which will involve the building of 210 new homes and will add over a hundred students to the Riley school district. They have passed this petition despite the Zoning Board of Appeals recommendations. They did not even so much as discuss the issue before voting on it and did not discuss at all the recommendations by the Zoning Board. To further explain, the Zoning Board of Appeals gives the County Board an insight into the impact a development would have. The County Board does not have to agree with the Zoning Board, but they should, however, rely heavily on the findings and recommendations of the Zoning Board. In this case they did not so much as even discuss it. Here were some of the findings:
The Zoning Board recommended that the Henning Petition be denied.
They sited that the area growing too fast would overwhelm residents.
There would be too many cars.
The schools could not take on that many more students.
There is not enough response from the fire district, which could also not take on all the new residences and if a house burns down because of that the Zoning Board could be sued.
The area is already overwhelmed.
The water system cannot handle new residents.
There is wetland on the site which is high quality.
There are already too many stresses on the electrical power in the area.
There are no studies on what effect this might have on other developments in the area.
What is interesting about this is that the County Board did not even discuss the issue or the recommendations. I can?t help but wonder if there might be some connection between those who sit on the Board and developers.
Censorship
This week an interesting event took place in the Huntley school district. The district decided to shut down the student newspaper, the Voice, because of an editorial that criticized board member Larry Snow. It goes without saying that this is a shocking act. It effects all of us. For one, what is going to happen now to other school and college newspapers in the Illinois area. They have Huntley as a precedent. If the Huntley school district can shut down their student newspaper, other schools and colleges can start doing so as well. Two, students will no longer be able to do any real reporting. They will not be able to learn to do what a real reporter does, which is to uncover wrongs and put them in writing so that everyone see just what is wrong. They will not be able to express their opinions on various matters, but will always worry about what to print for fear of losing their newspaper. This will lead to very low quality student newspapers which have articles that do not make others think, shock them, or test their perceptions of the world. Other students will then not care enough about the student paper to read it, as it would not have anything that is interesting and relevant to them. Last, what does the Huntley school district teach children in terms of values? Kids will go to government class and learn about our constitution and freedom of speech and the press. They will memorize it for a test. And then what happens? The school is teaching them that the constitution is fine in theory, but not in practice. It?s okay to learn about things like freedom of speech and freedom of religion and freedom of the press. But in reality people don?t value these ideals, since the school obviously has no consideration of this for their own students. It teaches the students that what is in the constitution is not important or practical and raises adults who will allow yet more of our freedoms to be taken away from us, since they are raised to obey authority and not think for themselves. What the Huntley school district started is pretty scary. Let us hope more people try to fight it.
