PEORIA, Ill. – A vote by the City Council against the “Cure Violence” initiative is a vote against violence prevention, and against Mayor Rita Ali’s efforts in that regard.
That’s according to Peoria NAACP president Marvin Hightower, speaking out Thursday against the City Council vote last week that rejected spending $25,000 on an anti-violence assessment.
“Your ‘no’ vote was about privilege, power, control, and a personal attack against Mayor Ali and ‘S-Net,’” said Hightower.
“S-Net” is Mayor Rita Ali’s Safety Network Coalition.
At least one Peoria City Council member continues to contend he didn’t receive enough information about the “Cure Violence” initiative, and that’s why he voted “no” last week.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to understand what we’re spending (taxpayer money) on,” said At-Large Council Member Zachary Oyler, to 25 News. “I’m not willing to vote to support things when I wasn’t in the room to understand them.”
While the proposal to spend $25,000 in federal COVID relief money on the initiative was brought to the council suddenly, several weeks later, there was an extensive presentation on the matter.
Oyler says the city has a special meeting in two weeks to discuss violence solutions.
