The St. Louis Observer: June 25, 2021
SLMPD hasn’t reported crime data since 2020; mega-developer seeks abatement for luxury apartments; Ways & Means still hasn’t passed FY22 budget
Editor’s Note
The eleventh-hour fight to attempt to block the proposed FY22 budget, which cut vacant SLMPD positions and defunded the Workhouse, reached a fever pitch this week. “Old guard” aldermen continue to spar over the Corrections budget, even going so far as to block appropriation of federal COVID relief funds, which Mayor Jones has allocated to vaccinations, housing assistance, unemployment, and other direct services for working people in the City.
Infighting in the face of a fast-approaching fiscal year deadline - with direct relief to tens of thousands of St. Louisans on the line - is just the latest example of a Board of Aldermen that is largely detached from the daily struggles of the working class, still struggling to make ends meet in the middle of a pandemic.
This week is the last week of Pride Month, a time when the LGBTQ+ community comes together to celebrate life out in the open in the face of family, educational, religious, and economic institutions that, at every turn, deny the right to queer, trans, nonbinary people to exist. Working-class LGBTQ+ people across this City stood in solidarity with other social movements last summer, and in years past, demanding an end to mass incarceration and investments in meeting the needs of all of our community.
It seems appropriate that, although Pride events have been largely delayed to the end of the summer, the struggle for real public safety continues.
In the News
St. Louis community organizations advocate for practical alternatives to policing, incarceration
The survivor-centered Freedom Community Center has created an alternative to incarceration for cases involving domestic violence, utilizing the principles of restorative justice and trained healing support specialists. Working with a vast network of local mental health professionals, victim advocates, and criminal justice reform groups, the FCC program, led by former Bail Project head Mike Milton, seeks to disrupt the cycle of violence. [St. Louis American/Sophie Hurwitz]
St. Louis-area youth jobs programs have received more than $6 million in federal funds, including a $5 million allocation from the Mayor’s Office through pandemic relief funds and a recent $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The funds will support a number of job training programs for young people in north St. Louis neighborhoods. [St. Louis Public Radio/Corinne Ruff]
Despite the medical legalization and future considerations of recreationalizing marijuana in Missouri, the state lacks legislation that would automatically expunge marijuana-related criminal records. [Missouri Independent/Conner Kerrigan]
Spy plane pilot program in Baltimore found unconstitutional
The spy plane program, implemented in the City of Baltimore, Md., and serving as the pilot program for St. Louis’ spy plane program, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court on June 24. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found that because the “program enables police to deduce from the whole of individuals’ movements, we hold that accessing its data is a search and its warrantless operation violates the Fourth Amendment.” The St. Louis spy plane program has not progressed since public backlash in February. [The Verge/Kim Lyons]
Policy accountability in the St. Louis area
St. Louis police are at least six months behind in publishing crime-related data, missing critical numbers including monthly incident data, neighborhood offense totals, and other metrics used by policymakers, media, community organizations, and others. SLMPD has been in the process of transitioning to a new data reporting system since 2017, and despite a $1.2 million federal grant to support technology and other systems upgrades, the Department remains at least half a year behind in reporting up-to-date crime data. [St. Louis Post Dispatch/Erin Heffernan and Josh Renaud]
Prosecutors finally dropped charges against a Black Central Methodist student and football player who had been wrongfully accused of an assault last August. Christopher Turner maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings, despite ongoing police harassment (including two separate late-night police raids and arrests at gunpoint), months of incarceration in the Howard County Jail, and consequent mental health concerns. His release follows a new witness stepping forward after reading about Turner’s case in the Missouri Independent. [Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
St. Charles County and three Al Jazeera America journalists have settled claims related to a civil rights lawsuit stemming from the 2014 Ferguson Uprising protests. The journalists were tear-gassed by a St. Charles County SWAT team, with one of the officers admitting to firing the UN-banned substance at journalists. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Bill Lukitsch, The Kansas City Star]
A Saint Louis University security guard shot and killed a man who police claim was armed at the time of the shooting. There are no details regarding whether the victim threatened the security guard. This story is developing. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Kim Bell]
Conflict continues in the prosecution of investigator linked to Eric Greitens
A judge will decide next week whether to allow the special prosecutor, appointed in the perjury prosecution of William Tisaby, the private investigator hired by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner during the criminal investigation of former governor Eric Greitens. Tisaby and his lawyers opposed the withdrawal and pointed to Carmody’s firm, Carmody MacDonald, making large donations to a Greitens-linked dark money organization. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Joel Currier]
Developer seeks tax abatement for luxury apartments, Canfield Greens seeks rebrand
Mega-developer Lux Living is waiting for Board of Aldermen approval of a property tax abatement on a luxury 150-unit apartment building, following a lawsuit against the St. Louis Development Corp., its former director, and the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority (LCRA), claiming that the developer lost out on property tax breaks while Lux was engaged in a dispute with a rival developer. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Jacob Barker and Steph Kukuljan]
The apartment complex and location where Michael Brown was murdered, Canfield Green Apartments, has changed its name after new owners announced plans to invest $2 million into the 414-unit complex. Residents of Canfield Greens shared their thoughts and concerns about the name change, protecting the Michael Brown memorial, and the redlining of efforts to make community improvements within the complex. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Jesse Bogan]
The St. Louis County Port Authority will issue a request for proposals to solicit contractor bids for demolition of the vacant Jamestown Mall building in Florissant. Port Authority originally passed a resolution for the development of industrial and large-scale commercial industries, but opposition from St. Louis County Councilwoman Shalonda Webb effectively killed the project and she instead facilitated community involvement to create a new redevelopment plan. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Cristina Fletes-Boutte]
Centene subsidiary hired by Missouri Department of Corrections, accused of bid-rigging, bad behavior in other states
Corizon Health, the notorious supplier of medical services in Missouri state prisons, lost its billion-dollar contract to Centurion Health, a subsidiary of the St. Louis-based Centene. Corizon is challenging the contract award, accusing Centurion and Centene of bid-rigging in another state and exceeding budgets in states where they are contracted. [Missouri Independent/Rudi Keller]
Further reading
Presiding judges in St. Louis City and County have entered their orders outlining their respective courts’ reopening procedures leading to in-person proceedings, following more than a year of virtual hearings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many judges have the discretion to continue virtual proceedings or begin in-person hearings as Missouri becomes a hotspot for the COVID Delta variant. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann]
A Cole County judge ruled against Missouri voters on Wednesday, siding with state Republicans who have argued that the widely popular Medicaid Expansion ballot was unconstitutional after Republicans in the Missouri General Assembly refused to fund the program in the upcoming state budget. [Missouri Independent/Jason Hancock]
Emails obtained from the Krewson administration revealed that last December, the administration had rejected two grant proposals submitted by homeless service organizations, requesting federal funds be allocated to create a 24-hour temporary winter shelter. [St. Louis Public Radio/Shahla Farzan, Tom Scheck]
Quote of the Week
In response to criticism by the Mayor’s Chief of Staff Jared Boyd, who called out President Lewis Reed for HUDZ Committee’s politically-motivated delay that has blocked distribution of federal COVID relief funds, President Reed stated:
“Stop. Stop. Stop. Just stop, with the childish outbursts.”1
Legislative & Legal Updates
City of St. Louis
Board President Lewis Reed and the Ways & Means Committee of the Board of Aldermen continue to stall on Board Bill 1, the City’s budget for FY222. If not passed by Ways & Means and the full Board of Aldermen, the FY22 budget will go into effect as it was passed by the Board of Estimate & Apportionment. Ways & Means met on June 23 and June 24 but made no further progress on the FY 22 budget, or any other bill.
Board Bill 2 - sponsored by President Reed and regarding the distribution, logistics, & allocation of the funds received by the City through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 - was stalled in Housing, Urban Development, and Zoning (HUDZ) Committee on June 22 and June 24. There has been no movement on Board Bill 2 since its first reading in committee on April 20, 2021.
Ald. Joe Vaccaro’s (Ward 23) Board Bill 19, which would establish the “Detention Facility Oversight Board,” remains in the hands of the Public Safety Committee and has not proceeded forward despite two hearings on June 23 and June 24.
Ald. Christine Ingrassia’s (Ward 6) Board Bill 22, co-sponsored by Ald. Annie Rice (Ward 8) and Ald. John Collins-Muhammad (Ward 21), which would halt all evictions pending in the City of St. Louis is also stuck in the Public Safety Committee. The bill has had no further movement since its first reading on May 7, 2021.
Ald. Rice has introduced Board Bill 31 to regulate the City’s use of police mass surveillance technology. This bill remains in the Public Safety Committee without further movement beyond first read.
State of Missouri
Governor Mike Parson ordered a special session next week, calling Missouri legislators back to Jefferson City to renew the state’s Federal Reimbursement Allowances (FRA). Anti-choice legislators have refused to cooperate with reauthorizing the FRA without stripping federal funding from birth control and other contraception. [The Missouri Times/Kaitlyn Schallhorn]
Take Action
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has stalled Board Bill 2, which would allocate the first $80 million of the $500 million in federal COVID relief funds to St. Louisans.
St. Louisans are encouraged to make their voices heard in three following ways:
Call your Alderperson and Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed and demand that they support Board Bill 2 (if they don’t already) -- find your alderperson and their contact information here: http://tinyurl.com/ContactSTLBOA
Sign up to testify at upcoming HUDZ meetings with opportunities for public testimony on June 29 at 9:00 a.m. and/or June 30 at 11:00 a.m.
Draft your statement on the topic before the Board of Aldermen or one of its subcommittees.
The Board or specific subcommittee may have set time limits on how long your statement can be, so it’s usually best to prepare either your statement or bullet points before the meeting or hearing.
At least 24 hours before the hearing, send an email including the following items: (1) your full name; (2) your home address; (3) email address; (4) the specific meeting or hearing at which you would like to make your statements (e.g., HUDZ Committee on June 29 or 30); (5) the specific bill that you’d like to discuss; and (6) whether you support or oppose the specific bill.
The info listed above should be emailed to Board Clerk Terry Kennedy at kennedyt@stlouis-mo.gov.
If you are submitting testimony to a committee, consider copying the Committee Chair on your email to the Board Clerk.
Sample email:
“Good morning,
I would like to sign up to give testimony in favor of BB2 at the HUDZ Committee meeting on June 29/30, 2021.
Name: Your Name
Address: Your Address (15th Ward)
Email: Your Email
Thank you, and please let me know if you need anything else from me.
Sincerely,
Your Name”
Submit written testimony to Board of Aldermen Clerk Terry Kennedy in lieu of appearing:
Draft your statement on a specific board bill before the Board of Aldermen or one of its subcommittees.
Try to be reasonable on the length of any written testimony that you submit; those who provide oral statements are given time limits and the same brevity should be respected with written testimony.
At least 24 hours before the hearing, send an email including the following items: (1) your full name; (2) your home address; (3) email address; (4) the specific meeting or hearing at which you would like to make your statements (e.g., HUDZ Committee on June 29 or 30); (5) the specific bill that you’d like to discuss; (6) whether you support or oppose the specific bill; and most importantly; (7) your comments (again — keep them brief!)
The info listed above should be emailed to Board Clerk Terry Kennedy at kennedyt@stlouis-mo.gov.
If you are submitting testimony to a subcommittee, consider copying the Committee Chair on your email to the Board Clerk.
Also worth considering copying a board bill’s sponsoring alderperson onto your written statements.
Sample email:
“Good morning,
I am submitting my written testimony for BB 2 in lieu of providing testimony at the upcoming HUDZ Committee on June 29 or 30, 2021. I am unable to attend this meeting but would appreciate the opportunity to share my concerns. I support BB 2.
Name: Your Name
Address: Your Address (Your Ward)
Email address: [Your email address]
Comments: [Your comments here]”
President Reed consequently was rebuked by HUDZ Chairman Ald. Jeffrey Boyd (Ward 22) and Ald. Marlene Davis (Ward 19) following his nearly six-minute soliloquy. The Mayor’s Office was invited to the June 24 HUDZ hearing to present its committee substitute bill and the public was invited to present testimony to the Committee.