St. Louis Observer: November 5, 2021
Proposed ward map draws public backlash; St. Charles County to get police body cams; embattled prison healthcare conglomerate loses legal challenge
Editor’s Note
“Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.”
Most of us have heard the opening lines of the children’s nursery rhyme, commemorating the November 5, 1605 “Gunpowder Plot” to overthrow the Protestant King James I and to restore Catholic rule in England. The Gunpowder Plot leader Guy Fawkes - whose face now serves as the basis for the “Anonymous mask” - intended to blow up Parliament, but the plot was discovered and Fawkes and his co-conspirators were executed, drawn, and quartered.
The price for treason in 17th century England was not just death, but a painful, excruciating death so as to make an example of you and to discourage any future attempts at insurrection. But centuries years later, history feels as if it is repeating itself - gruesome consequences be damned.
Many of the January 6 insurrectionists have likened themselves to the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot: unhappy with the current state of political affairs, willing to resort to violence and murder to advance their agenda, and even going so far as to wear Guy Fawkes masks to conceal their cowardly identity. But similar to the 1605 plot, the January 6, 2021 insurrection also was thwarted. More than 650 co-conspirators have been captured and criminally charged for their participation.
But the 21st-century treasonous plot included a sinister layer missing in 1605: white supremacy, as best witnessed through Jenna Ryan, the Texas real estate agent who hired a private plane to transport her and several co-conspirators to Washington, D.C., with the specific intention of participating in the insurrection. After her arrest, Ryan proclaimed on her Twitter account - to tens of thousands of followers - that she “definitely [is] not going to jail. Sorry I have blonde hair white skin a great job a great future and I’m not going to jail.”
Truly believing that she would be shielded from punishment because of the color of her skin, Ryan learned that her treasonous behavior transcended race and, yesterday, nearly 416 years to the day of the original Gunpowder Treason, she was sentenced to 60 days in federal prison. While Ryan is not alone in receiving her prison sentence, thousands of insurrectionists remain either uncharged or unidentified in their participation to overthrow the U.S. government on behalf of a disgraced white supremacist.
“Remember, remember the 6th of January” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but we see no reason why the white racist treason, should ever be forgot.
In the News
Police and prosecutorial accountability in Missouri and the St. Louis region
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schitt is accused of “making a mockery” of the new wrongful conviction law passed by the state legislature earlier this year. Specifically, the Attorney General’s office has filed a number of frivolous and baseless motions in the innocence case of Kevin Strickland with the intent of delaying the proceedings and keeping Strickland behind bars. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Luke Nozicka]
St. Charles County Council approved of a $2.5 million spending bill for 277 police body cameras, 135 dash cams for police vehicles, and data storage & technology. All St. Charles County police officers and jail staff will be required to activate the cameras while interacting with others starting in December. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Katie Kull]
After nearly two years of delays, the St. Louis County Council has approved a contract for an outside investigation into the St. Louis County jail. The review follows a string of detainee deaths believed to be linked to staff misconduct. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Nassim Benchabaane]
New proposed City ward map draws frustration, ire from voters
After waiting 9 years to begin the process of drawing new ward boundary lines, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen Legislation Committee released a widely-unpopular, heavily criticized “first draft” of the new 14 wards. The City Charter requires that the final map is in place by December 31; leaders of the Legislation Committee have been silent as to the last-minute wait to begin the process of re-drawing the ward map. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann]
The St. Louis Board of Alderman will release a new draft of the proposed redistricted ward map next Tuesday, following negative public feedback on the new boundaries, which mostly protected the current ward lines of the aldermen who sit on the Legislation Committee. The Committee has been accused of a lack of transparency in the process and failing to provide basic information on the proposed map, such as the street names serving as the boundaries. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Mark Schlinkmann]
Lawsuits filed seek to challenge restrictions on public officials, charter school vouchers
Six St. Louis County elected officials are challenging a state law that currently prohibits politicians from using public money for their advocacy, support, or opposition to the passage or defeat of any ballot measure or the election of any political candidate. Led by the Municipal League - the same entity that sought to protect abusive municipalities in the wake of the Ferguson Uprising - the County politicians have argued that the law interferes with their First Amendment right to free speech. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann]
A lawsuit has been filed to challenge a summary for a ballot initiative that would ban tax credits for charter or private school expenses (also known as “vouchers”). The suit was filed by the author of the initiative petition, who is arguing that language used by the Missouri Secretary of State is “insufficient, unfair and argumentative” and the summary includes terms that are not used in the petition’s language. [Missouri Independent/Tessa Weinberg]
Further reading
Activists are calling for increased access to quality employment opportunities for persons with disabilities as part of any COVID recovery package. Citing the critical nature of active participation in community engagement and intentional workplace design, advocates especially focused on the inclusivity of persons of color with disabilities, who historically encounter more barriers to employment than white people. [St. Louis American/Colleen Starkloff]
Advocacy organization Environmental Working Group has released its updated tap water database, which compiles information from water utility companies and makes that information accessible to residents. Missouri water utilities reported unsafe levels of arsenic, nitrates, chloroform, and other toxic chemicals [Missouri Independent/Allison Kite]
An East St. Louis mother who lost her five children in an August apartment blaze inexplicably has been criminally charged by the St. Clair County prosecuting attorney. The apartment building where the family resided is owned by a retired East St. Louis police officer Rudy McIntosh and the unit is alleged to have inadequate smoke detectors and had electrical wiring issues that may have contributed to the children’s deaths. The prosecuting attorney has refused to speak further on the felony charges against the mother. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Kim Bell]
Corizon Health, the embattled healthcare conglomerate that previously provided medical care to Missouri state prisons and jails, has lost its lawsuit challenging the loss of its contract. Cole County Judge Daniel Green ruled that Corizon failed to prove its case against Centurion Health, a subsidiary of Centene (based in Clayton), another notorious prison healthcare corporation with its own set of baggage. [Missouri Independent/Rudi Keller]
Quote of the Week
“You keep bragging about being transparent. Let me just stop you there. At every meeting, we brag about being transparent. That is our job. It is our sworn duty. It is not a choice. We did not get elected to make a choice on whether or not we want to be transparent. We don’t get to pick and choose. It is our job. So whether 4 people signed up, or 450 people signed up, we have to be transparent. And people are here - citizens are here - and I think that we let them speak.”
Alderwoman Sarah Martin responding to Alderman Jeffrey Boyd during BB 101 public testimony hearings, following Boyd’s complaints that not enough residents signed up to give testimony after very short notice and Boyd’s request to forego the public testimony portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
Legislative & Legal Update
City of St. Louis
BB 132, introduced by Ald. Bret Narayan (Ward 24), would repeal local ordinances related to the possession of cannabis and paraphernalia in the City of St. Louis. The bill further would reorganize law enforcement priorities and amends the standards of “probable cause” & “reasonable suspicion” used by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The bill was referred to the Health and Human Services Committee.
BB 101, introduced by Ald. Vollmer (Ward 10) and President Reed, would allow the Board of Aldermen to redraw ward boundary lines in consideration of 2012’s voter-approved ward reduction and new census numbers. The bill remains in the Legislative Committee with an updated ward boundary map to be released next week.
State of Missouri
The Missouri State Legislature is on recess until January 2022.
Take Action
ICYMI, the Legislation Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen released its first draft of the new proposed ward boundary. After accusations of failing to begin the redistricting process sooner and the lack of public input, the Committee has established a number of ways that residents of St. Louis can submit their comments, input, and thoughts on the proposed ward boundaries.
This week at the Observer, we encourage our readers to:
Email your comments on the ward redistricting process and the proposed map to redistricting@stlouis-mo.gov;
Call the Legislative Committee with your comments, 314-622-4114; and/or
Submit your comments via e-form here: https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/aldermen/redistricting/comments.cfm…