NORTH VALLEY RESIDENTS FED UP WITH PROSTITUTION

Drugs, Crime Have Plagued Morton Square Park Area For Decades

PEORIA - Tim Herold and Lila Manion try to make it a point to know
all their neighbors in the North Valley.

They know several prostitutes by name, can point out their pimps and
can provide a list of license plate numbers from vehicles driven by
"johns." They also know which neighbors sell drugs.

"It doesn't take long, when someone moves in, to see the behavior
they'll have," said Manion, who lives on Jefferson Avenue near Morton
Square Park, where prostitution runs rampant.

Peoria police say street prostitution has plagued the North Valley
for more than 20 years. Historically, the city's main red-light
district was located south of Downtown in an area known as the
"Merry-Go-Round."

Police don't know what caused the nine blocks of Morton Square Park
to become a site for prostitution activity. Maybe it was that many of
the women who participated in the trade lived in the area. Or perhaps
the location of it, being near Downtown and easily accessible off
major streets, made it appealing.

Whatever the reason, it's been a long-term problem for the
neighborhood and police, who throughout the years have conducted
dozens of prostitution stings there.

Neighborhood Annoyance

Though the 1600 block of Jefferson, where Manion has lived for more
than 30 years, does not have the same reputation for prostitution
that Madison Avenue and Monroe Street do, the effects of the sex
trade still trickle down.

The prostitutes arrange to meet their "company" in front of her house
for a "date." They loiter there, disrupting the neighborhood with
noise and dirtying it with litter.

"I've followed them, talked to them," said Manion of the prostitutes.
"I've told them, 'I know what you're doing,' and asked them to leave.

"They need to move on and stop whoring in my neighborhood."

Seeing the women walk back and forth in front of his house in the
1500 block of Madison Avenue has become a common sight for Herold.

He's called the police several times. "The police can't arrest anyone
for just standing on the street, but their presence helped make a
difference," he said.

Once, more than a year ago, a friend staying with Herold took matters
into his own hands.

"There's a john, a self-employed contractor, who drives by with his
business name and phone number on the side of his van," Herold said.
"We always saw him cruising the neighborhood looking for company."

The friend saw the van drive by and dialed the phone number to alert
the business of the driver's actions.

"A woman answered and (the friend) said, 'One of your employees just
picked up three known prostitutes in the company van,'" Herold said.

The woman replied, "'That's not an employee, that's my husband,'" Herold said.

After a few choice words, the woman thanked the caller and hung up.

"We didn't see that van for another six months to a year after that,"
Herold said. Recently, he spied the van back in the area.

Taking Action

The threat of getting arrested seems to have little effect on johns
and prostitutes; they just keep returning to the area, Herold and Manion said.

Last month Herold contacted Peoria police for the second time to try
and convince them to start a Web site like one used by police in St.
Paul, Minn., that publicly "shames" men and women involved in
prostitution activity by posting their mug shots online after they
are arrested.

Newly hired Peoria Police Chief Steven Settingsgaard applauded the
idea. He later decided to post only the photos of the johns, so as
not to benefit the prostitutes by alerting potential customers as to
who they are.

On Tuesday, the department unveiled the prostitution link on their
Web site, www.peoriapd.com. On it were the faces of five men arrested
last Friday in a sting using a decoy female officer. Five more had
been added by Friday morning.

The site had logged more than 16,000 hits as of Friday night.

"If you get rid of the johns, you take away half the trade," said
Manion. "If they're afraid to be out there, to get caught and get
their picture online, that's taking action, that's doing something.

"If you wait for prosecution, it may never happen. It's no deterrent."

Ongoing Problems

Watching his neighborhood deteriorate in front of his eyes spurred
Herold to become involved in the Detweiller Marina Neighborhood
Association. That's where he met Manion.

"We have a lot invested in here and property values go down with
increased crime," said Herold, who moved to the North Valley about
seven years ago to refurbish a historic home. "I just want to be able
to live in a safe, clean and quiet neighborhood. I shouldn't have to
move to get that quality of life."

Manion agreed. "If the northwest areas of the city can have quality
of life, then we can have it here."

Manion said she's contemplated moving out of the area several times
because "the number of bad people far outweigh the good."

"Most of the neighbors don't care about anything unless it's directly
affecting them," she said. "It's mentally, physically and emotionally
exhausting to deal with if you're one that cares."

Manion also listens to a police scanner. "It's been quieter in our
area, especially this summer," she admits.

She has no sympathy for the prostitutes. "(The women) put themselves
there," she said. "I lack caring for them because of their destructiveness.

"When you're an adult you have different responsibilities. I don't
believe it's all because of something they've gone through in their
life. It's a choice. I don't think they could work an eight-hour day.
This is an easy job."

Manion does admit the root of prostitution comes from the women being
hooked on drugs.

She and Herold want to see the faces of drug dealers next to the
"johns" arrested on the police department Web site. That way the
public could call police when they see these people breaking the law.

"Ninety-nine percent, if not all (of the prostitutes), have a drug
problem," Herold said. "All their money goes to drugs."

But until more can be done to solve the city's drug problem, the pair
say there are always going to be other problems associated with it,
like prostitution.

"You have to put your foot down and say this is enough," Manion said.
"(The problem) is beyond what I can do. The only ammo we have is the
police and the State's Attorney."