PEORIA (25News Now) – Anti-violence group Speak Out Illinois LLC is scaling back its work in Peoria County.
Speak Out has been behind several local events, including resource fairs.
According to Speak Out, interactions with Peoria leaders, including Mayor Rita Ali, were negative.
“The main reason we’re shutting down our service is the lack of connection with local leaders. We feel unwelcome and the feedback we’ve received from the mayor herself has been unkind,” said Jacob Partee, CEO and co-founder of Speak Out.
Following these interactions, Speak Out decided to severely limit its services in Peoria County. The group will continue to hold some events in the Peoria area, but beginning January 1, 2025, Speak Out will reduce its work in Peoria County.
Mayor Ali believes the way Speak Out is presenting Peoria does not reflect the actual data. Murders and shootings have decreased in Peoria this year.
In a statement, Mayor Ali said:
“I recommended to the leadership of Speak Out Illinois LLC that they use data in conjunction with their comments about crime in Peoria. They said that crime in Peoria is getting worse when the data shows the opposite. I do not support unfounded comments about increasing crime in Peoria, especially from people who do not even live here. We are showing a positive trend in reducing crime as demonstrated by the recent reports from the police chief. Speak Out Illinois did not want to hear these truths.”
Some, but not all, of the Speak Out leadership say they live in Peoria.
Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins did not comment specifically on Speak Out Illinois, but said violence is decreasing across the county, not just in the city of Peoria.
“It’s a small group of people in Peoria that are responsible for a lot of the violent crime. We’ve had some big arrests in the county and the city in the last few months where they’ve committed crimes in both the county and the city. These individuals have been involved in a lot of gun crimes and are now being arrested and we’re seeing a decline in that number,” Watkins said.
Speak Out will now focus on Tazewell County and the surrounding areas.
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