CENTRALIA, Ill. - It's no secret that violence, dope-slinging and a whole host of other criminal endeavors are making their way to downstate Illinois from the Cook/Will/Dupage combine of counties that really need to be their own state, separate from the real Illinois.
Why certain ones among us don't realize that this is what happens when there's a major stop on Amtrak, the problem mode of transportation employed by these crims, is beyond those of us with sense, but they're out there, and they'll be the screeching detractors on this article, just like there have been about articles we've produced about Carbondale's Amtrak debacles (see also here, here [Effingham's Amtrak woes] and here).
And while the latest incident in Centralia has no one opining - in mainstream media, anyway - that it has anything to do with Amtrak, again...those of us who know better grok the sitch.
The latest matter is what was initially termed an "apparent murder" and now is being called just a "shooting incident." As of Sunday afternoon (February 10), a shooting at around 4 a.m. on Haussler Street in Centralia was at first called the "apparent murder." Police responded to the call of shots fired and found a body lying in the alleyway, deceased at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
Initial reports didn't give the name of the victim nor whether there was a suspect. However, upon autopsy, it was determined that the deceased was Qwinton "Turtle" Shackleford, 27, of Centralia. And Turtle is the latest victim in a long line of incidents of violence that has plagued Centralia for a number of years now, but has been increasing in recent years until it's been an almost-weekly event for the last two or three. Articles like this one from last June show that people are aware of it, but it appears the public officials are kind of shrugging their shoulders at the problem. One citizen went so far as to file a civil suit against former city manager Dan Ramey, claiming that Ramey's inaction - by failing to hire enough police officers to deal with Centralia's crime - was putting the public at risk. The man who filed the suit, Vernell Burris, moved the case from Marion County Circuit Court to the federal court system, and is doing battle there with the court officials over it to keep the case alive, all while submitting the various shootings going on in Centralia as motions to the court to keep the case in front of a judge...who wants to dismiss it.
When it comes down to public officials being sued because of the perception that the public isn't being protected, those public officials have a distinct problem. And because the problem isn't being addressed at the core - being aware of what's coming and going on the train - it's never going to be taken care of. This is going to keep happening until someone gets a clue that to curb problems in the city, someone's going to have to find a way to contend with crims getting easy access into and out of town after crimes are committed, by flitting away on public transportation aka Amtrak.
In the meantime, Turtle is dead...whether he was involved in something bad, or was just an innocent bystander, is unknown and because it's Marion County, we may never know it. So be watching for upcoming info. We cut through the smokescreen and tell it like it is; thank you for reading!