PEORIA, Ill. — Chama St. Louis, Peoria mayoral candidate, assisted with bailing out four individuals jailed for looting over the weekend.
St. Louis said a group of organizations created the Peoria Community Bond Fund.
“And so that’s what we do, we bond people out of jail pre-trial. So, they may or may not be guilty, but we know people have better outcomes if they are able to defend themselves outside of a jail cell,” St. Louis said.
Nine total people were arrested for looting over the weekend, according to St. Louis. Two of them had holds on them.
“One was bailed out by not released, the one we could not bail out at all,” St. Louis said.
“Then the other three bailed themselves out I believe, and then we were able to get the four.”
St. Louis said leaving the individuals in jail does not address the root cause of their actions.
“Which is in my opinion, hopelessness. Which has been created by systemic oppression of black and brown, and poor people,” St. Louis said.
She said imagine seeing it as if looting is the only way to address economic deprivation and vandalism is an expression of anger.
“So, leaving them in jail to await a trial doesn’t alleviate the oppression, it actually increases the oppression,” St. Louis said.
“Because we know that due to institutionalized racism the outcomes are not likely to be good.”
The Peoria Community Bond Program was started around a year and a half ago. St. Louis said on Mother’s Day they helped bail out mothers, and the same with fathers on Father’s Day.
St. Louis is planning to run against current Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis in 2021.
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