Local News

St. Louis Alderwoman Gives Impassioned Speech From Supreme Court Steps

Published

2 weeks ago

April 23, 2024

St. Louis Ward 7 Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier took her advocacy for the unhoused community to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday as the court weighed arguments in Johnson v. Grants Pass.

The court must decide whether cities can ban unhoused individuals from sleeping outside even when shelter space is scarce.

“The case is considered the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the United States,” the Associated Press reported. “In California and other Western states, courts have ruled that it’s unconstitutional to fine and arrest people sleeping in homeless encampments if shelter space is lacking.”

Sonnier joined activists and elected officials from across the country to speak on the issue at a rally for “Housing not Handcuffs.”

“Every single one of us deserves a safe space to lay our heads at night,” Sonnier said at the rally. “But my whole life I’ve seen how it can feel like a luxury for someone to be able to afford a stable home. As a local elected, I see on the ground everyday in my community how cruel and ineffective policies put cities in a position [where] we don’t have enough shelter capacity and laws on our books that focus on banishing away, fining and arresting our unhoused neighbors.”

People without housing are people too, she said.

“With dignity, with emotions, with hopes and dreams,” Sonnier added. “And that’s why I know that the best way for local elected officials to address homelessness is to provide them with a place to call home.”

Punishing people for trying to survive outside is not only dehumanizing, but it is ineffective, she said.

“In St. Louis, our Black residents are four times as likely to be unhoused than our white residents,” Sonnier said. “Twenty percent of children who attend St. Louis Public Schools — which is estimated to be an 80 percent Black district — experience housing insecurity. That ain’t right.”

St. Louis, like many other cities, struggles to have adequate shelter space for the unhoused, something Sonnier tried to address with Board Bill 227, which would make it easier to open shelters in the city. The bill ultimately failed last session. Sonnier has vowed to continue working on the bill until it passes.

Sonnier said providing a full spectrum of housing to the unhoused is the only way to solve the problem of homelessness.

“It is cheaper to house people than incarcerate them,” she said.

U.S. Representative Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) stood on the same steps calling on the court to reject efforts to criminalize the unhoused. Bush has previously spoken of herself being homeless and living in her car with her young children for 14 months after an eviction.

Earlier this month, Bush and 18 others filed an amicus brief with the court asking them not to arrest unhoused individuals sleeping outside.

“Instead of enacting real solutions to the unhoused crisis, Grants Pass has taken this case all the way to the Supreme Court and is calling for the Court to overturn a landmark decision from 1962 that says the government cannot punish people based on status. So we’re here today to demand the Supreme Court support humanity, adhere to constitutional precedent, and protect the rights of our unhoused neighbors,” Bush said in a release about the case.

In their separate statements, Sonnier and Bush both mentioned their respective attempts to pass an Unhoused Bill of Rights that would designate rights to the community.

“A person should never be punished for not being able to afford rent or a home. A person should never be punished for sleeping outside or in a car when they have no other place to go. A person should never be punished for simply existing,” Bush said. “We need universal housing, universal housing vouchers, and a permanent federal rental assistance program — these are all tangible steps that would actually solve this crisis.”

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Local News

Wash U Wants to Pay Tattletales to Film Alongside Campus Police

Published

13 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Natural Bridge

Are you an employee of Washington University looking for a paid gig after-hours that would allow you to rub elbows with the school’s boys in blue while also tattling on protestors? Well, the university has the perfect opportunity for you.

In an email allegedly sent to a group of university employees and subsequently leaked to the RFT, Wash U’s marketing & communications department says it has “a pretty urgent need” for one to two people who would be willing to “embed” with the Washington University Police Department to take video of tonight’s protest, which is planned for the edge of campus.

The email implies that one does not have to be an employee, or even affiliated with the university, to take advantage of the gig — the sender says they’re “mentioning it in case you know someone.”

“It does not have to be a professional photographer, just someone who’s comfortable in that environment and can capture video on an iPhone,” the email says.

Last Saturday, 100 protestors — 23 of them students and four faculty members — were arrested on campus, some of the video shot at the scene was embarrassing for the university.

The email says that the administration has reason to believe there will be a large protest coming to campus from Forest Park tonight. Several organizations have stated that they will be protesting at the corner of Lindell and Skinker at Forest Park beginning at 5 p.m. today.

Ahead of the protest, Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge posted to X:

“The actions taken by@WUSTL towards its students and staff are unwarranted and extreme excessive aggression. Forcing students out onto the streets overnight is disgusting. Now, you will have to face us once tonight.”

Mayor Tishaura Jones also issued a statement ahead of the demonstration saying that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department will be present as long as the protest remains within city limits.

“We are hopeful that both the protesters and university administration can emulate the precedent set by Wednesday night’s protest,” Jones says in the statement. “It is our belief that there were two essential factors that helped to ensure the safety of all in the community: 1. The community centered the rejection of violence in their demonstration. 2. St. Louis University’s administration provided clarity to members of the SLU community regarding their expectations for the protest well before the scheduled start time.”

In its email seeking video help, which was apparently sent to at least one university department, Wash U says they need someone by 4 p.m. for a gig that could go as late as midnight, “or could be not at all if things go better than we’re preparing for.” The email also notes, “This is a paid gig (for a university employee we can work out a cash bonus, comp day, whatever).”

The email does not specify why they need someone to record the protest. It does however, say that WUPD is worn out (likely from sprinting after, and tackling, protestors). “We’re all hands-on-deck across the board,” it concludes.

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Judge Finds Daugherty ‘Not Credible,’ Orders Property Clean Up

Published

19 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Natural Bridge

Slumlord Dara Daugherty took the stand earlier this week in St. Louis Circuit Court and testified that she had relinquished one of her most problematic properties, a home on Virginia Avenue in Tower Grove East.

But in an order issued yesterday, Judge Jason Sengheiser indicated he has some doubts about that. He wrote that after careful examination of Daugherty’s testimony, her demeanor and the other evidence presented in court, he finds her testimony of having sold the property “not credible.”

The hearing Tuesday came as part of the city’s wider effort to crack down on what it says was an illegal rooming house scheme run by Daugherty and five of her family members and associates. The city says the scheme spanned 39 properties across nine south city properties.

Among all those holdings, the house on Virginia Avenue was among the most squalid — a nuisance for those living nearby and a danger for those living within. (At least one tenant died during a heatwave.) click to enlarge RYAN KRULL The house on Virginia Avenue owned by Daugherty has become a major nuisance to neighbors.

In April, within the context of the overarching suit, the city asked Sengheiser to issue a preliminary injunction ordering Daugherty to immediately stop operations at the Virginia Avenue house and to abate the nuisances caused by it, including odors from raw sewage and a rat infestation that was spreading to neighboring properties. But Daugherty’s attorney Elkin Kistner argued earlier this week that such an injunction was totally unnecessary. He said Daugherty had sold the property for $75,000 via a quitclaim deed to Patrick Timmerman, a business associate of her younger brother.

However, Sengheiser noted in his order that the business records Daughtery produced as evidence of the sale show Timmerman paying her only $50,000. He also noted Daugherty’s history of transferring at least one other property to a business associate via quitclaim deed, only to have that associate transfer it back in less than a year.

As part of Sengheiser’s order, Daugherty must immediately stop renting out the Virginia Avenue property and to clean up the premises. Neighbors indicate that the rentals have stopped — but say there is still much cleaning up needed.

Sengheiser’s order also bars Daugherty from buying any foreclosed properties, using her tenants as an unpaid force to work on any of her properties, and having people impersonate city employees.

That last mandate stems from allegations that Daugherty had people pretend to be city inspectors to evict tenants and more recently had people dressed up as municipal employees to go into her properties that were boarded up by the city after being condemned.

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Wash U Fences in Its Campus, Begs Students Not to Protest Commencement

Published

21 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Natural Bridge

Ahead of commencement and in the aftermath of a Pro-Palestine protest and 100 arrests, Washington University says it plans to fence in its campus and increase security.

The fence could be seen being erected around parts of campus this morning.

In an email sent to employees and students, the university says it will change how its Danforth campus can be accessed.

“Access to the east end of campus, including Tisch Park, Brookings Hall and all buildings in the vicinity, will be restricted only to members of the Wash U community. A fence is being installed around the perimeter in order to ensure pedestrian safety and keep the area clear while crews are setting up a stage and other structures associated with the post-Commencement celebration,” the university says in its statement.

Anyone wishing to enter the campus will be required to show a university ID at one of its entrances “until further notice,” the university adds.

The morning after the university sent an announcement of these commencement preparations, Chancellor Andrew Martin sent another email, saying, “This has been a tumultuous time for our Wash U community.”

“Unfortunately, we know it’s not over,” Martin added. “Tensions remain very high within and outside of our campus — here in St. Louis and beyond — as we all continue to grapple with serious, high-stakes world issues. There are no easy solutions.”

The email was also signed by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Anna Gonzalez, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Administrative Officer Nichol Luoma, and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland.

Since Wash U responded to a student-led encampment with police force, more than 1,400 students, alumni, faculty and staff have signed an open letter condemning the university administration.

Martin says in his latest email that what happened on campus on April 27 “was not good for anyone.”

“We share in the heartache of all who are struggling with the steps we felt necessary to keep our campus safe for the vast majority of our community, who follow our policies and share in our commitment to our work and our mission. We would have much preferred that those who were arrested Saturday left voluntarily when authorities told them multiple times to disperse,” Martin writes. “Unfortunately, they made a different choice, which is regrettable for us all.”

A 65-year-old Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Professor, Steve Tamari, was arrested while filming the protest. Police tackled and brutalized him so badly he was hospitalized with multiple broken ribs and a broken hand.

Wash U has a long history of supporting free expression, Martin says. But that free expression “does have its limits.”

Following Wash U’s decision to arrest protestors and bystanders at Saturday’s encampment, the ACLU of Missouri issued a statement condemning the university’s actions. The statement says Wash U’s actions “chills, curtails, and restricts expression despite the university’s claims of commitment to that very principle.”

“We do not allow anyone — particularly individuals who are not directly affiliated with Wash U — to violate our policies, create chaos, instill fear in our community, and prevent us from engaging in our regular educational activities and campus life,” Martin writes. “We stand firm in our resolve to take action when individuals inside or outside of our community do any of those things.”

Martin lists what he says policy deems acceptable and unacceptable forms of protest on campus, saying activities that “disrupt our ability to fulfill our institutional mission” are not acceptable, nor are encampments, blocking entrances or walkways or “threatening or harassing speech directed at an individual or group.” He adds, “Members of the St. Louis community are allowed to be on campus. They are not allowed to come here to disrupt our ability to learn or work, or to do harm to our community.”

“Anyone who is asked to leave by the university or law enforcement must leave or risk disciplinary action or, potentially, arrest,” Martin writes. “This is never our first or preferred choice. We do not want to have to take this step — with anyone, but particularly our own students, faculty, and staff. We are deeply saddened that we have ended up in this position in recent weeks.”

Martin writes that the university is continuing to work through the disciplinary process for the students and staff who were suspended or placed on leave after the protest.

With commencement just over a week away, Martin then proceeds to beg students not to protest the event.

“We all are mindful that the Class of 2024 includes graduating seniors who were deprived of their high school commencement because of the COVID pandemic,” he writes. “This was unfair, disappointing, and a genuine loss to students and their families. We’re hopeful that everyone in the Wash U community will do their part to help ensure that these students in particular are able to have at least one graduation that is memorable for the right reasons.”

Students have promised to continue the protests until Wash U divests from Boeing. That includes an emergency protest for Gaza tonight at 5 p.m. at the corner of Lindell and Skinker in Forest Park.

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