October 10, 2009

Dickert says he didn't know about Bloom's past;
NAACP wants review of city's background checks

Mayor John Dickert said he didn't know the man planning to build an 80,000 square foot factory in the city was convicted 21 years ago of shooting into an occupied church in Kenosha.

Jerry Bloom, the owner of Treasures Media, served time in prison from 1988-90 for firing a rifle into Kenosha's Friendship Baptist Church. Prosecutors at the time accused Bloom of being a "skinhead" and alleged the shooting was racially motivated. Friendship Baptist is a primarily African-American church. Twelve people were inside at the time of the shooting, but none were injured.

After talking with Bloom Friday, Dickert said he was satisfied Bloom had put the incident behind him.

"Everything I understand is he did something that was not very smart 20 years ago," Dickert said. "He's turned his life around."

Dickert made special mention of Bloom's efforts to employ inmates and ex-inmates at his company, which has grown at a remarkable pace since 2002. Bloom has turned a small Christian bookstore into one of the largest distributors of Christian books in the U.S. The Racine-based company sells books and gifts around the world through the Internet, and hopes to open 12 retail stores between Milwaukee and Chicago in the coming years.

"He (Bloom) is the epitome of everything we're trying to do," Dickert said. "... He's helping the most downtrodden in our community. Of course I'm going to support him."

But at least once group is asking why the city was caught unaware of Bloom's past. The NAACP is requesting a meeting with government officials involved with vetting developers' backgrounds.

Michael Shields, president of the local NAACP and a member of the Racine City Council, said he was concerned city officials rushed the project through the approval process. The proposed development in the Southside Industrial Park was basically approved before it ever went public, Shields said. It should have gone through the same review other developments are subject to, he said.

Bloom hopes to build his $3 million to $4 million building on the former Jacobsen-Textron site by next October. If the company stays on the site for 10 years it will receive the 5.4 acres of land for free. Normally it would cost $35,000 per acre.

82 comments:

  1. When God chooses to bless a man, others should really not let their jealousy get in the way of that blessing. If it's them vs God, it's a pretty sure bet who's going to win.

    God protects his children with such passion that we have to pray for our enemies -that the repercussions put upon them will be lessened. I find it incredibly unwise for anyone who knows this to even attempt to displace God's blessing upon another person. I mean, you're basically risking too much -- loss of business, financial standing, political standing, etc. It just makes no sense from a Christian perspective.

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  2. God must have been blessing those twelve people in the church also, because none of them got hit in the head by a bullet fired by a skinhead.

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  3. Why is the NAACP so eager to jump in. Are they going to make this a race thing too?

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  4. If he served his time and changed his life for the better is that not what counts?
    I forget this is Racine where if your rich and white you can do anything, and if your not God save you.
    Best of luck to Mr. Bloom, I may not think his jobs are the best to be had but no question that he is trying.

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  5. Anon 4:38
    If we have to pray for enemies of god's children, then I will pray for Mr. Bloom. Considering that the little kids in that black church were god's children, Mr. Bloom would then be the enemy of twelve of god's children. He then needs all the prayer he can get, as well as all the people supporting him. He is also a liar. I am sure that his hateful tatoos really mean that he loves The Beatles and that he thinks Yoko Ono is beautiful.

    Oops, he really might think that Yoko Ono is beautiful, because she is Japanese and Imperial Japan was part of the Axis of Evil along with Hitler's Nazi Germany. So it is very possible.

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  6. Hey Colt, Are you kidding? This guy is rich and white. What are you smokin again.

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  7. I would think the NAACP would be first in line to give people -- especially ex-convicts -- a chance to get on their feet. This was 21 years ago. Mr. Bloom is a grown up now and he has for sure made great strides. I for one am proud of his success and I wish him the best of luck.

    With more people like Mr. Bloom and his hiring practices, people just might be able to hold their own after a prison sentence. I'm tired of nobody giving folks who have served their time a second chance. That's why so many return to the criminal lifestyle, right, NAACP???

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  8. There is a very big connection to self proclaimed christians and hate crimes. Many neo-nazi groups make claims to be christian organizations, but don't seem to believe that all people are god's children. I have studied these groups and can tell you that their version of christianity is not the peace and forgiveness type that most christian churches practice. The Nazis of WWII also used the labor of homeless and poor, only difference being that they were confined to labor camps. There is a possiblity that this man practices a more modern form of nazism and he now fights his enemies on a financial war front. I would like to see if his companies have made any "charitable" contributions to any nazi-facist hate groups including their nazi christian churches. I don't believe his words and "finding god" is only good if you find the right one.

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  9. I think the question is Why didn't Dickert know about his background? Not how well Bloom is doing or what he's doing or that he 'turned' his life around. Why didn't Dickert KNOW?

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  10. You know what urks me is that NAACP is upset because this man at one point showed signs of racism or WHATEVER they want to call it however they (NAACP) thinks it is acceptable to bring up his past and stop him at making a difference .... hummm.. don't you find that slightly racest as well??? YES!!



    One thing people MUST remember it's not the people that 'show' their true racist colors Per say but rather the ones that hold it inside for fear of being called a racist and then exploded later on.... and people wonder why others state "oh, there were no signs" You don't hear seafood gettig offended that I don't enjoy them.... why because someone else does.

    Get over this racist BS and move on because honestly when people state someone else is being racist the only person which looks bad are the ones pointing it out and it makes them look racist! Which then causes that race to form against another race when the WHOLE situation or story isn't even brought out!

    Another thing if people don't want to be frowned upon aka want to be accepted for who they are, etc then people need to spread the word and ask other members of their race to straigthened up. If you don't like the sterotype then start fixing it so people of the opposite race won't get accused of being a racist because someone in your race is fitting a typically sterotype which has obvious been fulfilled.

    The color of my skin doesn't matter and when I use the term people or whatever else doesn't mean anything because of the fact that I refuse to label certain people (as you may) considering every race has it's problem people - so I am not excluding any race nor am I targeting any race.

    This is an issue which really ticks me off because it is so easy to point the blame on others than accept responsibility for yourself and your own race and the examples they have set forward.

    Thus almost every comment posted here being Anonymous including my own for fear of being called something or not.

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  11. Listen people. If you don't like sinners like Mr. Bloom, then you probably shouldn't even bother dealing with us Christians because we're all a bunch of sinners. That's the whole reason I reached out to God. It was because I recognized I was a complete sinner who was hurting others. The churches are filled with sinners - We Christians are people who were once (sometimes recently) identified as racists, whores, thieves, liars, cheaters, etc. It's just that sometimes some of us get a little confused by having been forgiven by Jesus for a while and we start to think we're a little better, a little cleaner than other sinners. We're not. We just happen to have a little more knowledge (sometimes) about Jesus, or a little more prayer time with God.

    If you want to blast another Christian who, like Mr. Bloom, was once a terrible sinner...feel free to target me. I was a whore and a drunk. I lied and stole. I betrayed people. I've done terrible things in my life. And, like Mr. Bloom, I asked God to forgive me and he has. That doesn't mean that all the people that I hurt forgive me, I know. But it does mean that I am a redeemable individual.

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  12. As Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify."

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  13. Dicker should have checked or even cared. Nobody from St. Catherine's knew him, I am not buying it. Dicker's brother went to school with this guy. Maybe if he cared and wasn't busy combing his hair, he would have remembered. But Dicker is too good to do so, as he was to good to do so when he was in high school.

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  14. That company's name ought to be "Books and Crooks."

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  15. If the land title is not transfered for years, who pays the taxes?

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  16. Well, maybe we ought to ban every black man who has beat a white man or a woman (which is common) or robbed a store with white men/women from every having a job again.

    I think the NAACP has more pressing issues. Or there would be many, many, many black males who will never work again.

    This seems to be a very racist orgainization. What is the organization called that stands up for white men/women? I can't remember their name.

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  17. Any chance he could open a bookstore/gas station. We could use one on that corner.

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  18. Keith W. Deschler10/10/2009 10:00 PM

    Ok let's put the race issue aside for a bit and focus for a bit on the bigger issue. How is it the redevelopment authority can use the taxpayers hard earned money to purchase land, then turn around and GIVE it to an ex-con? Yes I can already hear the do gooders,he's payed for his crime.Well if that's the case,He can pay for the land!

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  19. Mr. Deschler:

    One in five people in the United States has been in jail at some point in their life. Many of those people are regular Racine citiens. You might want to keep that in mind as you to move forward with trying to ease your foot into the door of Racine politics. I'd hate to think that you would consider one hardworking resident more valuable than another based on their distant past. That would just be ridiculous.

    I mean that would be like judging a person's ability to contribute to society based on his reciept of workman's comp and problem paying child support. That would be silly, wouldn't it, Mr. Deschler?

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  20. The problem is that our elected officials chose to slam dunk a public deal without checking the background of a businessman. Meanwhile at that same meeting they talked to young black educated professional male like he was an idiot. They chose to scrutinize his project till they could give him the answer that they wanted to give him, which is a NO! Meanwhile the project that they wanted to do just happened to be with a Nazi Skinhead, whom they don't care shot at black church in Kenosha because he has since found god. They pick and choose who gets verbally assaulted and who gets fanfare. This time it was a black man that got assaulted and a Nazi that got fanfare.

    BTW, I am sure there will be burning crosses in the yards of any blacks that choose to fight the city or Mr. Bloom on this project. I am also sure that some of his old buddies will be coming to town to support his project, tatoos and all.

    Remember when a clerk was shot in the face at Speedway on Ohio and 20, it was at the hands of another Skinhead. Ask Mr. Bloom if he knew anything about that murder. Maybe this time the Nazi could aim and the clerk wasn't as lucky as the people in the black church.

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  21. Keith W. Deschler10/10/2009 11:22 PM

    10:23 obviously you missed the point I was making, I find it hard to believe the taxpayers of this town would appreciate the RDA's decision to be so giving of our hard earned money.As far as my finacial backround,I would hope you would get all your facts before you speak!

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  22. Some people in this town are simply pathetic.

    So they guy did something stupid and paid for it. How long does he have to continue paying for it? I know a guy that had a drinking problem which led to a few driving offenses which both his drinking problems and legal matters are well behind him. People still chose to pass judgement on him, especially during his time of worksearch. No wonder people fall back into holes and the system. Judgemental people like some of you that can't let things go after people pay thier debt to society.

    You should all be ashamed.

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  23. Keith W. Deschler10/10/2009 11:39 PM

    ok,am I missing something here?

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  24. True, Dickert doesn't know a LOT of things; like Freedels lack of a degree. Secondly, IF the NAACP actually knew what racism was, they'd realize how racist they were. They support non-whites for ANY reason. Did anyone ask Tousis to submit this one yet?

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  25. Recent city decisions do give the impression of a double standard when it comes to race and ethnicity, and then some.

    Maybe we ought to begin treating everyone the same.

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  26. It just blows me away that the mayor and city officials, backed this guy 100 percent, called all the media news stations, rolled the red carpet out for this guy! All while they all tried as quick as possible to attach themselves to this guy, to take credit..........BOOM! This should be ivestigated heavily!

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  27. Does Mr. Bloom remember having tax warrants, during all different years too? He must have forgotten to pay his taxes because he was too busy being forgiven by god.

    Take a look at this guy's court records. Tax warrants, lawsuits, divorces(twice not once). He is no angel, even after finding the lord. He's also putting stuff in his wifes name, so as to avoid some liabilty I would imagine. He is not as holy as he says he is.

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  28. Jim's People10/11/2009 1:34 AM

    So what if he did something. He is a Christian crusader. I am sure that something told him that it was the right thing to do. Those types of people rob, cheat and steal from white people everyday, and our court system allows them to do it again and again. He is someone that stood up to evil, he fought fire with fire, claimed an eye for an eye. He deserves to walk around proudly. The city wants a person like him in that horrible neighborhood, so he can clean it up and claim it from the earth slugs that have inhabited and chased away good christians. They know exactly what they are doing.

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  29. Anon 10:23

    Would you be kind enough to provide us with some sourcing for your statement that one in five people in the US have been in jail? Thanks.

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  30. So what happened to "Positively Racine"? Dustin and Pete love to stir up controversy. Nothing positive abou that at all.

    Mr. Bloom should take his business and the 2 jobs and move elsewhere, Racine doesn't deserve it.

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  31. "Anonymous said...

    So what happened to "Positively Racine"? Dustin and Pete love to stir up controversy. Nothing positive abou that at all."

    that was JUST an article 2 months back :D

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  32. Mr. Deschler:

    "Get all the facts before you speak."

    Thank you for making my point for me.

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  33. Anon 2:27 -

    I am looking for the data that I read which included both past and present. In the meantime, here is information on the number of people in the United States who are CURRENTLY incarcerated with corrections (either prison or community corrections).

    "One in every 31 American adults, or 7.3 million Americans, are in prison, on parole or probation. Approximately one in every 18 men in the United States is behind bars or being monitored. A significantly greater percentage of the American population is in some form of correctional control even though crime rates have declined by about 25 percent from 1988-2008." NY Times 2009

    Obviously, statistics that include the past would be much higher. (ie: 1 in 4). I will continue to locate my original source for you.

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  34. Anon 4:51, the NAACP always makes a racial issue out of everything. That's their purpose. They are one of the most racist (if not THE most racist) organizations in the country, representing the most racist facet of our society, the black population. Great strides have been made in the white community throughout most of the country in curtailing racism, but the majority of the black community just seems to get worse. I know, I've tried for over 30 years to be non-racist, but the blacks just won't let me. Finally, I gave up. I have decided to treat them the same way they treat me, with hate. The few black friends that I do have, who are big enough to put race aside, are welcome in my home at any time. They are a part of that miniscule portion of the black population that can put the differences aside and dispel the racist attitudes. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the black population can't do that.

    Randolph, I agree, let's start treating everyone the same. Let's start with the city council and treat them all the same by voting out every incumbent and electing all new city council members over the next few elections. Let's concentrate heavily on those that pander to special interest groups like Wisneski, McCarthy and Dickert.

    I don't know Jerry Bloom, never met the man. But I tried to look up his record up on CCAP, but without knowing his birth date or middle initial, I couldn't determine which Jerry Bloom to scrutinize. But Keith is right in everything he's expressed. I am especially upset with the total disregard the city council has for Racine's taxpayers. Does this mean that if I decide to open a business and make it profitable for 5 years that the city will give me the property I put my business on for free?

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  35. If you go back and remember the stories about the many city department heads that didn't last long there is a constant theme. The city didn't do background checks until the new staff were already working for the city or they had problems. The city doesn't check their own staff hires why would they check on anyone else? This is nothing new.


    With that said, in this case the guy turned his life around and is providing real paying jobs in a legit business. What's not to like?

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  36. Yet again, people digging up dirt on people from CCAP.

    This was a positive story to start where a business owner is expanding his biz and adding over 20 jobs. Instead of looking at the positive part of this story an how he admits his wrong doings, trash that follows over from the Journal Times readership starts CCAP'ng everyone.

    I would like to ask the Journal Times and the Racine Post to CLOSE discussions, period! Commentors are making our city a running joke.

    Get a life!

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  37. Sailors Pool Hall10/11/2009 9:55 AM

    The Racine Post could turn off anonymous comments while still allowing registered users with a click of the mouse. They don't need a new site to do that; they can do it right now, with their current setup, and stench the flow of hate.

    But that's not profitable, is it? In order to keep the Positively Racine stories coming, they pander to the worst in the city.

    Happy Two Year Birthday Racine Post! We're so proud of you Dustin for starting an alternative to the Journal Times where bigots and haters can vent their spleens anonymously.

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  38. I highly recommend that everyone watches the movie Inglorious Bastards. Great movie shows just how to handle Nazis.

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  39. That's right. Those aren't crosses on those books, those are swastikas! I can't wait for this distribution center to be built so that I can join the angry mob that burns it down. Remember what Christ said: "Kill thy brother in My Name, and I will bless thee."

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  40. My concern is, if the mayor did not know about this with the owner what else did he not know about with this project? Are the finances sound? Is it a real expansion? How many jobs are going to be created?

    These are a valid concerns on a project that was rammed through very quickly without any oversight. The council should send this project back to Redevelopment Authority for a second more in depth look that should have been done the first time.

    This is our tax dollars it should be spent wisely.

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  41. Not smart?! Excuse me Mr. Mayor, but the man committed a racially motivated crime. I am all for some turning their life around, but let us not belittle the magnitude of what he did.

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  42. Does the NAACP have nothing else to do? Where are the paying members? I would be upset if some group I belong to wasted time on this nonsense. The guy paid his time. We have situations happening right now. Prioritize.

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  43. For me this has less to do with the religious beliefs of Gerald Bloom and more to do with his willingness to be transparent about his current and past activities -- be they personal or business.

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  44. let justice roll down10/11/2009 4:40 PM

    Around the same time that Mr. Bloom committed his crime, a group of black teens had just viewed the movie Mississippi Burning when the saw a white teenager walking alone. They jumped him, beat him and took his shoes. It was a racially motiivated hate crime. If any of those young men paid their price and changed their lives around woul Alderman Shields demand they be vetted twenty years later or would he say everyone deserve a second chance? Watch Shields defend prroblem minority business owners-he is two faced. The only rascist actions are those of Shieldsl

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  45. Let's see our fearless leader (Johnnie Boy) photo op his way out of this one.

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  46. On Wednesday, October 7, Three men stood in front of The Redevelopment Authority, two of them were asked to provide financial information, one was not! Was it because of the color of their skin, that they they hed been asked for this information? If so then Mr. Shields has all the right to ask questions. Because this is not one isolated example but rather the norm!

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  47. PrefersCoffee10/11/2009 7:43 PM

    Hey Keith Fair... I mean Anon 6:54...

    When you are looking for something, you find it everywhere.

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  48. I have to agree with Anon 6:54, over the last several years many people of different colors and nationalities have been ask far different questions than those who are white!

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  49. PrefersCoffee,

    I have been looking for a good coffee shop in Racine and can't find one, does that mean I am not looking hard enough?

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  50. There is probably no place else that would deal with Mr. Bloom and no other Mayor that would have done this for him. So, why give Mr. Bloom anything? - he has no place else to go

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  51. A good friend of mine fell on hard times and succumbed to alcohol addiction. Before he passed away I tried to help him get on his feet again and help him get a job. I took him to Jerry Bloom and Jerry sat down and talked to us. My friend was shaking with the Dt's explaining how he just wants a chance to get back on his feet. Jerry went on to explain how he to abused drugs and alcohol and had turned his life around. He gave my friend a job. It was the first time in over a year he had received a decent paycheck. Unfortunately he lost his battle with addiction, but Jerry took a risk and gave him a chance. He also tried to help my friend overcome his addiction with his own stories of hope. I went to school with Jerry and was a friend of his up until he became a "skinhead". I can tell you this, he wasn't so much a "skinhead" as he was a drug/alcohol abusing kid trying to find a place to fit in. He made a mistake by abandoning old friends for his new ones, but he did get out of that whole scene. 20 years ago many people made mistakes and acted the fool, I know I have. He was a young dumb kid who because of bad choices did something stupid. After what he did for my friend, I can say that Jerry has changed his life around. Like my friend, I know he has also helped other people who have fell on hard times.

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  52. If Mr. Bloom changed his life around like Mayor Dickert said... Mr. Bloom should hire black man and woman to prove it. Specially free of descrimination while working for Mr. Bloom.

    Mayor Dickert lets do anything and everything in your power to bring and grow businesses in Racine and make sure that those uneployed people stop growing crime rate in our city.

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  53. This whole situation could have played out alot differently if Mr. Bloom was as on commentor stated "transparent". Had he told the truth about his past and focused on the changes that have happened since he was "saved" I think less people would have attacked him. As J.J said, we all have done foolish things in our past that we are not proud of, by using these examples maybe we can help another young person to not make the same mistakes. I for one as a tax payer do not agree with giving any business a free ride! He should have to pay for the land, nobody gave me the land to build my house!

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  54. Another bang up idea from the brain trust that is Michael Shields. Background checks on developers? Why don't we just send them all to other areas?

    Shields is a grandstanding goof. How about we do background checks on elected officials?

    Why does he want the city looking into the backgrounds of business owners, unless they own a bar?

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  55. Tim the Shrubber10/12/2009 9:22 AM

    Is Treasures Media an incorporated business?

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  56. Should reformed alcoholics/addicts be allowed to run bars? Even if they're former aldermen? Even if they're black? Is that Fair?

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  57. Orbs,
    What the f$#k is that about?

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  58. 9:47, I think what Mr. OrbsCorbs is saying: Do people really ever change? Adolf Eichman and Hendrich Reinhardt were model citizens in Brazil before the Isrealies got them! So can we say that without a doubt in our minds that this gentlemen does not harbor any negative feelings towards blacks? It was a black church he fired upon, and the reason that 2 years of his life were lost!

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  59. You guys have GOT to turn off anonymous posting. This place is hip deep in sewage, and for all anyone knows it's the same two or three morons.

    And before you say my username is the same as "anonymous," that's another lie that you cowards hide behind. You can track me all over the local sites and on our own. Click on my username and you can contact me. In fact, I encourage you to do so that we may meet and I can tell you to your face what you are.

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  60. Oh, and on topic, why doesn't the NAACP run some background checks on its own membership? That would produce all sorts of fun.

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  61. Only a person who has faced a horrible death sentence from drugs, alcohol, and self inflicted wounds of the heart and soul can see how the cleansing of Isaiah 1:18 works. Read the verse and then those of you who have no sin in your life can throw your stones at Mr. Bloom. A new life does not repeat past actions but does receive another chance at living in "The Light of Christ." Racism is essentially 2 sided today. Drop the past, work together to form the National Association For The Advancement of All People or grab onto a very heavy anchor. Unless we work together; a hateful and got-you-back flood will drown us all.

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  62. This is all nonsense. Why are we even discussing this at all? It is a non issue. Just giggle at Shields as he tries to make it an issue. NAACP, giggle at them too. What folly.

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  63. Anon 9:23, how foolish. People have a right to question the motives of an ex-con with a violent (even deadly) past. Firing a rifle into an occupied church is certainly no little thing. I do agree that it is possible that this individual has changed his spots, but it is also reasonable for the general public to require proof of that by tracking his history since his incarceration ended. CCAP is one of the few tools we have in which to do that. To expect us to blindly accept the word of someone with a murderous past is just plain stupid. Yes, I know he didn't murder anyone, but that was his intent when he fired on the church.

    Anon 12:44, why do you have to bring race into it? This isn't a racial issue, there's no need to play a color card. Anyone who owns any business should have the privilege of hiring anyone they want and not hiring anyone they don't want. Black businesses across this country are not required to hire any whites, Hispanics, Orientals, Indians or any other ethnic group. Why should whites? It seems like fairness and equality in this country has only come to mean that it's fair and equitable if it applies to minorities, but not to whites. Get off you prejudiced high-horse and deal with this subject as it should be, based on this man's character.

    I think the common sense way to handle this, based on the Mr. Bloom's violent past, is to give him the benefit of the doubt, but keep a sharp eye on him to be certain he is conducting himself and his business properly. And yes, I think every person who wants to open a business or run for public office in this town should be scrutinized with a background check. There is nothing wrong with verifying that a person who is going to be interacting with, or represent the public, is who they say they are and of reasonable character. But I know you liberals wouldn't like that, because if we did that Dickert would probably not be qualified to be mayor based on his documented unethical background, and Obama probably wouldn't be president based on his actions to block any background check on him, his unwillingness to produce financial and citizenship proofs and the two conflicting and obviously forged certificates of birth he produced.

    Cut Jerry the slack to operate, scrutinize what he does and chastise Dickert, and the city council, for not bothering to care about who they're dealing with.

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  64. 12:38 said, "This is nonsense, why are we even discussing this at all?" Obviously you have never been on the receiving end of racial hatred before. Myself and many other African Americans have and I can tell you it is one of the worst things that you can imagine. All we ask is to be treated the same way that you would treat your white neighbors. I know someone will say that if I and other Black men would tell the few that are causing the problems we face to clean up their acts things would not be the wat they are. But I say to you maybe you should do the same tell the hateful people of your race to stop their nonsense and become freinds with us and not our foes. We live in your neighborhoods, and we are not leaving so deal with it.

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  65. Leave it to those who do nothing to comment. Bloom made mistakes - he admitted them.

    "For those without sin cast the first stone"

    I am saddened for my city, this petty bickering has made this city into the ghetto we see today.

    If this person was african-american Shields would be stating Dickert was racist for not giving him a chance. I am sure that when it comes to race saying no to a minority is a racist act in itself.

    I wonder why all this attention is focused on Dickert? He is not a member of the Redevelopment Commission.

    If this continues, Racine will be wishing it was as good as Waukegan soon.

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  66. With all the quotes from the Bible on this blog, one would think that Racine would be the next best thing to Heaven!

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  67. The reason for all the attention on Dickert, is because he wanted ir to happen. They jammed this through so quickly, the members of Redevelopment had no idea what this project was about. The mayor had 2 tv cameras there, so there is no way this happened without the mayor driving the bus.

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  68. I'm sick of the lowbrow racists at the NAACP whining about everything. When a black man with a rap sheet 10 pages long is denied a job, they whine.

    Now a white guy with a FRACTION of that rap sheet is being picked on by who? The NAACP.

    They are a group of racist, inferior unintelligent buffoons.

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  69. Mr. Bloom could not have gotten his project approved in any other city (no matter how hard he prayed), with his racist background and felony. Why would Racine give him anything, when it didn't have to? Either the folks in city hall are very incompetent or they just don't care about what they spend tax-payer's $$ on. Th e Mayor seems more like Barny Fife - a perpetual bubbling idiot trying to do, well, somthing.

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  70. Dickert backs a convicted skinhead from a racist organization, Dickert speaks on behalf of the City Of Racine. Those are the facts folks!

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  71. The question I have is, does Dickert have any tatoos?

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  72. Hey the City Council approved a place in Uptown and this guy is a criminal

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  73. Bloom should be given a chance. Others have and leaders like JJ McAuliffe tell of help that Mr. Bloom gave others.
    What a non issue to get bent about.

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  74. Very true Colt, let's give him a chance. Anyone out there perfect? I am not a bible thumper but none of us are able to throw stones at this guy!

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  75. Colt, why don't you go pay your child support before you spend all your time defending a hate breathing nazi. The only reason you are preaching forgiveness for your skinhead friend is because you would like to be the recipient of forgiveness yourself, for being a thief and a dead beat father. You are no example of a good citizen and should worry about yourself before you seek forgiveness for Mr. Bloom.

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  76. OH No! Colt has been called out! What will he do?

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  77. 5:45 - legally I'm perfect, so don't say there are not any of us out there.

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  78. Anon 1pm. I have led a very hard life. I am sick to death of the Nonsense. Sure you want to feel safe.

    But I am tired of your constant loud unjustified hatred and fear. This does not resemble cooperation. You are using threats, harassment, intimidation, and embarassment. Do you think anyone will take you serious when you come out guns blazing?

    Plus it is an excellent point that we are also racist when we don't except that someone of color has changed. You cannot have it both ways. I am not going along with the double standards. You don't get separate standards and equal treatment.

    I think I know what Orbs was saying. Doesn't someone named "Fair" have a bar, was an addict, was an alderman?

    Orbs, is that even your real name? Quit whining about the anonymous posting. We will just get a lot of made up names. So that is no different. People already do it. Just look how many different cutsie names gripe about the farmers market. (all same person IMHO)

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  79. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  80. Anon 8:27, I have read your spiteful, asinine, malicious remarks to Colt on many, many topics in this blog site. Why don't you step out from behind your veil of anonymity and face Colt down with who you really are. Quit being such a coward and own up to your seemingly endless accusations. Prove what you're saying or your word mean nothing to the rest of us.

    Color, the last argument of a person who has no logical counterpoint, "You're picking on me just because I'm black." That's a crock of bulls**t. There are so many things that have nothing to do with color, but the instant someone of color starts losing an argument, that's the card they play. No one on the planet is more racist than the NAACP. That's what they're founded on. That's what they do. And it has nothing to do with Jerry Bloom or this business.

    Should we do background checks on those who want to run for political office? You bet! Should we do background checks on those that want to open businesses in our community? Absolutely! Should allowing them to enter office or open a business be based on prior criminal activity or moral conduct? Definitely. Gary Becker is a perfect example of someone who should not be allowed either in this community, but it has NOTHING to do with color. A person's criminal or moral activity has nothing to do with color, unless otherwise charged specifically with a hate crime against a specific group. But also, a span of many years in someone's life can make a big difference in their current attitudes. If someone has kept his nose clean for 20 years, maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt, color not withstanding.

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  81. Orbs - what are you saying?? Sounds like the Post dismissed you!!

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  82. I'm not sure why everone is so excited about. No one seems to care about the fact that many of the Racine Raiders have criminal records. Go Raiders!

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