A double subject post from a similar concept.
Part I:
It turns out the Illinois State Police (ISP) are refusing FOIA requests on Steven Kazmierczak, the NIU shooter's FOID card including refusing to answer any questions on it even after the AG's office recommended the information be released.
Now this could be just a case of the ISP following standard procedure as FOID information is normally kept confidential or this could be a CYOA move in that Kaz.. did not need to check the mental health box in that his incarceration was past five years ( the requirement for a FOID) but we all know how well the media is on reporting facts when they want a spin on a story.
Part II:
Now will this lead to the media demanding access to FOID information and attempting to publish lists of holders similar to the attempts to publish CCW lists? I have no doubt. The anti's like Dan Kotowski have repeatedly shown that they'll do anything to push their agenda so what is a little privacy violation to them?
1 comment:
NIU Vice President Eddie Williams said his school learned a valuable lesson from Virginia Tech.
– CBS News
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This quote from Williams may be the most revealing statement yet regarding the mass homicides at Northern Illinois University on February 14. Unfortunately, it now appears the “valuable lesson” involved creating a bunker mentality to avoid any scrutiny.
Less than 24 hours after the incident, Police Chief Donald Grady appeared on national television assuring the public there were “no red flags” to alert NIU officials of an impending shooting. This sentiment was echoed by NIU President John Peters who said, “There’s no indication there was any trouble.”
Putting aside the fact that less than 24 hours after a multiple homicide, it would be impossible to make such statements, the “valuable lesson” of Virginia Tech was already apparent: CYA, which Wikipedia defines as procedures or practices that are purely defensive against legal penalties, criticism, or other possibly punitive measures.
By February 24, 10 days after the shooting, the Rockford Register Star reported that “NIU Police Chief Donald Grady and NIU President John Peters have repeatedly said that no level of preparation – short of manning campus buildings with armed guards and metal detectors – could have prevented Kazmierczak’s attack.”
John Peters was not about to end up like Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, who Time Magazine called on to resign just three days after that campus shooting.
Statements of the denial of responsibility, followed by mutual congratulatory statements about the response to the incidents, issued by the governor, the NIU president and other university officials seem uncomfortably premature.
The most glaring inconsistency relates to the fact that Kazmierczak had not been a student at NIU for at least eight months. He had been attending another Illinois university though, and it appears the red flags were waving over the U. of I. campus during most of the time Kazmierczak was a graduate student there.
University of Illinois officials have “refused to discuss his academic performance or behavior on campus,” going so far as to warn professors and students who knew Kazmierczak against speaking to the media, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Campus officials have no plans to conduct an internal review to determine if any warnings signs were missed,” a U. of I. spokeswoman said, also according to the Tribune.
The Tribune noted that Chief Grady announced the Kazmierczak shooting is “an open-and-shut case.” In downplaying the need for further review (and perhaps engaging in wishful thinking), Grady said: “There is nothing that could be done that would top what we’re doing.”
While this all seems a bit hasty and self-serving, downplaying is certainly consistent with the understated tone of almost all the facts released about Kazmierczak. The day after the NIU shooting, Chief Grady announced Steve Kazmierczak was “revered” by students and teachers alike. Kazmierczak’s year-long stay in a mental hospital following high school was attributed to his being “unruly,” a term more likely used as reason for detention hall, not involuntary commitment to a mental institution. Kazmierczak’s hoarding weapons was described as “erratic behavior.” His use of the same internet gun dealer as Virginia Tech killer Cho was brushed aside as “coincidence.”
Gimme a break, eh?
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