In late-1943, military and civil authorities — including the long-resistant Mayor Ed Woodruff — convened to plan a campaign against VD in Peoria.
Peoria
A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
Plan Fight on Social Disease
Date: 11/19/1943
Citation:
"Plan Fight on Social Disease." Peoria Journal-Transcript, Nov. 19, 1943, p. 21.
-
1. The Pryor Family's Home Front
-
North Washington Street
–1938–The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised
-
Married: LeRoy Pryor and Gertrude Thomas
–12/28/1943–Three years after he was born, World War II spurred Richard's parents to marry
-
LeRoy Pryor Receives Section 8 Discharge
–7/25/44–LeRoy Pryor was discharged without honor from the US Army at the height of mobilization for WWII
-
The Pryor Family at the Famous Door
–c. 1945–The Pryor family diversified its operations, becoming proud owners of a tavern in the mid-40s
-
Ellis Sergeant Slugged, Robbed
–2/13/1945–A black sergeant, flush with cash, was robbed on N. Washington Street — and Richard's father seems to have been the culprit
-
LeRoy Pryor Indicted by Grand Jury
–3/1945–A Peoria grand jury indicted LeRoy Pryor for robbing a black soldier
-
Gertrude Pryor v. LeRoy Pryor
–1/1946–The divorce papers of Richard Pryor's parents
-
-
2. A City At War With Itself (1941–1942)
-
Council-Mayor Fight Widens
–12/17/1941–In late-1941 Mayor Woodruff and Peoria's city council feuded over the protection of vice in the city
-
U.S. Plans To Close City to Men On Leave
–01/28/1942–A spike in VD in Peoria led the US public health board to take action
-
Attention Citizens!
–3/5/1942–The Jaycees led the attack against the red-light district
-
Peoria Vice Hit By Government
–3/18/1942–The Christian Century editorialized against Peoria as “the sinkhole of midwestern vice”
-
Carson Orders Resorts Closed
–5/8/1942–Illinois's State Attorney stepped in where Peoria's mayor did not, attacking the red-light district
-
-
3. Wartime Peoria Tips to Reform (1943–1944)
-
Peoria Plans
–10/1943–Booming Peoria hoped to keep the growth going after World War II
-
Plan Fight on Social Disease
–11/19/1943–All of Illinois law enforcement was marshalled to stamp out vice in Peoria
-
Two Women Held In Vice Check Up
–11/21/1943–After the military threatened a further crackdown, Peoria police took action
-
Police Ordered to Enforce Ban
–11/30/1943–A judge sent a stern message to Peoria's brothel owners and prostitutes
-
City Council Targets Social Diseases
–11/30/1943–The city council urged the Mayor to work with the US Army to fight vice
-
Council Votes Cleanup Power
–12/1/1943–The health department was empowered to inspect anyone thought to have VD
-
Vice Termed As Sabotage
–12/07/1943–Ministers called vice “sabotage” and accused Peoria's citizens of thwarting the war effort
-
Open House Held For Peoria’s USO Club
–09/11/1944–Peoria's USO Club offered a respectable alternative to the red-light district
-
Mayor Woodruff: More Penicillin Needed
–10/10/1944–A $1000 order of penicillin was urged to combat the city's growing “social problem”
-
-
4. Sin City, Trounced (1945)
-
Bluff Outvotes Valley Wards
–2/14/1945–A harbinger of major reforms to come, the wealthy bluff outvoted the valley for the first time in 1945
-
Triebel and Madden Win Mayor Races
–2/14/1945–In a stunning defeat for Sin City, Mayor Ed Woodruff was clobbered in the 1945 mayoral primary
-
Woodruff Tells AP That Crusaders Caused His Defeat
–2/14/1945–Woodruff's defeat marked the end of an era in Peoria
-
Jury Urges Nine Taverns Closed
–2/15/1945–A grand jury widened the crusade against vice to the taverns frequented by prostitutes
-
TIME Magazine: By the River
–2/26/1945–Peoria had been “the biggest little wide open town in the Midwest,” but what was next for the city?
-