"
"
Chrysler reneges on promi e
, By RON SEIGEL
S cI., to the Michl en Citizen
IDGHLAND PARK - Chrys­
ler's move out of Highland Park
will not be an easy one. Contro­
versy is mounting over the de­
tails of the settlement offer, the
qualifications of those negotiat­
ing on behalf of tb city taxpay-
and t racial implications of
a major corporation reneging on
pro it ma to win 00
aions out <)
Bla oommunity.
One Highland Park woman
compared Chry ler's bro en
promis surrounding its move
. out of this Detroit enclave to the
, broken promise of 40 acres and a
mule given to Black people after
slavery. The city's acceptance of
this settlement would be a fur-
ther tepintbe "regression of the
African American community,"
she stated during a special City
Council meeting called for Mon­
day, Nov. 22 to discuss a 'pro­
posed settlement of the city with
the automaker.
The Council delayed action on
the plan, aying they would con­
sider it at a special meeting
called for Nov. 24. The delay was
tt of yorLi y
Po
information to share t th
Council before they voted.
Porter refused to give either
the Michigan Citizen or the gen­
eral public this information, say':'
ing it was part of negotiations.
Porter also refused to give the
Michigan Citizen a copy of the
settlement agreement he pre-
ra
to
By JENNIFER VAN DOREN
S cI.1 to the Michl en Citizen
LANSING (Capital Ne Service)
- A five-day waiting period for
handgun purchases would not
have much impact on either the
way Michigan police do busi­
ness, or on crime, many police
officers said. ,
Recently, the U.S. House
passed legislation, dubbed the
Brady bill, that would include a
waiting period and mandatory
background checks by police.
The bill is named after former
President Ronald Reagan's
press secretary, Jim Brady, who
was disabled during the attempt
on Reagan's life in 1981. In­
cluded in the House version of
the bill is a sunset period that
would make the waiting period
expire after five years. The bill
now goes to the Senate. But
since Michigan us the Law En­
forcement Information Network
Will you
do your
Chris ma
hopplnq
h city?
(LEIN) waiting periods would
not be as important to the state. ,
LEIN, established in 1967,
lists wanted and missing per­
sons, various injunctive orders,
stalking restraining orders, sto­
len vehicles and license plates
and criminal history records,
said Jack Pooler, the director of
the system. For example, there
are 600,000 records of wanted
persons currently in LEIN.
THROUGHOUT THE staw
there are 4,000 terminals that
can access LEIN from various
law enforcement agencies, cor­
rectional facilities and courts,
Pooler said. While all 50 states
haw some type of similar sys­
tem, not all are as sophisticated
as Michigan's, Pooler said.
In 1�92, permits for 94,275
handguns were approved in
Michigan, said Liz Welton, who
works in the LEIN records de-
to
ar
ented to city council, for th
same reason even though it
reported to be a final s tlemen
agreement.
The roots of the negotiations
gan in th I te 1980 when
Chry ler was king tax abate­
ments from Auburn Hills to
build it world headqu rters
th
·Yes. I live in Detroit and will do
most of my shopping at
Shopper's World.·
·Yes. I live in Highland Park
and will do half of my shopping
in Highland Park and the other
half in Detroit."
"I will do my Xmas shopping in
Highland Park, even though the
city at this time doesn't have all
the stores.·
TIn NEWSPAPER w t
to press before the Wedn
Nov. 24 m ting.
Porter himself expre d
some dissati faction with the
agreement, aying "Some things
in the cant ct I would not . ,
ho
H id it w n ry for
the city to have t ' money now
to m t expe , even if it w
I than they could get in the
longrun .
The city is facing a 6 to $9
million dollar deficit, said Sootty
Wainwright, administrativ as­
sistant to th mayor.
U E TATE LA ,
Chry I r could no ge tax abate­
men in another city unl it
got P rmission to move from
Highl nd Park, inee it wa
i ta e policy for on city
to mpe gains anot er one.
Chrysler got Highl nd P k to
agr bys yingthat while it was
locating some of its faciliti in
Auburn Hills, it intended stay
in Highland Park.
Then in 1992, Chrysler an­
nounced that it was moving to
See MUl:-E, A7
D troit
to vote on ch
er i ue
D orr - Th Detroit .
Board of Education' Special
Committ on Empo erment,
Di ity and Choi voted I
w k to allo ix 00 to k
charter tatus befo general
rd ing Dec. 14, making
Detroit th only system in t
country to eriously consider al-
10 . ng chools to operate inde­
pendently.
Charters will allo chools to
control their won budget, facili­
ties, nd governing' u in­
cluding chool schedul , hiring
practi ,and service contract­
ing. The chools will function as
a busin
Th charters up for review by
the Detroit Public School Board
are different from charte that
Gov. Engler is proposing for his
school reform plan. Engl r's .
plan 10 anyone in the state
to see a charter to open a
school; whereas, the charters
sought by Detroit schools are re­
stricted and must adhere to pro­
visions in union contracts, state
law, and board policy.
The distinguishing feature of
the Detroit chatter proposal is
financial control. Chartered
schools would be guaranteed
that 92 percent of Detroit's state
�r pupil allocation 4,776 out of
$5,192 ould go directly to the
ch rt r d chool. Currentl ,
th r i no gu ran
schools receive all of their allo­
cated money.
"I THINK THAT the schools
can do a lot better than they
(school board members) can,"
says Mae Jefferson, parent of
students at Howe Elementary
School.
av
act
partment. About 55 percent
were new handgun purchases.
Currently, if someone wi h
to purchase a handgun, they
must be 18-years old, and pply
for a permit at either th city
deny someone at this point, but
the pplicant can appeal
through the circuit court, A true
and fal quiz is given t this
time well, Alli . d.'
"The object of the quiz is not
"Th rte can or nd
will provide very cl r under­
tanding to the rights and re­
po ibiliti of the t coo ,
parent , administrator and
upport taff at the school," ys
committee chairman Lawrence
C. Patrick, Jr.
The committee wa con­
cerned about draft proposals
tha t did not address conflict,
with chool schedule an
teacher's union contracts, equal
opportunity employment proce­
dures under union contracts and
board policy,transferring teach-
See BOARD, A2
RUTH KENNEDY
Blo kclub
president
continue
fight
By CRAIG HILL
Mlchlg.n Citizen
Despite an announcement by
the Wayne County Commission­
ers that the County Narcotic Di­
vision will be extended another
three months from December of
thi year until March, 1994,
Crane-Moffat-Chapin Bloc
Club Pr ident Ruth Kennedy is
going to continue to fi t for a
drug f community.
Last month an emergency
meeting was held with the
Wayne County Sheriffs Depart­
ment ba ed on Edwa d H.
McNamara's decision to cut the
Wayne County arcotic Pro­
gram.
When Kennedy found o�
about th d ision he was dev­
astated u she felt hereest­
side community i one in
hundred that have benefited
from the works that the Wayne
County Narcotic Division.
Kennedy' devastation didn't
last long because she immedi-
S eBLOCK,A2
•
In 1992,
permits for 94,275
handguns were approved
in Michigan
police department or county
sheriff's office where they live.
Sturgis Police Chief Eugene Alli
said he always asks applicants
why they want a handgun.
He said he can use personal
judgment as to whether or not to
to if the person has general
knowl of handgun opera­
tions, but to see if they have gun
common sense," Alii said. But
Oceana County Sheriff Fred,
Korb id the test was "ludi­
crouslyeasy" and that just about
VOL XVI NO � . I'" 'l., .'I'(l 1"1 .i f u'd'n1plt' NOVEMBER 28 -- DECErJlBER4 19�)J
- Yol nd Taylor'
-Ron Id Reed
everyone could pass it. After a
background check through the
LEIN, a permit is issued and the
gun can be bought, but it must
be purchased in Michigan.
WHILE THE CURRENT
permit situa ion is adequate,
Kor id, he wished a handgun
training s ion could be added.
" an officer, I have to qual­
ify twice a year by law," Korb
aid. "Yes, this is my job, but a
gun i much more d aelly in (the
average citizen's) hands than it
is in mine."
In the mid-1980s, Rep.
land Burton, D- troit, intro­
duced legislation that would re­
quire a training course before a
handgun could b issued. Al­
though the legislation failed,
shortly after that, Detroit
passed a local ordinance calling
s
BRADY, AS
-No. There are no main stores
in Detroit or Highland Park such
as Hudsons, Sears dr
Spieqels."
-M xin Edw rd
� Eloi eO vi