In November 1943, Peoria’s City Council adopted a resolution urging the Commissioner of Public Health, the Mayor, and the Chief of Police to cooperate with US Army officials “for the protection of the health of the soldiers visiting Peoria and for the prevention of the spread of social diseases”
Peoria
A digital companion to the biography Becoming Richard Pryor
City Council Targets Social Diseases
Date: 11/30/1943
Citation:
“Council Proceedings, City of Peoria Illinois”. Peoria City Clerk, Nov. 30, 1943.
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1. The Pryor Family's Home Front
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North Washington Street
–1938–The block, in the red-light district, where Pryor was raised
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Married: LeRoy Pryor and Gertrude Thomas
–12/28/1943–Three years after he was born, World War II spurred Richard's parents to marry
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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
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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
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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
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LeRoy Pryor Indicted by Grand Jury
–3/1945–A Peoria grand jury indicted LeRoy Pryor for robbing a black soldier
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Gertrude Pryor v. LeRoy Pryor
–1/1946–The divorce papers of Richard Pryor's parents
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2. A City At War With Itself (1941–1942)
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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
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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
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Attention Citizens!
–3/5/1942–The Jaycees led the attack against the red-light district
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Peoria Vice Hit By Government
–3/18/1942–The Christian Century editorialized against Peoria as “the sinkhole of midwestern vice”
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Carson Orders Resorts Closed
–5/8/1942–Illinois's State Attorney stepped in where Peoria's mayor did not, attacking the red-light district
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3. Wartime Peoria Tips to Reform (1943–1944)
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Peoria Plans
–10/1943–Booming Peoria hoped to keep the growth going after World War II
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Plan Fight on Social Disease
–11/19/1943–All of Illinois law enforcement was marshalled to stamp out vice in Peoria
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Two Women Held In Vice Check Up
–11/21/1943–After the military threatened a further crackdown, Peoria police took action
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Police Ordered to Enforce Ban
–11/30/1943–A judge sent a stern message to Peoria's brothel owners and prostitutes
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City Council Targets Social Diseases
–11/30/1943–The city council urged the Mayor to work with the US Army to fight vice
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Council Votes Cleanup Power
–12/1/1943–The health department was empowered to inspect anyone thought to have VD
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Vice Termed As Sabotage
–12/07/1943–Ministers called vice “sabotage” and accused Peoria's citizens of thwarting the war effort
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Open House Held For Peoria’s USO Club
–09/11/1944–Peoria's USO Club offered a respectable alternative to the red-light district
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Mayor Woodruff: More Penicillin Needed
–10/10/1944–A $1000 order of penicillin was urged to combat the city's growing “social problem”
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4. Sin City, Trounced (1945)
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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
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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
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Woodruff Tells AP That Crusaders Caused His Defeat
–2/14/1945–Woodruff's defeat marked the end of an era in Peoria
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Jury Urges Nine Taverns Closed
–2/15/1945–A grand jury widened the crusade against vice to the taverns frequented by prostitutes
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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?
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