When Mayor John Hamilton allowed Seminary Square Park to become a homeless shantytown two years ago, many people knew this would become a serious problem. The park - the historic original home of Indiana University just four blocks from the county courthouse - is now a no-go zone for families as it has become a gathering place for the homeless that spills over into violent crime. In late 2020, the Herald-Times reported that city staff “picked up 1,796 needles in the park” in addition to 675 that had been properly disposed. How many needles have been collected in 2021 and 2022?

We saw on September 20 just how foolish and dangerous Mayor Hamilton’s so-called “compassion” is to the law-abiding citizens of Bloomington. A homeless man was swinging a large metal pipe at people in Seminary Square Park before fleeing into the storm drain, and much of downtown had to be occupied by law enforcement as they tried to flush out a violent and dangerous individual with flash-bang grenades. Franklin Hall at Indiana University had to be evacuated, and the Seminary Square Kroger had to be closed for the day.

That crisis erupted from Hamilton's shantytown, but was not even the only example of senseless criminality there in the previous seven days. A homeless man was beaten and robbed a few days earlier. Businesses surrounding the Seminary Square Park have expressed fear for their employees and customers, and the United States Post Office was forced to build a high chain link fence with barbed wire on top of it. People who were last in Bloomington fifteen years ago would find it unrecognizable in 2022.

It is clear that Bloomington is increasingly unsafe for women, as one woman was followed and sexually assaulted in a parking garage and another woman was raped and murdered, allegedly by a man with a lengthy criminal history. Thug hugging degenerates on Facebook then immediately blamed the murdered woman for drinking while underage, simply because the accused is Black. John Hamilton pretends to care about women's rights, but that concern evaporates when they are victimized by criminals.

Indiana University needs to play a role here. The IU Police Department has jurisdiction in the city, but the administration needs to flex its political power to demand that the city clean up the mess and start taking law and order seriously. The university's operations were seriously disrupted by the September 20 incident, which took place just after Parents Weekend. If the city refuses to listen, then the university administration needs to take the issue to state government and plead for them to force the city to restore law and order.

Fellow citizens, this is ridiculous. Mayor Hamilton’s refusal to enforce the law and restore order to our streets has put innocent lives in danger too many times, and it is clear he either has absolutely no interest in doing his job. When those in authority refuse to protect the innocent, it leads to chaos and anarchy. Hamilton desperately wants Bloomington to be San Francisco, and that is not something law abiding citizens should tolerate. Hamilton must be removed from office in the 2023 election, and Bloomington desperately needs and deserves a mayor committed to law and order. January 2024 cannot come soon enough!