Davenport council trio proposes 3-strikes law for Iowa

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By Thomas Geyer | Saturday, January 26, 2008 1:12 AM CST | () comments

Davenport aldermen Ray Ambrose, Bill Lynn and Shawn Hamerlinck asked state legislators Friday to consider introducing a “three-strikes” law aimed at incarcerating career criminals for “an indeterminate” life sentence.

And the proposal submitted by the three aldermen during a meeting at the Bicentennial Building between Quad-City area state legislators and local government officials has a twist.

The indeterminate life sentence includes a mandatory minimum sentence of 50 years, except that the person may become eligible for parole in one year if they elect to be voluntarily exiled from the state of Iowa, never to return upon penalty of having to serve the rest of the life sentence.

Hamerlinck, 2nd Ward, said he and his fellow aldermen are simply trying to find a way to deal with the level of crime in Davenport’s central city.

He said that according to the most recent data from the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Department, which tracks the state’s violent offenders,

52.2 percent of the Iowa’s violent criminals are rearrested for a new crime within three years of release and that 26.5 percent of those arrests are on a new felony charge.

“We want the Department of Corrections to deal with them and not send them back,” Hamerlinck said. “We need to stop the revolving door.”

Saying it is his job to protect the citizens of Davenport, Ambrose, 4th Ward, added that it has been “hard to get the state Legislature to expand the prison population. I’d prefer to see them all locked up. I don’t want them in the city. I don’t want them in Iowa.”

Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, said he is willing to take the three strikes issue before the Iowa House. But he warned that the state could build all the prisons it wants, at a cost taxpayers would find prohibitive, and still fill them.

Lynn, 5th Ward, who pioneered the start of a Guardian Angels chapter in Davenport, said something has to be done “to get serious about crime, and so far this state isn’t. We keep pretending it’s Mayberry. There are people in my ward afraid to walk the streets at night. They only come out during the day.”

Referring to the exile clause in the aldermen’s proposal, Scott County Supervisor Roxanna Moritz asked, “Is that legal?”

Hamerlinck said the proposal is more a template for the Legislature, something to begin discussions about a law that would keep career criminals behind bars.

Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said he sees several problems with the proposal, including serious constitutional issues.

“You’re giving a career criminal one year in prison and then setting the person free,” he said. “That person needs to be in prison, not free in another state.

“And you could have an individual who is convicted for writing their fourth bad check,” he added. “Now you’ve elevated their punishment above (that of) a first-time sex offender. So, it enhances some crimes over sex abuse.”

Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

Legislative forumThe public will have its chance to talk to legislators from Scott County about issues at the first Legislative Forum of the session at 10:30 a.m. today at the Rogalski Center at St. Ambrose University, Davenport.

Local officials spell out funding requests

During Friday’s meeting with Iowa state legislators, local government officials detailed upcoming funding requests, including some that will be made during meetings Feb. 13-15 with federal officials in Washington, D.C.

Davenport City Administrator Craig Malin he will be seeking money for the RiverVision development the city and Rock Island are working on. He plans to ask for $3.5 million from the

U.S. Department of Transportation for a water taxi between the two cities that would be operated by MetroLINK. Davenport and Rock Island also will jointly request $650,000 to light Lock and Dam 15.

Malin said he will ask for money to continue the renovation of Centennial Park as well, and he also will be seeking funds to renovate the city’s water and sewer infrastructure. One of those enhancements, the Westside Diversion Tunnel, will cost an estimated $45 million.

Denise Bulat, executive director of the Bi-State Regional Commission, said her agency is asking for $13.5 million from the Intercity Passenger Rail Program to complete a Quad-Cities-to-Chicago Amtrak route.

Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn said he will be seeking $10 million for right-of-way acquisition in the corridor for the new Interstate 74 bridge.

Also, Scott County Administrator Ray Wierson told the legislators the county will need another $6 million for the remainder of fiscal year 2008 and $11.7 million for fiscal year 2009 to keep mental health services in place.

— Thomas Geyer