DePage County | STALKEDBYVOICES

Chapter 114

In an earlier post, I wrote that about two years before I was fired from Apex/Whitlock, I bought a car. Well the car I bought was a brand spanking new white 1997 Ford Aspire VIN number KNJLT05H1V6211132 and by December 2002 (about the time I received the decline letter from Cochran, Montgomery, Smith, Givens and Cherry) my balance on the car was $2,348.50.

What I hadn’t put in that post was that I had sent an earlier letter containing the same information that I’d sent to Cochran, Cherry, Givens, Smith, & Montgomery to Jim Ryan, then the Illinois State Attorney.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ryan_(politician)

Before I show you his reply, what follows is how ‘The Voices/Stalkers’ retaliated against me for trying to get them arrested.

With ‘The Voices/Stalker’, there are always consequences for asking for help. The stalkers put it up close, personal, and in my face that they had the Police, securely, in their corner.

Shortly after I mailed off the information to Jim Ryan, I received a phone call from a medical staffing agency located in Elmhurst, Illinois.

At first, I was elated by this call because my unemployment had run out and I was down to my last few dollars. But the more I thought about this new job offer, the more suspicious I became. Especially, considering I’d never applied to their office. So, I wrote to Cochran, Cherry, Givens, Smith, & Montgomery stating my fears but never received a reply from them.

But, I was desperate for money. I had rent, a car note, utilities bills, and needed to put food on the table. I had no government money or food stamps coming in. And my sisters couldn’t afford to support me. The only other recourse meant moving back into my step-mother’s basement. At forty-nine, I didn’t consider that a viable option. So despite my misgivings, I went to the interview and I got the job. Surprise, Surprise.

The new job was at Central DuPage Hospital in their Telecommunications Department. I was one of those ladies you here paging doctors over the intercom system in the hospital.

If you live in Cook County, Illinois the way I do, you know that DuPage County, where Central DuPage Hospital is located, is infamous for their Police, most notably, their traffic stops of Black folks traveling through their county.

Let me say again, I was desperate and desperation causes people to do stupid things.

I thought perhaps, Mr. Ryan had gotten me the job so that he could establish whether or not I was really being stalked. On that basis, I took the job knowing that ‘The Voices/Stalkers’ were going to show up. And show up they did, putting on their usual vociferous show.

The first three weeks on my new job – all training – I had no problem going back and forth to work. But the very first night that the job was officially mine (and I had received the decline letter from Cochran, Cherry, Givens, Smith, & Montgomery) I was stopped by a DuPage Police Officer and ticketed to the amount of seven hundred and fifty dollars for not having insurance and a valid driver’s license

Since I wasn’t speeding, and I hadn’t run a red light, nor were my tail lights broken, I thought this cop had to be racial profiling me. So, I asked him, why had he pulled me over, when the cars ahead of me were going at least, five to ten miles an hour over the posted speed limit of thirty miles and hour which was what I was doing – very carefully doing so as not to get stopped. Why hadn’t he gone after the speeders, I kept asking. He never answered by question. He just bluntly stated, “I don’t want to see your kind back out here again. And the next time I see you out here, I’m going to impound that car!”

Stupid is as stupid does. And, now because of the tickets, I was even more desperate than before. Plus, I was close to getting a full check. I had plans for that money. So I defied the officer’s warning and kept up my commute to and from Central DuPage Hospital.

All went well for a while. Every time I’d see a cop looking in my direction, I’d pull into whatever gas station was nearest and pretend I was getting gasoline. It worked for about two weeks. But there was this one young cop who decided to pursue me after I let the safety of the gas station.

The Policeman who stopped me, that night, about three miles from the DuPage/Cook County border, asked me to step out of the car. He then proceeded to search my vehicle. All the while I was standing there, I didn’t say a word. I thought I knew what was coming next. I thought he was going to ask me for my driver’s license (which was expired) and proof of insurance. Be what he wanted to know shocked me. He asked, at gunpoint, “Where were the drugs?” I told him, I didn’t have enough money to buys drugs even if I wanted them. He didn’t believe me.

I was arrested and dragged to the Police station. I was fingerprinted and had mug-shots taken. I was handcuffed to a bench for two hours while my car was searched and impounded.

While I was sitting there, I heard loud angry voices coming from one of the offices. At first, I thought it was one Policeman yelling at another. But as I listened more closely, I realized it was not another Policeman he was yelling at. I clearly heard the Policeman who was in charge that night yell, “You said she had drugs. God damn it! There weren’t any drugs in that car. I want you to get the hell out of here.” And then I heard the door open. From where I sat handcuffed, I couldn’t see who it was the officer in charge wanted out of his office. But I could most definitely hear her when she started talking. There was no mistaking that voice. I heard it too often. She started screaming, “Wait. I can read her mind. I can help you interrogate her. I can prove it. I can tell you exactly what she said to the Policeman while they were standing out on the highway.” And then she repeated what the Policeman and I had said – word for word. And the Policeman in charge asked my arresting officer “Is that true.” The cop who had arrested me said, “Yea, that’s it.”

Now, I understood, that I hadn’t been pulled over because I was Back, nor because I was ‘acting evasive’. I’d been pulled over because the woman behind ‘The Voices/Stalkers’ had told the Police, I was carrying drugs in my car.

And what you may ask was so distinctive about what I’d said to the officer that night?

The officer asked what I’d been doing that I hadn’t taken the time to get my driver’s license renewed and updated the plates on my car. My answer was, “I’ve been busy trying to stay alive. What have you been doing?”

When I stepped out of my car that night, it was the last time I’d ever drive it. My car was impounded and auctioned off.

And now Jim Ryan’s answer

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
State Of Illinois

Jim Ryan
Attorney General

December 26, 2001

Ms. Eliza Ankum
xxxx S. 4^th Ave. 2-Rear
Maywood, IL 60153

Dear Ms. Ankum

The Attorney General’s Office has received your letter dated August t, 2001. Your letter along with any supporting materials have been reviewed by an attorney.

After a careful review of your allegations, it is our decision that the proper prosecuting agency to investigate and prosecute your case is the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. You may reach tem at 2650 S. California Ave. Chicago, IL 60608. Their telephone number is 312-603-5440.

No further communications from our office regarding this matter will be forthcoming.

Sincerely,

Doug J. Simpson
Chief, Criminal Enforcement Division

Spurred on by the loss of my car, I did write a letter to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. As of this day, September 3, 2013, I’m still waiting to hear back from them.