Carmen Bolden Day, mother of Jelani Day, whose body was found in the Illinois River a year ago this month, spoke remotely during public comment at Monday night’s Bloomington City Council meeting.
Day asked Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe to ask the Bloomington Police Department to provide her with a response to questions she has asked that haven’t been answered. Day said she has not heard anything from the Bloomington Police Department since February.
After the meeting Cities 92.9 asked Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington what if any action he might take in response to Day’s concerns.
Simington told us, “I am not at liberty to discuss that. Certainly we are part of a task force with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as well as other local and state partners and will not make any public comments regarding that investigation.”
Day spoke specifically about her son’s vehicle. Day says the vehicle was transported from Bloomington to Peru. She claims Peru is storing it outside with evidence still inside the vehicle. According to her, police used only a few items from the car to search for DNA of anyone that might have been in the vehicle. She says only Jelani’s DNA was found on those items.
Also commenting remotely by phone was Jacari Harris. Harris addressed both the Bloomington Police Department and city leadership. He said a young black man went missing and no one has been held accountable claiming it wasn’t rocket science.
Harris bragged of being a black man with three degrees with one being in emergency management and told leadership they were responsible. Harris threatened that leadership would be held accountable. He said people are going to remember it at election, that people are going to know what they are doing and not doing, and that if he had to march he would.
While Chief Simington could not comment on the case, he did say, “If someone has information we are pleading the public to provide that information to us so that we can act on that investigation and further it. So I would just remind the public that we are waiting for phone calls. We are waiting for additional information that will help us complete that investigation.”
