PeoriaStory

Enviro-activist Schism

PEORIA -- A split in the ranks of Peoria's environmental activists over Peoria Disposal Co.'s hazardous waste landfill at Pottstown threatens to weaken what has been a tough, even revolutionary group.

On Feb. 23, the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club and Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste issued a complex compromise proposal to PDC that would allow limited landfill expansion in return for concessions, including a hefty trust fund to protect the site in the future.

But others involved in the fight to stop the PDC landfill expansion have denounced the compromise.

Using his group River Rescue, Tom Edwards initiated the 7,000-signature petition that helped persuade the Peoria County Board to reject siting for the landfill expansion. Edwards said Monday, Feb. 26 that he opposes the compromise.

"It's a terrible situation that they’re doing this," Edwards said. The petition states that the landfill should be closed, he added.

Activist Jean Roach has sent a letter to the County Board. "Speaking only for myself," she wrote, "I would encourage you to accept that the position of Families and the Sierra Club as recently announced, comes from no broad public consensus. You would be well advised to seek broader public opinion before assuming that Families and the Sierra Club represent the views of the public at large. In saying this, I in no way question the motives or behavior of the hard working leaders of Families and the Sierra Club. I do, however, question their judgment. And I do ask the Board to continue to stand vigilant in protecting the environmental safety of our county. With the burial of toxic waste, ‘Enough is Enough’ has been and will continue to be the clarion call for citizens like me."

In an e-mail, she stated that others also have split with the Families group over this issue.

The landfill expansion decision is difficult and complex with many unknowns, including whether PDC will accept a compromise.

PDC could win its expansion by one of two routes: its appeal to the Illinois Pollution Control Board then to the Appellate Court or by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's renewal of its operating permit, where its application includes an expansion plan.

A hearing on that application is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the auditorium at the Peoria Public Library, at Main and Monroe streets.

PDC's win at either level likely would not include a trust fund to protect the county from future problems.

The compromise would stop the litigation and set up a trust fund and other protections, but would also allow more waste at the site.

In her letter Roach also notes that the activists should not be negotiating on this playing field with heavyweights such as PDC.

Whatever happens, this split over tactics by the landfill opponents is an unsettling surprise.

--Elaine Hopkins

Trolley Folly

PEORIA HEIGHTS -- So Peoria Heights officials fantasize about a trolley on the Kellar Branch line. Let’s take a closer look.

They cite figures from a company that manufactures trolleys, including those in Kenosha, Wisc., a city of 90,000 population. Kenosha is a little smaller than Peoria, and the trolley is said to have brought in about $150 million in economic development.

Oh really! A little internet research reveals the details.

Tax money paid the $6 million cost of the two mile trolley, which runs along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Very scenic, no doubt. The development referred to is a subdivision, also on Lake Michigan. The trolley connects with other rail lines that run into Chicago.

How is any of this comparable to a trolley from downtown Peoria to Peoria Heights? Where is the scenic lake front? The subdivision development? The other rail line?

For that matter, where is the tax money coming from to upgrade the rails and install the electric lines that power such trolleys? There are federal grants for trolleys but the competition for the money is fierce, according to the American Public Transportation Association, which advocates for trolleys.

What is the real return on this investment?

The Kenosha fare is 25 cents! Its system has about 68,000 riders annually.

Do the math. To pay back the $3 million-per-mile cost, even at $1 per ride, if 100,000 people rode the Kellar Branch trolley each year – well, you get the picture. The fares in Kenosha pay for about one-third of the annual maintenance costs, but not one dime of return for the taxpayers.

Trolleys are cute, and in some cities they may be appropriate to generate tourism and development.

Peoria’s bus company, CityLink has a motorized trolley used for tours, and officials there have talked about running a cheap or free motorized trolley around downtown Peoria during the daytime. Good idea.

But let’s get real here. The Kellar Branch trolley is just another delaying tactic from Pioneer Rail Corp. and its allies, as they hope to seize ownership of this rail line from public officials who tire of the recreational trail fight. Can they pull the wool over the eyes of the Heights board? We’ll see.

--Elaine Hopkins

One Cold Friday...

PEORIA -- Two outdoor news conferences on Feb. 23, when the temperature was in the mid-30s, left participants chilly, even though the subjects were hot.

Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste and the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club gathered outside City Hall to offer a complicated compromise proposal to Peoria Disposal Co., over expansion of its hazardous waste landfill at Pottstown. See the proposal at the Families website.

Will PDC and/or Peoria County accept the compromise, or use it to negotiate? Stay tuned.

Earlier in the day, more than 70 people huddled outside the Peoria Public Library to push for the Employee Free Choice Act, a revision of U.S. labor laws that would ease the requirements for workers to set up a union. It was introduced this month in the House of Representatives with 231 co-sponsors.

See more information about this proposal at this AFL-CIO website.

Anti-War Events

Former U.S. Senator George McGovern may have lost to Richard Nixon in 1972, but McGovern's reputation remains intact, unlike Nixon's. And McGovern now has a plan to get the U.S. out of Iraq.

McGovern will speak at 7:30 p.m. on March 8 in Bradley University's Student Center Ballroom in Peoria.

In a new book, McGovern proposes a phased withdrawal of American troops from Iraq in an orderly way over six months. Details are in the book he co-authored with professor William R. Polk, "Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now."

McGovern is on a nation-wide book tour. The talk is free and open to the public.

For those ready to take to the streets, A Rally for Peace, sponsored by Macomb Area Alliance for Peace and Justice, will be held on March 24 in Macomb's Chandler Park in the center of town opposite the train station on Rt. 136.

Marchers will start at 11 a.m. carrying signs on the north perimeter of the park. The program will begin at 1 p.m. and will feature speakers, live and original music, and petitions. A gong will be sounded at three second intervals for those killed in Iraq.

For more information, contact Sally Egler or Bill Davenport.

If 9-11 started the so-called 'war on terror,' what lies have been told about that event? Film buffs can see a new feature film “9/11 Mysteries Part 1 Demolitions” at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 at the Main Downtown Branch of the Peoria Public Library, 107 N.E. Monroe.

The event is sponsored by the Midwest chapter of Citizens for Truth.

Trail on Track. For Now

PEORIA -- The eyes of the Peoria City Council were opened wide on Tuesday to the realities of the Kellar Trail controversy.

After a two-hour city council session where trail advocates recounted the past, most of the Peoria City Council at its Feb. 20 meeting voted for a strategy that supports development of a recreational trail along the defunct rail line running through Peoria’s north side.

Only Gary Sandberg and Clyde Gulley voted against the strategy.

Barbara Van Auken wavered, first voting for what Chuck Grayeb described as a “poison pill” that would derail the trail, but then voting for the strategy. “I’m more concerned about snow removal, being safe to walk in my neighborhood,” she said.

The poison pill, a complicated motion presented by Sandberg that called for “multiple operators” on the rail line, failed with only three votes in its favor. Sandberg, Gulley and Van Auken voted for it.

The trail strategy, on a motion by trail supporter Pat Nichting, calls for the city to continue its efforts at the federal Surface Transportation Board to kick Pioneer Rail Corp. off the Kellar line. It also will negotiate with Central Illinois Rail Co. for a modified certificate, so CIR can serve a customer on the southern part of the rail line that is not part of the trail.

The session included speakers who revealed Pioneer’s sordid past: a SLAP suit against trail advocates that led to sanctions, and Pioneer’s repudiation of its contract with the city where it had agreed to help the city develop the trail.

Peoria Park Board president Tim Cassidy recounted this history, followed by trail advocates who had been sued by Pioneer. As Cassidy, an attorney, left the meeting, Van Auken, also an attorney, followed him into the hall, apparently shocked by his recounting of the SLAP suit. She then denounced the tactic.

Before Cassidy’s comments, Pioneer’s attorney Dan LaKemper spoke to the council, and obliquely acknowledged “mistakes” in the past, without explaining what he meant.

Besides Cassidy, other high-profile trail supporters speaking to the council included state Sen. Dave Koehler and former mayor Bud Grieves, who said he also spoke for former mayor Jim Maloof.

The trail is a non-partisan issue, with both Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, for and against it.

Pioneer’s ally, Carver Lumber Co., the only customer on the rail line, sent two company officers to speak for Pioneer. They complained about service from Central Illinois Rail Co., and said company profits are down because of increased costs. Carver, an employee-owned company, employs 52 people.

Veteran environmental activist Joyce Blumenshine then told the council that Carver must live in the “real world” of competition. For years it enjoyed a city subsidy of its rail service, because the city didn’t charge Pioneer any rent or fees for use of the line.

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, Blumenshine stated in an e-mail, "thanks to the Peoria City Council vote, the Kellar Branch Trail is still a possibility. The people of Peoria and their representatives have a lot of work to do to get all the pieces back in place from the attempt to derail the trail, but it can and will be
done."

REACTIONS TO PREVIOUS STORY: Several bloggers were furious that the previous Kellar story questioned whether their support for Pioneer involved pay.

It’s not unusual for companies to pay bloggers to promote their businesses, but several pro-Pioneer bloggers and other supporters say they are NOT being paid.

Patrick Wilson wrote: “For the record I received no compensation from Pioneer, monetary or otherwise, to write this email. “It's one thing to disagree with another's viewpoint. What is poisonous is the insinuation that pro-rail bloggers are on the take simply because they do not agree with you,” he wrote.

Mark Dugan wrote: “No one is paying me anything for or against the trail or Kellar Branch.”

David Jordan wrote: "One thing I know is that Pioneer is more than willing to encourage local bloggers who oppose the removal of the Kellar Branch. Such ’encouragement’ does not include monetary rewards, which are completely unnecessary." Pioneer has shared information, he said, but likely would do that for opponents as well.

Bill Dennis wrote that he also has not been paid by Pioneer.

Dan LaKemper, Pioneer’s attorney is likely being paid. He wrote that the story is “a piece of rubbish.”

Some also complained that this blog does not allow comments. That’s because of liability issues. Bloggers have been sued over comments left by others. So e-mail your comments, and I will post them with your permission.

--Elaine Hopkins

Kellar Branch down to the wire

PEORIA -- With your eyes wide open, imagine a linear park running through  Peoria's north side, where people can stroll, hike and bicycle.

•  A couple stops for lunch, dinner or a cool drink at one of the nearby eateries. 

•  A mom with baby in a stroller detours into a shop for a last minute gift.

•  An older woman walks her terrier daily, and both stay fit and healthy.

•  Two 11-year-olds turn off the TV and ride their bicycles. By the time they glide home for dinner, they’re ready to do their homework. 

Turning the decrepit Kellar Branch rail line into a hike and bike trail promises all this and more. It’s a no-brainer.  But will it happen in our lifetimes?

This trail, which would benefit thousands of Peoria residents, has been blocked by a handful of train fanatics and hobbyists and a rail company with deep pockets.  Their tactics: endless litigation and loud propaganda including blogs. 

Apparently money is no object to this small group of opponents. The expensive litigation has become a prime strategy to erode support for the trail by the elected officials of the city of Peoria, the village of Peoria Heights and the Peoria Park District, the groups that would develop the trail.

The blogs drone on endlessly, but never proclaim their independence from Pioneer Rail Co., the company behind the litigation and other stall tactics. Are these bloggers getting financial support from Pioneer? They should declare their independence, if they can do so.

The arguments against the trail make no economic sense. The line has only one customer, Carver Lumber Co, and it can now receive service from the west.  That’s not good enough, apparently. Carver has complained about the service – boo hoo –conveniently bolstering the efforts to stall the trail.

Is Carver in bed with Pioneer? Carver has used Daniel LaKemper, Pioneer’s lawyer, in some of its complaints to the federal Surface Transportation Board .

Would Carver Lumber like to see pickets with signs outside its business?

Some of the same people whose citizen activism stopped the expansion of Peoria Disposal Co.’s hazardous waste landfill are also interested in seeing this trail developed sooner rather than later.

Is it time to play hardball?

The Kellar line has not been used for a few years and is in terrible condition. It runs through an urban area with homes and many four-lane streets where the auto speed limit is 45 miles per hour, posing a safety risk for trains and vehicles. In short, the line is as unsuitable for rail use as it is unnecessary.

Imagine the traffic backups on Knoxville if the pipe dreams of Pioneer and its allies become reality!

And no, a trolley running on the Kellar line isn’t feasible. Neither is a trail along side the rail line. These are RED HERRINGS thrown out to confuse the issue and the elected officials.

Delay favors the opponents, and allows time to elect naive candidates to these boards who may be persuaded by whatever means necessary to ditch the trail.

Elections are coming up soon.

PeoriaStory will be reporting on how the candidates stand on the Kellar line and other controversial issues.

The Peoria City Council is poised to make vital decisions on the future of the trail on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

Frankly, its support for the trail has never been enthusiastic. That’s got to end. The council should pass a resolution backing the trail, and send a delegation to meet with Surface Transportation Board officials to press for rail banking the rail line to make way for a trail.

Meanwhile, if Carver Lumber Co. cares about Peoria, it will withdraw its complaints and petitions from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which was ready to rule against Pioneer once and for all until Carver’s filings.

Carver’s current president Joe Marmon was asked to comment on the Kellar line, but so far has not responded to the message.

 --by Elaine Hopkins