PEORIA -- Suddenly it hit me, at the March 21 League of Women Voters candidate forum: in the mostly non-partisan April 7 municipal elections, there actually are two parties contending for power.
They are the Business-As-Usual party and the Shake-Them-Up party.
The BAUs are affable guys (most are male) who also assert their toughness at times. Example: "I can make tough decisions," and "I'm not emotionally attached to schools" (so closing them is OK).
Those were the words of Lonnie Whisker, 34, who is one of three candidates for an open seat on the Peoria District 150 School Board to replace Mary Spangler. A grant writer for the Tri-County Urban League and a 1993 Peoria High School grad, he has been a substitute teacher, has a daughter attending a District 150 school and a wife who is a teacher with District 150. (How do you say 'conflict-of-interest!')
Lonnie Whisker (photos by Al Harkrader)
His best idea, in response to a question: individual learning plans for all students.
A second candidate, Laura Petelle, 30, is an attorney in private practice who also teaches philosophy and ethics at ICC. Obviously pregnant, she expects her first child to be born in May. She's a STU-er, and mentioned her training in negotiation and mediation.
Laura Petelle
Her best idea: skilled trade apprenticeships in District 150, for non-college bound students. But beyond that, she spoke out against hasty school closings made "in a last minute budget panic."
She made a forceful advocacy for comprehensive sex education and questioned multiple superintendents and consultants in District 150.
"We spend a ridiculous amount on administrators and consultants. That needs to change," she said.
She also questioned closing solidly built historic schools while building new ones, and said no one has looked at upgrading those schools to be "green."
Whisker was less forceful on these issues. "I'm for new schools," he said. "We need a more holistic approach," he said of sex education.
The third candidate, Sandy Farkash, 62, didn't appear. He's a former principal of Manual High School and has taught special education and been an administrator.
The Peoria City Council candidates also fall into the two parties: Tim Riggenback is a BAU and Beth Akeson a STU. They're competing for an open Third District seat.
Beth Akeson displays a map of downtown Peoria showing all the parking lots and non-taxable properties.
Akeson took a quick shot at Riggenback, noting that he voted to expand "the toxic waste dump" as a Peoria County Board member. She also called for stronger code enforcement, while Riggenbach said he is running to "revitalize core neighborhoods, fight crime and work with District 150."
He's been endorsed by the local political/business establishment.
Mayor Jim Ardis, seeking re-election, didn't appear, the second candidate forum that I have attended that he ducked. But his opponent General Parker did show up and read a statement blasting the Peoria Journal Star for its biased coverage of his race and "character assassination."
The newspaper endorsed his opponent without interviewing him, he said, and likely won't publish his written answers to candidate questions.
General Parker
Parker has a Illinois felony on his record from years ago and still hopes to get a pardon if he wins the race so that he can serve as mayor.
He said he opposes the museum tax, the Marriott Hotel project, more TIF districts, and wants a better agreement with cable TV provider Comcast. He's obviously a STUer.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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