PeoriaStory

Schock finally announces town hall meeting

PEORIA -- After months of ducking the public, Cong. Aaron Schock has decided to face the public at a town hall meeting on Nov. 2.  

The Campaign for Better Health Care will be there. Here's a news release this organization sent out late on Oct. 31:

 

"Last Friday (Oct. 23), Rep. Aaron Schock sent out a late Friday press release announcing a press only conference on Monday to announce what can be called the--'Save the Health Insurance Industry Act of 2009' -- that he and other Republicans were introducing (you still can not obtain a copy of the new H.R. 2516 that he was promoting). 

 

"Now, late this Friday, October 30^th , he sent out a press notice to announce a press conference on Saturday at 9:30am. At this Saturday (10/31) press meeting, he also gave details about a Health Care Town Hall that he will hold--this Monday (11/2) evening!

 

"Let's see--do you think he really wants anyone to attend who is not already an insider of his office?  Two weeks in a row, press notices issued at a time when it is least likely that the "public" could learn about his events?  Upon further checking, information about the Monday Town Hall meeting is not on his Congressional web site.

 

"A Spooky Halloween Trick by Rep. Schock?  We'll--  let's present Rep. Schock with a Treat--by attending and expressing our opinions.

 

What:       Rep. Aaron Schock:Health Care Town Hall Meeting

When:      Monday, November 2^nd , 7:00-8:30pm

                            (try to arrive by 6:30p.m.)

Where:     Five Points Washington,

                       360 N. Wilmor Road, Washington, IL

                        Google map:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=3000N.+Sterling+Ave,+Peoria,+IL+61615&daddr=360+N.+Wilmor+Rd,+Washington,+IL&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.335236,56.513672&ie=UTF8&ll=40.701464,-89.526901&spn=0.120769,0.220757&z=12>

 

"Please plan to join us--tell your friends.  This is your opportunity to be part of history--to make your voice heard about what will eventually be an historic piece of legislation to reform Health Care in this country. Tell Rep. Schock that we want a robust public option, to control the health insurance industry's excesses and have health care that is accessible, of high quality and affordable for everyone.

 

"This important work is never easy, it does not come at a convenient time--but we must do it!  You can make a difference in shaping the discussion and the future of Health Care Reform." -30-

 

Environmental film festival: coal and ice

PEORIA -- An Environmental Film Festival takes place at the Apollo Theatre in Downtown Peoria on November 6 & 7, 2009.

 

This is an educational event as well as a fundraiser for Heart of Illinois Group, Sierra Club. 

 

Friday night, Nov. 6,  is Coal Night.  The movie presentations include a film debut of "Sinking the Heartland" with the videographer, Cindy Ward, in attendance.  The subject of the film is longwall coal mining in Montgomery County, Illinois.

The feature presentation for Friday night is "Burning the Future:  Coal in America."  Our other special guest in attendance will be Bauer Power, a renewable energy installer.  

 

Saturday night is Ice Night.  The movie presentations include a short film debut about the Village of DePue and the EPA Superfund site within their village, and another short film, "Mountains Without Barriers" about three very special mountain climbers. 

The feature film was donated by National Geographic and Nova called "Extreme Ice." 

 

Those arriving early can browse tables of information, sign up for door prizes and munch on locally grown popcorn!

Music for peace, healing

PEORIA -- Here's an interesting musical event: 

The Jewish Federation of Peoria is sponsoring

Harmony for Humanity
Date: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009
Location: Michel Student Center Ballroom, Bradley University Campus
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: $5.00/adults $15.00/max per family

Daniel Pearl was a Wall Street Journal reporter who was murdered by terrorists in 2002. He was also a passionate musician. After Daniel's death, the Pearl family invited the world to create or support musical events in their communities.

Peoria's event-joining musicians from around the world-will include performances by local musicians including Garry Moore, The Orpheus Club, St. Martin Chamber Players, Paul Adams and others.

Charter school event

PEORIA --   From a news release:

The Peoria Charter School Initiative (PCSI) will host a community forum on Thursday, November 5, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Peoria Civic Center, Rooms 401-403, featuring students, teachers, parents and administrators from the Chicago Math & Science Academy (CMSA). 

The event is open to the public and will provide the opportunity for community members to learn more about charter schools and ask questions of the CMSA team. CMSA is one of the top three charter schools in Chicago, with every graduating senior from the class of 2009 accepted to college. Approximately 15 students from the class of 2010 will be in Peoria visiting Bradley University.

 

The November 5 event will also provide an update on PCSI’s efforts to establish a math, science and technology charter school in District 150. On a recent bus trip to two charter schools in Chicago, including CMSA, parents of District 150 students returned stating, “We’ve got to get this done in Peoria” and “I saw a lot of what I’m hoping for with my kids.” Another parent said, “We’re failing our children if we let this (Peoria charter school) initiative die.”

 

Currently scheduled to open in August 2010, Peoria’s charter school will be a District 150 public school open to any student who applies and is selected through a lottery process. It will initially offer grades 5-7 and add a grade each year, ultimately serving grades 5-12 with a maximum of 600 students.

 

PCSI has submitted its final application to the District 150 Board of Education, which is expected to vote on the charter school initiative in December.

 

About CMSA

Chicago Math & Science Academy is a comprehensive middle and high school enrolling 475 students in grades 6 through 12. The school opened in the fall of 2004 and is a public charter school under the Chicago Public School System. The student body is culturally diverse with a population that is 58 percent Hispanic/Latino, 25 percent African-American, 12 percent Asian and 5 percent White. CMSA is recognized as one of the top three charter schools in Chicago.

 

About PCSI
The Peoria Charter School Initiative is a nonprofit organization of business people, community leaders, parents and educators working to bring a new educational choice to our city—a District 150 public charter school focused on math, science and technology and open to all students regardless of academic or financial background.

 

For more information contact:  Jeff McCombs, 309.696.9887 or via email, [email protected].

AMEREN hearing

PEKIN --  From a Citizen Utility Board news release: 

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is holding a public hearing on Ameren's proposed $226 million rate hike. CUB urges Ameren customers to pack the hearing to give state regulators a strong message: Say NO to the rate hike! Tell a friend to attend the hearing too.

The hearing is: 

7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27
Pekin City Council Chambers
111 S. Capitol St.
Pekin

Here's some background on a study CUB just released showing that Ameren is among the most wasteful power companies in the nation. If you can't attend the hearing, please call the ICC, at 1-800-524-0795, to let regulators know you're against the proposed increase.

CUB's legal team is working hard against this rate hike, and it's appealing the $162 million increase Ameren got just last year. Visit our Stop Ameren page, and please help CUB battle Ameren's army of lawyers trying to raise your gas and electric bills. We can't do it without you!

Schock ducks the public, just like he's ducking health system reform

PEORIA -- About three dozen people carrying signs supporting health system reform and the public option were on hand on Oct. 26 as Cong. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, entered the federally qualified and subsidized Heartland  Community Health Clinic on N. Wisconsin, to hold a 9:30 a.m. news conference touting his version of health reform, HR 2515.

He sped past them and entered the clinic for the invitation-only news conference.  A couple of citizens from the rally asked to attend but were refused entry. 

The protesters earlier had been required to retreat to the sidewalk beyond the large parking lot for the clinic, which is in a strip mall with a Kroger's supermarket and other businesses. Police issued the orders, saying they had been told to move the crowd.

Three police cars showed up, something to remember when police layoffs are discussed by the cash-strapped city officials.

One man in the crowd of protesters said he recognized one of the cops, who had followed him home in his car from another recent rally and stopped him, questioned and harassed him.  The probable cause for the stop?  No seat belt, which was actually fastened, the man said.

After the news conference, Schock again sneaked out the door and entered his vehicle and left without speaking to the protesters.

Several protesters afterward went shopping at the supermarket, proving that rallies are good business for businesses. 

Here's the news release from the Schock office. He has never held a pubic town hall meeting on health reform, apparently appeared only once on a panel at a town hall forum, then has met only with pre-selected groups, a tactic taken from George W. Bush: 

After a town hall, several tele-town halls and meetings with patients-rights advocates, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators and medical groups, Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) will announce his support for the Medical Rights and Reform Act, legislation authored by a House caucus of centrist members, on Monday, October 26 at the Heartland Community Health Clinic at East Bluff.

The Medical Rights and Reform Act would mandate a fundamental principle – the government should not come between patients and their doctors. The Act will protect every American’s relationship with their doctor, the integrity of the medical profession and the right of Americans to choose the care they deem appropriate without federal delay or restriction.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Here's a portion of the news release analyzing Schock's proposal,  issued by the Campaign for Better Health Care, which organized the rally: 

Congressman Schock’s Health Care Initiative:

Don’t Get Sick – Deregulate the Insurance Industry (give them more control)

Deny Working Families and Businesses the Right to Choose Their Health Care

A Sick Halloween Treat

Congressman Schock will be unveiling a health care plan that is designed to strengthen the control, power and wealth of the insurance industry that will result in:

            -higher costs for working families and small businesses in the 18^th Congressional District, therefore increasing the number of uninsured,

            -decreasing access to vital benefits, therefore increasing the number of uninsured,personal bankruptcies, and medical debt to providers,

-denying the American public the right to choose the health care plan that is best for their needs, including the right to choose a public option, which Mr. Schock has been given that opportunity,

            -allowing the health insurance industry to continue to dictate and overrule the medical decisions of doctors regarding what health care benefits that consumers need, and

            -decreased quality and wasteful spending- opposing any assessments on what works and denying doctors access to effective medical research.  -30-

Love the National Park Service? Read this!

Here is a first person account of a nasty outrage at the National Park Service's Indiana Dunes Central Beach.  This incident begs for an in-dept investigation of the park service there, its friendly relationship with the tow truck operators, and the US Attorney's office in Hammond, Indiana that threatened jail time over a parking ticket,!  (This is why otherwise sensible people hate the government.)

The author, Ginger Wheeler of Glen Ellyn, Il. is a free lance writer who runs her own sales and marketing business. 

Midwestern beach lovers beware: There's a parking nightmare awaiting you at the National Park Service's Indiana Dunes Central Beach near Michigan City, Indiana.

The scene I witnessed on a hot Sunday afternoon in July was enough to make you wish for winter. With temperatures in the high 90s, hundreds of people showed up that day to enjoy the water, the sun, and the beach: Problem is not the beach space, it's the parking. The parking lot at this beach has enough space for about 70 cars.

The Indiana Dunes National Park Service (very limited) website tells you this:

Q. Can I call to find out if the campground or beaches are full?

A. Yes. As the campground fills and the beach parking areas are reported full both the parks dispatch (communication center) and visitor center are notified. Call 219-926-7561 for the most recent report.


If you make the 90-minute trek from Chicago to this beach, you're just going to have to take your chances with the parking. Word to the wise: There is NO WHERE to park any where NEAR this beach if the parking lot is full.

My family has traveled to this beach once every summer for the past ten years to get our Indiana Dunes fix. In 2008, we arrived and found the lot full. A ranger was standing near the lot warning the cars not to park on the narrow lane that leads to this lot from Rte. 12: he advised us that tow trucks would be at the ready. So, I dropped off the kids and the beach gear and drove down to Rte. 12 and paid a resident $20 to let me park in his driveway. Then I HIKED back to the beach (about a half hour walk) - it was a long, hot walk on a narrow street with no sidewalks and lots of traffic (more people heading down to find the lot full and turning around to come back the same way!).

In 2009, we decided to leave VERY EARLY to avoid the parking problem. I arrived and found the lot was not full, but filling quickly. I drive a compact car, so I tucked my car into what I thought was a convenient small spot in the lot to allow those big SUVs more room in the parking spaces further down. We had a nice time at the beach.

But about 3pm, when the kids were done, we packed it up and walked back to the lot (in itself not an easy hike!) and after coming down the hill from the beach found a scene of chaos: Cars parked up and down the lane on both sides were being towed off lickety-split by about six tow trucks, creating a traffic hazard to rival anything I've ever seen. There were people with strollers, coolers, grandparents- lugging all their beach gear down the hill to find their car.... GONE! Tow trucks were blocking the roads, toddlers roaming among vehicles - some people were driving out of the parking lot, only to be blocked by tow trucks. People screaming at the rangers, people on cell phones, people hiking down the lane (dodging all this traffic) trying to figure out who on earth had their car and how would they find it (I'm sure a cab ride was going to be expensive and take a long time). Everyone was hot, sticky, tired, and cranky: It was ugly.

I felt so sorry for these people: you come to the beach on the hottest day of the summer, and then bang, your car is towed off (Thanks for visiting the Indiana Dune National Lake Shore! Come back soon and think about helping to fund our mission).

Well I felt relieved that I had found a space in the lot. I was happy we had planned ahead and come very, very early so that we could get a spot. I felt glad that I didn't hog another parking spot, so that one more person could enjoy the beach, having tucked my car into a narrow edge space.

But, lo and behold, I had a ticket on my car.  My first thought was that someone had stuck THEIR ticket on MY car hoping that I might just pay the $75 ticket. But on closer examination, the ticket said it was issued because I had "One wheel on the grass."

Now I can understand why the tickets would be issued to those cars parked along the lane: the street is clearly marked no parking and warning signs are posted about the towing. It stinks that the rangers weren't there that day to warn cars away from the lane (you'd think with 180 employees to care for that 15,000 acres of national park land, SOMEONE could have been standing by on the hottest Sunday of the summer to warn people, but no). But to ticket a car parked in a parking lot sounds a bit like just "Trying to rake it in," to me.

I wondered, who has the contract to tow all these cars? Where are the cars being taken? Why doesn't the National Park Service offer some type of parking and shuttle service on the hottest day of the summer so more people could enjoy "our" national lake shore? Why are they being so punitive and mean? What possible good can be served by towing all those cars off and ticketing people who come once a year to enjoy this park? You'd think they could anticipate that on the hottest day of the summer on a weekend, more people would be heading to the beach. With 180 employees, you'd think they'd have some brain power to figure that out. Plus, they get from October 15 to May 15 to rest since the parking lot and this beach is CLOSED ALL WINTER.

Well I decided to go to court and fight this ticket. I felt that a reasonable person - a judge - would see the evidence and decide that where I had parked was in fact OK (Also about 10 feet to the left of my car was a sign that read "No Parking" and pointed AWAY from where I was parked. But where I had parked looked clear to me.).

So in October I headed to Hammond Indiana to federal court (it was me against the People of the United States). I arrived at 8:30am, was cleared through the scanner although my coffee was taken away from me, and was ushered into a room with a prosecutor, a park ranger, and some other person. The prosecutor told me that if the judge got my case they could fine me $5000 and put me in jail for six months. He assured me he wasn't seeking jail time, but just to make sure I had heard him, he repeated the possibility that jail time could be offered by the judge.

I argued that I thought my parking space was fine: I showed them the pictures. I pointed out the no parking sign TEN FEET AWAY FROM MY CAR. But the ranger said, "We can't put signs up everywhere or it wouldn't be a park." I told them about the chaos that day - I said I was horrified at the way the park rangers had towed off all those cars and left all those people stranded there. I told them they should be ashamed of themselves for treating people WHO JUST WANT TO HANG OUT AT A BEACH ON A HOT DAY like that.

The prosecutor advised me that if I wanted to proceed with the case, risk a $5000 fine and jail time (although he said again he wasn't seeking that), then I had to come back in December to see the judge. Huh? I thought this WAS court: I didn't know that I was going to an interrogation and a threat session with three intimidating federal officials in a tiny room in hugh granite federal facility.

I admit it, I caved: I paid the ticket and told them I would NEVER go back to the national lakeshore again. I vowed I would never give another DIME to the National Park Service since they had just FORCED me to pay $75 for legally parking in a free parking lot.

I just want this article to be a warning to others: Skip the Indiana Dunes national lakeshore: Go to Michigan - Go to Oak Street Beach - Go to Florida! If you head to Indiana, even on the hottest day of the year, you'll feel the freezing effect of law enforcement run amok and probably a little graft and corruption thrown in for good measure (tow truck contracts anyone?).

Journalism in crisis, author says

PEORIA -- Here's an account of Todd Gitlin's talk at Bradley University on Oct. 21, by Burt Raabe.  

Thanks, Burt! 

Amazingly enough, apparently no mainstream media covered this event, even though it is about the media!

            On Wednesday night at Bradley’s Neumiller Hall, Todd Gitlin spoke to a full house, most of whom were students.  The subject of his lecture was A Glut of Crises: Journalism and the Prospects of Democracy.  Dr. Gitlin is the author of twelve books on culture, journalism and politics. He is also presently the chair of the Ph.D program in Communications at Columbia University. 

            Dr. Gitlin began by saying that he realized that “crisis” is an overused word but he felt that it was appropriate for this subject.  He focused on the decline and possibly the fall of print journalism and the effects that has on democracy.

            Gitlin cited six reasons for concern for print journalism:

1.       Decline in circulation of newspapers.

2.      Decline in advertising revenue.

3.      Decline of news reporting.

4.      Diffusion of attention.

5.      Decline of authoritative reporting, or decline of trust.

6.      Journalists’ failure to penetrate the veil of obfuscation.

            All of these can be intertwined.  Decline in circulation leads to advertisers being less willing to pay for ads.  Less revenue leads to reporters being laid off.  Fewer reporters lessen trust in reporting because of superficial stories. 

            Gitlin noted that reporting staff in big papers has declined by 40 – 60% in last twenty years.  He also said that the public’s reading habits are undergoing a “sea change” in that there are many more sources for information than before, for instance cable news and the internet.  Therefore, a consumer can select where their interest lays, say, sports or entertainment or national politics, rather than leafing through a newspaper to find their interest.  He believes that there is a “decline in sequential text” because people now tend to “laterally cruise” when taking in information.  He claimed, or recognized, that “multi tasking alters cognitive patterns.”

Maybe this is why we have to give Ritalin to kids.

            With the diffusion of attention and sources of information comes a decline of trust in print which theory is reinforced every time journalists fail to see through vested interests self promotion and misleading “facts.”  Gitlin cited the lead up to the Iraq war and the current financial crisis as failures of the media to display a healthy skepticism with disastrous results. 

            Among the sources of these crises is a free market, profit motive business model for journalism.  Short term profitability and a pursuit of the lowest common denominator combine to condemn the sector.  Just as health care has reached a crisis under this for profit model, so has journalism.

            Gitlin proposed some alternatives including publicly funded financial support for non profit news sources.  In many European countries, publicly funded news sources are common because people realize it is essential to democracy.  Italy was not mentioned among those countries and we see the consequences of their system.

            The capitalist system works very well in many sectors of the economy although it could be argues that there are very few purely capitalist sectors.  We subsidize innumerable industries and activities that we believe are essential to the national interest.  Print journalism is a special case because as Gitlin noted “money and power depend on inattention and disinterest” and as we allow money and power to reach its tentacles into journalism, they will maintain the status quo. 

             -- Burton Raabe

ACLU Award winner: Pam Adams

Here's the complete news release:

ACLU Dinner Celebrates Bill of Rights, Recognizes Awardees Contributions to Basic Fairness

 

For Immediate Release

October 22, 2009

CHICAGO – At a dinner celebrating and highlighting the contributions of seven outstanding honorees, American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois members and supporters will gather this week in Chicago to look forward to restoring basic constitutional rights in a new presidential administration.  The organization’s annual Bill of Rights Celebration takes place on Saturday evening, October 24^th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.   The event is expected to draw hundreds of ACLU of Illinois members and supporters from across the state.   

 

 “This annual event reminds ACLU of Illinois members of our deep commitment to protecting liberty and the rule of law,” said Colleen Connell, Executive Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.  “The ACLU of Illinois is working each day to fix broken governmental systems that deny basic freedoms and to redress instances where government denies basic liberty.   This event is a chance for our members and supporters to gather together in common cause and celebrate this work.” 

The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of seven awards, approved earlier this year by the ACLU of Illinois Board of Directors.  Among those to be recognized:

 

·                                           Philanthropists Ronna Stamm and Paul Lehman will receive the first of two Roger Baldwin Lifetime Achievement Award for their vision and long-time efforts to support the ACLU’s efforts to ensure access to a full range of health care for women, extend equality under law to gay and lesbian couples and confront abuses of basic civil liberties caused by the so-called war on terror.  

·                                           The second Roger Baldwin Award will be presented to Nikki Will Stein, executive director of the Polk Brothers Foundation for her leadership among foundations to move beyond support of direct social services and focus instead on holding governmental systems accountable for their inability to meet basic constitutional standards.  

·                                           Chicago lawyer Heidi Dalenberg will receive the Edwin Rothschild Civil Liberties Award for her more than two decades of service as a cooperating counsel in the ACLU of Illinois’ efforts to repair and reform the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.  

·                                           The James P. McGuire Award for excellence in journalism is presented to Peoria Journal Star columnist and reporter Pam Adams.   Adams is being honored for her writing about a number of critical issues, including racial profiling, inadequate and discriminatory education practices and other critical issues. 

·                                           State Representative Greg Harris is the recipient of the John R. Hammell Award for contributions to Illinois’ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.  As a member of the Illinois General Assembly, Representative Harris has led the fight for assuring equal recognition under law for gay and lesbian couples, and,

·                                           Colby Kingsbury, a former partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis, will receive the Annetta Dieckmann volunteer award.  Kingsbury acted as a cooperating counsel in the ACLU’s challenge of conditions at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.  

 

“We are looking forward to a successful Bill of Rights Celebration,” adds the ACLU’s Connell.  “The quality of the awardees, the strength and vitality of our membership and the importance of civil liberties issues in the public consciousness at this time makes this event very special.” 

    

Should we drink it? Yes, but...

PEORIA --  The Illinois River, which winds across the state and serves as a drinking water source for millions, is the 11th most polluted river in the US, environmental groups said on Oct. 21.

In a riverfront news conference, representatives from three Illinois groups, Environment Illinois, the Illinois Sierra Club and the Environmental Law and Policy Center spoke about the river's problems, as Environment Illinois released a new report, Wasting our Waterways, Toxic Industrial Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act.

The Illinois River in 2007 absorbed 3.9 million pounds of pollutants from industrial sources, including 4,276 pounds of carcinogens.  And those numbers don't include pollutants dumped into its tributaries.  The figures are from the US Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory, and are self-reported from industry.

"Toxics from industry is a fraction of the total," said Albert Ettinger of the ELPC. Agricultural chemicals are not included in this deadly brew, and pharmaceutical chemicals are not even systematically measured, but they also can be found in the river.

Every sewage treatment plant has found "transsexual fish" near its outlet, Ettingersaid. 

Max Muller of Environment Illinois said cancers in the US have risen along with the use of toxic chemicals. 

So is water from the Illinois River safe to drink after treatment?  Well, yes,  they said, if it meets the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

But... the river still needs to be cleaned up by incentives encouraging industry to adopt safer chemicals, and by better enforcement of the Clean Water Act.  That law was supposed to make US waters fishable and swimmable by the mid-1980s, but its promise has never been achieved.

Pending legislation in the US Congress, the Clean Water Restoration Act, is also necessary to meet clean water standards, they said.  Cong. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, serves on the committee drafting that legislation, Muller said.  "We hope he will listen to the public's call for clean water."

In addition, the Illinois EPA should develop standards for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and adopt wetlands protections, he said. 

 -- Elaine Hopkins