The ceremony, the hypocrisy... sigh

PEORIA -- The politicians were all smiles as if the Kellar Branch Trail deal was wonderful instead of disgusting.

The trail itself is innocent -- a terrific public good.

The deal that finally freed it for development stinks so much that several of the trail's most ardent backers boycotted the event. held May 22 outdoors at the trail crossing on Knoxville. For a 35-minute mp3 audio file on the ceremonies, see below. 

The railroads, their ally Carver Lumber Co., and the Tom Leiter law firm and its not-for-profit the Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation, took (stole?) $1.2 million of taxpayers money as part of the deal.  Those funds -- whitewashed as 'land acquisition' -- would have gone to develop the trail, and put an overpass over Knoxville Avenue, so vehicles will not have to stop for a red light there, and trail users would risk death as they cross that wide and busy road.

Oh well -- Peoria Park District executive director Bonnie Noble said the district will be applying for more grants to built an overpass or underpass. The trail will be blacktopped, Noble said afterward. " It will be built like a federal highway." 

For details on the financial transactions, see Peoria Journal Star columnist Terry Bibo's column, one of the best she's ever written. "Feeling Railroaded at the End of the Line" is a great headline, too.

Back to the ceremonies:  Attorney Tom Leiter began by stating: "this is the best example of a public-private partnership."  The best?  Oh, please.  I guess it's the best for the private entities getting their booty.  Not so much for the public.

He continued: "This is the model for getting projects like this accepted, public and private working together for the common good."  Ah yes, and the public pays off the private.  But we digress.

"We've had a little criticism about the process," he acknowledged.

Cong. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, attended the event.  To his credit, he's innocent in the machinations behind the money. He is a long time supporter of the trail, writing letters, speaking out. Good for him.  

But he couldn't resist blasting the "government bureaucrats" that held up the trail. And he has a point. The US Surface Transportation Board could have kicked the railroads off this line a few years ago, but didn't.  If he can simplify the red tape involved in this board, he should do so.  Let's hope he secures a grant to build that overpass, too, as Noble indicated.

Of course it doesn't hurt that Noble's daughter is married to US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's son. Perhaps the one good thing about the "cooperation" behind the trail is the bipartisan effort. Democrats and Republicans supported the trail, though few Demos were present at the May 22 ceremonies, only a couple of park board members and some of the trail advocates.

The two mayors, of Peoria and Peoria Heights, attended.  Mayor Mark Allen has been a full-speed-ahead supporter, and the village threatened to sue the railroads.  Mayor Jim Ardis has dragged his heels.  The city could have sued the railroads for breech of contract, since their contracts said they would leave the line when the trail was ready for development.  It never sued.

Why not? It surely would not have cost $1.2 million to kick them off legally, instead of paying them to leave. Of course city taxpayers would have funded that lawsuit, and not the state and federal funds.   

Ardis pronounced himself "satisfied" with the project. "This is what the private side's good at, the governments not good at," he said.  Uh, yes, when it's Ardis's government.

When her turn to speak came, Noble acknowledged the work of trail advocate George Burrier, and previous advocates Bill Rutherford and Rodell Owens, both now deceased, in developing the trail. It's been in the park district's master plan for decades. "We have an aggressive plan to move forward," she said. The grants in hand total $2.2 million.

Then five spikes were symbolically pulled from the ancient rails, Leiter took a couple of softball questions, and the event was over.  It was hot in the spring sun, and everybody wanted out of there.

Here's the scene as the ceremonies have ended.

At least the railroad guys and former mayor Carver -- who reportedly still owns the land where Carver Lumber Co. sits -- didn't show up. No one wanted to see their faces, unless to throw tomatoes and eggs.

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

Listen to the ceremony.

Kellar

Comments

[Billy Dennis]

Shocking, isn't it, to discover that the biggest backers of this project were scoundrels. Some of us knew that years ago. Makes you wonder what's in it for them (beyond the past someof them got payoffs).

We'll see which developers make out like bandits once the tracks are removed.

[Elaine Hopkins]

The original backers were not scoundrels, only ordinary people who are bikers and hikers. They stand nothing to gain.

They say they were duped by Leiter et al, who told them that private money, not tax money, would buy out the railroads.

Some are so upset they have resigned from the Recreation Trail Advocates. Others decided to go along, as actually they have no choice and couldn't stop the deal by the time they found out what was happening.

The trail will be a great amenity for Peoria. IDOT will contract to build it, Bonnie Noble said, so I doubt anyone involved with its advocacy will make money off it.

The Peoria City Council played the dominate role in the payments, and declined to pursue the trail with vigor, which prompted Leiter et. al. to act.

Apparently they decided to use state tax money rather than city money to develop the trail.

The thing to watch will be any campaign contributions to them from the railroad/Leiter group. That's the way they could benefit from the deal.

[Steve Jaeger]

Elaine, the event was attended by Mike Carr, CEO of Pioneer Railcorp, and he was acknowledged at one point in the program. I would have greater confidence in Rep. Schock had he not referred in his comments to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) as the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), a totally separate agency.