PeoriaStory

Redistricting could threaten Democratic Party control of County Board

PEORIA -- The Peoria County Board will decide at its May meeting whether to keep 18 single member districts or reduce the number to 17 districts. The decision could determine whether the board stays in the hands of the Democrats, who now dominate it, 10-8.

The board's redistricting committee met on April 27, and voted 3-2 to stick with 18 single member districts.  The recommendation goes to the full board, but the two Republican members on the committee, Steve Morris and Mary Ardaple, said they will ask that the decision be debated on the floor by the full board.

Morris said 17 districts would mean  "smaller and more efficient government," and "an odd number makes sense."  Ardaple agreed.

Committee chairman Allen Mayer said most counties, including many smaller than Peoria County, have more than 18 members.  But "we agree the full board should weigh in on it," he added.

After that decision is made, the committee then can proceed to draw up the County Board districts for the next decade.

Democrats could lose their control of the board because Peoria County's population has shifted to the northwest, where Republicans dominate the elections. The area in Peoria below War Memorial Drive reportedly is where a district could be cut out because it has lost population, and that's a Democratic Party area.

Mayer said after the final decision on the number of  districts, a proposed map of the districts will be drawn, and the public will have two weeks to examine it.
Then the board will vote on it in June. 

If a map is not filed with the Peoria County Clerk by July 1 a commission composed of the State's Attorney, County Clerk, county heads of both political parties, and a representative of the Illinois Attorney General's office will be empowered to draw the map, he said.  The State's Attorney and County Clerk are both Democrats.

Precincts will be drawn after the County Board and Illinois General Assembly draw their maps, he added, in hopes of keeping precincts within other district  boundaries.

The committee meets again on May 25.

-- Elaine Hopkins

District 150 School Board -- for a minute....

PEORIA -- For a few minutes I felt transported into a far away land -- North Korea, Communist China or some other place where children sing propaganda songs for adult entertainment.  

That's what happened at the Peoria School District 150 Board meeting on April 25, where children sang a song for the board that seemed like something out of a North Korean pageant.  It wasn't just me -- the person seated next to me had the same thought.

The board has gotten into the habit of scheduling child performances at its meetings, along with endless award ceremonies for children and teachers. ("All the children are above average?").

At this meeting these events took up nearly 25 minutes of valuable time before the meeting got underway.

The public comments were over in only 17 minutes.

I have been recording and posting the public comments for a year, ever since the board quit televising its meeting live, and censored the public comments out of the meeting video.  Now I'm not even sure that video is playing on cable TV. 

What a joke that this district touts "transparency' while it refuses to broadcast its meetings live or webcast them, and  it's way behind on releasing Feeedom of Information requests -- I have one pending since March 30 and Sharon Crews has several pending.

Oddly, at the meeting Supt. Grenita Lathan announced that all the FOIA requests had been filled and none are pending. Don't know where she's getting that information!

Anyway -- the public comments began with activist and retired teacher Sharon Crews, who questioned why Manual High School students are getting credit for attending homeroom and a study skills class, and why a new policy makes students choose between taking band and taking an academic subject.  Traditionally, students could use the band hour to count for P.E. She wondered if this was a subtle way to discourage students from taking band, as a way to finally get rid of band.

Supt. Lathan responds to the comments, but didn't mention this.  Crews always writes her comments, which are reproduced below.

Activist Sevino Sierra questioned why teachers are blamed for poor performance when lack of strong discipline is the real reasons schools fail. 

Activist Terry Knapp congratulated the board on finally ditching the Edison Schools contract, five years and $45 million after a 17-member panel on the budget recommended it.

He mentioned "non transparency" saying information on the charter school and the Johns Hopkins program is difficult to obtain. "How much money is the company making that is running the charter school?" he asked.  "Does anyone know?"

Lathan didn't respond to that question either, or to his persistent question about evaluating the effectiveness of the Valeska Hinton preschool, and whether those students graduate at rates above others. That money comes from Title I funds, and so is taken from other children in the district, he said.

He also questioned why 25 percent of the children at that school are not disadvantaged, and instead are the children of middle class families, some living in Dunlap. They're getting a free $10,000 education, he said.

And he questioned why District 150 is paying two and three law firms to handle its cases, two from the area and one from Chicago."It's crazy," he said.

Teacher union president Bob Darling blamed the media for bad publicity and said he hopes the award-winning children will get publicity. He criticized the "Wednesday professional development" situation.  "I hear it's lacking," he said, adding he plans to survey the teachers about it.

Lathan later responded to that, saying it would be looked into.

Robin White, a teacher at Mark Bills School where the board held its meeting, said the school library is now open only 2.5 days a week, and this is impacting student reading and learning. Lathan said she's trying to find a way to keep the libraries open longer.

The audio recording is posted here.

D150 Apr 25

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 Here are the comments from Sharon Crews:

 

Tonight I have given you a copy of a portion of Board Policy 6:280.  The policy states, "The decision to promote a student to the next grade level shall be based on successful completion of the curriculum, attendance, performance based on Illinois Standards Achievement Tests, or other testing."

 Must all three requirements be met for a student to be promoted?  The “or” seems to imply that students have a choice as to which requirement to meet.  My question again is:  Do students have to meet curriculum and attendance requirements and pass Illinois Standards Achievement Tests in order to be promoted to the next grade?  That certainly seems to be the current practice.  Or can students meet only one of these requirements to be promoted?   Some seem to believe that is a board sanctioned possibility.

 Recently,  several changes in District 150 have been recommended.  Of course, I am pleased that an alternative school and vocational programs have been recommended.  I do have questions as to how these changes will be implemented.

The three current alternative programs are to be moved to the Woodruff building.  Does this recommendation involve only a change in location?  The recommendation does read that suspended high school students would be temporarily assigned to this location to complete their suspensions.  What are the arrangements for that busing nightmare?

This change seems to do little to address the need for a viable alternative school in District 150 and little to alleviate the problem of repeat offenders in our schools.   The implication is that the increase in numbers of students will be due only to suspended students who, after from 1 to 10 days, will still return to their home schools—that doesn’t seem to be a solution to me or even a change.  With regard to this policy, if the suspended students are absent, will their suspensions be lengthened accordingly?

Also, will the alternative programs be the same as those already offered at the current sites or will additional course offerings be available?  Will the programs be expanded to include more students?  How many more students?  How many more teachers?  Will any students be moved from their home schools to the alternative school for longer periods of time or just for the length of their suspensions or expulsions?  What, if any, will be the criteria for students to be moved from their home school to the alternative setting for longer periods of time?   Will the alternative school have a revolving door—how revolving?  What will be the criteria for students to return to their home schools?

The proposal for vocational programs states that classes will become available as curriculum and funding sources are developed.  That sounds like a big “If” to me, so I am assuming not much will be offered in the near future.  I hope I am wrong.  Apart from the funding, my questions are:  Will all high school students be offered the opportunity to benefit from these vocational programs?  Will students in the alternative school be allowed to take the vocational classes?  If so, does that mean that students placed in the alternative school would be in classes with students from the other high schools?  

I should be pleased that you have increased the number of credits required for high school students.  However, requiring 4 more credits for Manual students is ludicrous—just get rid of the 4 credits offered for home room.  Also, offering credit for study skills is, also, ridiculous.   The change in credits looked good—but it is just a cover-up for offering credits for classes for which high school credit should not be given.

Also, eliminating the PE exemption for students in marching band is a sure way to force students out of band.  You are forcing students to choose between band and academic classes.  That’s wrong. -30-

 

Obama and the Fresh Juice Party

PEORIA --  Here's a story you likely won't see in the mainstream media: Obama's pricey $5,000 fundraiser interrupted by protesters who paid the fees to get in.  It's a great read.

"We paid our dues. Where's our change?" they sang.

Our local right wing pols could use some of this Fresh Juice treatment! 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Rally for TV journalists v. Wall Street fat cats

PEORIA --There's an interesting labor struggle right here in River City.  And a way for viewers to support their favorite television journalists. 

AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is holding a rally at 5 p.m. on Wed. April 27 at the office of WEEK-WHOI TV, 2907 Springfield Road, East Peoria.

Here's what union members say is happening:

"The General Manager insists on keeping 'outsourcing' language in the Company's contract proposals.

 

We are facing the possibility of having their proposals IMPOSED upon us.

 

The rally at the Station is to let the Company see that the community supports LOCAL and PROFESSIONAL news.

 

It also gives us an opportunity to thank you for your support.

 

If you can make, please come out and stand with us.  

  

We have researched Silverpointe (the Equity Company pulling the strings at Granite Broadcasting) and have found that the Corporate leaders are trying to build a casino in China, have holdings in the Cayman Islands, and one is a former Goldman Sachs executive.  These are classic Wall Street fat cats who don't care about the LOCAL product.  

 

Their goal is to squeeze the local operation dry and try to bust the Union.  If they succeed, your information will suffer.     

 

AFTRA won't go down without a fight!  And we hope, you'll stand with us."

My take:  this is a worthy cause.  Show support at this rally!

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

Hey business whiners: Illinois the best US state in which to make a living

PEORIA -- Illinois is the best state in the USA in which to make a living, with an adjusted average income of almost $42,000 annually.  That's the conclusion of Money.com, which cites high pay and low living expenses to reach its conclusion.

Now will all the giant corporations, whose executives earn multi-millions, just shut up about Illinois and its government and tax policies! Its liberal government must be doing something right, and taxes are just a part of the mix.

Want to hear more?  Economist Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability in Chicago, speaks to the Peoria Area League of Women Voters at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 in the conference room at Lakeview Museum in Peoria.   He will argue that higher taxes lead to prosperity, and not the reverse.

Or as some have said, money is like fertilizer -- it must be spread around.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

August: Osage County Plays Well in April at WIU

MACOMB -- The college premier of the prize winning play August: Osage County opened Aug. 20 at Western Illinois University.  It is extremely well done, riveting, a must-see for theater fans. It runs through April 23 at Hainline Theater on the campus.

The lead character, Violet, is being played by the director, WIU faculty member Carolyn Blackinton, a member of Actors Equity.  She stepped in at the last minute when the person cast for the role had to drop out.  She is such a skilled actor that a script in her hand is not even noticeable, as she carries the role as if she has played it for weeks.

The other actors are equally skilled, the set is a marvel, and the play itself is fascinating, a family drama full of fury and comedy.

From the WIU news release: "The play, which earned a 2008 Tony Award, first awarded playwright and actor Tracy Letts a 2007 Pulitzer Prize. This play premiered in 2007 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where Letts has been an ensemble member since 2002. It also played on Broadway and London's National Theatre.

"August: Osage County" is set in modern day, middle-class Oklahoma and centers on the Weston family, whose members tend to make each other miserable. When the head of the household mysteriously vanishes, the family gathers together to support, and attack, one another."

Information on the cast and tickets can be found in the news release.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

Third muny landfill approved by committee, includes citizen recycling center

PEORIA -- The stand alone  design for Landfill No. 3 received unanimous approval by the Peoria City/County Landfill Committee at its April 20 meeting.

Peoria environmental activists praised the decision for expansion of the municipal landfill. They had feared approval of an alternative design, a 60-year contract for a lay-over design, built on Landfill No. 2, but it was ultimately rejected.

The approval includes a $1 million Citizens Convenience Center, where citizens can deposit recyclables including tires and electronic goods, and a materials exchange store where items like paint can be deposited and taken away free by others who need the items.

It will include a household hazardous waste center where people can drop off those unwanted supplies once monthly. The facility will encourge recycling and proper disposal of potentially hazardous items that otherwise might go into the landfill. It will be the first of its type in downstate Illinois.  

Unfortunately it may not open until 2020, but could open sooner, Peoria Disposal Co. vice president Chris Coulter said after the meeting.  PDC will be the operator of Landfill No. 3.

The landfill expansion process will continue, to include approval by the Peoria City Council and County Board and ultimately by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. 

Committee engineer Pat Sloan commented that the stand alone design "makes more sense for strategic and risk management reasons." It has community support, he said.

He also noted that if one of the old landfills ever leaks into the groundwater, it might have to be relocated, more easily done without the layover design.

Committee chairman Les Bergsten commented that Peoria County contains two old landfills, along Kickapoo Creek, that have no liners and perhaps should be dug up and relocated, though that would be very expensive.

Committee member Steve Van Winkle said the landfill must serve the region to be economically viable. "We're happy when people come here to shop or work," he said. "Their waste stream" provides needed funds to operate the landfill, he said.

Committee member Ryan Spain mentioned a situation he said is costing the city a lot of money that should be resolved with the operator of Landfill No. 2, Waste Management.  Reportedly he meant the fact that WM is charging lower tipping fees for waste disposal to other municipalities than Peoria itself pays But his comment was not made clear to the audience.

A citizen in the audience, Patricia Melaik, then spoke of encouraging recycling, and said a subcommittee should be set up to encourage it. She volunteered to help.  PDC, which has the city garbage hauling contract, provides curbside recycling, but participation remains low, perhaps because of the $50 deposit required for the bins. 

That's a one-time refundable deposit, but people may not understand that, Coulter said afterward.

My take: This is democracy in action, an open process, with thoughtful decision making and the input of citizens. 

PDC officials have done a very classy job of presenting their proposal, which has won over their former foes.  This group includes Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste, a powerful grass roots group formed a few years ago to stop the expansion of PDC's hazardous waste landfill.

The Families group won that battle, and the hazardous waste landfill is slated to close soon. Instead of being resentful, PDC, a local company with top notch, long term employees, to its credit went ahead to develop a proposal for the municipal landfill that should serve the community for years to come. 

It was praise all around at the meeting, well deserved.

In addition, the municipal landfill presents an invisible but important advantage to area business and industry, which can count on affordable fees for disposal, ultimately regulated by local government. Catrpillar, Inc., engineers have been out to look at the site and the design, Bergsten said at the meeting.

Smart.  Checks and balances at work, resulting in a good proposal.

 -- Elaine Hopkins  

Facts for tax due day

Here's an interesting news release, for the next time you hear someone whining about high taxes in Illinois.  And see below that for the biggest tax avoiders:

 Off-Shore Tax Havens Cost Illinois Taxpayers $490 a Year

Loopholes Allow Many Corporations to Pay Less Than Individuals and Households 

 Chicago, April 18 – Major corporations and some individuals avoid a total of as much as $100 billion a year in federal taxes by “off-shoring” the profits they make here in the U.S. or by setting up sham headquarters in tax haven countries. As a result, Illinois taxpayers are left footing the bill.

 According to Tax Shell Game, a new Illinois Public Interest Research Group (Illinois PIRG) report, the use of offshore tax havens results in $434 in additional tax burden for taxpayers around the country. Here in Illinois, it’s $490 per taxpayer.

 “Main street businesses and ordinary taxpayers without access to an army of accountants to devise elaborate tax avoidance schemes are forced to pick up the tab every year. We’ve already paid to bail out the banks and other big corporations – is it fair to ask us to pay their taxes as well?” said Brian Imus, state Director with Illinois PIRG.

In the weeks and months leading up to Tax Day, Congress debated the national debt, rising deficits, and across the board cuts to a range of public priorities such as food safety inspectors, Pell grants and clean air and water programs.  Illinois PIRG today called on Congress to address the deficit by closing corporate tax loopholes, rather than cutting public priorities.

Due in part to complex tax avoidance schemes, nearly two-thirds of corporations doing business in the U.S. pay no income taxes at all, according to a 2008 report from the Government Accountability Office.

Companies that received taxpayer-funded bailout money or receive lucrative government contracts and use tax havens include American Express, A.I.G, Exxon Mobil, Goldman Sachs and Pfizer.

#  #  #

 

Illinois PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.

The full report is available at www.illinoispirg.org

 

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Battleship Potemkin event: wow!

PEORIA -- A sophisticated audience, an incredible pianist and a classic film combined on April 17 to make for a very amusing afternoon.

The film, Battleship Potemkin, created by Sergei Eisenstein in 1925 (!) has been remastered for DVD, and was screened at the Apollo Theater by the Reel to Real: Focus on Film group.

It's a gripping movie -- a look into the past, with scenes from Odessa in Russia and early ships, and the people, now all dead, of the early Soviet Union.

The sentiments of this silent, Soviet propaganda film are strangely contemporary. In 1905, revolution is in the air, so a military ship's crew, fed up with rotten meat, mutinys and tosses the officers into the sea. 

They sail to Odessa where the townspeople celebrate their success.  But then the authorities attack. (Think Libya! and Egypt!) The success of the downtrodden depends on whether the military stays loyal to the Czar or joins their brothers in the ranks.

The battle scenes are tame by modern standards but during the discussion following the film, those knowledgeable about this ground breaking movie said violence of this type had never been seen before on the big screen. The film was censored in some places -- not for the politics but for the violence.

There are interesting symbolic elements in the film. Religion makes a sly appearance. An orthodox priest on the ship is called a "sorcerer" and his appearance indicates he is a mad man.  In Odessa someone urges that "Jews" be attacked, but the cry is ignored.  

Scenes and techniques from the film have been duplicated in later films -- including a memorable scene where a mother with a baby in a carriage is trampled by advancing troops, and carriage careens down steep steps. Thus are the innocent destroyed by military violence.

Class distinctions appear, and a piano in an officer's quarters is destroyed, symbolizing what can happen to culture during a revolution.

But a piano added much to the afternoon. John Orfe, concert pianist and Peoria Symphony Orchesta composer-in-residence, accompanied the film with selections from Russian composers.  His was a fantastically successful effort, with the music matching the action on the screen -- for over an hour. Brilliant!

Afterward PSO music director George Steliuto led an interesting panel discussion with several knowledgeable people, but the audience which filled the theater added even more information on the historical events the film was based on, its connection to later films and politics.

Steliuto said that a DVD will be released soon with the original score that accompanied the silent film.

Peoria Journal Star critic Gary Panetta adds even more information, including the Nazi connection in this PJ Star blog.

June restaurant contributed interesting appetizers for an after-the-film social.  

Let's hope more of these interesting events will be organized soon.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Peoria redistricting hearing: more hearings when maps are done, maybe

PEORIA -- The Illinois Senate committee overseeing redistricting of the General Assembly and Congressional districts took public comments in Peoria on April 16. The event attracted about 50 people and some interesting comments.

Roberta Parks, president of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, led by echoing the Illinois League of Women Voters language for its failed Fair Map Amendment, calling for transparency and intact geographic boundaries.

But then, she added comments about the "business climate" in Illinois (code for 'we want lower taxes'), and said "how we redraw the map will send a strong signal about confidence in government."

Hummm -- does that mean giving Republicans and other low-tax advocates a better shot at winning elections with maps favorable for them?  

Union advocates at the meeting took the opposite approach. John Shallenberger of the United Auto Workers said Peoria now has two representatives and two senators, split between the political parties.  (They have safe seats, due to the way the districts are drawn/gerrymandered.)

"The system we have today works well.  We prefer to keep it.  That way you have access to everyone, he said.

Dave Chapman president of Local 974 of the UAW, with 24,000 workers and retirees, said: "I can call any representative and get a quick response," and slyly contrasted that situation with "the federal level."  (Apparently his calls to Cong. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, are not as eagerly returned.)

Susan O'Neal, a Decatur attorney, said that city of less than 90,000 people is split into three Congressional districts and two districts for the Illinois House and Senate. "No one knows who their representative is," she said.

Her disabled clients are especially disadvantaged, she said.  "My people don't have the Internet," and may not be able to make a phone call due to the confusion. "I don't think they get good representation."

The Illinois Senators acknowledged that there are several cities and towns, some quite small, split into several districts. 

James Polk of the Illinois Central College Board and 18th District Democratic Central Committeeman, warned the committee that using a computer model to draw the lines may not work."There are traditions, cultures, a way of life," that make minority communities different, he said.

Peoria activist General Parker said Peoria is 30 percent black with a school district that is around 65 percent black, yet black representatives don't meet those percentages.  "We need people who will advocate for us and be sensitive to the needs of ethnicity," he said.

Illinois Sen. Kwame Raoul, who chairs the committee, responded that the Iowa computerized plan will not work in Illinois because Iowa is not subject to the federal Voting Rights Act. It protects minorities by keeping them together as a voting block. "We have diversity," he said.

In addition the recently passed Illinois Voting Rights Act requires that other, smaller minority groups be kept together. It was passed for Chinatown in Chicago, he said, which had been split into several districts."They couldn't hold anybody acccountable," he said.

Steve Adams, a Local 974 retiree, said more meetings will be needed after the maps are drawn.

Illinois Sen. Darrin LaHood pressed for a date when the new maps will be released for comment. But Raoul  said he didn't know when that would take place, since both the House and Senate will be drawing them, and they will become legislation to be passed.

Raoul said meetings on the maps likely will be in Chicago and Springfield. Meanwhile, "we need information prior to drawing the maps."

Illinois Sen. Dave Koehler  said," we will have hearings once the (map) is done."

The Illinois House and Senate have released websites with redistricting information.

The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn at the end of May.

 -- Elaine Hopkins