PeoriaStory

Get the money!

PEORIA, IL -- The city of Peoria has extra money in its TIF accounts, money that city officials have discussed "rolling over" to help with construction of the River Trail apartments, at Riverfront Park.

Instead, this money should go to Peoria School District 150, to benefit the children of Peoria, instead of a private, for-profit project, I told the Peoria School Board at its Sept. 28 meeting.

The city council last week voted to move forward with the apartments, despite public opposition. Using excess TIF (tax increment financing) funds for the apartments instead of the schools is an outrage.  I urged the board to look into this and ask for the money. 

In his response, board member Rick Cloyd said he was aware of these funds, and two years ago a letter went to the city council asking for them. 

But apparently it was ignored.

Other public comments involved excess busing of students from critic Terry Knapp, especially busing to the charter academy Quest.

The need to revive the music and arts programs which have been allowed to wither away over the last few years under the previous superintendent was discussed after comments by Sharon Crews. Her comments are posted below.

Here is a recording of these and other comments: 

 

Dist150 Sept. 28

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Comments by Sharon Crews:

 

Many things from the past still need to be fixed, but I believe Dr. Kherat is creating an environment for District 150 to head in a new direction—or maybe even a return to what was good about the past.   Many have been saddened to watch 150’s music program dwindle almost to non-existence.  If I could jump, I would have jumped for joy when I saw a Facebook request from the Roosevelt band director asking the community to donate musical instruments because so many children wanted to be in the band.  I was even more pleased to read in the PJStar that people were responding and that the band had expanded from 22 to 44 after school started. 

 

 

Chris Coplan mentioned that the music program has dwindled in the last five years—that’s not a surprise!  I was chagrined to learn that the longstanding contract with Kidder Music had been dropped.  For years Kidder’s had refurbished instruments and passed them on to District 150.  I was pleased to learn that Kidder’s wants to revive that relationship with the District.  I was, also, pleased to learn that Dr. Kherat wants to revive Roosevelt’s status as a performing arts school.

 

 

 Of course, the music program needs to be restored at all middle schools, and I have no doubt that Dr. Kherat already has that on her to-do list.  Perhaps if Roosevelt’s band is strengthened, we can expect Manual and Peoria High to reap some of the benefits.  On Facebook, Manual grads reported seeing only drummers marching in the Labor Day Parade and remembered the days that I, also, remember when the Manual band numbered at least 100 and won many contests.  Also, we remember that before Christmas, we would all open our classroom doors as we heard the Manual Band led by George Graves coming down the hall playing Christmas music.  Many students have been deprived of the feeling of pride that comes from participation in a strong music program.  The previous administration, in its desire to encourage kids to go to college, must not have realized how many 150 kids went to college on music scholarships.

 

 

Less testing and more of the arts might well be what schools need.  At the last meeting we heard about the time-consuming and expensive glitches in trying to administer NWEA tests.  Then we hear from the State Board of Education that we should not expect good results from the PARCC test.  Isn’t it time that we consider that there might be something wrong with these tests—how do we know that the tests themselves have passed any validity tests? - 30 -

 

 

 

Kinky Boots: good show

PEORIA, IL -- The musical Kinky Boots danced into the Peoria Civic Center Theater this week, and runs through Sept. 27 with three more performances.  

The Actors Equity cast does a fine job with the singing and dancing, but the real star of this show is the spectacular sets. What a production! 

The only flaw in this show is the talk -- too fast and with British accents, because it is set in England.  I kept wishing for subtitles to better understand the nuances of the plot.

Maybe it will be shown on PBS, where the subtitles will be a welcome addition to the experience.  That was true of Cats, shown on PBS not too long ago.  The subtitles revealed the poetry of the talk and songs, a revelation, even though I had seen Cats a few times, including once in London.

So -- see Kinky Boots before it leaves town, and make the best of the talk, because the song and dance, and the sets make the show worth seeing.

 --  Elaine Hopkins

 

Soup for a cause

PEORIA, IL -- An interesting event, P-Town Soup takes place at 6 pm on Tuesday Sept. 29 at the Universalist Unitarian Church, 3000 Richwoods Blvd.

The Peoria Community Against Violence will serve soup, a side, rolls, desserts and drinks, free, but they are hoping for a $5 or more donation. 

Those who attend can also vote on ideas to better Peoria and vote on who should receive the evening's donations.

There's a Facebook page and website with more information.

Decision coming Tuesday? Riverfront Park

PEORIA, IL -- The Peoria City Council's agenda shows a decision likely will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 22,  on whether to proceed with the River Trail apartments at Riverfront Park.  It's a terrible project, as even the Peoria Journal Star admits, though its editorial equivocates on what should be done.

Well here's a solution:  move the apartment project to NE Jefferson Street, where there are properties for sale in the 1,000 block and 900 block.  The latter is the former Greeley School, a historic building which could be renovated into apartments.  Across the street is an ample lot big enough for the project as well.

And there's a 'for-sale' sign on a large lot in the 1,000 block of Jefferson. Here are some photos taken today, Sept. 20:

A large vacant lot in the 1000 block of NE Jefferson

 

The former Greeley School, with a 'for-sale' sign, in the 900 block of NE Jefferson. 

A very large vacant lot is across the street from the school, though no for-sale sign is present.

Imagine -- these sites are two blocks from Riverfront Park, and will not require a bond issue as the infrastructure is already in place.

Apartments here would truly revitalize the area, compared with the isolated proposed apartments in the park.

The noisy factories storing hazardous materials are blocks away instead of next door, as is the railroad track with its trains of hazardous materials in tank cars.

Everyone would be happy -- the developer, the unions, and most of all the public.  People don't want Riverfront Park to lose valuable green space.

River Trail Apartments should be killed or relocated.

Picketing at City Hall begins at 5 pm on Tuesday. The City Council meeting is at 6 pm.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

TIF Districts and District 150

PEORIA, IL -- For too long Peoria School District 150 has been ripped off when the city of Peoria sets up yet another TIF, tax increment financing, district.

It's happening now, as the city plans to allow private developers to build the River Trail apartments in Riverfront Park.(Whether that's a done deal remains a question mark, however.)

At the Sept. 14 District 150 School Board meeting, I raised the issue of TIF districts.  Peoria Heights and East Peoria send part of the TIF revenues in their communities to the schools.  Why isn't Peoria doing the same, I asked.

I called upon the school board members to speak up and ask for this funding.

When the board responded to the public comments, some agreed with me, and expressed concerns about the TIF districts in Peoria. Earnestine Jackson said "I hope the board will get out front on that."

Rick Cloyd said he has talked with the city about the issue, and added that state law requires the schools to get some of the money if the TIF will increase the burden on schools.

"It's a huge amount of money at stake, and we have gotten the short end of the stick on this and that needs to be changed," he said.

Board chairwoman Martha Ross said she didn't realize other cities got a share of the TIF district funds, and was glad to have it brought to her attention. 

Other comments to the board:

Terry Knapp noted that the charter school Quest has a senior class of about 50 students, and the school is not following the rules by admitting students on the waiting list.

"How do you present a quality curriculum for less than 50 seniors, he asked.  He also said Quest should partner with District 150 for athletic events, and not Peoria Heights. Manual needs more athletes, he said.

Sharon Crews asked that purchase orders over $2,500 be placed on the agenda, so the public can see them before they are voted on. The way money is spent reveals academic decisions and priorities, she said. 

The board will be presenting a new purchasing policy at a future meeting.

Here is a recording of the comments: (A minute or so of the beginning of Knapp's comments are missing, as I forgot to turn on the recorder.)

 

Dist150 Sept 14

Crews' report also will be posted here later.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Interesting speaker

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release, interesting speaker:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Professor James Ralph of Middlebuury College, Middlebury, Vermont, will be in Peoria on Sunday and Monday, September 20 & 21, 2015, to offer historical perspective on the history of civil rights in Peoria.

 

On Sunday September 20, 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm, Professor Ralph will be the guest of the Peoria NAACP at a reception at the NAACP office, 101 N MacArthur Highway in Peoria.  Refreshments will be served and the public is most welcome.

 

Professor Ralph will give a lecture at Bradley University on Monday,  entitled  “The Peoria NAACP and the Civil Rights Struggle” , 7:00 pm in the Marty Theatre, located in the basement of the Student Center. The public is welcome.

 

Professor Ralph is a civil rights historian with an emphasis on the Midwest. He is the author of “Northern Protest: Martin Luther King, Jr., Chicago, and the Civil Rights Movement”. He is co-author of the forthcoming book, “The Chicago Freedom Movement Reconsidered”. His current book manuscript is called “Protest in Peoria: The Struggle for Racial Justice in America’s Heartland."

 

 Professor Ralph is the author of many book reviews, book chapters, essays, book reviews, film reviews and web presentations. Professor  Ralph has been a consultant for many national radio and television programs. He has taught at Middlebury College for 26 years, is past Dean of the Faculty and is currently Dean for Faculty Development and Research. Professor Ralph last visited Peoria in 2002 where he received the Romeo B Garret Humanitarian Award.

 

The Peoria NAACP is celebrating its 100^th year of existence in 2015 and has offered a variety of events to emphasize that the struggle for justice is far from over.

 

During October30 & 31, 2015, the annual NAACP State Convention will be held in Peoria at the Marriot Pere Marquette, featuring NAACP National  President Cornell Brooks and Sierra Club National President Aaron Mair, speaking about the connections between environment and racial justice.

 

For further information please contact David Pittman at 573-2354, [email protected]

- 30 -

 

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The end of Twittergate

PEORIA, IL -- The Peoria City Council voted to approve the ACLU free speech lawsuit, known as Twittergate, at its Sept. 8 meeting, without a word of comment.

Here's the PJS story on it.

And here's a very well done story in the Chicago Tribune.

And an even better one on the site of the Daily Beast.

Has Mayor Ardis learned his lesson?  Don't count on it. The $125,000 settlement didn't come out of his pocket.

The estimated $250,000 this farce cost city taxpayers could have been better spent in many ways, as an hour-long discussion/argument over the social services budget at the same meeting demonstrated.  

Ardis should have resigned long ago over this.

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

Goodbye AVID

PEORIA, IL -- Here's a terrific piece of research from Sharon Crews:

A Brief History of AVID in District 150 from Beginning to What Appears To Be The End!

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is one of several programs on which Dr. Grenita Lathan’s administration spent considerable District 150 money.  I believe many such companies came up with miracle cures for the academic woes brought to light by No Child Left Behind—cures that did little to help District 150 meet NCLB goals but most certainly enriched these companies.

The new District 150 administration, led by Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin Kherat, has begun the task of analyzing all of these programs to determine where money can be saved.  According to a response to my FOIA request, the District has decided to cut ties with AVID.  Carla Eman, Director of Budgets and Compliance, wrote the following August 18, 2015, e-mail to Francis O’Brien of AVID:

  “Peoria District 150 is struggling with a significant financial deficit, as are many districts across the state and country.  As a result, we unfortunately will need to cancel our AVID contract signed March 2015, for the fiscal year 2016 school year pursuant to section 7.2 of the agreement.”

On March 26, 2015, Dr. Grenita Lathan had sent a Services and Products Agreement to AVID (but not a Purchase Order) for $71,385 to cover the following for the next school year (with three new sites added for 2015-16):

       Membership Fees for $3,295 for each of the following secondary schools:  Calvin

           Coolidge, Lindbergh, Manual Academy, Peoria High, Richwoods,Von Steuben,

       Membership Fees for $2590 for each of the following elementary schools:  Franklin,

           Harrison, Kellar, Thomas Jefferson, Whittier

       Membership Fees for $3810 for Lincoln

        6 AVID Weekly Subscriptions at $475 each for Calvin Collidge, Lincoln, Manual

            Academy, Peoria High, Richwoods,Von Steuben,

       17 Registration Fees for the Summer Institute (Summer 2015) totaling $11,833 at $699 each.

           NOTE:  163 people went on the trip to Orlando, Florida for a total of $113,937 for

                         Registration Fees only.

         2 Complete Middle Level School Library Set at $4370 for a total of $8,740 for Lindbergh

         4 Elementary Curriculum Set at $665 for a total of $2,660 for Glen Oak and Whittier

 

Section 7.2:  “Termination for Convenience:  Notwithstanding Paragraph 7.1 above, either party may terminate this Agreement upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to the other party.”

 On March 27, 2015, AVID requested that District 150 issue a Purchase Order so that this agreement could be processed.  I assume there was a Purchase Order since District 150 did participate in the Orlando Summer Institute in July, 2015.

 However, on April 20, 2015, Dr. Lathan asked AVID to remove Lindbergh as an AVID site and to deduct the $17,927 charged to add Lindbergh.

 District 150 has not yet announced the end of its relationship with AVID.  If there were any correspondence after August 18, 2015, between AVID and District 150, it was not included in response to my FOIA.  I assume that the 30 days will be up on September 18, 2015, at which time there will probably be an announcement because 7.3 (Cessation of Use) of the AVID contract states:  “Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement:  (a) the licenses in Article III shall automatically terminate and revert to AVID center (b) Client shall thereafter immediately discontinue AVID in all of its school sites, and cease using the AVID materials, AVID Methodologies or the AVID Trademarks in any way, and (c) Client hall pay any unpaid balances to AVID Center and remain liable for its obligations of other actions that accrued or occurred prior to the termination date.”

AVID’s stated mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society—a goal for which success is very difficult to assess.

From 2011-2014, the Lathan administration spent approximately $400,000 on AVID related materials and activities.   The exact amount is difficult to assess because only some of the expenditures show up on the yearly Statement of Affairs.  Sometimes AVID expenditures were noted on board minutes as Purchases Over $2500.  Many other charges went unnoticed on the P (Procurement) Cards of employees.  For instance, one such expenditure for over $200 showed up on Latoy Kennedy’s P-Card for decorations for an AVID banquet. 

The cost of summer AVID trips (2013, 2014, 2015) were the most extravagant.  Each year the number of District 150 participants increased as new schools were added to the list of participating schools.  In 2013 sixty-four traveled to an AVID Summer Institute, in 2014 one hundred twenty-four went to Philadelphia or Indianapolis, and in 2015 one hundred sixty-three went to Orlando, Florida.  The registration fee for each of these participants was $699.  In 2015 close to $300,000 was spent on this trip for registration fees, air transportation, hotels, and meals.  The summer institute of 2016 was scheduled to include even more participants.

AVID did pay off for LaToy Kennedy, who is now employed by AVID. -30-

Update Sept. 9:

 From Carla Eman  (On Facebook) , Director of Budgets and compliance: We cancelled the contract that required large groups of teachers to travel for training. Instead, very small groups of teachers will travel for training. We will focus on consultants coming to Peoria to do local training instead.
This allows the AVID program do continue uninterrupted while being respectful of our finances. -30-

 

 

Heartland Orchestra wonderful, as usual

WASHINGTON, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra opened its seventh season  on Sept. 5 at Five Points Washington with a classical classical concert:  Schubert, Haydn and the Brahms Double Concerto, one of classical music's most spectacular pieces.

All of them were played brilliantly.

The Brahms concerto featured two marvelous soloists, Elena Urioste and NIcholas Canellakis.

Violinist Urioste was gorgeous in a black sheath gown, hugging her slender figure.  She has stage presence, and her expressions were perfect, her smiles as professional as her music.  In a way she stole the show.

Cellist Canellakis was expressive in a different way,  seeming sometimes bored or even confused, rarely smiling, but he, too, was perfect in his music.

The timing of this piece is so important, and the soloists and orchestra performed perfectly.

After the standing ovation the two soloists played a Bulgarian folk tune that Canellakis said he heard in Europe and set to music for an encore.  It was a brilliant piece, very fast, exciting.

These two young soloists were a pleasure to hear, as was the orchestra.

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

Was today a waste of time? Riverfront Park

PEORIA, IL -- After five hours of spending one of the last hot summer days, Sept. 3, in a meeting of the Peoria Planning and Zoning Commission, you have to wonder:  was it a waste of time?

At issue:  the proposed River Trail apartments at Riverfront Park. (See many stories below on this subject.)

The commission refused to approve the road from the south, past the Riverplex, into the proposed River Trail Apartments. That was after the developer's lawyer, Bob Hall, twice said the project wouldn't be built without that road.

It also apparently did not rezone the Riverfront Park site for apartments, even though it approved the plans without the road.  The ending of the meeting was confusing and no one was 100 percent sure what happened.

But it didn't matter, because the Peoria City Council, which takes up the matter on Sept. 22, can overrule what the commission decides.

Why would anyone serve on a commission that can be overruled with only a majority vote, and not a 2/3rds vote?  Beats me.  

The City Council chambers were packed, and the commissioners heard the now familiar arguments, from the dangers of the hazardous waste stored at the two chemical plans, and transported on the trains that pass very close to the proposed apartments, to problems with the road from the south, which would wipe out the volleyball courts, the prairie, and many mature trees.

Only the road argument impressed the commissioners, and not all of them, but enough.

Hall said former mayor Carver knew the plans always contemplated residential in the park.  After I presented the commission with the original documents showing how the federal government paid $400,000 toward the purchase price with an  agreement that it would be a park and nothing else, he kept quiet.

He also said he felt safe in the area, to counter the haz waste issues. I had passed out a list of the waste I obtained from the Peoria Fire Department. Likely all those Chinese killed recently in their homes when a factory storing haz waste exploded also felt safe -- until they didn't.

So -- no doubt the developers will take one last bite at the apple with the Peoria City Council, to see if developer Glen Barton's generosity toward certain council members (see post below for details) will pay off. 

Likely Sept. 22 will not be a waste of time.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

UPDATE, 9/4/15:  Here's the PJS story on the hearing. It helpfully contains the names of the 'suits' but little on the protesters.  If 10,000 people showed up at the next opportunity, would it change council members' minds?  Don't bet on it. See above.