PeoriaStory

Peoria, IL -- Wow -- look at this!

Three interesting events

PEORIA, IL -- Three interesting events coming soon:

5 pm Sunday, April 2, indoors at the Gateway Building on the Peoria riverfront, a rally for immigrant and refugee rights, followed by a candlelight vigil at 6:30 pm.

3 pm Saturday, April 8, at the Peoria Library North Branch, 3001 W. Grand Parkway, Peoria (behind Menards), Hug an Atheist, a documentary film about atheism in the USA. www.peoriasecularhumanist societycom.

6 pm, Thursday, April 6 at AMT Auditorium, 1718 N. Sterling, Peoria. Greater Peoria League of Women Voters Event, Sustainable Neighborhoods.

From a news release: Angela Bolden, Program Officer of LISC -Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Greater Peoria- will speak on sustainable neighborhoods. 

 The positive results in Peoria’s East Bluff and South Side have been called the "best kept secret in Peoria."

"Since 2012, Greater Peoria LISC has been working in Peoria and the surrounding areas to transform neighborhoods into healthy and sustainable communities of choice and opportunities - good places to live, work, do business, and raise a family." (LISC Peoria website:  www.lisc.org)

LISC equips struggling communities with the capital, program strategy and know-how to become places where people can thrive. It combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to achieve sustainable change in the communities it serves. Since 1980, LISC has invested $17.4 billion across the country to build or rehab 350,000 affordable homes and apartments and develop 55 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. In Peoria, LISC is working with residents, non-profit organizations, and local government to revitalize the South Side and East Bluff to improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents.   For more, visit www.lisc.org.

From "Impact on Issues 2016-18" LWVUS: "Housing should be designed to meet human needs and should be built with amenities that will encourage economic integration within apartment buildings as well as within neighborhoods. Publicly assisted housing should be included in viable, balanced communities, with provision for quality public services and facilities, including schools, transportation, recreation, etc., that will encourage integration and stability." - 30 -

 

 

Picket Rauner

EAST PEORIA, IL --  Want to picket Gov. Bruce Rauner?

He's the rich CEO standing against a budget for Illinois, trying to destroy unions before he will do a budget. Meanwhile state human services and universities are suffering, even failing.

Rauner is speaking at a Republican Lincoln Day dinner (Ok, it's not Lincoln's birthday but what the heck?) at the Embassy Suites hotel on April 4.  (Yes, that's the day of the municipal elections, but what the heck?)

The AFSCME and SEIU unions are meeting at 5:30 pm on Tues. April 4 at 100 Conference Center Dr., East Peoria, to picket Rauner. All can join them. Suggested sign: "Negotiate Don't Dictate."  

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Illinois Central College Board elections: eight candidates three slots

PEORIA, IL -- The nonpartisan race for three open seats on the Illinois Central College board has attracted eight candidates.

They seemed sane and qualified at a March 30 candidate forum, though only five of the candidates appeared.

The Journal Star recently did a thorough piece on all the candidates and their backgrounds. 

Here is a recording of the forum begun about 30 seconds late with Rachel Reliford. 

Download ICC candidate forum Mar 30 2017

Those at the forum were right to left below, Rachel Reliford, Patti Polk, Rhonda Guyton, Carl Cannon and Angelito Capati. Photo by Al Harkrader.

Cannon was a standout when he raised a controversial issue, full time faculty.  He is opposed to letting them go, to be replaced by part time faculty members.  Full time staff create the culture of higher education, he said. "I don't want to see a reduction."

Cannon also said "leadership" was an important quality for ICC board members. He led by attacking this issue.

All the candidates talked about their important qualities to contribute to the board. All opposed property tax increases and indicated they didn't want to see tuition increases either.  All said they would not close the Pekin facility, when asked that question.

Some discussed how the community college helped them overcome lives of poverty and aim for higher education. "It's a bridge, a chance to change course. A chance to dream," Cannon said.

Since I have not seen all these candidates in person I won't endorse any. All looked fine.

 -- Elaine Hopkins 

Water Company Buyout

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste and Sierra Club Heart of Illinois group are pleased to announce a free public presentation on the benefits of publicly owned water utilities.

Jessica Fujan, Midwest Director of Food and Water Watch, will present “Public Water for All” on Thursday, March 30 at 7PM at Forest Park Nature Center, 5809 N. Forest Park Drive, Peoria Heights.

Peoria is in a unique situation, having privatized its water over a century ago, but still retaining an option to buy it back. Food and Water Watch has studied water privatization for years and believes that for most communities it is a bad deal. Not only are water rates higher, privatizing water supplies often brings unintended consequences.

Jessica, one of the foremost environmental organizers in the Midwest,  will recap Food and Water Watch’s extensive research and share her experiences in communities fighting privatization (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/report_state_of_public_water.pdf).

At the Enviromental Forum, Candidates Love the Environment

PEORIA, IL -- A March 27 Peoria city council candidate forum sponsored by the Global Warming Solutions environmental group revealed that the candidates who showed up support environmental issues. They recycle. They care about green space, though two hedged about giving Riverfront Park to developers. They hate air pollution.

Presumably the ones that couldn't make it feared environmental issues.   Mayor Jim Ardis, for example, blew off the event, and has never found time to schedule a meeting with the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club. He's running for reelection.

The candidates were given written questions before the event, and even invited to submit written answers.  The Global Warming group is debating whether to publish these on its website, and likely will do so.

Here is a recording of the forum.

Download Peoria enviro forum 3-27-17

There's also a report on the Global Warming Solutions website, linked above.

On Riverfront Park apartments: Dave Berry, candidate for District 1, opposes the apartments. Green space should be saved, and construction should go into the vacant buildings, he said.

Incumbent Denise Moore, who is sick with a laryngitis and did not attend, was an early backer and remains in favor. She sent written statements to the questions, and Helen King read them for her.

Her answer hedged: "I support the due diligence. It's not the same as an endorsement."  Say what? That answer alone should disqualify her as a candidate.

Ardis supports the apartments. His opponent Couri Thomas is against them.

Jim Montelongo has shifted and now opposes them. "This thing has gone down the rabbit hole," he said. He suggested green space should be considered in city plans, and said it not is considered now. His opponent, Mike Eddleman did not attend but has said he opposes them, in another forum.

So District 4 is a win for Riverfront Park. If a couple of other candidates opposed to the apartments can win, the River Trail Apartments will be history.

Rita Ali, candidate for District 5, is opposed to the apartments. Her opponent, Dennis Cyr, hedged, and said he has "no opinion on the apartments," but "we need green space. We've got to save our parks."

These hedges are very annoying, Moore and Cyr. Tell us where you stand.

Some good ideas came out of this forum, for example planning should include green space, and efforts to reach out to minority workers should be included in city projects such as the garbage hauling contract (amazing it is not now included in contracts).

Everyone said they believe in global warming caused by humans, and they agreed that energy efficiency studies should be done.

The city needs leadership to advance solar projects, Montelongo said. (He would make a good mayor as he knows much about the city and how it works.)

He also mentioned how he supported making people responsible for their storm water runoff, in response to a question about the storm sewer overflow issue. He said he made a motion in executive session, but got no support.  If that's correct, it was an illegal closed meeting, as this kind of talk can only take place in public!

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

 

Peoria City Council Info RE: Riverfront Park

PEORIA, IL: Here is information on Peoria City Council candidates who oppose the apartments in Riverfront Park:

"Once" is good, not great

PEORIA, IL -- The Tony award-inning musical Once played twice at the Peoria Civic Center on March 25, a matinee and an evening performance.

I saw the matinee and found Once good, worth seeing, but not great. It somehow lacks the 'edge' that strong plays have. 

Set in a Dublin pub, it offers the audience a unique treat.  Before the show and during  the intermission, audience members can go on the stage to get a drink at the bar, for me $6 wine. It also was good but not great.

The story is trite -- boy loses girl, meets another girl and vice versa. The relationship is doomed, however, generating some tearful ballads, one of which won an Oscar for best original song, "Falling Slowly," a lovely piece. The play was also a film.

The cast performs all the music on stage, as the play is about an amateur musician who needs to make a demo CD to find a career in music. Also trite but requires a dozen talented cast members who are fine musicians.

The music, aside from the ballads, is mostly Irish folk-rock, lively and fun.

The main drawback to the production I saw was the dialogue. American actors, not Equity actors though, spoke in an Irish brogue, and some talked too fast. So alas much of the dialogue was impossible to understand. Other characters, playing Czechs, spoke more slowly but with accents, making them more understandable.

The outstanding cast member was the leading female, Mackenzie Lesser-Roy, who spoke slowly, and sang and played the piano beautifully. She played a Czech immigrant in Dublin, but didn't speak with an accent. Bravo.

Whenever I see a theater production that is less than perfect, I think about what would make the play stronger. In this case, more understandable dialogue would have helped, especially from the leading male, Sam Cieri.

The set was fine, the music was fine, the actors/musicians were fine.  The plot could have been edgier, and moved a bit faster. 

But overall this musicial, which has received good reviews and awards, is worth seeing for brief entertainment.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

The events just keep coming

PEORIA, IL -- Don't vote early yet. The candidate forums keep coming: 

• Monday, March 27, 6:30PM, AMT Large Classroom, 1718 N. Sterling, Peoria. Peoria Mayor and District races, attending: Mayor incumbent Jim Ardis and challenger Couri Thomas. District 1 race: Denise Moore and Dave Berry; District 4 race, Mike Eddlemon. District 5 race: Rita Ali. Global Warming Group, environmental issues. https://www.facebook.com/events/784824751673452/
  

• Wed. March 29,6 pm, GAR Hall, 416 Hamilton Blvd., Peoria City Council candidates. WAZU  FM radio sponsoring.

• Thursday, March 30, 3pm. ICC Candidate Forum at East Peoria Campus Lecture/Recital Hall (127F). Greater Peoria League of Women Voters sponsoring.
  

• Saturday, April 1, 10:30am - 12 noon. Candidate Forum At-Large and 5th District Peoria City Council Candidates and Township Supervisor candidates, Peoria Public Library North Branch, 3001 W. Grand Parkway, Peoria, off Allen Road behind Menards. Greater Peoria League of Women Voters sponsoring.

 

The Peoria City Council candidates meet the NAACP

PEORIA, IL -- Democracy may be in jeopardy in Washington DC, but in Peoria it still functions.

The candidates in contested races for the Peoria City Council in the municipal election ending April 4 met in a three hour event on March 23, sponsored by the Peoria NAACP and an activist sorority, the Deltas.  A very large audience witnessed the forum.

It proved to be fascinating and enlightening.  All of the candidates sounded sane and thoughtful.

Here is a recording of the candidates for mayor:

Download Peoria mayor Mar 23 17

Here is the recording of the city council candidates:

Download Peoria candidates March 23 17

Some of the questions asked of the candidates were a bit vague or squishy, and the candidates, like true politicians, knew how to dodge giving a 'yes' or 'no' answer to many of them.  I didn't detect any outright lies in the answers. There were some omissions, however.

The mayor's race pits incumbent Jim Ardis against challenger Couri Thomas. Ardis is smooth and knows a lot, including where the bodies are buried. (joke). He has strong ties to the police and fire unions, and likely will be reelected.

Thomas can be incoherent and doesn't know enough.  He's a young black man, who may be able to learn on the job if elected. He has one great point in his favor -- he opposes the awful apartments in Riverfront Park, and would be a vote on the council to drop the project.

Ardis has a problematic history that was ignored during the forum. First, there was the serious civil liberties and free speech violation that cost the city some $500,000, the Twittergate scandal, where he sent police to arrest a young guy who put up a mock Twitter account in Ardis' name, a practice that is widespread with celebrities.

The ACLU sued, the city settled. Ardis ignored calls to resign this awful abuse of power.

Then Ardis touted the River Trail apartments after taking a campaign contribution from one of the developers.  (Others also took the contributions.) That should be made illegal. The project is still in limbo before the National Park Service and a lawsuit against it is likely if the NPS approves it.

There's also the bankruptcy of the Marriott Hotel project with the city on the hook for $7 million -- still unresolved.  

A question did come up about failed city projects with developers, and the answer was that this happens because of incompetent vetting or cronyism or both, David Berry said. 

Other highlights from the comments: Rob Hanauer:  "I don't lie to get votes."

John Kelly: "No public risk for private profit."

Zack Oyler: "Eighty percent of the time people don't move into Peoria because of the schools. We need to better promote the schools."

Ardis: "Punishing bad landlords needs to be done" (with fines, though he could do that now).

Thomas: "I am a fresh face, a different direction."

The group mostly supported a study on whether to buy the water company, if someone else, not the city, will pay for it.

So after all this, here are my recommendations, based on opposition to the River Trail apartments in Riverfront Park. These candidates all oppose those apartments and will vote to stop the project. That's something concrete, not fine words about punishing landlords or promoting entrepreneurs to create jobs.

Mayor: Thomas. He likely will learn on the job. Ardis has too much baggage, too many mistakes in judgment.

At large: Rob Hanauer, John Kelly, Zach Oyler. (Your vote has more power if you vote for only one candidate).

District l: David Berry. 

District 4:Either Jim Montelongo or Mike Eddleman, though Eddleman has been opposed from the beginning, and Montelongo took a developer's contribution and voted for the apartments. He now says he's changed his mind.

District 5: Rita Ali.

There were a few mild confrontations with the audience, when some shouted out comments. There are more forums before the election. See the coming post on those.

 -- Elaine Hopkins