PeoriaStory

ISU Professor to Discuss Brexit at PAWAC

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

Confused about Brexit and what it means for the United Kingdom, Europe and the American economy? A central Illinois political economist who has studied Brexit will explain its history and look to the future when he speaks to the Peoria Area World Affairs Council.

David Cleeton will explore the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union and its ramifications on the global economy when he speaks to PAWAC on Thursday, May 16 at Barrack’s Cater Inn. Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. with the presentation at 7 p.m.

The British government has been struggling with how to withdraw from European political and economic markets since residents voted in 2016 to pull out. Following several delays and failed votes, the government of Prime Minister Theresa May has until October to complete the process.

Cleeton has years of experience studying the European economy and, more recently, the details of Brexit. Cleeton is chair of the Economics Department and a professor of Economics and European Policy at Illinois State University, and also holds affiliated faculty positions at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and at the Center for European Studies at Maastricht University in The Netherlands.

He holds a doctorate in economics from Washington University in St. Louis, and master’s and undergraduate degrees in economics from the University of Missouri.

Tickets for the presentation only are $5 for PAWAC members and $10 for the general public. Students are free. For those who want to participate in the dinner before the presentation, the cost is $35 for PAWAC members and students and $40 for others. Those interested can register online at this link.

The Peoria Area World Affairs Council is a community-based volunteer organization that brings the world to Central Illinois by holding a variety of forums on international history, culture and current events. Along with expert speakers, PAWAC offers guided travel opportunities, book club meetings and public discussion forums. In an era of increasing communication and globalization, the organization provides an interactive and engaging international perspective to our local community. The Peoria Area World Affairs Council held its first conference in 1970. PAWAC is affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America.

An unhappy narrative

PEORIA, IL -- Bruce Brown, a former Peoria City Council member and now owner of Paparazzi restaurant and a historic preservation activist wrote the following narrative of his adventure with the city government. He gave permission for it to be published:

On 4/25/2019 2:59 PM, Bruce Brown wrote:

Everyone: Here is an update on the Restoration Project

1. Yesterday, Wednesday, (April (24th, we (former 3rd Dist. City Councilwoman Gale Thetford, & current ICC Board President) and I (former 3rd Dist. City Councilman - the 3rd Dist. including Springdale Cemetery) were to 'Present the Project' to the City of Peoria Historic Preservation Commission, for approval of a 'Certificate of Appropriateness'.

 

2. The meeting was scheduled a month ago, our Application submitted about 45 days ago (thanks, profoundly, to our team member Bob Hoffer, our Landscape Architect Hank Stolz, and others, for dropping everything and getting it done).

 

3. Nothing happened at the.meeting.

 

4. No quorum present to vote, thus no presentation.

 

5. Some details:

 a)?? meeting set at 8:30 am - thus I left home in Marshall County at 7 am

 b) backing into a parking space just across the street from City Hall, I was immediately approached (before I got out of the car) by a fellow, among quite a few, wanting 'coffee money'. I was putting what few coins I had into the parking meter, only to find the meter broken. I considered backing into another space (plenty available), but opted to put a note on the meter saying it was broken.

 

 c) Upon entering the 'Hall' I encountered a 'security entrance' similar to what the airport has.?? Empty my pockets, show my belt buckle, Marine 'dog tags' (which I do not remove), have cell phone inspected, asked by a fellow I knew, 'Mr Brown, do you have any guns or weapons "ya". 'Would you place it or them on the counter? "Uh, they are at my business, or at home." (stupid me, the humor was lost).

 

 d) Feeling a bit like a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court ... In the Heights, we have no 'meters' or an app on our phones to pay the meter coin fee on your credit card, no 'back in parking spaces', no 'security and magnetic pass-thru' or other such, uh, 'protocols', but I finally made my way to the 4th floor (Council Chambers).

 

 e) And waited.

 

 f) No quorum

 

5. Next 'Historic Preservation Commission' Meeting, NEXT MONTH, May 22.

 

6. Thus NO PROJECT GROUNDBREAKING ON MAY 4TH (as planned) ... Entire Project set back 30 days

 

The Good News;

 

1. I had on my left, as we waited, our Project Treasurer Gale Thetford ... ready to present.

2. I had on my right, Norm Kelly ...88 years old, IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY, recovering nicely from surgery about 6 weeks ago, and the guy who got this Project started.

3. Springdale Board(s) Member Jessica Young.

 

THEY made it to the meeting.

As you might guess, and sense, there is a little 'angst' here, considerably mitigated in the last 24 hours by some very special incidents, UPLIFTING in all cases. One very minor incident??? I got no parking ticket.

 

At this point, I would like to say this (this comm, voice-to-text, so 'say' is accurate);

 

I, we, Our Team ... et al ... are not upset, negative, 'wee'd off' or any other such nonsense.?? None of it. Snarky??? Just me, maybe a little or a lot.?? It is mitigated/passes by applying gentle perspective (a photographer's term).

 

Someone asked me, late yesterday, if we were 'OK to Soldier on'?

 

Get this everyone ... we are not in this Project to 'Soldier On'.

 

OK? Clear? Can ya hear me there at City Hall? Hope so.

 

The Project Mission is to 'Raise It Up' (the 'It' being fairly clear, I hope)

 

The 'Raise Phrase' in reference to a small group of Marines, February 23, 1945, making their way up a mountain trail, under fire, to 'Raise It Up' (the Flag of the United States of America), On The Mountaintop. Thank You, AP Photographer Joe Rosenthal, for taking 'The Picture', the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima.

 

We, our team, our supporters, those 'simpatico', are not a 'small group' but rather the Main Force.

 

We, our team, our supporters, those 'simpatico', are Re Dedicated To the Mission.

 

I could go on.

 

Instead, I will offer, word-for-word (I memorized it, no copy and paste here) the Invocation NAACP Vice President Sherry Carter-Allen delivered at our fundraising Dinner on Sunday, April 7th. (NAACP, one of the first local groups to Donate to this Project, we took in, Sunday, some 10,00000)

 

Please take a moment to read every single word.?? Past being a Invocation, IT IS PROPHECY.

 

"'Heavenly Father, as we gather this evening, we humbly ask you to fill our hearts and spirits with Thoughts and Commitment to COMMUNITY.?? Let COMMUNITY spread, tonight, from each one of us, to each table, to all those who gather here, and let COMMUNITY spread from this Restaurant, and engulf Central Illinois just as it did 153 years ago, when this 1866 Monument was Dedicated.

 

Heavenly Father, make us tonight, 'Wheels Within Wheels' ... radiating outward to others, and radiating inward to each other, that we may all Gather Strength and a Community of Commitment, from each other, to each other, to surround Central Illinois and beyond.

 

Bring Us Together.

 

Light our Path, Father ... Show Us The Way.

 

Let our Community Bond again, with 607 Peoria County Union Soldiers who sacrificed their lives for??Union and Community.

 

Let their Service and Sacrifice be Our Own.?

 

Let this Restoration Project Rise Above Stones, Father ... Let our bond with their Service and Sacrifice cause us to 'Take Up Wings, As In Eagles'.

 

Take us, tonight, Heavenly Father, To the Mountaintop.

 

Let us see what has been Lost and Forgotten, Be Found, and Come Home To Us Again.?

 

In Your Name, Father, we gather this evening.

 

In Your Service, Father, we Raise Again, a Monument to Union, Service, Sacrifice, and Community.

 

In Your Honor, Father... we join hands, we join Spirits, we Join In Community.

 

Amen."

So 'voice-to-text, here,' and apologies for length on a busy day/time for everyone.

 

It needed to be said, and Re-Affirmed.

 

I must say, it feels good to let it out, re-compose, re-focus, concentrate on the Subject and Composition, lighting and all, and 'shoot' (all photographer's lingo).

 

Thanks again, everyone ... Our Team Members ... Thetford, Hoffer, Bertino, Bagley, Kelly, Young, so many, many others ...

 

My Gosh.

 

With Respect, most humbly,??to my friends in the Army ... "Soldier On, My Ass".

 

(voice-to-text)

sf/b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The PJS -- why?

PEORIA, IL -- Of all the crazy things the Peoria Journal Star does from laying off its top reporters to tolerating carriers who toss the newspaper in the flowerbed, , here's one that readers really, really hate: editing letters to the editor.

Activist Terry Knapp is the PJS's latest victim.  And instead of growling to friends, he asked to get the full letter published.  He said many friends worked with him on the letter, and it deserves to be read.   So in the interest of free speech, here it is:

Karma IN The Air

An editorial in support of the 2019 Missouri Valley Tournament Champion and NCAA Tournament MVC Representative Bradley Braves basketball program.

According to Buddha : "Believe in nothing, no matter where you read it or who said it, unless it agrees with your own common sense." What has gone on recently with the Bradley Braves basketball team and its hometown media just makes no sense. Remember BU coaches and administration, people who belittle and demean you, criticize and insult you, pick you apart, and judge you, are the most negative and toxic people alive. Then when you stand up for yourself and fight back, they tell others that you are the toxic one. They act insulted and say this because they can't stand it when you no longer allow them to run all over you, and treat you like trash. They can't admit their own horrible behavior, so they try to make it look like you're the bad guy.  We all know that "blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make yours shine any brighter", yet they have tried to do just that.

Confucius said "people who know the least, seem to know it the loudest", but even I know that saying something louder, doesn't make it any more right!

In Peoria IL and around this great country of ours, Media often think they can slander you and get away with it under the protection of our first amendment. Media should realize what goes around comes around. Bob Knight said "all of us learned to write in the second grade, most of us go on to greater things" and I am starting to think he may be right when I observe what has gone on between the Peoria Journal Star and Bradley University lately.

The above things having been said:

I want to thank Coach Brian Wardle and Athletic Director Chris Reynolds for their commitment to the students and athletes of Bradley University, Too bad these two guys didn't have more support from the Peoria Journal Star, their own administration and some others in the Peoria Community at large.

Terry Knapp and a few fans

Compare it with the letter printed in the newspaper on March 25, 2019.

The paragraph about Buddha got cut. 

Well this is not the worst sin of the PJS, which actually does a pretty good job of covering the basic news, given the cuts to the newsroom staff.   But Knapp was furious, since he and others worked on the letter.  The "fans" didn't even get credit in the signature.  Oh well,....

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

 

 

Tuba Time is Great Time

WASHINGTON, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra never fails to present  an event like no other. But the April 13 concert at the Five Points  Washington auditorium, was way over the top, fascinating and fun.

The concert was entitled Heartland Portraits. Who knew that the Midwest has its own zeitgeist with prairies, forests, rivers, fields, small towns, all reflected in modern classical music.

The concert featured tubas, and an amazing display of photographs from the Heartland, on a big screen above the orchestra, the best of 2,000 entries.

The tuba piece, Reflections on the Mississippi for Tuba and Orchestra, by MIchael Daugherty, a modern classical number, was absolutely terrific. Andy Rummel, who teaches tuba at Illinois State University, was the soloist.  He brought with him a student ensemble to perform two short tuba pieces not on the program -- the surprise for the event.

Then came Symphony to the Prairie Farm by Steve Heitzeg.  One of the four movements, Night Pasture, featured cows.  Cowbells were part of the music,along with many other non-traditional percussion instruments and sounds.  It was amazing.

The selected photos from the Heartland accompanied the music, and were beautiful and and fascinating,

It's a shame that this was apparently a one-time concert, as it would appeal to many audiences.  Nicholas Bardonnay, a multimedia artist of Westwwater Arts and James Westwater created the display of photographs. The notes in  the program on the music are extensive, making the program a likely collectors item.

The audience of April 13 gave the concert two standing ovations, evidence of their appreciation of this wonderful, new way to enjoy classical music. 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Secrets of the Corporate Elites

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release, this  looks interesting:

PAWAC Hosts “Confessions of a Corporate Lobbyist”

Peoria native and long-time Washington, D.C., lobbyist Michael Maibach will provide insight into the relationships between Congress, the federal government and corporate interests when he speaks on Skype to the Peoria Area World Affairs Council (PAWAC) on April 18.

Maibach will speak on “Confessions of a Corporate Lobbyist” at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, on the Bradley University campus, Westlake Hall, Room 116. The PAWAC-sponsored event is free and open to the public.

Maibach will share experiences involving ethics, strategy, decision-making and greater political polarization, knowledge gained from working at Caterpillar Inc. and Intel Corp., where he was vice president of global government affairs for 18 years. Maibach’s remarks provide a personal look at how transnational corporations seek legislative and regulatory support for their global initiatives.

A graduate of Bergan High School and current senior fellow in American Federalism at the American Opportunity Foundation, Maibach has rich experience in global business diplomacy. He has been an advisor to several non-profit organizations, and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Management.

After working for Intel, he was president and CEO of the European-American Business Council from 2003 to 2012. He has served as an advisor to two White House commissions under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush and served on two State Department advisory councils. He has testified before Congress 18 times.

While attending Northern Illinois University, he became the youngest person in the country to be elected to public office when he won a seat on the DeKalb County Board, following a change in the national law dropping the voting age to 18. Maibach holds master’s degrees from NIU and Georgetown University.

Following his remarks, transmitted via Skype, Maibach will take questions. The event will be moderated by Shelley Epstein, former associate editor of the Peoria Journal Star and PAWAC Board Member.

The Peoria Area World Affairs Council is a community-based volunteer organization that brings the world to Central Illinois by holding a variety of forums on international history, culture and current events. Along with expert speakers, PAWAC offers guided travel opportunities, book club meetings and public discussion forums. In an era of increasing communication and globalization, the organization provides an interactive and engaging international perspective to our local community. The Peoria Area World Affairs Council held its first conference in 1970. PAWAC is affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America. - 30 -

 

 

 

Summer School, not 'Credit Recovery' Needed in District 150

PEORIA, IL -- Here are the comments of Sharon Crews at the April 8 Peoria District 150 School Board meeting.  I totally agree with her. 

Many of our students require a second chance to pass required courses. Since 2003 that second chance offered only in summer school has not been offered to students who need to retake failed courses and/or to raise their Grade Point Averages.

Administrations have declared their desire to help students get into college, yet they have totally ignored this need to give students the second chance they often require to raise their grade points to get scholarships and acceptance into college.

District 150 has cheated many students of the chance to get scholarships and or the chance to get into the college or technical school of their choice.   A failure in any course lowers a student’s cumulative average.

Clearly, several administrations have raised the graduation rate by any means necessary to make the district and the administration look good. The farce called Credit Recovery has been the primary means of issuing diplomas.

Lowering standards and inflating grades did not and will not make students college-or-job ready or even feel ready. However, the district does not record the success or failure of its graduates, so only the parents. the graduates, the colleges, and the workplaces (and probably the State) know about the district’s failure to prepare some students for the future.

Of course, there are a significant number of students in our schools to be in advanced classes and to earn grades for which the district can be proud. However, transparency should force you to admit that there are many who have needed the second chance that you continue to withhold.

Credit recovery is totally insufficient for several reasons. First, I believe students who need to repeat classes need the attention of a teacher, not a computer program. Secondly, credit recovery classes, I believe, are after school after students have already been sitting in a classroom for five or six hours—they are in no mood for a class when everyone else is leaving the building (even if the class were effective).

Also, I do not believe the classes are held for the required length of time to make up a class. I recently gave you data that showed that some credit recovery classes lasted 21 days, or two, three, or four months—with no consistency. Most of the grades were D, but it doesn’t make any difference because grade points are not raised, nor should they be, by credit recovery. Also, the computer courses are generic—they don’t fit the district’s curricula.

I’m sure you will tell me that the district can’t afford summer school. When there is a need you find a way. Also, please consider that summer school offers a chance for students who are behind to catch up before the next year. When school is in session for everyone, the advanced keep advancing and those behind get further behind. Summer school offered three-hour classes to meet the time requirements for a course. The three hours offered the teacher the chance to spend valuable time with students. Please give these students a second chance.

For middle school, summer school provides a way for some failing students to progress to the next grade. - 30 -

-- Sharon Crews

 

 

Rally Today

Locals Join 'Trump is Not Above the Law' National Protests; Demand Barr #MakeItPublic, Share Mueller Report with Public

WHAT: Protest to #ReleaseTheReport

WHO: Indivisible Peoria Area and area activists

WHEN: Thursday, April 4^th, at 5pm

WHERE: Federal Building, 100 NE Monroe Street, Peoria, Illinois

PEORIA, IL -- Activists in Peoria will join a nationwide protest to call on Attorney General Barr and Elected Officials to take decisive steps to make the findings of the Mueller investigation public. The investigation’s final report was released to Attorney General Bill Barr on Friday, March 22nd.

In the last 24 hours, investigators from Mueller’s team have made statements to the New York Times that Barr’s interpretation of the report, as reflected in his letters of the past ten days, create an inaccurate picture of the report’s findings – a picture that is inaccurately favorable to Trump -- making it more critical that Congress and the American people have access to the report and to the summary statements of the investigators themselves.

Over three hundred nationwide protests will be taking place in hundreds of cities and towns and is being organized by a coalition of dozens of public interest organizations. More information can be found at www.TrumpIsNotAboveTheLaw.org.

Note: This event is open to the general public. TV, radio, print, and online media outlets are encouraged to come.

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