In the end, the effort to block the issuance of general obligation bonds fell short. In order to force the issue to a referendum, nearly 10,000 signatures would have to have been collected. The “Block the Bonds” supporters managed to gather 1,623. Considering that the group had only 30 days to gather signatures, and given the complex nature of the petition question (i.e., explaining what general obligation bonds are and why revenue bonds would be preferred), that’s a pretty good showing.
There are a couple lessons to be learned here.
First, the “back-door referendum” option only gives the illusion of offering voters some sort of recourse. In reality, the high number of signatures required in such a short time frame makes it practically impossible to force a referendum. I imagine it was designed that way.
Second, it’s impossible to hold elected representatives and staff accountable for their promises/commitments. Leading up to April 2009, taxpayers were promised that construction would not start until all private money was raised, that revenue bonds would be issued to mitigate the risk to taxpayers, and the maximum bond limit was $40 million. Now we’re starting construction before all the money is raised, general obligation bonds are being issued, and the amount is $41 million. Yet despite these substantial broken commitments, there is no practical recourse for voters. By the time the next election rolls around, the bonds will already have been issued, we’ll already be saddled with debt, and there’s not a thing anyone can do about it.
Some would say “that’s politics,” but I think it’s an affront to the voters. And even though the water is under the bridge on this bonding issue, the incumbents who voted for it should be voted out at the earliest opportunity simply because they’ve proven themselves untrustworthy. Who can believe a word they say?
I understand your frustration and melancholy, CJ. These same people are calling the shots for our schools, and we see where that got us. Oh well, at least they go to Church on Sunday before they head back to their mansions. I’m sure that makes them feel better about themselves.
NO NO NO. It was designed so a few rogues wouldn’t be able to force the majority to do something. The 10,000 number is a fair number. If you had been able to get to that number in the time allotted, then it really would have made a statement that there were more than just a few people out there who want this done. So the writing is on the wall.
Yup, it should be very difficult to reverse a referendum.
This is really too bad.
Like I have said before – you get the government you deserve.
The citizens of Peoria County have had ample chances to reverse course on this boondoggle yet have CHOSEN to continue down this course. Those crying “I didn’t know” on the PJStar comments or elsewhere must be extremely disengaged.
TWIOTW said: “It was designed so a few rogues wouldn’t be able to force the majority to do something.” Well, over 1600 people wanted the County Board to keep their promises, but it was the 15 or so board members who decided to break their word and issue general obligation bonds. So, the “few rogues” who are “forc[ing] the majority to do something” in my mind are the board members who broke their commitment to the voters.
150 Observer said: “Yup, it should be very difficult to reverse a referendum.” The effort was to have a referendum on whether to issue general obligation bonds; it was not an effort to “reverse a referendum.”
i think the problem was that people didn’t understand the facts about it or were just plain to STUPID to understand it. either way its going to get built and we are on the hook if it doesn’t break even.
on a side note do you have enough signitures to get on the ballot.
The Writing on the Wall, writes about what is “fair?”
150 Observer is clueless. He seems to think that “it should be difficult to reverse a referendum.”
Would he also argue that it should be “difficult” for a bunch of city politicians [or any politician for that matter], to break their promises to the voters? Maybe it should be “difficult” for city and county politicians to sway the voters by sugar-coating the data and falsifying information…?
From pre-referendum museum plan, to current museum plan… talk about a reversal!
New Voice, can you debate something without making it personal? Jeez, why do some people here lose all civility when arguing a point?
If truly, the local officials broke the law or overeached their authority, they need to be brought to justice. If a majority of the voters feel their decisions were poor, they will be voted out. No need to be an ass about a simple opinion.
start to put their names down and walk into the voting booths and vote them out!
“If truly, the local officials broke the law or overeached their authority, they need to be brought to justice. ”
ha ha ha !!!
You would support that?
You think the majority of voters make rational decisions based on the needs of the community?
“150 Observer is clueless. ” I agree.
Of course you do Charlie. You always meet or exceed my expectations.
Are “District 150 Observer” and “150 observer” the same person?
The County Board line up for the fall election is as follows:
Dist 1 Incumbent D no opposition voted for tax ref
Dist 3 Incumbent D D/R on ballot voted for tax ref
Dist 5 open seat D unopposed
Dist 7 Incumbent D unopposed voted for tax ref
Dist 9 Incumbent D unopposed voted for tax ref
Dist 11 open seat R unopposed
Dist 13 open seat D/R on ballot
Dist 15 Incumbent R unopposed voted for tax ref
Dist 17 Incumbent D unopposed voted for tax ref
Dist 18 fill enexpired term D/R on ballot
I hope all the folks that are against the CB decision for the referendum will get out and work to replace those who are not meeting their needs.
From the looks of the ballots only three races have competition that can be assisted by voters working in their districts,contributing funds etc.
In 2012 you can defeat the other side of the board
I expect CFRS to be a major force in these races if they are true to their cause.
I only go by District 150 observer. I never post anything without that name. I posted the referendum comment and am not sure how my name got truncated. I never change the name in my messages. Shrugs.
I do post from a desktop and a laptop. Let me check them and see if the same name defaults on both. I will change one if so. Thanks for asking.
“Are “District 150 Observer” and “150 observer” the same person?’
oops… busted by anon e mouse.
Yes, the same person. I checked both computers and they defaulted to slightly different names. I will correct that. If I had intended to deceive, I think I could have done better than that. 🙂
I don’t believe in changing the “Name” so that you can make cute posts and not be tied back to them. Some do, not me.
Thanks.
Ass?
“Are “District 150 Observer” and “150 observer” the same person?’
oops… busted by anon e mouse.
WOW this coming from the guy that previously posted as kcdad, was kicked off this blog site and now posts under a different name aka charlie. Typical kcdad/charlie comment.
People don’t care. They don’t feel they are heard and have a why bother approach. Google learned helplessness for those who aren’t psyche majors.
If people don’t care, then they are getting what they deserve.
District 150 observer – I think I’ve heard that somewhere before.
BTW, is “District 150 observer” and “District 150 Observer” the same person? 😉
Thanks anon. I just feel democracy isn’t easy. It is a battle. Sometimes, you need to just keep on fighting for what you believe in….
Looks like I neede an upper case “O”….. 🙂
District 150,
Can we be friends again?
With all this name changing going on, I thought some nasty rogue [Observer 150] had highjacked your name! I was just trying to teach him/her the error of their ways!
Crusade on!!
Olive, please remember that Charlie (kcdad) is now posting under his own name.
Good point, Sharon. While we are at it, we don’t know if Olive is Green or Black and whether he/she has a pimento.
Sharon, please remember that you can change the name you post under. Just because someone posts as kcdad or charlie doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t post under another name also.
Lots of off-topic dribble 🙂
I, for one, am glad to see that enough signatures weren’t collected to hold a referendum on this issue. While I agree, it’s somewhat disingenuous to change the financing mechanism mid-stream, the rationale given (lower overall cost) makes a lot of sense. Since the bonds are being paid from the sales tax increase, there is little to no risk to the general public by this change.
Despite C.J. being on the wrong side of this issue, I sincerely HOPE that he’s successful on his council bid. I’m almost pining for the Ransburg years as I see how heavy-handed and behind the scenes this current Mayor and his minions are. I believe there was a lot more discussion / discourse on the issues under prior Mayors.
It is all good, New Voice. 🙂
Hey Olive… what is your problem? Anyone who ever reads this blog and wants to, knows who I am. This is is the first time you have used this name.
Oh Goodness… put your mouse over my name. OH LOOK, it lights up. That’s how you know who I am. Other than that it’s all BS and anonymous BS at that.
The next Fu to the taxpayers is in this article “County Administrator Patrick Urich has said the bonds will be backed by public facility sales tax revenues, which will no longer go toward annually paying off the county jail and juvenile detention center in 2013. He has also said there is more than enough of that revenue to potentially cover any shortfalls in the project.
Shortfalls, though, are something Urich has an eye on with the county’s overall budget in the coming year.”
Remember that the county board would not be allocating (OUR) money to the project over $40 million, which changed to $41 million and now folks, is a blank check.
Very good Paul.
Urich’s final statement is what I found most….. interesting?
“The big issue is how do we handle 2012 knowing we are still in a tenuous economy,” Urich said.
Wow! It seems this guy has the same attitude towards big spending my teen-aged daughter has!
What about it Peo Proud? Are you looking ‘down the road’ with this project, or are you just so caught up in it you can’t see the fire through the smoke?