Daily Archives: February 8, 2006

Blogosphere, Radio

Thank you

This is a little belated, but I want to dedicate this post to say “thanks” to everyone who listened to Bill and me the other night on Outside the Horseshoe with Jonathan Ahl.  Several of you had very kind things to say, and I appreciate it.  It’s always a bit scary going on a program where you have no ability to edit your comments yourself (like you can on a blog).

I want to specifically say thanks to Mazr since I was unable for some reason to leave a comment on his blog (the “submit” button is grayed out).  So please consider this my comment saying “thanks” for your post.  You’re too kind.

I also want to thank Jonathan Ahl for being such a good and professional interviewer.  It was a pleasure being on the show.  He put me at ease and asked very thought-provoking questions.  It was a good experience.

City Council, Illinois American Water

Question for Grayeb: What do you have against Germany?

4 Comments

We get it, Chuck.  You really don’t like Germans and you don’t like our water company being owned by them.  You want the city to buy it back so it’s under local control.  You’ve made your point, now move on. 

As you know, Illinois American Water Company is owned by RWE-AG, a German company.  And at every council meeting, Grayeb has something snide to say about the Germans and how much they don’t care about central Illinois.  And I mean every meeting.  To hear Chuck talk, you’d think Hitler himself was running the company, poisoning our water in an attempt to exterminate Peorians.

Well, guess what, Mr. Grayeb?  The water utility isn’t the only company with corporate headquarters far away and thus (by your logic) little concerned for our needs here in the heartland.  Consider these (and shudder!): 

AmerenCILCO:  headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri
Insight Communications:  headquartered in New York, New York
SBC/AT&T:  headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey

That’s right!  The city has a lot of work ahead of it to purchase these basic services and get them under local control again.  I realize these companies may not be interested in selling their respective systems to the city, but since when has that stopped you?

I wonder if anyone is sending Grayeb’s xenophobic diatribes to Friedrichshafen, Peoria’s “sister city” in Germany.  Maybe if Germans are such horrible people, we should sever the city’s official relationship with them.  And maybe we should pass an oridance outlawing the eating of German food and force the Hofbrau House out of the city.

Suggestion for Grayeb: tone down the rhetoric.  You’re not winning the hearts and minds of Peorians with your current “foreigners-are-evil” tactics.