Remember when the City of Peoria tried shaming slumlords by putting a sign in front of their rundown properties with the name and number of the owner? Maybe the city should put one of those signs in front of these properties:
Know who owns these properties? The top one is the old Meyer building in the Warehouse District, and it’s owned by the illustrious District 150, which is terribly concerned about losing tax revenue from the Warehouse TIF. Of course, their neglected property isn’t contributing to lower property values down there, right? Margaret Hanley, who owns A. Lucas and Sons right next door, called District 150 out on the condition of their property at a recent council meeting, and rightly so. I wish I could say this was an isolated case, but alas, it isn’t. The district has lots of neglected properties (not to mention their school buildings). They recently demolished one property on Prospect and plan to demolish two more. And they own about 10% of the property in the Warehouse TIF District, which was passed by the council tonight. So put up the sign in front of the Meyer building and others with District 150’s name and number; label it “slumlord.”
The bottom building shows a very small sample of the boarded up windows adorning Harrison Homes, owned by the Peoria Housing Authority. If you’ve ever been by this low-income housing complex, you will notice that just about every building has at least two windows boarded up, often many more. And if you saw the map I posted earlier, you may have noticed that a number of homicides and lots of aggravated discharges of a firearm take place within Harrison Homes. We’re not paying taxes for these people to run a ghetto. They’re supposed to be providing decent transitional housing for people. Allowing their properties to fall into this state of disrepair is egregious. Council members Gary Sandberg and Barbara Van Auken called PHA out on the state of their properties at tonight’s council meeting, and rightly so. Put up the sign in front of Harrison Homes with the PHA’s name and number; label it “slumlord.”
It’s time for these public bodies to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their role in lowering property values and providing havens for crime. If they don’t, then the city should go after them just like they would any other slumlord. If these public bodies moan and complain, the city can explain that they’re just cracking down on crime and trying to raise property values, for the betterment of all Peorians.