Monthly Archives: September 2008

2008 Campaign

ACLU to host candidates forum 9/25

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From a press release:

US SENATE AND HOUSE CANDIDATES FORUM

SPONSORED BY PEORIA CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 AT THE GAR HALL IN DOWNTOWN PEORIA

The Constitution and Civil Liberties will be the theme of a forum in Peoria next week featuring candidates for federal office. The event is sponsored by the Peoria chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The forum takes place from 6:30 until 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 25 at the historic GAR Hall, located at 416 Hamilton Boulevard in downtown Peoria. The event is free and open to the public.

Candidates will be asked to comment on issues including the growing power of the presidency, religious liberty, torture, warrantless wiretapping and the USA Patriot Act.

Candidates who accepted an invitation to participate include:

For the United States Senate: Republican Steve Sauerberg will attend. (Senator Dick Durbin was invited.)

For the United States House of Representatives from Illinois’ 18th District: Democratic candidate Colleen Callahan and Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer will attend. (Republican Aaron Schock was invited.)

ACLU of Illinois communications and public policy director Edwin C. Yohnka will moderate the forum. The program will begin with questions from a panel of local journalists, including Pam Adams of the Peoria Journal Star, Tanya Koonce of WCBU-FM and Dwayne Bartels of the Peoria Times Observer. Written questions will be accepted from the audience.

For further information, contact Paul Miller, President, Peoria Chapter ACLU, 579-3038 or cpmiller12947@yahoo.com.

City of Peoria

Bush fund-raising visit to Peoria costs taxpayers over $13,000

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President Bush came to Peoria last month for one reason: to help Aaron Schock raise money for his congressional campaign. But that visit cost Peoria taxpayers $13,195.63, mostly in overtime pay for police officers handling traffic control, according to a report prepared by the city at Councilman Sandberg’s request.

Why should Peoria taxpayers — including many non-Republicans — have to pay for Aaron Schock’s fundraiser? “No one was billed for the Presidential visit,” the report states. Well, they should be billed. Schock’s campaign should reimburse every dollar associated with this visit.

Museum Block

Museum estimates based on “common sense”

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Just when you thought talk about the museum couldn’t get any more ridiculous, Phil Luciano publishes this story. He interviews Caterpillar executive Mark Johnson about his estimate of how many visitors will be coming to the museum block if/when it’s built. I hardly know where to begin.

Let’s start with this statement:

Johnson bases his estimates on “my common sense. You can look at these numbers until you’re blue in the face. So you look at it with common sense.”

Well, I don’t know about you, but Mr. Johnson’s common sense is good enough for me to commit millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to the museum. Hey, can I get a small business loan on that basis? Bank: “Mr. Summers, why should we give you this loan? What market research have you done? What’s your business plan?” Me: “My common sense.” Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Let’s take a look at these “common sense” numbers:

Johnson says annual attendance must hit 360,000. He sees it as 120,000 for the museum alone, 120,000 for the Caterpillar Experience alone and 120,000 who visit both.

Okay, so 360,000 people a year will come to the museum block, and of those, 240,000 will visit the museum (120k museum only, plus 120k museum and Cat visitors center). Got it.

…he sees the same numbers visiting the museum per day as the Caterpillar Experience: 667 (That figure includes overlapping of people who go to both sites. Total daily attendance for both is expected to average 1,000 individuals.).

Same thing as before, just expressed in per-day instead of annual terms.

The annual operating budget is pegged at $4 million. Jim Richerson, head of Lakeview Museum, says admission to various attractions would run $8 to $12. But revenue would also come from donations, room rentals, classes and souvenirs.

Let’s do some quick math here: $12 x 240,000 estimated visitors per year = $2,880,000. That leaves a $1.12 million per year deficit — in order to break even, they’d have to get that $1.12 million from “donations, room rentals, classes and souvenirs.”

But that assumes that all 240,000 visitors are paying adults and they’re all getting charged the highest rate ($12), which we know won’t actually happen. That estimated number of visitors includes lots of children on field trips that will be admitted for free. And tickets to many exhibits will cost the lower price of $8. If 25% of those 667 visitors per day are school kids, and the rest of the visitors paid an average admission price of $10, that would come out to only $1.8 million in revenues per year. And that would leave an annual operating deficit of $2.2 million. That’s a lot to make up for in “donations, room rentals, classes and souvenirs.” Where’s the business plan for that?

Oh, I forgot. No business plan. Just “common sense.”

City of Springfield

Springfield council rejects payday loan restrictions

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I’ve been following efforts in the city of Springfield to limit the density of so-called “convenience loan” (payday loans, title loans, etc.) establishments because Peoria is trying to do the same thing here.

Before applying for a loan we recommend you to learn about it, actually this is a great post to read to illustrate the process of getting a loan.

The State Journal-Register reports:

The [Springfield city] council in a 5-4 vote killed the proposal that would have prohibited new payday and title lenders from setting up shop within 1,500 feet of existing ones. […] Aldermen who opposed the measure said they didn’t want to discourage business, especially in a slow economy, nor did they want to establish a precedent.

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“If someone comes next week and says, ‘I want the same thing for fast-food restaurants,’ how do we say ‘no?’” argued Ward 10 Ald. Tim Griffin. […]

Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards said he has heard from landlords who didn’t like the idea. “I’ve had business owners approach me and ask, ‘Who do we rent to?’” Edwards said.

Apparently Springfield has the same kind of problem with the establishments as we do here in Peoria. In the same way we have a large concentration of convenience loan places on University street between War Memorial and Forrest Hill, Springfield has a large concentration on their MacArthur Boulevard.

The reaction to the decision in the comments section of the SJ-R’s website is revealing. Here are a couple of comments that caught my eye, pro and con (spelling errors in original quotes):

I hate those payday load places… however, I agree with the results of the cities vote. Its a dark road to go down once you start restricting personal businesses. We dont need that!!

If the payday lenders were forced to be equally distributed throughout the county, they might wind up in such places as Leland Grove or West White Oaks Drive. No, City Council likes them right where they are, clustered tightly around the borders of poorer neighborhoods.

I, of course, also hate convenience loan places because I believe they’re loan sharks that prey on the poor and vulnerable. But the Springfield council’s action and some of the comments have got me wondering if the city’s attempt to regulate their zoning is really the best solution. In other words, I agree with the ends, but I’m not convinced this is the best means.

Maybe it would be better to work on getting state legislation passed that would regulate these loan places, the same way banks and credit unions are regulated.

What do you think is the best solution to the problem?

2008 Campaign

Krupa calls Gordon “chronic truant”

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From a press release:

JEHAN GORDON GETS A “F” FOR ATTENDANCE

Gordon a no show at two debates in two days but comes late to one in between

Jehan Gordon would be classified as a
CHRONIC TRUANT
if she were a student instead of a school board member on the Pleasant Hill School Board because of her abysmal attendance at school board meetings

(PEORIA) As a candidate for 92nd District State Representative, Jehan Gordon is living up to her abysmal attendance record on the Pleasant Hill School Board.

Gordon has missed an astonishing 40% of the Pleasant Hill School Board meetings where she serves as a board member. In addition, board minutes show that she arrived late to one-third of the meetings she did attend.

If Jehan Gordon were a student at Pleasant Hill School instead of a school board member, she would be classified as a CHRONIC TRUANT with that kind of abysmal attendance record.

That kind of attendance record proves that she obviously doesn’t care much about her duties on the Pleasant Hill School Board. It seems clear that she wanted to get onto a school board simply to be able to use that platform to launch her bid for State Representative. Otherwise she would have taken her responsibilities more seriously.

Such an attendance record is a horrible example to the students of Pleasant Hill.

Now, true to that poor attendance record, yesterday Gordon cancelled her participation at the last minute for the Peoria Medical Society’s Candidate Forum which she had formally accepted. Her opponent, Joan Krupa attended as did Congressional candidates Aaron Schock and Colleen Callahan.

This morning Gordon did attend the Chamber of Commerce debate in Peoria—but true to form, she arrived late.

Inexplicably, only hours later Jehan Gordon stood up the Downtown Kiwanis Club for their 92nd District Debate at the Lariat Club in Peoria. Kiwanis leaders had Gordon’s formal acceptance to participate in writing and were furious. Gordon did not even call to cancel, she just didn’t show up for the full blown debate between her and her opponent, Joan Krupa who was there.

So within 18 hours, Gordon skipped a debate she had agreed to attend, then arrived late at a second one and then did not show up at a third debate.

That disturbing pattern exactly mirrors Gordon’s horrible attendance record on the Pleasant Hill School Board.

In recent mailings to voters Gordon says she “has learned from her mistakes.” But she obviously hasn’t changed her ways.

Jehan Gordon’s campaign slogan is: Listen-Learn-Lead. But a Representative CANNOT listen if she doesn’t show up. She CANNOT learn if she doesn’t show up. And she CANNOT lead if she doesn’t show up.

It has been said before: “Some officials vote their conscience, some vote their constituents and some don’t vote at all.” The latter behavior doesn’t solve problems, it makes them worse.

With the legendary dysfunction in Springfield that our state already suffers from, voters ought to be wary about adding to that dysfunction with yet another person who has proven herself unfit to serve.

Peoria Public Schools

District 150 has trouble hitting moving target

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I’ve had my fair share of criticism for District 150, but I think any critic has to admit that they’re fighting an uphill battle when it comes to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. The Journal Star reports that, even though many of District 150’s schools have made gains in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the NCLB standards have risen this year:

This year, 19 of the district’s 30 schools improved in both reading and math. That is compared to last year, when only nine showed improvement in both areas.

But many quickly note that fewer schools – 13 – met federal “adequate yearly progress,” or AYP, versus those that did not, which this year increased to 18 schools. That’s compared to 16 schools that met AYP last year and 14 schools that did not.

So what’s changed?

Federal testing standards. This year the threshold increased by 7.5 percent – from 55 percent to now 62.5 percent – meaning more students must meet or exceed the threshold to meet AYP.

And it’s only going to get harder. Next year, the threshold increases to 70%. Then in 2010 it goes up to 77.5%. By 2014, the standard will be 100%, at which point District 150 will most likely have only one school making AYP — Washington Gifted.

I appreciate and even welcome high standards for our students. In fact, I think it’s making a difference, as evidenced by the higher test scores many of the schools in District 150 have achieved. And I certainly am against the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” But 100%? That seems a bit unrealistic, doesn’t it?

For instance, they expect special needs students to make adequate yearly progress at their physical grade level, not their mental grade level. Are schools supposed to work wonders of nature now, too?

The other problem is a bit more fundamental. I was always taught that I’m responsible for my learning. The school provides the opportunity, but I have take advantage of it because no one can make me learn. But NCLB puts the responsibility for learning completely and totally on the shoulders of the school. That’s unfair.

If you have a student who has no support at home from his or her parents, has been brought up with little discipline, and shows no interest in doing the work that learning requires, why should the school be blamed when he or she fails? The “soft bigotry of low expectations” in that scenario is coming from the parents, not the teachers or administrators. The government apparently expects schools to be surrogate parents, something they’re not designed or equipped to do — nor should they be.

On the other hand, I’m not saying that District 150 is doing everything right and their low test scores are all the government’s fault. But I do think the federal/state standards are rising too fast, and that their final goal is not realistic.

General News

Annual Awards Spotlight Area Businesses

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From a press release:

ANNUAL AWARDS SPOTLIGHT AREA BUSINESSES!

Peoria, IL – Mark your calendars and join hundreds of business and community leaders as we “Excelerate For the Future” at the Peoria Civic Center September 18th at 7:30am during The Heartland Partnership’s Annual Meeting Breakfast.

The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce will present the 23rd annual outstanding small business awards. The chamber will also hand out the Athena Award to a woman who shows outstanding achievement in her profession and not only excels in her chosen field, but is always working to better her community. The Economic Development Council for Central Illinois will present two growth and development awards to companies that make significant contributions to area communities and demonstrate success and growth. The Heartland Partnership will honor a non-profit organization that strives to create a brighter future for our region with the Community Wealth Award.

In addition, we’ll share success stories of The Heartland Partnership Family of Companies and Ken Schmidt, former Director of Communications for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, will shed some light on how he was able to turn the Harley-Davidson Motor Company around and create one of America’s most celebrated businesses.

Media Interview and Photo Opportunities:

Ken Schmidt, featured speaker
EDC Growth and Innovation Award winners
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business Award winners
Athena Award Winner
Community Wealth Award Winner
Jim McConoughey, President & CEO The Heartland Partnership
Vickie Clark, COO EDC
Roberta Parks, COO Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
Steve Jaeger, Director TransPORT, the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District
Kyle Ham, President & COO Peoria NEXT

For more information please contact Renee Charles at 495-5905, 229-7791 or e-mail rcharles@h-p.org.

City of Peoria, Streets, Traffic

Main and University traffic study forum next Monday

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From a press release:

CITY OF PEORIA HOSTS MAIN AND UNIVERSITY TRAFFIC STUDY FORUM
September 22, 2008
7 pm – 9 pm

The Public Works Department and Hanson Professional Services will be hosting a public meeting on Monday, September 22, 2008; 7pm – 9pm at City Hall-Council Chambers, 419 Fulton Street, Suite 400, Peoria. This forum is a follow-up to the meeting that took place in early July. The City will be presenting a series of computer-generated illustrations showing how a variety of traffic-calming options will affect Main Street and the surrounding area using traffic counts and data collected in June.

This is a critical meeting for those of us concerned about our West Bluff community. This may be our final opportunity to provide input and influence the future of Main Street. Show your support of a walkable west bluff by attending this forum and wearing a green shirt to visually show our city leaders what our community wants.

If you are unable to attend this important meeting, please respond to this email to show your support of a vibrant, creative, pedestrian-friendly, and commercially-viable Main Street.

Peoria MSA

Peoria best-performing MSA in state

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The Milken Institute has published its “Best Performing Cities” report for 2008, and Peoria has jumped way up. Here’s the press release from the Economic Development Council:

Peoria (September 15, 2008) – Peoria jumps from 68 to 42 on the Milken Institute index of best cities in America. This survey focuses on where America’s jobs are created and sustained.

The Best-Performing Cities index measures U.S. metropolitan areas to find the most successful at job creation and retention, the quality of jobs being produced, and overall economic performance. Specifically, it pinpoints where jobs are being created and maintained, where wages and salaries are increasing, and where economies and businesses are growing and thriving.

For a complete listing of cities on this index, visit http://www.milkeninstitute.org.

What the press release doesn’t mention is that, when you look at the rankings by state, Peoria’s metropolitan statistical area (includes Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Stark, and Marshall counties) beats every other MSA in the state by a large margin.

2008 Campaign

Candidate debates coming up (UPDATED)

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From a press release:

State Representative Candidates Face Off
At Peoria Area Chamber Forum This week!

Peoria, IL (Sept. 15, 2008) – Don’t forget to join the Peoria Area chamber of Commerce Wednesday September 17th at 7:30am at The Heartland Partnership (100 SW Water, Peoria) for a forum between 92nd and 106th District State Representative candidates.

Don’t miss your chance to hear Jehan Gordon and Joan Krupa plus Keith Sommer and Tom Shrier discuss the issues. They will be answering questions submitted by media and Chamber members. Seats are limited so register now at www.peoriachamber.org.

One more candidate forum is coming up:

Peoria County State’s Attorney Candidate Forum
Kevin Lyons/Darin LaHood
Date: October 1st, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Location: The Heartland Partnership Board Room, 100 SW Water, Peoria Barrack’s Cater Inn, 1224 West Pioneer Parkway, Peoria (Location changed due to flood prediction at original site.)

For more information contact Renee Charles, PR The Heartland Partnership at 309-495-5905 or 309-229-7791 or Ashley Pampel, PACC Director of Marketing at 309-495-5974. Media interviews and photo opportunities with candidates will immediately following each forum.