A 19-year-old Illinois Central College student is the sixth person to seek election to an at-large seat on the Peoria City Council. George Azouri of 3638 W. Cassadaga Ct. in the City’s fourth district filed his petitions with the Peoria Election Commission on Tuesday. He’s a student member of ICC’s Board of Trustees, and was recently appointed to the Mayor’s advisory committee on police-community relations.
Daily Archives: November 16, 2010
D150 to raise property taxes again
From the Journal Star:
The School Board on Monday voiced a consensus seeking what amounts to about $69 million in local property taxes next year, an increase of about 1 percent, but far less than the 6.5 percent increase requested last year…. The proposed levy would add about $18 [to a $100,000 home]…. Prompting that increase is District 150 has 15 schools in need of a mandated 10-year safety survey yet this year and another 11 schools next year.
According to 1470 WMBD:
[Interim Comptroller/Treasurer Dave] Kinney says the levy would allow for about $700,000 more to be collected toward the life safety inspections – which are required by law – but it’s just a start. “With the first eight schools on the list it’s looking like about a $6-million price tag over a five year period,” says Kinney. “It’s not anything we have to address immediately but going forward we know we’re going to have to address it at some point.” …Kinney says the levy alone does not completely solve the district’s budget deficit. “There are going to have to be other decisions made to help not only balance the budget this year but next year, too, “says Kinney.
In other words, once again we’re going to be paying more for less. It will be interesting to see how current school board member Jim Stowell votes on this tax increase, and how that decision affects his run for Peoria City Council.
Mayor wants you to buy local this Christmas
From my inbox:
Mayor Jim Ardis is encouraging the community to support small business merchants by declaring November 27th as Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are traditionally the busiest shopping days of the year.
“Peoria is fortunate to have a unique mix of small businesses and I would like to encourage everyone to shop locally not just during this busy holiday season, but throughout the entire year,” said Mayor Ardis.
It is important to raise awareness about the critical role small businesses play in Peoria. Small businesses have created a number of new jobs for individuals in the Peoria area and their success is tied directly to the support they receive from the community. Let’s spend a little time on the 27th visiting and supporting our local small businesses.
Budweiser Clydesdales coming to Peoria
From my inbox:
WORLD-FAMOUS BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES TO
APPEAR IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
PEORIA, IL, NOVEMBER 15, 2010 – The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, the symbol of quality and tradition for Anheuser-Busch since 1933, are scheduled to make several appearances in the area on Wednesday November 17, Friday November 19 Saturday November 20 and Sunday November 21. All appearances are subject to change and are weather permitting.
On November 17, 20 and 21st the “Gentle Giants,” as they are often referred to, will participate in the “Hitch against Hunger” in Peoria and East Peoria, Illinois. “Hitch against Hunger” is a joint effort between Brewers Distributing Company, the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales and the Peoria Area Food Bank to provide necessary food to the community just in time for the Holidays.
The “Hitch against Hunger” campaign begins on November 20, 2010 at the Peoria Hy-Vee store. The Clydesdales will be on display from 1:20 to 2:00 PM. The hitch will then parade to Peoria Schnucks where they will be on display from 2:20 to 3:20 PM. Volunteers from Brewers Distributing will be on hand at each site to collect non perishable food.
The eight-horse hitch will be harnessed and hitched to the famous red beer wagon in downtown Peoria on Wednesday November 17 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The schedule is:
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Hitch arrives at Kelleher’s Irish Pub and Eatery, 619 SW Water Street, Peoria, IL
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM Display at Kelleher’s Irish Pub and Eatery
5:30 PM – 5:50 PM Parade to Sully’s Pub and Café, 121 SW Adams Street, Peoria, IL
5:50 PM – 6:00 PM Parade to The Locker Room Bar and Grill, 112 SW Jefferson Street, Peoria, IL
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM Hitch Arrives at Peoria Civic Center, 201 SW Jefferson Avenue, Peoria, ILThe eight-horse hitch will be harnessed and hitched to the famous red beer wagon in Wyoming, Illinois on Friday November 19 from 3:45 PM to 6:45 PM. The schedule is:
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19
3:45 PM – 4:45 PM Hitch arrives at Wyoming Parade, 108 E. Williams Street, Wyoming, IL
4:45 PM – 6:45 PM Display / ParadeSATURDAY NOVEMBER 20
12:20 PM – 1:20 PM Hitch arrives at Hy-Vee, 4125 North Sheridan Road, Peoria, IL
1:20 PM – 2:00 PM Display at Hy-Vee
2:00 PM – 2:20 PM Parade to Schnucks, 4800 North University, Peoria, IL
2:20 PM – 3:20 PM Display at SchnucksThe campaign continues on November 21, 2010, as the Clydesdales will be on display at East Peoria Kroger from 12:45 to 1:30 PM. The hitch will then parade to the Silver Bullet Sports Grill and Bar and will be on display from 1:30 to 2:45 PM. Volunteers will again be on hand to collect non perishable food items.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM Hitch arrives at Kroger, 201 South Main Street, East Peoria, IL
12:45 PM – 1:30 PM Display at Kroger
1:30 PM – 2:45 PM Parade to Silver Bullet, 135 North Main Street, East Peoria, ILBrewers Distributing is accepting cash donations to allow us to purchase food for the Peoria Area Food Bank. Some of the participating stores will be building bags of the most requested items and allowing us to purchase these through your donation to add to the campaign. For more information on the Peoria Area Food Bank, please visit http://www.pcceo.org/foodbank.html. Enclosed is a list of the requested food donations.
Checks may be made payable to Peoria Area Food Bank to allow for your tax deductible donation.
Donations may be mailed to (must be received by December 1st):
Brewers Distributing Company
Hitch Against Hunger
2421 W. Townline Road
Peoria, IL 61615-1540The Clydesdales’ appearance in central Illinois is one of hundreds made annually by the traveling hitches. Canadians of Scottish descent brought the first Clydesdales to America in the mid-1800’s. Today, the giant draft horses are used primarily for breeding and show.
Horses chosen for the Budweiser Clydesdale hitch must be at least three years of age, stand approximately 18 hands – or six feet – at the shoulder, weigh an average of 2000 pounds, must be bay in color, have four white legs, and a blaze of white on the face and black mane and tail. A gentle temperament is very important as hitch horses meet millions of people each year.
A single Clydesdale hitch horse will consume as much as 20-25 quarts of feed, 40-50 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day.
Each hitch travels with a Dalmatian. In the early days of brewing, Dalmatians were bred and trained to protect the horses and guard the wagon when the driver went inside to make deliveries.
The Budweiser Clydesdales can be viewed at the Anheuser-Busch breweries in St. Louis, Mo.; Merrimack, N.H.; and Ft. Collins, Colo. They also may be viewed at Grant’s Farm in St. Louis and at Warm Springs Ranch, the 300-plus acre Clydesdale breeding farm located near Boonville, Mo.
Putnam looking to maximize revenue; will Peoria do the same?
Back in August, the museum group gave a presentation to the Peoria County Board in which they explained their philosophy regarding how they want to use their giant screen theater:
[Ryan] Beasley went on to say that the museum is “a mission-driven organization,” and that the theater has to fit with their mission, which is “to inspire lifelong learning for ALL, connecting art, history, science and achievement through collections, exhibitions and programs.” In order to do that, the museum has three “negotiating terms”: control over programming, technology, and exclusivity. The biggest obstacle is control over programming. The museum wants to show “classic” (i.e., educational) films during the day and second-run movies on evenings and weekends. That has been IMAX’s traditional model. However, IMAX is apparently interested in seeing their theaters run more first-run movies — what they call “day and date DMR” movies — that would require multiple showings for the first two or three weeks the movie is out. “DMR” is IMAX’s proprietary large-screen film process. The museum’s concern is that agreeing to “day and date DMR” would be more profitable, but violate their mission. They’re also concerned about being required to show some films that are R-rated or otherwise not family-friendly.
The museum’s pro forma used the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre in Davenport, Iowa, as a benchmark for attendance estimates, and as an overall example of what we could have here in Peoria. I recently ran across this article in the Quad Cities Times, which included this little nugget of information:
Dean Fick, director of theater operations at the Putnam Museum IMAX Theatre, moves a reel of film for “Shrek Forever After,” which opens Friday. It will mark the first time in the theater’s eight-year history that it opens a Hollywood blockbuster on the day it premieres nationwide. […] “For the future of the organization overall, the museum and the IMAX Theatre, we need to be maximizing the revenue we bring in,” [Putnam president and CEO Kim Findlay] said.
I wonder if local museum officials will follow Putnam’s lead and try to maximize revenue — for the good of the organization overall, and for the taxpayers.
So far, five people are definitely running, and two definitely aren’t
City Council hopefuls have six days to file petitions to be placed on the ballot. Today, five candidates filed:
- Ryan Spain (incumbent)
- Eric Turner (incumbent)
- Chuck Grayeb (former councilman)
- Chuck Weaver (Zoning Board of Appeals chairman)
- Jim Stowell (District 150 School Board member)
Two incumbents are definitely not running:
- Jim Montelongo wants to pay more attention to his family and his business
- George Jacob is recovering from a motorcycle accident
Potential candidates have to collect a minimum of 165 signatures to be placed on the ballot, and they have until 5 p.m. next Monday (Nov. 22) to file. Incumbent Gary Sandberg is expected to file at 4:59 p.m. on Nov. 22, as is his usual practice. He likes to be the last name on the ballot. As for who will be first on the ballot — we’ll find out tomorrow. It will be one of three people: Spain, Weaver, or Grayeb. They filed at the same time, so their names will be placed in a lottery to determine their order on the ballot.
If more than 10 people run, there will be a primary on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. The general election will be held Tuesday, April 5, 2011.